Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo – All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

8744 reviews

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  Nearly perfect

  The location of this resort is great. We go to the Caribbean primarily for the beaches, and this did not disappoint. The natural reef just off shore breaks the waves most days so waves are just a gentle lapping on the shoreline and the safety flag is green most days. Transition into the water is smooth with very little dip that is so prominent at some other resorts. This makes it easier for the elderly and children to get in and out of the water. No stones or rocks in the water to stub your toe on, and very little seaweed or other debris washed up on the beach. Truly a paradise. We are beach people, not so much pool people, and I must say this is one of the best beaches we have experienced in many years. Resort has a good vibe. Many other places don't have this. It's difficult to put my finger on just exactly what it is, it just feels good. Friendly, relaxing. Rooms could use a little work. Getting a little rough around the edges. Not dirty, just a little rough. For instance, the glass door on the toilet enclosure 'banged' everytime it was closed or opened. Not the best in the middle of the night when others are sleeping. Three things were inoperable in our room when we arrived, but were expediently resolved. What's with the large window in the wall between the washroom and the rest of the suite? it's covered with a 3 panel curtain sort of thing, but not completely. Anyone can easily see what you're doing in there. Strange. Our room was close to the Bahia Village where most of the nightly shows are held. If you chose not to attend the show, the noise in the room was loud. Thank goodness for earplugs. Also the main road by the resort was directly behind our block, and I believe mufflers on vehicles must be an option in the DR. Food at the buffet and the ala cartes was excellent. We've come to expect a certain level in the DR, and this was a cut above our expectations. Better variety and warmer than many others as well. Servers for the most part are excellent and friendly. Some could use a small improvement. Replenishing drinks and clearing of dirty plates and utensils was sometimes a bit slow. All in all, an excellent resort. We had a great time. Just wish we didn't have to go home to the ice and relentless snow. Value for money compared with other resorts at this star level in the DR was excellent.

  Dec 21, 2025
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  Great vacation with friends

  Our group of 8 came back from a wonderful vacation at BH Grand El Portillo. Service was excellent, with the special shout out to DJ Daniel (we really enjoyed the dance music after the pre-show in front of the main buffet). The beach is great at the front of the resort for a short swim in the ocean or snorkeling. Longer distance ocean swimmers can use the area near the aquatic center (which is also designated by the buoys). The beach is also very long, and great for walking. Food at the resort was very good, and everybody was able to find something that they liked. We will definitely return for vacationing at the resort soon.

  Dec 08, 2025
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  Great hotel awesome service

  I just came back from 7 day vacation at this charming hotel. The hotel grounds are beautiful and well kept. The rooms are a little outdated but comfortable. Service was great. The bartender at the sports bar make the best drinks. Food at the buffet is good lots options. The a lacarta where great. The fish market was good. The service was phenomenal. Our waiter Rafael was excellent provided great service and makes us feel very welcoming. Overall the was a great hotel

  Dec 04, 2025
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  Third visit and just ok this time

  This is our third time staying at Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo. When we made our reservations, a Jr Suite, we requested building 5 or 7. However, upon check-in, I was disappointed to find out that we had been placed in building 24, near that back of the resort. This did not sit well with me and mainly because there was a couple checking in at the same time who had reservations for a standard room, but were offered a Jr Suite room in building 7. I mentioned this to Danny and he did change our room to building 8. The room was huge, but dated and the AC did not work. We went to the front desk twice and both times we were told someone would be sent to fix it, but it was never fixed. Our room was always made up very late in the day. We always headed back around 4:30 and a few times, we had located the maid and just asked for clean towels and told her not to bother to make up our room. There was no rack on the balcony so nowhere to hang your towels or swim suit. Seems some balconies had them and some did not. Bathroom was big and the water pressure was great. However, a consistent water temperature was impossible. Temp went from ice cold to burning hot within seconds. One day when we returned to our room, there was a Happy Birthday banner across our door and a bottle of rum placed in our room. Nice touch, however, neither of us were celebrating a birthday, so we got a bit of a chuckle. The pool is probably the cleanest pool we have ever experienced in any resort we have been to in the Dominican. We've travelled to Puerto Plata and Punta Cana many times and El Portillo's pool, while on the small side, was by far the cleanest. Pool chairs are plentiful around the pool and there are some early risers to claim their spots. I was always down by the pool by 7:30am, but am there to stay unlike some who will reserve a spot but do no show up until mid to late morning. Pool bar staff are friendly, but service was very slow. Beach is incredible! Clean and you can walk a long ways in both directions. Chairs are reserved even earlier at the beach. You can swap your beach towel daily, but be sure to do so early on as they run out of clean towels fast! Towel hut open at 8am, so I swapped our towels as soon as the hut opened. Buffet was average. You can always find something to eat and each night they offered a theme night. We would arrive just prior to the buffet opening for a few reasons. 1. The service was a bit better. Trying to get served coffee in the morning seemed to always be a challenge. 2. Hoping the food would at least be warm and not cold. 3. Once the dining room was full, very few had manners and you basically risked your life trying to navigate the entire dinning room. We only went to the Italian al a carte. Hubby had the lasagna which didn't seem to offer any noodles but rather a stack of hamburger meat with cheese. This was different from our previous visits. I had the salmon and it was quite good. Overall it was ok. We did try and book other al a carte's, however, either the restaurants were closed or we couldn't get a reservation until late in the evening. No thanks! After dinner, we'd always walk the grounds (which are lovely) and then head to the lobby or sports bar for baileys on ice. However, this year was different. I ordered baileys but it did not taste right. The second night, same thing. I ordered baileys and again it did not taste right. It was on the third night that I noticed I was not being served baileys, but some 'knock - off'. Baileys was on the shelf, but it was not served. Asked why and was not given a straight answer. Very disappointing! We had a fair amount of rain but had no issues with our room leaking, unlike some in our building. Seems there were quite a few who experienced issues with water in their rooms. Compared to our first time at El Portillo, while the hubby and I like to resort overall, it just wasn't as pleasant this time around. Service is lacking, many of the staff are not overly friendly and the rooms are in much need of updating. Haven't decided yet it we will revisit for a fourth time.

  Dec 03, 2025
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  Disappointed

  Just went to the fish market and was very disappointed. First they sat us inside where the air conditioning was quite cool glad I took my sweater. Then we had to ask for drinks.. then they took our order forgot to ask if we wanted rolls which we didn’t get. Our food came and it was very good. But after we had our table cleared nobody came near us until we got up to leave. So we just left we were expecting so much more from this restaurant.. very disappointing!!

  Nov 30, 2025