We are a couple from Calgary and we travel a lot the republic dominican. This site is very beautiful, on top of a rock mountain with an inimaginable view of Cayo Levantado. After 1 or 2 days you realize that you are a 360 degree view: the Bay, the port, the village (look a village on the andalousian coast in spain), and the island. I would just let you know that this hotel is very good but you have to know that it is a resort for couple and not very for family. They are close to 250 steps from the golden beach to the hotel lobby but there is a shuttle that can bring you where you want. For the room I have nothing to say: Beautifullllllll.....The beach: not the most beautiful but this hotel is not for the beach. The pool: amazing, the animation team are incredible, go talk with danny . The restaurant: the best is the Orquidée the fancy restaurant, the worst is the pescador and the italian is ok. the buffet is amazing for the dessert. Don't batter with bringing your laptop cause you have to use the hotel one for the internet but it is ok they provide you some dell laptop very fast. For diving it's nice cause you start your trip on the levantado island and there is 2 sites: one is a ship wreck new from one year and the other is a coral banks very nice. The personnal from the spa are very professional and to get a muscular massage it cost just 50 dollars for an hour or 40 dollars for 30 minutes. hope you ll enjoy and just try to not travel with skyservice, signature.......Eric

Travelled on the direct Toronto-Samana flight with Skyservice rather than do the long bus ride from Puerto Plata. Very smooth arrival, Samana airport very quick to get out of. As it was late at night (~11:30 pm), hotel did everyone’s check-in (not just Royal Golden) on the bus ride to hotel so we got room keys, wrist bands etc. Signature rep also did the welcome briefing on the ride in. This was great!

Large rooms with glass-walled balcony so view is amazing. Hotel is 5 stories and very accessible as long as you are in the main building with easy elevator access to buffet level, pool level and then another elevator to beach. We didn't do Royal Golden but the RG room locations involve ALOT of walking/steps to get everywhere (or waiting on a golf cart shuttle). My one suggested improvement is that in this caliber of hotel, the additional cost for the in-room safe should be ‘buried’ into the room cost rather than having to arrange with front desk to pay separately/access.

Buffet was fine – lots of selection, you never starved. Pasta bar, salad bar and fruit selection with each meal. A la cartes (Italian, Gourmet & Seafood) were typical of other resorts. Shrimp dishes quite good.

Glass elevator to pool level and then to beach fabulous. Never had problems finding a chair at pool or beach. Lots of palapas on beach. Sure, beach is smaller and not as nice as Punta Cana but we were expecting this and found it just fine. We enjoyed the remote feeling compared to being on a beach strip with hotel after hotel. There is a bar/washrooms at beach level. One improvement to suggest would be a lunch time snack bar – even if only limited menu -- at the beach level.

Animation staff were a great bunch, and, like other resorts, they work long days. Shows were hilarious and typical of other resorts we’ve been to. They do some “pre-show” games etc. in the courtyard outside the lobby bar before the real show starts at 10 pm. Disco continues after that.

Golf cart shuttle runs regularly to/from Pueblo shopping complex in Samana. Beware the motoscooters everywhere and look both ways twice before crossing the street!

Can book tours through your rep, other reps in lobby or on your own. We booked whale watching with Victoria Marine (Kim Beddall—a Canadian) and had a wonderful day and saw lots. We also rented a private taxi one day to travel to Playa Rincon (#4 beach in the world). Breathtaking location, almost the only ones there on a Saturday! Worth seeing when you're that close!

Would recommend this to anyone looking for a relaxing, carefree getaway. If, however, you’re looking for the white sand beaches of Punta Cana to go for long walks on, know up front, this is not the place. A nice sized resort with great facilities - we've stayed at “mega” resorts before and much prefer the travel experience of a smaller one such as this.

I booked this trip online with Signature Vacations via Selloffvacations.com. In the description it stated that the hotel was located 40 minutes from the new Samana Airport. After reading every detail, it stated in the hidden "Need to know" information that the actual port of disembarkation was Puerto Plata, 4 hours from the hotel. I was so alarmed I called Selloff to complain of the deceptive nature of the add. While they agreed, they could do nothing for us but re-book us into Samana at a fee of 240.00 each! While I was very disappointed, we reluctantly agreed. We did not want to travel 4 hours once we landed. So, buyer beware!!!

Once there however we were very happy with our choice. The hotel was beautiful, new, clean and spacious. The grounds were outstanding and the service was great.

The animacion team did a super job of entertaining guests who desired it, and did not hound those who did not. I learned that they work 12 days on and 4 days off. They were always smiling, and their hours were long (9-12am). They worked all day outside, and then put on shows in the disco at night. Very happy, hard working young people.

