It was my second time with Bahia Principe and maybe the last in Dominican Republic. The first time my wife and I went in Gran Bahia Principe Akumal in Mexic. It was really a wonderful trip. We wanted to return in another Gran Bahia Principe and we choose Dominican Republic (Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro Premier). It's the last time we go in Gran Bahia Principe. First of all, before you come in here, be patient, because when you need an answer and you go to the front desk, it can take up to 15 minutes to have an answer for a simple question. Secondly, the restaurant reservations is a joke. They say that they have no place until 9 pm even if you are with a kid and when you show up at 7 pm just to try, the restaurant is half empty. We tried it a the Mikado restaurant, and they gave us a table "A la carte" instead of the Japanese food show. The more frustrating, is that there was enough place to sit all us 5, because there were only 7 people around the table where the chef do his show (12 people per table). When the spring rolls came, the center was completely frozen! They came back with hotter ones but it was still cold and the crust half burnt! Mikado is not recommended. The French restaurant was surprisingly good. What surprised me the most was the attitude of the personnel. It's a big difference from Mexican, the latter being so warm people. The communication is often very hard, employees nearly speaking barely English, sometimes French (I’m a French Canadian). Our maid was kind of playing with us. I was asking her something and I was literally doing the mimic to tell her that there was a little lizard in our room and we told her "iguana" and she never get it. We solve the problem by ourselves. We don't understand why they don't put the comforter back on the bed when the clean the room. The air conditioner is not working well in many rooms while in other rooms, it is so cold and smelling humidity (damp). We were able to compare because my friend was in the part near the beach in the Hacienda area. We wanted to change room in the same building (we were in Bavaro Premier), and it was 15$/day per person and 7$/day per child to be in the same building as our friends. The fact is that the room are identical, we don't get why we would have to pay that charge for the same thing except being near the beach. The MOST annoying thing and why I would not come back here again, it's because of the SMOKERS. They are EVERYWHERE! They smoke on the beach, around the pool, in the lobby and it was quite annoying. You can't walk 1 minute without smelling cigarettes. If you are a Canadian and use not to breath smoke because you can't do it in any public place and you don't like cigarette, DON'T come in Bahia Principe, cause you will be literally pissed off. The food was generally good, the buffet offers good variety from day to day. I don't know who did the architecture of the bathrooms, but when you take a shower, the quarter of the water goes on the floor, especially if you live on the first floor where the shower pressure is stronger. By the way, I was also disappointed by some work conditions some employees are under. A big resort like this (GRAN BAHIA) should respect more their employees and give them more respectful conditions and salary. For example, when we were there, some employees where redoing a part of the stairs and the guy had only a hammer and a chisel trying to break the concrete all day. That was ridiculous. If it's the way the big boss of Gran Bahia treat their employees, I will not encourage those Gran Bahia anymore. The beach is great. The towel system is ridiculous. They ask you for your cards to get towels, but some people don't need cards to have some. They should use a rule for everyone to avoid confusion. The exhaust of the buses you use to go from one place to another are not the most interesting to smell. In Mexic there were more electric ones (buses), which was quite better. Overall, it was a nice trip, but considering all those negative points, I will not recommend it to my relatives in Canada.

We have just returned from the DR. My parents were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. All 7 of my brothers and sisters and all the in-laws (16 of us in all) enjoyed 6 days here from Feb 12-Feb 18 2013. Many of my family had never traveled outside the US. This experience has sparked the interest in more international travels. My husband, for example, was scared to leave the USA.. Now he wants to plan trips all over the world. That is no small miracle, let me assure you. He felt very safe. And the friendliness of the staff helped dispel the myth that the world is a scary place. :-)
The hotel grounds were immense but the trolleys were always there when we needed a ride. We were in the Premier section, with our own pool and lobby. We enjoyed the swim up bar, water volleyball, and water aerobics. One of my sisters had trouble with the air conditioner in their room but the staff was there to fix it in 5 minutes. The grounds, beach, rooms, and buffets were always very clean. The staff was always friendly and had enough English to communicate with us. They were grateful if you even tried to speak a little Spanish. Even Hello, Good Day and Thank you were enough to get a smile from the staff.
I would recommend emailing 7 days before your trip to make reservations at the a-la-carte restaurants. We enjoyed the Barbacoa, and the Dominican. We tried the Mediterranean as well. The Lobster lasagna was very good, but the lobster casserole was not. The buffet provided a wide variety of foods and all were quite good. I particularly enjoyed the breakfast omelet bar. You can chose your own ingredients and they cook it up right there in front of you. But like my Mom always says "If I don't have to cook it or clean it up, Its got to be GREAT". The staff was always quick to remove our empty plates. We enjoyed the a-la-carte's mostly because we had 2 large tables for 8 and we could sit there together and enjoy some conversation and laughs, without the busyness of the buffet. The beach = WOW. Powder sand. Beautiful trees. Always shade to be found if you were a little sun burnt from the day before.
Excursions: We did the Extreme Buggy 1/2 day. Dune buggies that hold 4 people each. We had to line it up a week before because of the size of our group. Lots of FUN! they provide goggles to keep the mud out of your eyes. Suggestion : wear clothes that you can throw away after. You will get muddy (that half the fun), and bring a bandanna to cover your mouth and nose. Lots of dirt.
Canopy tour zip-line. The ride into the mountains is almost as entertaining as the zip-lining. It is quite the 4 wheel drive trail. Zip-line is a double cable and with other safety equipment. Friendly staff. It is quite a hike on uneven ground. And they keep you moving at a pretty good pace. Even though i'm not real comfortable with heights, I did not feel unsafe.
My advise ;
Bring lots of small bills, Tips are included but the country is poor and 2 dollars a day for the maid and maybe one or 2 dollars for the people at the restaurants and bars is greatly appreciated. Don't worry about exchanging $ for pesos. They prefer to deal in dollars.
2 excursions in a 6 day stay was about right. Don't schedule too many or you wont have time to enjoy all the things that the hotel has to offer.
Night time shows- Circus was entertaining.We all enjoyed that one.
Legends- was not family friendly. Full-Monty stuff. We walked out as soon as the guys dressed in police uniforms came out and started dancing.
You also need to be aware that at the beach you will see topless ladies. But not many. I think we saw 3 over the 6 days we went to the beach.
All-in-all we would return to this hotel and the DR. It exceeded our expectations!

Stayed at Premier Feb 11 to 18th 2013. I would recommend it. The pool was a lot of fun - activities were going on all the time. Leonel at the swim up bar gave us great service. The Premier buffet is smaller but not as crowded and the food is excellent. Buffet staff were also great. On the whole I would say all the staff were genuinely friendly and helpful. Our room was situated close to the pool / buffet and lobby - it was nice being handy to everything. Only downside was noise at night from the band and entertainment at the Pueblo Principe situated nearby.

The resort was huge! It was beautiful and the rooms were huge. I went with 45 family members for a wedding. We all had a great time. The place was very clean and the staff was amazing. The pools were great. 3 of the staff members, Jaoqin, Espagueti, and Alexis, made the trip so much fun. I recommend this place to anyone. And I will be going back soon.