Bahia Principe Grand La Romana

“june 2024”

the hotel is 90minutes from the main airport. First impression on entering the hotel is very good. The foyer is large and airy with quality furnishings. Checkin was easy and fast. Hotel mini taxi to room with our baggage. The room was good and clean and has a mini bar with beer and soft drinks in... more

the hotel is 90minutes from the main airport. First impression on entering the hotel is very good. The foyer is large and airy with quality furnishings. Checkin was easy and fast. Hotel mini taxi to room with our baggage. The room was good and clean and has a mini bar with beer and soft drinks in the fridge. Free wifi/safe/air-con/tv we had a ground floor room and whilst the bathroom is spacious there is NO facilties for people like my wife who is a wheelchair user. The hotel say they are Disabled friendly as they have ramps everywhere and even on to the beach. The have one wheelchair friendly toilet in the main front lobby. But that is all. It is impossible for wheelchair users to have a shower. They suggest that you use the bath. An impossible task for my wife who can not stand unaided and cant climb into the bath. The food in the main dining hall was very good and plentiful. The drinks were all brand names and plentiful They did have entertainment but it did not match the level that we expected (Previous holidays we had in Cuba where the entertainment was very professional) The beach can be accessed by wheelchair (but you cant get down to the water) The water is full of silt from the mouth of the river There is a sudden 1m drop off when you anter the sea (which can not be seen due to the cloudy water) also there is a strong undertow so make sure that children are supervised The bed was HUGE almost like a double king sized bed super king sized bed Towels changed daily if you wish room cleaned daily Remember this is a rainforest country so pack lots of anti moquito spay the hotel could make things better by having walk in showers for disabled people after all the year is 2024 not 1924

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“Beautiful Hotel”

I’m currently at the hotel on my second week and this place is wonderful, only reason not 5 is the ocean you can’t swim in it coz of jellyfish, but saying that you can lay on the beach beds and it’s beautiful. The buffet restaurant has plenty to eat for all travellers, they have 3 al carte restau... more

I’m currently at the hotel on my second week and this place is wonderful, only reason not 5 is the ocean you can’t swim in it coz of jellyfish, but saying that you can lay on the beach beds and it’s beautiful. The buffet restaurant has plenty to eat for all travellers, they have 3 al carte restaurants we had Italian last night couldn’t fault it at all, Staff are friendly and polite always there to help, the pool area is busy but I’m guessing that’s because you can’t swim in the ocean there’s plenty of beds to go around Our room is lovely nice shower plenty of hot water drinks in fridge replenish everyday coffee machine tv air con that is lovely to come back to after day in the heat Overall this is a beautiful hotel and I definitely recommend it and I would definitely return

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“Explore and relaxation Dominican republic”

So l me and my friend booked a weeks stay at this hotel, the hotel is approximately 1hr and 15mins from the airport in transport provided by Tui. We booked a package deal with tui but had issues with the plane leaving Gatwick so was delayed this was a bit frustrating but we was on our way eventua... more

