So before I came I read all these reviews from people, they are ALL over the map! I am 25 and not picky at all, I love to travel but don't stay at 5 star resorts, I just go for the sun, the beach, the drinks, the food, thats it! The place was beautiful, the staff was helpful and kept everything clean. The pool was beautiful and the swim up bar was great, I love them! The water in the pool was SO HOT, I jumped in and said "This is NOT refreshing at all!" but whatever we went in the ocean most of the time, the ocean is so clear and clean. The buffet had a wonderful selection, something for everyone, they did a great job there. The drinks, WATERED DOWN, it was so crazy, my boyfriend ordered a gin martini that was not gin, it tasted like flat sprite, so strange, stick with the beer, or ask for an extra shot of bacardi! The entertainment, was the best they could do, its very low rate, nothing spectactular at all, the vendors harass the crap out of you as well, they seriously get mad at you if you walk by and say not interested, they make rude comments like oh thanks for nothing [--]!!! So my boyfriend and I would find a route to walk by. There really wasnt many bars or places to hang out at night. You could go to the lobby or the kareoke bar, which was kind of dull. You also need to make reservations for the a la carte right when you get there, as they fill up very fast. Speaking of which, I was SO excited to go to the restaurants, our first was the Japanese, it was okay, nothing crazy, its a hibachi like in the states, well 4 hours later I woke up in screaming pain because I got food poisoning, I had to go to the medic who was helpful, but it also cost $500. He wanted me to go to the Domincan hospital but I would rather cut off my arm than do that. Anyways, I have been sick since that trip and just got better, I had to go to the hospital for 5 days and was treated for an e-coli kidney infection that stemmed from my food poisoning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This "could" happen anywhere but I would stay away from sushi at this place. I probably wouldnt go back because of this experience and because there really wasnt much to do at night and the drinks were so watered down. Overall, great beach, great weather, clean, and beautiful resort, very nice rooms, great buffet, and a nice staff but crappy, watered down drinks, lame entertainment, two, not so fun bars and FOOD POISONING! Make your own decision but I would probably look elsewhere. Sorry Bahia!

Having stayed at a lot of AI resorts my expectations are very high. Bahia Principe rates pretty . Don't be scared off by all the bad reviews. I was really worried about staying here after reading the reviews. The hotel is immaculate. The staff works so hard to keep it clean. The beach is beautiful, the wait staff are on top of things. We ate at the 2 buffet resturants by the beach. There was something for everyone. The Spanish restaurant is amazing!!! My picky eater children loved the lamb chops. Service was outstanding. We also ate at the Japanese (okay) and the Bar-b-que (pretty good). The large buffet by the lobby was not to my liking but my kids loved it.
The check in process was a nightmare. We had to wait 2 hours for our room! We kept being told "15 minutes", "15 minutes". The other issue is no one tells you what is included in the All Inclusive. When we wanted our free scuba lesson it was like pulling teeth. They wanted you to purchase a longer lesson.

My husband and I went down to the pool at 8 each morning, set up our towels under a hut on the beach and would have coffee at the beachside buffet before returning to the room to get the kids and have breakfast. It was really lovely. We didn't find it a problem to go to the beach or pool later as long as you don't mind sitting in the sun. Everyone leaves the beach and pool around 2 pm for siesta. We would leave the beach around 1, eat lunch and then head to the pool - while everyone was gone. We found the beach to be much cooler for hanging out.
If you can sail, take out the catamaran. It is really beautiful. The trick is to reserve it the day before (something else they don't tell you).
Over all a great stay!


Other than that it was great. For the price we paid we couldn't ask for more. We have friends that stayed at an AI down the beach and they hated it! If you want to relax and soak up the sun this going to do the trick.

DONT JUDGE , u be the judge , before we left i read a lot of bad reviews.
arrived on July26- August 2,2009. Punta Cana side stayed in room15105 right in front of the pool area . The resort was very clean , the jr site was very spacious and very clean.
U get up early reserve your lounge chairs by the pool area , and no one touches your towels. The buffet food was very good the restaurant were awesome. The japanese was our top then the dominican the n the barbecue last was the grille.
the EMPLOYEES Treated us awesome .
U TIP The maids bartender, etc treat u better .
a word of advice book the restaurant as soon as you get there cause all the good hrs book fast. but we all had a great time , and would book this resort again........

The hotel was amazing, absolutely gorgeous. The staff were really friendly - the majority of them could speak good english. The a la carte restaurants were lovely - we had the choice of 3 per week. Our faves were the Japanese - (although we were at a table with another 10 people who didnt speak English, so not soo good) the Italian was amazing and the French was also lovely. Dont recommend the steak house as this was just another buffet or the BBQ on the beach - another buffet style dinner.
The resort is big but not as bad as some of the reviews i read, we were in block 16 so we had a 3 min walk to reception and 5 mins to the beach - but there is a bus that runs from the beach to reception area and comes every coup;e of mins - it runs from 6am til 3am the following morning for those who just cant be bothered walking.
It has a casino - not that great, a disco - all spanish music.
I loved the hotel but probably about 90% or even more were spanish, wouldnt recommend it if you were taking kids, unless they speak Spanish.
We done 2 of the excursions - Samou Island - definately recommend this - great day out on a speedboat, then luncha nd drinks at the island, then catamanran back.
Second one was the trip to Santo Domingo - DO NOT DO THIS!!!, It was a waste of money and a days holiday. 4 1/2 hrs on a coach to get you there - the Rep said it was no more that 3 hrs, then you spend 10 mis in some caves, then 10 mins in Christopher Columbus' Castle, 10 mins in a Cathedral then you get an hour on your own in Santo Domingo ( this was good though) then you are back on the bus for 4 1/2 hours back!
Another bad point was that the brochure is misleading saying it had 9 or so bars - the most of htese ar ebeach bars or pool bars which close at 7pm, then you only have the 1 bar to go to - in the lobby with a guy playing piano, not good im afraid.
Dont want to sound like im moaning - i just wish id knew some of these points before i went. I loved it throught the day - 10 out of 10, but at night we were bored!!