Our gang stayed here between the 22nd to the 29th of Feb. I think I speak for all of us when I say outstanding!! Everything was perfect and every good review was right on the money. If you didn't enjoy this resort then you don't enjoy much! Was very very sad to leave after the week and I would definitly go back again!

My husband and I returned last week, Feb 25/08 - March 3/08, from the Gran Bahia Principe Samana Resort. We can only say very positive things about this resort. From our flight from Toronto, to landing in Samana, everything went so smoothly! We received our hotel package as we got on our bus to the hotel, which really made it perfect upon arriving at the hotel. I kept my eyes closed and covered as we opened our hotel room door just in case it did not look like the photos I had been shown on this site! But, to my delight, the room was spectacular!! I fell in love.
(yes, with my room, and my husband, all over again!!) That feeling of not knowing where you are in the morning, was so dream like. The first morning, I opened my eyes, and, there, out in the ocean, I saw a huge ship that was docking for the day in Samana.

If you are looking for a holiday that will reconnect you with your spouse from the everyday hub, I can truly say this is the place to go. It is not a huge resort, but, it is big enough that you actually don't see people you saw at the airport for days. There is only one pool and the beach, but, neither ever really seemed too busy. I personally like to see some people, so, total seclusion is not necessary. The staff are so friendly, (and so Spanish!), but, with broken English and broken Spanish, everyone ends up understanding each other. The staff go out of their way to make things just right. The hotel is very clean and you could see the maintance crew at work at all times. Each day our room was cleaned and the maid did something sweet each day. (ie, put flowers in the bath towels hanging in the shower/bath area, hung up dressing gowns, put cushions on the bed differently each day, made a swan with the towels, etc.) At night, the maid came in, turned our bedding down and placed chocolates and a good night card on our pillow!

Food - people always want to know about the food. I will quickly touch on this topic. For me, just being able to arrive and eat, is a treat in itself! But, honestly, the buffet choice was really great. When we are away in another country, I am very picky in what I eat. Especially meat. I am always kind of leery of what it actually is! But, the choices were plentiful. I never had trouble filling up my plate (1, 2 and sometimes even three times!) The a la cartes are very good as well. The dining experience in itself, was so romantic. The waiting staff took such good care of you, making sure your wine glass was always full, and that everything was perfect. We are not true sea food eaters, so, the nights we were to eat sea food, it was a little bit difficult to pick a choice from the menu. But, I have to say, the filet mignon was fabulous. You can go to a a la carte 4 times in a week. I would suggest booking them right away, even if you are unsure if you want to go to them. You can always cancel! You will never be hungry the whole week you are away. There is always a food bar open, and, even if you are hungry in the night, you can order room service!!

All the guests were very friendly, and, from Canada! We met some couples that we ended up becoming quite friendly with. The night life I can truly say is a tad bit lame. The shows are mainly getting people involved and acting silly. I am sure those that volunteered,or were volunteered, had a good time. Watching the show though, at times, got a little bit redundant. The one night everyone goes down to the piano bar though, and that is really lots of fun. A local band plays and everyone dances and has a good time. We went back to our room each night when the shows ended at 11, watched t.v., and had a few drinks. It was a nice way to finish off the days.

We chose to do some excurions. We went whale watching, the safari trip, and also, the horse back riding. We loved seeing the way they live in Samana and enjoyed meeting local people. I personally was fascinated with the children. I felt Natalie could have been a bit more detailed about the horse back riding. Saying that you should be fit, was truly a understatement!! You actually did not arrive at the bottom of the falls - we 'parked' our horses, and headed down the HUGE cliff!! Thankfully, my guide was really sweet, and held my hand the whole way down!! The falls were spectacular! My husband was daring and went in with the other 100 people! The natives gave us a show by climbing up the side of the falls and then diving or jumping in! That was amazing in it self! I wanted to go ahead of the crowd when I felt it was almost time to head back to the top! My guide actaully pulled me up at certain points when I thought my legs would not go any further!! Truly, if you are not fit, as in, cannot climb 200 stairs without huffing and puffing, I would personally not go on this excursion!! I am 43, and, I thought I was healthy!