So l me and my friend booked a weeks stay at this hotel, the hotel is approximately 1hr and 15mins from the airport in transport provided by Tui. We booked a package deal with tui but had issues with the plane leaving Gatwick so was delayed this was a bit frustrating but we was on our way eventually. A tui rep is available on certain days we never met him until it was the day to leave but he seemed nice and made us laugh. So upon arrival at the hotel we went to Reception to check in we was asked if we wanted to stay on the side which is adults only but comes with a cost of 15 US dollars a night we politely declined this. The staff at the hotel will take your bags and load them on a golf caddy and drive you to your room on the resort which was nice after a long flight. The room was nice but very outdated and had some wear and tear and could do with some tlc. We was on the 2nd floor and had a lovely view of the pool and the gardens outside our balcony. The staff advise using the safe which is in the room which we did use with ease. We had a fridge that was stocked up daily with bottled water and fizzy drink. You can't drink the water so use the bottle water to brush your teeth. In regards of plug sockets in the room this was limited so we used the plug in the bathroom to charge our phones with a plug adaptor which worked fine. A light fell out the celling in the cupboard which was a bit worrying but it was all okay in the end. Hence the rooms need major revamp the shower was basic and was not a powe shower but worked so you could have a shower but the pressure wasn't great. The bed was huge and comfy and had plenty of pillows the air con worked but can become quite noisy if left on for a long period of time but it worked. The staff who cleaned the rooms were lovely and did there best to keep your room clean and tidy. Your room is provided with towels, hair dryer and soap and shampoo and body wash. Be warned I took insect repellent ie jungle fever the strongest strength level 5 i didnt use it regliouslly but I still got bitten quite a bit be warned the resort resides in a mangrove which Is a protected environment lush gardens and grounds they do fumgate once a day but you will still get bitten by mossies its the climate and they loved my skin after a while I just got used to it but do advise using mossie spray and take bite cream to take care of your bites and have jabs if you haven't had any extra protection. The resort is quite separate in the sense there isn't anything near by so if you want to stay somewhere lively and want to go out in the evenings I would advise booking somewhere closer to the main town. But if you want to relax and chill this is a good place to stay. In the daytime the pool can get quite busy but is still big enough to swim with ease and have space the swim up pool bar is nice and the drinks were nice and they will make a drink for you if you tell them what you want. In regards of sunloungers these are provided around the pool and on the beach. There is a towel service which you are given a towel card on arrival and can go to the hut by the pool and get a fresh towel everyday they give you a towel and keep the card and you return the towel when your finsihed and they will give you the towel card back. Keep the towel card safe as you are charged 20 dollars charge if you lose it the same applys to the hotel card. Keep them safe. The sunloungers say a small sign saying don't reserve them but no one listens to this and will put down towels and books and swimwear to reserve a sun lounger for themselves. There are umbrellas provided with the sun loungers which is good as the sun is strong rays so make sure you keep suncream with you and use it I saw people tanning but they went very red after I caught the sun on the first day being in the pool and a tip if your fair skinned like me wear a t shirt over the top of your swim suit does help when the sun is at its highest and hat in the pool does help. The heat it does have a high humidity so if this is not your thing you won't enjoy it. Ie its the carribean expect high sunshine and strong rays and humidity and mozzies unless your the lucky one that doesn't get bitten lol The food options well this was a interesting one there is one main restaurant which is a buffet which a selection of fruits meats cheese eggs salad very impressive desert cart and each night is themed. Italian night, sushi night, mexican night The food is labelled but can be mixed up so if you have allergies I would exercise caution ⚠️. I didn't eat meat or fish as I am funny how its cooked but I stuck to veggie dishes and fruit and had some nice deserts. The soup was lovely and they have a nice selection of breads and rolls. Breakfast is a bit hit and miss some of the food served is like chicken and dishes I would class you would have as a evening meal. The plantain was lovely breakfast they have oats and fruits and eggs cooked 5 different ways and tomatoes bread jams butter hotdogs sauages red sausages. Pancakes waffles Plantain ie il be honest the food was not hot hot and was more like lukewarm I was a bit wary of hygiene ie and would eat what you would feel you would be okay.i didn't get a upset stomach but the milk I had in the coffee made my belly hurt a little bit but I think cos it was full fat milk. As for waiter service this was hit and miss the staff would greet you and bring you water for the table or if you asked for a drink they would bring this to your table but then trying to get staff to help you a bit hit and miss its a bit like go and get your food and they will bring you a drink and that's it. There is a coffee station in the lobby that you can help yourself to tea and coffee from the machine and water and juice was there as well The staff did try but you had staff who were more attentive then others. Also this is a Spanish speaking hotel so brush up on your Spanish some staff do speak English but it's basics ie Google translate will help massively but they do Try. Plus the dominican republic the staff and locals speak Spanish it's a Spanish speaking island. The pool can be a bit noisy there is music playing majority of the day mostly Spanish music or reggaeton. They do aqua aerobics this was good fun and a laugh especially if you was travelling on your own. The entainment staff work tirelessly to do entainment throughout the day and get you involved if you wish too. Ie volleyball or a dance competion, there was karoke but it was all spanish but was a experience. The beach Is like a few mintues away as the resort sits on the beach front. The beach was empty a couple of people was chilling there the water is quite murky and is not crystal clear as there is a river near by and the sediment and nature contributes to the colour of the ocean. In regards of beach and swimming I didn't swim in the ocean for two reasons they do put up flags which indicates the state of the ocean for that day. There is marine life in the ocean in particular jelly fish but this is not pointed out also there is no life guard and the water is quite choppy and they don't advise swimming alone so not worth the risk. The pool was nice and kept clean everyday the pool closes about 6ish for cleaning everyday which to be honest I'm all for so I know its clean. They also have a kids pool and a jacuzzi and a pool swim up bar. The evening entainment was a bit hit and miss they