We were there for r&r and did not go on any excursions. You will have to read other reviews for opinions of those. But we met some fun people and managed to enjoy the beautiful weather and great service. The grounds were lovely. We usually started at the main pool, went to the beach for a while and ended up by the jacuzzi pools for some quiet time. Then drinks on the patio overlooking Samana, a nap in our room, and off to dinner.

The shows were fun and the more you put in, the more you get out. After the show, it was nightcap time and bed for us! Some young people would go into town for some dancing etc., and the disco was open till 1 or 2, but we would just retire to our beautiful room.

By the way, the rooms are spacious, clean and like new. The air conditioning was quiet and the room was not musty or damp at all. The noise level was very quiet and our view was great. Almost every room has a great view. The maid service was super. We never went back to our room to find it was not cleaned. Lots of bottled water, pop, and beer in the fridge.

We were in Puerto Plata last year, and while we thought it was great, it was not near the quality of this hotel. I thoroughly recommend this hotel for anyone looking for a nice quiet getaway with beautiful views and lovely service.

One last thing...the pool lounge chairs were wonderful..wood with thick cushions. ( I look for this when I research). Lots of shade huts on the beach, and while we were there it was never too busy!

The food in the buffet was very good. After a week though, I was happy to go home to some real meat!! My husband thought the fish was great though. We did not do the a la cartes due to the negative reviews of these, and we like to take our time and not be held to a reservation time to eat. But the buffet was indoors, which was nice (no bugs), and the service was impeccable.

Hope this helps!

In a nutshell, this resort was wonderful due to the clean, spacious rooms, spectacular views from almost every window (and there are many at this resort and they tend to be huge) and the nice variety of food, pools, beaches and activities.

We went as a large group- with 5 young children, 4 grand parents and a few other relatives. Everyone, from age 15 months to age 76 had a great time playing or relaxing at the beach. The young adults enjoyed an exciting adventure to a spectacular waterfall called El Limon where we swam in the somewhat cool water after a slightly frightening journey by taxi, horseback and hiking, which I would not recommmend to very young children or elderly travellers. Our 5 and 8 year old kids managed well. We were always unsure with regard to tipping. The thing to do is to give in U.S. $'s and our horseback guides actually demanded we give them at least $5-$10 each. I think they are not paid by the owners. I guess this is why there is such a gap between rich and poor. Anyways, carry some US money with you as some of them don't recognize Cdn $'s. Fortunately our dollar is worth more than the US $ now...

Our excursion to Cayo Levantado and the whale watching was fun. At Cayo Levantado, the sand is white and the water is quite clear. The water at the Bahia Cayacoa is darker and the sand is brown. Tried the sailing and the kayaking which was fun. The main beach is nicer than the smaller beaches. Although the smaller beaches are quieter and more intimate. So it's nice to have a choice.

The food at the buffet was ok. But there was a huge variety and different theme nights. We went to the Orchidea a la carte restaurant one night. It is beautiful, perched atop a cliff with spectacular views- unfortunately it was night time and we could not see outside. The food was rather disappointing. The shrimp was very good though.

The worst thing about our trip was the long bus ride from Puerto Plata- our travel agent assured me that we were flying in to Samana airport which is only 45 minutes or so from the resort. It took us almost 4 hours(!) from Puerto Plata. That made us pretty unhappy.

A few other minor complaints: Our key card stopped working one night and we had to wait for about an hour to get into our room. I think the battery was dying in the lock. It would have been nice to have more water pressure in the shower. There are lots and lots of stairs at this resort- which is great for your health. But some people might find it difficult to get around. If you stay at the main building, you'll be fine though.

The entertainment seemed ok, but we didn't see much of it. There were lots of Quebecers at this resort. Unfortunately, a lot of them smoke and smoking is allowed in some areas. Luckily, not in the restaurant.

The maid service was fine. I usually left an American dollar as a tip. One day I left a loonie - and they didn't take it! Maybe they thought it wasn't real money.

If you want a place to go where the scenery is marvellous, the rooms are clean, spacious and very comfortable, there is a large variety of food to eat and the beach is ok, the Bahia Principe Cayacoa is definitely worth looking into. Be wary of where the airplane is landing!

I was very happy that no one in our large group got sick from food poisoning. The water was good and the salads etc were fine. The only illnesses were mild sunburn due to not using anough sunscreen and one of us had a headache from the long trip to get to Samana. Oh yes, I was happy there were'nt many insects, flies or mosquitos to bother us. Whew.