My Husband and I were recommended by our travel agent to go to this resort and glad we did!! Our week was fantastic! Beautiful grounds, clean pools, friendly staff and lavish rooms in the villas. Our room had a king size canopy bed, jacuzzi tub seperate shower, private balcony etc. We also had 24 hour room service and a mini bar which was totally awesome!!! Our whole trip started off with a cool towel once arriving at the dock at the resort. You don't even worry about your baggage, it's all taken care of! Then we were entertained with dancers and were given a welcome drink and welcomed by the whole management staff! It just got better from there, the food was amazing at the buffet and at the A La Cartes. We liked both DonPablo and the Mediterrainian just the same. The Seafood restaurant unfortunately we didn't get to try. The regular buffet has themes aswell which was great. My fav was Gala night. Red carpet style and candlelight. Very nice. Overall we didn't have any problems exept for turndown we only received it a few times. The entertainment got better and better as the week went on. My favorite place to relax was by the bottom pool by the ocean in the comfy lounge chairs. You are close to the action. Ie: Games, Snack Bar, regular bar etc We are definately considering making this resort our yearly tradition! But before you go brush up on your spanish. Some speak english but not many. Enjoy!

A group of us have just returned from this hotel and all-in-all were very happy with our vacation. This resort is beautiful!! Gardens, grounds, pool, beach very lush and well kept. The resort is quite new so still in very good condition. Most of the staff were very helpful although few spoke english.

The food: At the buffet - somedays it was very good, other days hit and miss. Not as much variety as in other resorts we've stayed at but probably something to satisfy you. Good prompt service. Great coffee. At the restaurants - 3 star at best. The room service menu was limited and the food not of good quality. I do not think that the food was even near 5 star quality except on a day when outside management was visiting. Some of us returned with intestinal problems.

The room: Was very beautiful and clean. We had problems with the maid serivce - some days good others so so. One couple we travelled with got no maid service one day. As for the turn down service offered along with the upgraded villa - we never had it, not once! We came back from the beach one day to find our room door open and a card left in the card box. Nothing was taken but I have never had this happen before in any hotel. We tried to make our concerns known to staff members but felt that they were not really interested. Another couple we travelled with had the same experience -- this is very unnerving.

Otherwise, we had a very relaxing vacation. We did not leave the island or take any trips. Others in our group took the trip to El Limon the waterfalls and were very happy with it. Also one person took the whale watching trip and did get a chance to see six whales. This island is so beautiful and well worth the trip although it is unlikely that I would return to this resort. I feel that while the resort is beautiful it should not really be classified above a 4 star.

My husband and I, along with another couple, have just returned from this gorgeous island resort and even after reading all the favorable reviews, we were still amazed with this place.

Our only disappointment was the fact that we had two days of cloud and rain and that we were a little early to see the whales, which I had been really looking forward to. When we first left the airport we met a man who runs a tourist transportation business and it turns out that he lived right around the corner from us when he lived in Canada, and went to the same high school as one of our friends! He was very helpful with information and it was actually through him we learned that the whale population was a little late arriving to the Bay and that we would probably be wasting our money if we went out on a tour in hopes of seeing them! We took his advice and will just have to go back next year, a little later in the season.

All four of us were thrilled with this resort, the food is excellent!! The buffet always has more choices than anyone could ever want and we went to the Mediterranean and Gourmet restaurants and both were excellent, both the food and the service!

The grounds are beautiful and immaculate, the rooms are huge and quite beautiful. We stayed in Villa 4102 and it was a great location on the grounds, not too close to the main building but close enough to walk and a quick walk to the beach and pool.

The two hotel beaches, while not overly large, are very pretty. The public beach is bigger but more crowded with chairs and people when the tour boats dock there for excursions.

We found all of the staff to be always very courteous and helpful and while we could use to have a little more command of Spanish, we made out fairly well. Someone is always right there to offer their services, carry your plate, open a door, pull out a chair, etc. They work very long hours and we were happy to tip them something whenever we could, although most people don't seem to.

Except for the two rainy days, which are out of everyone's control,
we had a wonderful, relaxing, pampered holiday. If you are looking for night life, you won't really find it here, it is pretty quiet and the few shows that do go on were not very well attended, although the animation staff works very hard at it. I think one of the problems could be that they don't start them until at least 10:00 and they may too late for a lot of people after a day in the sea and sun! We hope to return to this place again one day but I have a feeling that after it becomes a little more travelled the prices are going to go through the roof! Enjoy it while it is affordable!