do there best but if your wanting a party hotel in the early hours this does not happen here. They do have a circus show which was good but the entainment is mostly in Spanish but was good to experience regardless. Entainment finsihes about 10pm every night. They do there best to accommodate families I did see a small child who slipped and fell over and banged there head the lifeguard did see if they were okay and got ice and flannel to put on there head but that was it. Ie with little ones I would be extra careful around the pool. The pool is the same depth all the way around apart from the pool bar which is a bit deeper but I could stand up in the pool going around and I'm 5ft 1 in height. They have a activity board which says what is going on during the week. The bar can get busy but you will get served just have to exercise patience. There is wii fi given to you on arrival but the connection can be a bit crap in some places on the resort would advise paying for roaming to use your phone aboard if you need too. The hotel shop was good by the main reception and the alcohol I bought to bring back to UK was cheaper then the airport. Ie if you want to buy some alcohol i would buy it in the hotel shop which is located in the main lobby by reception. The airport does sell alcohol all different brands but not lots of dominican rum so glad I got mine in the shop. I did buy some coffee and chocolate from the airport which came to about 15 dollars. They do have 3 al carte restaurants one Italian, one French and a Mediterranean restaurant its advised you reserve this on arrival on the screen in the hotel we missed our reservations on these as we was out so can't comment on the food. There are tour reps on the resort that will come around and ask if you want to book a trip we opted for a trip to samoa island which was worth it we had a hotel transport pick up and we got two boats to the island it is a long day as you are picked up at 8am and get returned back by about 6.30pm but was worth it. If you have mobility issues I would advise you speak to them as you get a boat from the port and you can swim in the crystal blue waters on route to samoa island this was amazing I am not a great swimmer but you can stand up on the ocean seabed and swim this was fun the boat had a party vibe and its a open bar that serves rum and coke or with lemonade and water is provided if you don't want to drink there is music and dancing. I would advise bringing swimsuits maybe a change of clothes suncream sun hat and insect repellent. Ie in regards of mobility you do have to change boats on to other one Ie from one boat to a caterman they do help you onto the other boat but if you struggle to be steady on your feet I would exercise with caution. There is a toilet on board but it has steep stairs so use the handrail. On arrival to samoa island you are given lunch at 1pm which is a open buffet which you que up and there is a choice of rice bread and meats and salad I just had rice and cucumber as I wasn't sure of the cooking of the meat wanted to be careful my friend had the meat and was fine but you can make your own choice. There is a open bar where you can go up to the bar and they serve rum and coke and beer I had the beer which was nice. You get picked up at 3pm to be taken back. You can swim in the ocean but the water is choppy, be careful there are beach vendors that will come round asking if you want to buy jewellery I politely said no and they left me alone but they will ask and they do have a id badge to be on the beach there is also ladies that offer a massage I didn't bother with this but if it's something to want to do up to you. There was young kids on the boat but as its more of a party boat I wouldn't really advise for small children but that's just my choice. It was a great day and a great experience. There is also caterlina island which we didn't do but the tour guide mentioned catlina island does get quite busy. Back to the hotel there is a village area on the resort which has some shops like 3 shops and a bar and its where they did the evening entainment of the circus there's no many table and chairs and did get busy so would advise going over a few mins before the show. If you want a drink you can just get one from the bar as table service is a bit hit and miss and it would be quicker to just get up and get a drink yourself. There is a gym on the resort I didn't go in but could see they have plenty of equipment. There is a huge golf course next door. Overall the hotel was nice and I felt safe on the resort there was some lovely staff as I don't speak Spanish I didn't understand some things but they do Try to accommodate the best they can. There is some gaming area with a pool table shuttle board but these you need to pay for. I did notice throughout the week they were trying to revamp the hotel one day there was builders painting the wall and the gardeners attend the garden cutting back leaves and moing the grass. They do there best to keep the resort clean and tidy we did tip the maid who cleaned our room they were greatful for this. I would come with a open mind and just enjoy yourself relax and unwine and have fun. Be greatful and if your lucky to experience a hoilday to dominican republic be greatful the staff work hard to accommodate all guests. Dominican republic as a country they do experience hardship and this you can see on route to the hotel staying at the hotel you are giving locals jobs. Be greatful for everything you have. The airport is not big and do expect delays our flight was delayed due to it leaving Gatwick late all the food places in the airport are American ie pizza hut, Wendy's and taco Bell. The duty free shops have different alcohols, perfumes gifts etc I found the airport to be expensive to be honest no airports are cheap lol and everything is priced in American dollar. We bring dominican pesos but found the hotel accepts pesos but also accepts American dollars I think I would take American dollars next time round. The hotel does accept card and contact less payments. There is a lounge in the airport I didn't use it but it does have a swimming pool that is a nice touch there is also a kids play area inside and outside and there is a smoking area. The toilets are clean. Going through security is a breeze and very organised. They have e gates as well. One tip make sure you do your immigration form ie for when you arrive and when you leave the dominican republic you would get notification from your travel agent ie we got a email from tui with a link to a dominican immigration page its a basic form you put down your details your passport number and your arrival and departure dates and that's pretty much it don't be alarmed if one of your surnames doesn't come up on the form we had this but it was still okay as it had my friends name and surname and just my first name but we didn't have any problems you will then receive a email with all the details and a QR code I printed the paperwork and just showed the immigration officers and this was fine. Enjoy your trip and explore the island just take yourself and a open mind and have fun. Remember your sunglasses hat sun cream insect repellent aloe Vera gel for sunburnt your summer wear and any medicines you need. Enjoy dominican republic I will definitely go back in a heartbeat 💓

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