Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

9573 reviews

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  A Complete Scam at the Beach Activities

  The beach activities service at Bahia Esmeralda is extremely disappointing. Staff are unmotivated, unprofessional, and seem irritated by guests. Activities are poorly organized and often cancelled without any explanation. Worst of all, even for activities that are already paid for, guests are asked to pay extra money on the spot, with no transparency or justification. This feels dishonest and unacceptable for a resort of this level. There is absolutely no sense of hospitality here — just indifference and greed. Definitely not the experience you expect from a supposedly premium resort.

  Dec 29, 2025
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  Do NOT Stay at Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda

  Do NOT Stay at Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda is by far the worst resort experience I’ve ever had. This place is falsely advertised as a “luxury” all-inclusive, and that could not be further from the truth. Check-in experience: Cold, unfriendly, and dismissive. We were treated like an inconvenience, not paying guests. No hospitality, no professionalism, and no effort to make us feel welcome. Room & cleanliness: We paid extra for a swim-up room, and it was a joke. The AC didn't work for the first night due to a faulty door sensor, The pool was ice cold, filthy, and covered in bird droppings. Inside the room, we found cockroaches, stains all over the walls and "white" stains on the ottoman (praying they were sunscreen) bathroom just overall felt dirty and moldy. Activities (false advertising): Every activity they advertise as “free” is never available when you try to book it. Always full, canceled, or suddenly unavailable. This feels like intentional bait-and-switch marketing. Each time I would ask someone they would tell me to go check with someone else and it was an endless cycle of "no, try again tomorrow" Food quality: The food was terrible and very difficult to get reservations at the A la Carte restaurants— low quality, poorly prepared, and borderline inedible. Mystery meat, no flavor, and zero consistency. This is not even close to what a 5 star all-inclusive resort should offer. How the heck is Jack Daniels top shelf and not included?? Not a single other beer selection other than Presidente...come on....for the money I paid at least throw me a freakin Corona! Staff attitude & language barrier: If you don’t speak Spanish or French, do not come here. American guests are treated poorly. Instead of trying to help or find someone who speaks English, staff will dismiss you, send you elsewhere, or pretend not to understand. It felt intentional and extremely disrespectful. Overall experience: I don't travel a ton but often enough to know what to expect, and I always want to extend my vacations. This is the only trip where we couldn’t wait to leave. Calling this place “Luxury” is misleading and embarrassing. This was the worst money I have ever spent on a vacation. Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda should be avoided at all costs. Save your time, money, and sanity — stay anywhere else in Punta Cana. Couple honorable mentions, Alfredo at guest services was helpful and accommodating but obviously doesn't work 24hrs a day. Ruben at the main bar, very nice guy! And the pool entertainment staff were fun, they did what they could to make the experience more enjoyable. I hate to have to write this type of review because I typically look for the positive in everything, but overall I just felt like we got ripped off. Saved our money all year for a family trip and just didn't hit the expectation especially for the price we paid.

  Dec 29, 2025
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  Outstanding service turned everything around 🌟🌟🌟

  Let me start by saying this review would have turned out to be very different to what it is now after the start of our trip if not for Adriana, who was truly a godsend and completely turned things around. Special thank you for her to make my mum’s birthday trip truly memorable!’ Despite the initial hiccup, she — along with Albi (front pool bar), Alberto (pool bar), Jesús at reception, “King Kong” Wanderson and Erick from the entertainment team, Tania and Yoel at the bar, Rubén in the restaurant, and Aquilino at the Limbo bar — made our stay memorable and enjoyable. Thank you all (the uno ladies 🙂)

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Far from luxury and newly renovated

  ⭐️⭐️½ (2.5/5) Unfortunately, this resort fell well below expectations for an all-inclusive stay that is advertised as luxury and newly renovated. Negatives: The food was a major disappointment. The buffet was not good at all, and most of the à la carte restaurants were underwhelming. The only restaurant we genuinely enjoyed was the Mongolian restaurant, Yurta. Service throughout the resort was poor, and our rooms were never restocked when items ran out. Including inconsistent towel changing, no Kleenex, mini bar, and shampoo etc. On top of that, many things were broken across multiple rooms for example: shower heads didn’t work properly, shampoo bottles were broken off the wall, and general maintenance was clearly lacking. The stairs and hallway floors are always dirty. We had five rooms in our group and all experienced similar issues. There was also a strong sewage smell in many areas of the resort. Our toilets were plugged for unknown reasons although service to fix was quick. My brother had to change rooms because the smell in theirs was unbearable. The most concerning issue was when my 86-year-old mother became locked in her bathroom in the middle of the night because the door handle broke when she tried to open the door. Another downside was the constant haggling from staff pushing excursions and spa services. After a few days, it became very annoying and made it hard to relax. Positives: The beds were very comfortable, we never had trouble finding chairs by the pool, and getting fresh towels at the pool was always easy.

  Dec 25, 2025
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  Another spectacular stay with Bahia Principe!

  Another spectacular stay with Bahia Principe! Two years ago, my son and I stayed at the Luxury Ambar and were so impressed that I decided to bring my three teenaged grandchildren and their parents to the Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda in Punta Cana for a family vacation. Once again, we were not disappointed. The culinary experience was a major highlight. The buffet offered delicious variety, and the à la carte restaurants were truly spectacular. We dined at Yurta, Casa Bella, Flame, and Naan—everything was so good that our family couldn't even agree on a favorite! The service was equally impressive. After arriving at 1:00 AM starving, we ordered room service, and the food arrived in just 9 minutes, hot, delicious and fresh. We also appreciated the proactive management; on our second day, a representative checked in on us during breakfast. I mentioned a slow-flushing toilet and that the AC could be colder. He promised they would be fixed by 11:00 AM, and true to his word, they were perfectly resolved. "The staff consistently went above and beyond, anticipating our needs before we even had to ask. It’s rare to find a team that seems so happy to help". This level of care made our family vacation truly special. We can't wait to come back! Sincerely, Doreen Copeland

  Dec 25, 2025