Luxury Bahia Principe Esmeralda

I have spent some time considering this review, hoping as our stay progressed it would soften and get a bit more positive. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Let me start with the most positive thing that I can. The Staff is very nice, hard working and conscientious. The grounds, although a bit dated and worn is very clean and well kept. The Room: The room is dated, the bed is very hard, even for hotel standards. The mini bar is a joke, it is so poorly stocked and refrigerator works so poorly nothing it is fit to consume. The A/C in the room struggled to keep the room below 80 degrees (F). It was miserable to try to sleep. We had 3 rooms for our family and all preformed the same way so it was not just a fluke bad room. Literally nothing in the room worked properly, not the TV (circa 2001), the A/C, the mini fridge or the shower. The Food: This maybe a cultural issue, this resort is clearly not oriented toward American tastes. Our entire family struggled to find food that was edible. I have traveled to 9 Countries and 45 of the 50 States and served a tour in the Marine Corp and I have never encountered worse food anywhere. The WiFi is spotty at best and the $20 per day upgrade is a total waste of money. I have never looked forward to a vacation coming to an end until we stayed at this resort. I would not return, even if it was free.

The Bahia Principe is extremely well kept and the service is excellent. Everyone working there is extremely friendly and make sure you have a great time. Cant say enough about the place. The only negative was vendors at the front of the resort called The Village. They rip you off badly and I would encourage everyone not to go to their booths.

This was my second time visiting this resort. The resort itself is very nice however the lack of customer service was very disappointing. Upon arrival I was told that my reservation was at a sister resort, which would have been totally unacceptable as I was there with 50 other people for a wedding. Even though I had my trip confirmation I was treated as if I had made the error. It was eventually corrected. The buffet food in the morning seemed to be leftovers from the night before. The only bright spot was our butler Amaurice. He made a frustrating time bearable.

Esmeralda is one of seven resorts on one property - Don Pablo Collection ... yes, one of seven! So, although it's sold as a quiet, peaceful resort ... it is a mini-metropolis (probably 10,000+ guests), where guests have access to all of the properties ... not very quiet and peaceful. Yet, it is truly beautiful, well kept and nicely appointed. The property boasts many restaurants, wherein you are able to choose where to eat, the cuisine of your choice, etc. This is not the case ... due to the volume of guests, restaurant choices and seating times are assigned for all the nights of your stay ... you have no choice - other than opting out and eating at one of the buffets for dinner, the same buffets that serve breakfast and lunch as well - and their dinner buffet is just a repeat of what is served for lunch. We tried several times to change the restaurant assigned to us, or the dining time, and each and every time we were told nothing was availalble - yet without fail, every time we ate at our assigned restaurant for dinner, the place was only half-full. So, we're believers (as well as talking with others), that based on the number of guests, this is their way to spread out the masses of diners for dinner. Very disappointing. The pools were all nice, the beach was very clean (but terribly crowded), the beach is raked every day due to the seaweed that washes ashore (the resort is on the Atlantic side of the island, not the Caribbean side), service was always prompt and courteous, with helpful staff, etc. Although we're not big drinkers, drinks were served in small 6oz plastic cups (so if we ordered an iced tea, it was downed in a sip or two) - so order a couple at a time if you're thirsty. Entertainment in the evening was basically the same thing night in, night out ... sometimes moving from poolside to the beach ... but nothing spectacular. Just a lone singer who sang along to a soiund machine with background vocals. But, at least it provided some background music when wanting to sit outdoors in the evening ... but, it was obvious the crowd was bored as the night when on, only to hear the same thing the next evening. All in all ... it was a nice place for the deal through Cheap Caribbean.