We stayed here in may 2012 and enjoyed a fantastic experience. The hotel is so vast it's a village! We upgraded to hacienda and enjoyed the rooms around the middle of the complex, got an exclusive breakfast and lunch restaurant to use and got extra evenings in the al a carte restaurants. As well as this we had dressing gowns and slippers in the hotel rooms - a nice touch.

The various pools offered you a different holiday experience each day if you wanted it. From a quiet pool with some local music playing in the background to one with disco music and games playing all day, all were available depending on your mood. The standard buffet restaurant offered at least 10 different dishes for every meal and the al a carte restaurants also offered a varied menu meaning you never got bored of the food. The different bars served great cocktails and other drinks with even some international brands being included in the all inclusive list (Smirnoff vodka and tanquary gin were both available). As we've always experienced, the Dominican people really top off what is already a great holiday - their smile and service is second to none. The one thing to remember (and embrace) is that they work on 'Dominican time' which may mean 5 minutes become 15 - don't get annoyed and impatient by this, relax and wait! You're on holiday!

can't beat the weather.,the beach and the pools. the staff always friendly and happy...especially our favorite lobby bartender angel jaquez moya and the pool bar man wilson....."i love my job" we have been to the DR many times before and have not been disappointed. The food is good always fresh fruit and made to order eggs every morning. Nightly entertainment featuring michael jackson and the dancers are incredible and hard working.

Well this are last day here, i have to say we have enjoyed it.. The food was great at the buffet, and at the reataurants, the beach was beauiltful water clear and sand soo white,the pool clean wait staff pleasant Nd friendly( super Jesus)' great guy, the gounds well taken care of, the train is nice to have after a long day at the beach,room clean and big, ar key did not work one day and they were there to fix it in 5 minutes,, would come back,,

The place is beautiful. The beach is breathtaking. The pools are lovely. The food was plentiful, well presented, and very good. The customer service was the worst I have ever encountered.

I only had 4 whole days to enjoy my vacation. Spending part of the evening we arrived and most of the following day waiting for someone to fix things (like the KEY) was not just frustrating, it was like being robbed - of time, of money and of precious time away.

The first night we were taken to a room with only one bed, after I had written to make sure there would be two. We were two women traveling together who have no desire to be that close! We had the bellman take us back to the lobby where we were informed that there were no more rooms at the inn. With over 700 suites? Really? The "manager" said we could have a room with 2 beds the next day. When I asked how that would be possible if they were so booked, he said that someone else would have to be disappointed the next day. Yikes. Back to the room we went - where we still had to call and request sheets to make up the (twin sized) couch. Yup, that's why we upgraded in the first place, so I could sleep on a couch. Also, after paying for a safe, it didn't work so we were forced to carry all our valuables to dinner.

The following morning, after breakfast, we hightailed it to the lobby and asked when we could expect to be moved. They said they would move our luggage right away but we couldn't have keys until 1 o'clock. OK, so we we lugged our stuff around until then. Again, the safe key didn't work and, it turned out, either did the room key. I started calling for help with this issue about 1:50 PM and it was just before 5 PM (And after I had totally blown up at whoever was on the other end of the phone that had told me I must stay in the room and wait for staff and that they would be there in "10 minutes" just one time too many) before it was resolved. During this time, three different guys arrived with little boxes which plugged into the safe and agreed that, yes, they did not work. Sadly, they had no idea how to solve the problem. That day was pretty much blown.

The night before we left, I thought I would try out the Jacuzzi. It was a little tricky to get in but I thought it would make my tired back feel better. Well, something went awry and the room flooded and the electricity blew. Now I find myself in this high, slippery tub in pitch blackness. I managed to inch my way out, only to discover I was ankle deep in water and had a heck of a time finding the door. I called down for help and explained that the room was not only without power but was flooded to boot. I admit, help came a bit faster this time - sort of. The guy came to fix the power and had to slog through to shut off the Jacuzzi which jump-started when he turned the power back on, while another guy arrived on a bicycle and handed me two towels! I insisted that he come inside the room and see how he thought this "solution" would work. He very pleasantly asked, "Housekeeping?" Uh, duh, ya think? The electricity guy said, 'No more towels on the floor" OK! Do you think housekeeping ever showed up? I'll give you two guesses. The towels went on the floor. It seemed better than drowning or electrocuting myself in there. And, for a place that supposedly prides itself on its multi-lingual staff, apparently English is not one of the languages they know very well.

Should I include the part where we got one towel one day, no face-clothes two days, and they took off our bedspreads - one morning mine was folded up on the sofa and two nights later, my room-mate's received the same inexplicable treatment? Since We left the AC on all night, we were using them so we just never figured that one out. And, yes, we tipped every day.

Through all this, not one person apologized or even acknowledged our frustration or inconvenience.

Since I consider myself to be a pretty upbeat, accepting sort of person, I don't want to end on such a negative note. I do want to put in a good word for the specialty restaurants we went to. The chef at the Japanese restaurant had no personality (Or English, I guess). He simply showed us the ingredients and than cooked and served them. I wanted to go in the other room where I could hear the people having a great time with their chef. However, the food was delicious and the service was terrific. I would go back to eat there any time.

The Dominican restaurant was lovely and the staff there was very attentive and friendly. The food was good, though not fantastic but the ambiance and people made it well worth it. It was the best night out we had.

The entertainment crew deserves a lot of praise and admiration as well. They were energetic and so much fun to watch in the nightly shows. I have never seen a more hard-working crew anywhere!

Some friends of mine also booked this resort because we were going and because the deal looked so great. While their experience was not as dramatic as ours, it wasn't what they expected either. We all agreed that next year we would like to go back to the Caribbean but never again to the DR in general and the Gran Bahia in particular.