My husband and I booked our annual Christmas getaway as we have done for the last 6 years. We began our 2007 getaway at the Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo On December 17 2007. I can honestly say I do not have very high expectations, however when we arrived at the resort, you can read my review of that hotel, you will see that we were not thrilled. The 2nd day into our vacation we went to see our Air Transat rep about upgrading to Cayo Levantado. She was fantastic and we left the El Portillo on December 24, so we spent a week at the El Portillo and the remaining week at the unbeleivably gorgeous Gran Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado!

My husband and I have travelled to Cuba, Aruba, Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic, from a 4 star to 5 star hotels. This was our 5th time back to the DR.

The ride to the hotel is some of the most spectacular mountainous and lush green palm filled landscapes you will ever see. It truly compares to Jamaica in our books. Get your cameras ready.

When we arrived at the pre-check in, I swear we felt like we were in an episode of Fantasy Island. A very well dressed gentlemen in a pressed suit who worked for the hotel greeted us with " You must be Mrs. Ana and Mr. Greg, we've been expecting you and your boat is ready", talk about service and it even came with a huge smile!!! I was wowed with this so I thought holy moly how much better is this going to get. My husband said he felt like a celeb or royalty! And they really did make you feel like that. We were offered a beverage before boarding the boat to ferry over to the island which took about 10 minutes in total.

Our luggage was on the boat and we boarded the boat. The captain of the boat asked me to come up to the from of the boat, and gave me the wheel! I thought I hope they can swim as the water was pretty rough and I had never driven a boat. He didn't speak much english and neither did the other crew member, but they got a chuckle out of it. They pointed out the other hotel the Cayacoa which you could see as well the island we were heading too, which grew larger and larger as we approached. As we got closer we approached the public beach, which had a lot of beach loungers on the beach, it was quite early so the beach was bare. As we turned the corner the view of the hotel came into sight and the entrance to the hotel and we were awe struck. There was a trolly and hotel staff ready to greet us and taxi us up a small ramp, I called it, or we could have walked and we were greeted yet again by another hotel bellboy wo escorted us into the lobby area.

We couldn't beleive how luxurious the lobby was. It was pristine!!! Very quiet, no large reception area just 2 large wooden desks, and behind one sat Pablo. Immediatley Pablo came over and greeted us, with " You must be Mrs. Ana and Mr. greg, we've been expecting you, your room is ready and if there is anything we can do to make your stay better do not hesistate to contact me at my personal extension", he looked over to another staff member who immediatley came over with a tasty fruit punch. He showed us a brief map of the island showed us where our room would be and gave us our paltinum bracelet and room key. He flagged a bellboy who showed us out of the lobby and back onto the tram and off we went to our room.

I have to say you think that it's and island so it can't be that large, but the tram is fantastic as the walking is up and down and around, your legs get quiet a work out, my calf muscles and thighs were so sore the next day.

As we drove around the resort the scenery was breathtaking as you could see the mountains and the rolling hillsides and the other hotel way across the island that just looked like coloured specs. You see the tennis court and right beside it the gym, Right beisde the gym is the first pool. It is huge and no-one was around it, it was so beautiful with the double chez lounge surrounded by chiffon curtains which you could close for privacy, or sit at the bar and have a few drinks. Just looking at it made us relaxed! We were so blown away at this point that it just kept on getting better and better as we drove along. The jacuzzi pool, which had 3 jacuzzis was great and never anyine there, so you could have your drinks as there is a bartender there and relax.

We were located in Villa 8 on the 2nd floor, which was a superior room. I opened the door, and my husband gasped! I thought oh no, I knew it was too good to be true, what's wrong with it. He couldn't beleive the size of the room, it was huge!!!!! and the bathroom, humungous! Full bath with jets, separate toilet, with a telephone in it, we thought that was hilarious! Separate shower, plenty of towels stacked and made into interesting shapes with Hisbiscus flowers on them and you could see right into the room from the bathroom as it was a huge piece of glass separating the room and the bathroom. So you could still watch TV if you wanted to take a bath.

The room itself is absolutley stunning! All the pictures of the Bahia Principe website are exact. We had a King size 4 post mahogany bed draped with chiffon, pillows that were perfectly arranged on the bed, 2 bathrobes and slippers drped on the bed, one in white the other a creme colour, and the slipper actually fit my size 9 feet and my husbands size 12 feet and we both still had room if our feet were any larger. The robes were soft against your skin not course, so after a day in the sun, it didn't hurt to put it on. Across from the bed is the TV which is hidden in a cabinet, and it pulls out and swivels. Beside it is the large desk and beside that love seat and chair with a small table. Out on the terrace, which is huge and you can see some ocean but mostly the greenery of the trees etc which gives you privacy there are 2 seating areas. On one side there are 2 large chairs and the other side is a love seat and a large chair and another coffee table and a fan on the balcony. All the furniture is wicker.