This holiday was exactly what we needed. I was so sad to leave. If you can, try to book for 10 days. Especially if you want to do a few excursions. This way, you will still have plenty of days to still lay in the sun and enjoy all the festivities at the resort! We hope you enjoy this resort as much as we did!!

We have just returned from two weeks in the Samana Area. One week at Grand Bahia Samana and one week at El Portillo.We stayed at Samana from Feb 25 to March 3rd. We found it to be a lovely little Hotel. The staff are excellant and are there to make your stay plesant. The fight down from Toronto was another matter we flew on good old Skyservice (I can;t understand where they got the service part) we where an hour late leaving Toronto. Many apologes coming from the crew and then another one saying only two of three washrooms where working.Not nice at all when you sitting in the back of the plane in aisle seats.We had also requested a second floor room which neither the Air Trasat rep or front desk had any record of. We ended up on the forth floor which had probably onr of the best views in the hotel from the window.The beach is small but very nice but there can be a large surge from the ocean.The funny thing about this place is that it seems extremly windy there compared to El Portillo which is on the Atlantic side of the point and Samana on the bay.By the way take Binoculars as from my fourth flour window I had morning perfomances from the Humpbacks in the bay.Also there is only one computer in the Golden Room but they will hook up your personal laptop.Great vacation after getting over the flight.

My family and I went to this resort the week of February 4-11 and we loved every minute of it. This is our fourth trip to the DR but our first to Samana. We have been to large resorts and small. This one was quite small, only 109 rooms, which was great for us because then I always knew where the kids were. My husband and I have a son 10 and a daughter 14 and they both had a great time. I have been reading review sthat this resort is not good for children and teenagers, but I STRONGLY do not agree. If your kids need constant entertainment, yor maybe they are very small, then yes, this is not th resort for them. However, the beach at this resort is great. The wave are just big enough to have some real fun. We had a blast snorkeling, boggie bording, body surfing and just plain swimming. If you're not into waves, the pool is georgeous. The entertainment staff was fantastic at getting the kids involved in beach volleyball, bocci ball on the beach and having fun in the shows at night. The shows are a little hokey, but lots of fun. The entertainment staff were really great and friendly, but not too bothersome. Perfect.

If you're into excursions, there are lots. You can do them through the resort, or through tour companies in Samana. We saw amazing waterfalls and Humback whales. The kids and myself and my husband loved it.

The buffet selection was smaller than some resorts, but the food was really good. Very fresh and always warm when necessary, which cannot be said for MANY of the larger resorts. There was always LOTS of fresh fruit and a nice selection of meat, poultry and fish. The staff in the restaurant was unbeatable.

I found the front desk staff to be very helpful The day staff was much better than the night. The english of the night staff wasn't the best. We arrived at the resort at 11:30 at night and found mine and my husabnd's room to be on the same floor as the kids, but at the other end of the resort when we had requested adjoining rooms when we booked. Went I went to change it the night staff seemed a little confused. However, everyone was checking in at this point at there was lots of comosion. The next morning
I went to the front desk and the man there (King was his name) fixed it immedaitly. From then on King went out of his way to talk and joke with the kids and every day we found fresh flowers and chocolates in our rooms.

The resort was spotless and our rooms were cleaned perfectly every day by lunch.

And yes, there was a place to go for a walk. The tennis courts for the resort were across a small road from it. A paved walkway (or roadway, but we never saw any cars on it) went from the tennis courts up a hill for about 1 to 1 1/2 km. At the top of the hill was the most spectacular view we saw while we were there.

I cannot say enough good things about this resort. We all agree that we would go back in a heart beat. But if you're looking for a romatic geataway this is DEFINATELY the place. It was a quiet out of the way spot the was absolutley beautiful.