Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9541 reviews

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  A poor hotel with many safety flaws

  Right from the start, my experience was poor. The queue for the check was only about 4 families long, yet it took us around 45 minutes to get to the front of the queue. The lobby was very open, so it had no air conditioning, and we got very hot and sticky. That was the first sign of poor management at Bahia Punta Cana. The room, however, was actually very nice. The bathroom was a decent size, with a large bath which had some jets. The beds were comfortable enough and there was an amazing amount of storage. The air conditioning worked fine as well. However, the charging sockets were very slow and turned off as soon as you leave your room, so you have to charge them at night when you are in your room. There was a significant health hazard present on the door: the fire escape route. It showed incorrect information, telling us to turn left, where there was a dead end. No secondary route was present or information on where fire alarms were or where fire extinguishers were located. I think this is very disgraceful, considering the whole area was refurbished 2-3 years beforehand. The pool facilities were very nice. The inclusion of a swim - up (wet) - bar was very much appreciated. The area was quite quiet and there was a good mix of in the sun/out of the sun loungers. The only thing I’d say is there is some marble stripes on the ground which me and my family nearly slipped on. I did see a few people end up in wheelchairs for the rest of their holiday because of this. The food on the resort was okay. The buffets had quite nice food, while some of the al-a-cart restaurants were not so good. The Italian restaurant was one example. They did not have a proper pizza oven and the dough was too thick. This made it so the dough was basically raw, despite me sending it back because it was undercooked. I did end up getting slightly ill the next day. The Rodizio and Teppanyaki restraints were actually really nice, and I would recommend them if you still end up going after this poor review. The service on the resort is generally poor. Staff obviously don’t get trained proper waiting skills and can only handle base level waiting skills, like getting you a drink. As soon as something is wrong, they have no idea what to do. Unfortunately, this is present everywhere on the resort. The spa at the resort is very nice and relaxing. It had a calm feel, and the staff were nice. I had a great message and facial there. It was definitely a great experience there. On the 4th day, we got the back-end of the hurricane that I am sure you’ll have heard off that struck Jamaica in October 2025. The drains got backed and many building on site leaked. We also, for some odd reason, lost all hot water for around 1 and a half days. This was not ideal. The plaster ended up coming off the ceilings as well. Luckily, this wasn’t in our room but in the corridor. Overall, I cannot recommend this hotel at all. The whole experience just felt worse than when I came in October 2024.

  Nov 07, 2025
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  Sixth Trip to Bahia Pricipe Luxury Esmeralda

  We just got back from another vacation in Punta Cana with 20 people. The resort has many offerings, large, spacious, and adventurous.. They transfer you around on golf carts for dinner or you could walk as well. We had elderly people that needed to ride with cart so they made sure we got to all our alacarts on time.. Beautiful property and wonderful ocean views.. Food was little of let down this year in buffets but the A La Carte restaurants were much better than previous years.. Our Guest Experience guy Alfredo is top notch goes above and beyond for 2nd year to make sure we get great memories during our stay.. regards, Ralph Standhope

  Oct 28, 2025
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  Wonderful Vacation

  Great experience! Staff professional and provided excellent service. Room was very comfortable. Dinner options offered varied cuisines, and the food was good. Highly recommend.

  Oct 27, 2025
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  Gorgeous hotel and great value for money

  Just got back from this gorgeous hotel. We wanted a quick week away in the sunshine and this hotel was very good value for money. The grounds are stunning and so is the beach. Very little seaweed when we arrived but I know it had been bad the week before. We had stayed at the Mexico Bahia so did wonder how this one would compare but we wasn’t disappointed. The check in was super smooth as we did check in on the app before arrival. We were welcomed with a welcome drink which was very refreshing and needed after a long flight. Room was large and very nice with a great view of the pool. Good mini bar too. There was two buffet restaurants , one at the beach for lunch time , great view of the sea and the other one near the pool which was for Breakfast and dinner. Lots of variety and very yummy. My mum was gluten free and the staff was very helpful in what she could eat. Also a welcome drink at the buffets too which was a nice touch. The service was very good. We used the a la cartes most nights, all very good and all had a very nice welcome cocktail which we looked forward to each night. Service was mostly good too. Yurta was our fav . The pool bar was amazing huge thank you and shout out to Alberto , he was super friendly always smiling and going the extra mile. He also makes the best cocktails. The entertainment was live music and shows which were very good we loved the pop show. Sports bar was very good especially for snacks and coffees/cake in the day and my husband went to watch the football a lot. Overall we loved this hotel and would come again if we were back in the DR. Having stayed at another 5 star hotel in the DR this one was much better. The app was great we booked all the restaurants through this and looked at the entertainment daily! A few recommendations for the hotel would be, sometimes the floors in the main buffet restaurant at breakfast were still dirty mainly under the table (I think after dinner they only clean around the tables and not under them) and the overall cleanliness in the corridors and rooms wasn’t the best. Speed of service could have been a bit better. The service was good but in some of the a la cartes we would be waiting 20 mins before being offered any drinks. More gluten free options in the a la cartes. My mum struggled to eat at them so stuck to the buffet. My daughter was nearly 18 but couldn’t use any of the adults only restaurants,maybe this could be changed to be over 16 without drinking alcohol as I know a few others had complained about not being able to use the adults only with older (nearly adult) children.

  Oct 25, 2025
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  Wonderful family vacation. Enjoyed it better than the larger Ambar

  Great trip, suggestions... If traveling with large family request confirmation of room assignment in advance otherwise they will seperate you all. You have to ask for wasthclothes each day. A tip left for the maid should be left on the night stand, a tip for the minibar service should be left on the fridge. I did not know this and the service bar person got the tip 4 days in a row, until I found out the difference, then made it up to the maid. For beach and ocean play sit as close to the ocean as you can, the further back you sit the more sand fleas. The bacon at the breakfast buffet was perfect everyday, I was able to find something to eat every day,. The guy making omlets did much better than the female. Be sure to give them a tip too. They will remember you. Yurta, was by far the best food there, and outstanding The Dirty Monkey and Banana Momma were the best frozen drinks and we had them daily . The beach service was incredible. The service was great at each resteraunt and bars, with the exception of the Sport Bar, they wit on who thy want to and leave you standing for 15-20 mins waiting to even order, moreso by teh guys than the girls. Can't wait to go back P.S. Alex, our Conceriege was AMAZING 10/10 and went out of his way to accomodate our every need... day after day. Be sure to use him when you have the opportunity.

  Oct 22, 2025