We were in paradise, and had all the luxuries!

There is pleanty of palapas and shade to find here on the beach and around the pool. While we were here the water was pretty rough, which they say is normal this time of year but it dies down come March one of the staff said. It was still a ton of fun in the waves. The water was so warm and even though it was wavy it wasn't full of weeds and other stuff. Just some stuff here and there. We couldn't snorkel because it was wavy and you couldn't see anything with all the movement but we hear it is fantastic, some of the best you can do. If you walk along the beach you can collect alot of conk shells, both small and large, ones that look like large snails, and huge starfish.

The pool is very large and warm. Even though there were some children at this resort, because it was Christmas time, you would not have known it. They were not misbehaving like the others at the El portillo. They were very well behaved. Some say it's beacuase the majority of people here are the higher class from Spain, France, Italy, the UK and Germany. There is plenty of seating around the pool as well.

One thing I have to say that I really loved was there were no towel keys! All you do is get up in the morning go grab as many towels as you want and then leave the or return them at the end of the day. It was nice not having to worry about someone stealing your towels for a change.

This resort is really not for kids at all. They did advertise that it was an adult only, 18+ hotel, honeymooners, romantic destination, so the animation team really tried their best to occupy the children. Even in the eveining they made speacial shows for the kids. During the day they would have horseshoes, volleyball, pool olympics, bingo, but they did not harrass you, you barely noticed them at all as they are told to not bother the guests. Because it was Christmas holidays they allowed kids.

We were told that the whole hotel is equipped with King size beds, so all the cots were being used as they did not anticipate all the children, not that there were many. The hotel has 195 rooms and was only running at 42% capacity. for every tourist there seemed to be 2 employees, so we were very well taken care of. The staff were always very friendly and seemed to be treated well and happy with their jobs. The tourists made sure to take care of them with tips if they did a good job. I like that it was a smaller resort as you get to know the staff.

The lunch buffett by the beach was great. There was always a selection of something you could eat or nibble on. We never did eat lunch at the main buffett, but breakfast was fantastic, there were waffles, my favorite, toast that was actually browned the first time it went throught the toaster! Omelletes, and all the items to put into it were diced into smaller pieces, and doughnuts that were in a warmer, and they melted into your mouth!!! Fresh squeezed juice, kiwi, strawberries, grapes, bananas, I could go on and on. Dinner was just as fabulous, one night my husband was in heaven when he walked up to the grill and there was a huge T bone steak ready to be grilled!
Huge shrimp and other fish. We aren't fish lovers but if we were I'm sure we'd be in heaven. Christmas eve was unbeleivable, we have never seen a spread like that! Tables lined with huge lobster tails, crab, shrimp, salmon, oysters, caviar, and on and on and on, on. I am a picky eater but there was tons of food and never a line up, barely anyone in the restaurant at 7:30 to eat.
Desert was amazing some of the best Tirimisu I have ever had.

The staff in the restaurant are amazing. As soon as you walk into the buffett you are greeted with smiles and as soon as you are seated you are approached for a drink order. It was amazing how they kept their eye on us, I had a half a glass of water left and from way across the room I saw then coming at me witha jug of water, your glass was never less than half full.

After dinner we would sit in the lobby and enjoy the music being played by the pianist or sit outside on the terrace overlooking the ocean and enjoy some Mai tai's and strawberry daquiries which were waiting for us. Josefina, who is an absolute darling spoiled us. Every night she would see us and our drinks were waiting. Bomba and Super Sony also did a fantastic job.

To be perfectly honest the staff had outdone themselves! make sure you tip them for thier fabulous service!

We did order in one night and I have to say it's one of the best club sandwiches I have ever had!

We did do the couples spa and it was so relaxing I highly recommend that or any massage, they do a great job!

I have to make mention of our departure as the airport had no power so it was chaos. They had to physically inspect all our luggage infront of everyone and then go through all our carry on luggae. Duty free is small and opened up once we had power which was about 1/2 hour before our flight left. It was crazy but memorable.

All in all I would go back to this resort in a heart beat! It's definatley not for a family or kids vacation. If you want romance, relaxation and luxury this is the place. We would rate this hotel a 5++, they overexceed our expectations and they went above an beyond.

Can't wait to go back!