In general I like Bahia Principe Hotels, But this one it is the best!!! They made is feel like home away from home, good food, drinks, service, cleanliness and very courteous staff.

I will definitely come back again.

We have spent two weeks at this island paradise and after a two year wait to come due to being cancelled at gatwick in 2010 due to snow! Our expectations where very high.

We travelled as a family, my wife and 2 year old son. And without staying on the point too long as not a fault of the hotel, Thomson need to sort there service out, to fly 9 hours on a tired plane to then be transferred 4 hours is a joke. We did expect it so prepared for it best we could, but the whole thing felt a bit cheap and budget cut (no snacks on bus or organisation)

Now for the hotel/island.
This is truly a private retreat and has a great manager in Alexis, he is let down by a few members of staff (mainly the manager of the evening buffet, he is just a creep)

The island is so clean you can not fault it, you get a odd leaf in the pool and a few bits of sea debris washed up, but you should expect it as you are on a tropical island that said they do clean up litter near instantly!

The rooms are possibly some of the best we have ever seen, we had a villa in block 11 on the 2nd floor and wow! All we could see was open water and heard no noise. The only thing I will say as positive criticism is the turn down service is all over the place, we either got it at silly times, 10pm one night or we never got it. But hay it's only a box of chocolates :)

The bar selection and food is top knotch, we tried all restaurants and ended up in buffet most nights. We found it more relaxing and laid back with a small child.
The pool bars are a bit hit and miss with the waiter service but unlike the previous review I am not that lazy to walk a few steps to get a drink so didn't bother me.

Overall we have stayed in some of te best hotels an resorts in the world and think this is up there with the best.

3 points to finalise- do not go to the public beach in the day, it's not thy great and people want to sell you everything! The private beach is better, but after 6 when it is closed to public, it's great.

Some wedding parties are very noisy and loud (free alcohol and families don't mix we'll) that's not the hotels fault it's just inconsiderate people

I wish they did not have the market stalls on certain evenings as it feels a bit out of place and pushy, trying to sell you cigars and paintings.

But like I said please go and enjoy paradise

My girlfriend and I were at the resort from the 10th to the 18th of November. It was top notch from start to finish with pleasant staff and nice rooms. The island provided a very relaxing atmosphere and was quiet overall. The public beach was a close walk where we bartered with local vendors on all sorts of Dominican merchandise.

The beach was also very nice and clean. The trip highlight for us was the half day excursion of zip lining that was just outside of Samana. It was well worth the price.

For those with an open mind, Cayo de Levantado is a great place to get away and relax during the winter months.

NOTE* Elderly people may want to stay in suites that are away from main building so that they can go to bed at an early hour without being disturbed after 11PM.

Coming back from our trip we took notice that we were one of the few American couples that was at this resort and a lot of the reviews we read prior to were from people in other parts of the world. So if you are from the US this review is for you! In a nutshell before I go into detail; the staff is amazing, the rooms are very big and the location itself is top-notch. The big drawback however is the food. First thing is first, travel from SDQ takes about 2 1/2 hours IF the toll road is open! On our flight in, it took us nearly 5 hours to get to the resort and had to go through some pretty rough areas to get there. DO NOT RENT A CAR! It is not worth the savings, the roads are horrendous and people drive crazy! If the Toll Road isn't open, then good luck finding your way to the resort. I recommend booking through Tour Samana with Terry, we did this on our way back to SDQ and wish we had done the same when we got there. Clean/air-conditioned cars and the drivers speak English so you can learn about the island. Now on to the stay itself, again the staff is incredible and has a great attitude. They were the highlight of our experience. The rooms are very spacious, clean and well appointed. Definitely up to American standards for luxury resorts. The downfall in our mind is the food. All meals that fall outside the "specialty" restaurants are buffet style and the selection and overall quality of the items were sub-par. If you are thinking buffets along the lines of Bellagio or The Wynn in Vegas than don't get your hopes up. If I were you, I would book dinner in one of the restaurants EVERY night. The Don Pablo is the best restaurant on the island. My wife and I lost 10 lbs while we were here for a week, so that should tell you what we thought of most of the food offering. The drink list is very extensive and they offer a lot of top-shelf liquors that you wouldn't think are included. To be expected, the actual mixed drinks are rather weak and we had to order a shot to go along with just about every drink we had. BEWARE of the cigar vendors that are on the island, usually stationed on the patio off the main building. The Cubans they were selling were fake. The beaches and pools are beautiful and never felt overcrowded. We were able to walk down at any time of day and find a great spot to relax. It was very relaxing, so if you want a quiet vacation then this is for you as there is not a lot of activities other than sitting on the beach or by the pool.