Luxury Bahia Principe Bouganville (Adults Only)

Traveled with my wife and the in-laws in August 2018. There are 2 resorts on the same beach (lot). The Luxury Bahia Principe (Adults Only) and Grand Bahia (Family Friendly). Though they share a beach; merely separated by a sign and different color beach chair; the upgrade to the Adult Only side is definitely worth it! With the Luxury Upgrade you can access all facilities, restaurants, pools, replenished mini bar in your room with water, pop, beer, chips, etc. vs. if you stay at the Grand Bahia you are limited to only what is available on that half of the resort. Here is my review per category: Rooms: Rooms were spacious and always clean, mini bars replenished daily, room service included, and a balcony. Bathrooms were very nice. With a tub/Jacuzzi, stand alone shower, and 2 sinks. 5 out of 5. Restaurants: There are 3 buffets, 2 beach restaurants, 6 dinner restaurants (by reservation only), 3 bars, and a snack/burger place open from 10:30pm-7:00am (if you get hungry at midnight.) Be sure to reserve dinner restaurants as early as possible as they book quickly and bring long trousers/pants, closed toe shoes, and polo or button down shirt (men) as swimwear, tank tops, flip flops are not permitted in the 6 dinner restaurants. Overall the food options were great and everything was delicious! 5 out of 5. Beach: The water was a bit murky, but that did not stop us from being on the beach and in the water all day! Water temperature was very warm, and did have drop as soon as you enter. Gets deep very quickly, but there is a barrier so it does not go past neck deep (if you are 6' tall). No waves in the bay, but there are a few rocks in the water and minor seaweed (but the resort does a good job cleaning it every morning). There is not a lot sand area available. The beach/sand is covered with palm trees which creates a shade , so if you want to layout and tan you will need to stay towards the family side of the resort and closer to the water. Entering the beach from the pool area or path, there is only 1-2" of sand with concrete underneath (which I did not like), so the only "true" sand areas are meters from the water. Weather was perfect, and we all got an awesome tan so i'll give it a 4 out of 5. Pools: There were 3 pools; 2 on Adult side and 1 on the family side. Very spacious pools, each with a mini-bar and plenty of chairs top relax on. There was also a Jacuzzi on the adult side. Only negative about the pools was that they closed before the sun even set (6:30pm). Pools are 5 out of 5. Activities: The resort staff does a good job with daily beach games and pool entertainment (dancing, ring toss, swimming races, etc.) The family pool does have water volleyball and water polo. There is also a small soccer field on the beach, volleyball net, boccie ball, and badminton net on the family side of the beach. Again there is very little sand in these areas, so especially be careful on the soccer field as you can break a toe kicking the concrete below. The resort offers nightly entertainment/shows so check the schedule for that. Overall I'll give entertainment 4 out of 5. Excursions: The resort does offer free kayak and sail boat rental, but any other excursions are additional cost. We did the dune buggy and Saona Island excursions. Dune Buggy was amazing! 5 out of 5! It was about 4 hours of racing through the country side in the buggy, just make sure you bring sun glasses and a bandanna as it gets very dusty/muddy. Island was not as great as expected. I would not recommend. 2 out of 5. Yes the water is clear and sand is white, but way too many people, waves in the water, rocks in the water, roots sticking out of the sand, un-level sand, and a boring 2 hour side on the catamaran. Waste of a day. There are plenty of other excursions available though; snorkeling, zip lining, dolphins, etc. and pricing ranges from $60-$80 per person... so i'll give it a 4 out of 5. Gym/Spa: Did not use the gym, but my wife and I did get a couples massage at the spa. It was amazing and reasonably priced compared to other resorts we have visited in the past. 5 out of 5. Other things to note: - Bring small bills as literally everyone expects a tip (bus drivers, tour guides, restaurant waiters) so have lots of singles on hand; or most people just say "sorry I do not have cash on me". - Be weary of the "PRIVILEGE CLUB". There is staff who will stop you on your way to the room and talk you into a "15 minute" sales pitch, and in return you get a free gift. Do Not Agree as you will end up sitting there for 2 hours, being pressured into buying a $20,000 "VIP Membership" and free vacations for the next 30 years.. Please do your research prior to agreeing to anything. Hopefully I covered most, if not all, of the categories. Overall I would rate my stay at a 9 out of 10. Very pleased with my overall experience. Would visit again.

Picked up at the airport on time. Quick check into my room. Friendly staff, and enjoyed the buffet, and restaurants. Drinks, pool very good. I would recommend this resort and would definitely return.

Resort was amazing. Pools were first class, beach was very well kept up. Water was not the crystal clear blue as many have mentioned, but still spent quite a bit of time floating and swimming and it was just fine. Room was a good size, and I enjoyed hanging out on the balcony. We only utilized the buffets, but they were good, many, many different options to choose from and really appreciated the buffet by the pool which was open at all different times during the day. Reynaldo at the lobby bar went above and beyond and was exceedingly nice and one of the highlights of our trip. His attitude was refreshing and we looked forward to interacting with him in the evenings. (They do need to do something about moving the air in the lobby bar area, it tended to get a little stagnant and stuffy.). Most of the staff was incredibly nice and greeted you everywhere you went. Some of the restaurant help seemed a little put out to have to seat and/or wait on you. Overall an amazing experience, and we are looking into when we can visit again in the near future.

This is probably the best all inclusive I have ever been to and I have been to some in Caribbean and Mexico and Egypt and Bahamas etc. Well maintained. Great staff. Nice room. And one thing is they do not skimp on the food and drinks like some places! Here are the main points- This in not about the hotel but a pointer....taxi rides from Punta Cana to here are really high! Like US prices. My guess is you have not option so they charge whatever. Try to find a service to drive you and arrange in advance. I will list the things to improve first- Check in and out was very slow. For check out there should be a separate line as it is easier and quicker than check in. The water pressure in the shower was almost nil. Bathroom and shower etc were very nice but almost no water in shower. The floors in restaurants and main areas while beautiful are POLISHED! So add water and you will slip and fall which I did. I never felt safe walking in the restaurant because there was water on the floor. Around the pools is not polished but pretty smooth marble. Some architect with eye for beauty and not practicality. We had a "ocean view" room but there was not such a good view of it. It did have a nice balcony for sitting and we enjoyed it but we were more overlooking the "party pool" which did have amusing moments. There were plenty of chairs and the service was great everywhere. One suggestion is that the beach bar sat between the Adult only section and the family section so sometimes there were a lot of people waiting for a drink. Need a bar just for the adult section. We spent three days at another place after this and it did not hold a candle to this one! Not sure about typical prices but for under 200 a night (not including the extra for ocean view) it was a good deal. The extra for ocean view was not as the ocean was barely visible through the trees. My suggestion- take a pocket full of $5 and $1 bills and pass them out when you have good service. The people working there probably make less in one month than you paid for one night, so share a little with them. They will appreciate it. But I can say service was excellent without it although the bellman hangs around until you toss a little his way. Other than that no one seemed to expect something but they did appreciate it. The food spread was the largest I have ever seen and there were plenty of options at all meals. The nicer restaurants are ok but if you are just two people then the seating is not great. As in 2 feet from a table on both sides or less. Same in the main restaurant. It was kind of unfair that all 2 person tables were kind of crammed together. Bigger parties had much better seating in all restaurants. All in all a great place and well worth it.