Bahia Principe Explore Esmeralda

Excellent but need more costumer service training the employees

The hotel was very beautiful,with exceptional food variety, it exceeded my expectations. The language barrier was not much of a problem, the fun was overwhelming for me and the family, and I will be going back soon.

It was a fantastic experience overall. The hotel is amazing and the service throughout is excellent. The staff goes above and beyond to make your stay enjoyable. Will be returning for sure.

Our stay at Bahia Principe Grand Esmeralda was easily the worst resort experience we have ever had. If you are an English speaker, be prepared for severe communication barriers and noticeably indifferent, rude treatment compared to other guests. Here is what you actually need to know before booking: Hygiene & Room Conditions: The bathroom constantly smelled like raw sewage, and the air conditioning barely cooled the room. Worse, after my young son ran a high fever and had an accident in bed, housekeeping didn't even change the sheets—they simply made the bed over the soiled linens, forcing me to sleep on the edge of the mattress. On-Site Medical & Safety Issues: The resort’s on-site doctor charges $225 just to talk to you, only to immediately refer you to an off-site hospital an hour away because they lack basic capabilities. The resort doesn't even stock basic over-the-counter medicine like Tylenol, Motrin, or a simple thermometer (we had to order one from outside for $40, and the delivery driver mentioned five other rooms ordered thermometers the exact same night). I also noticed a suspicious creamy liquid and dirt slick in the pool early one morning, making me seriously question their water sanitation. Discriminatory & Rude Staff: The service in the dining and bar areas was terrible. At the sports bar—where reservations aren't even a thing—we sat down at an open table, only for a rude waiter speaking no English to come over and kick us off, claiming it was "reserved." We moved to a second empty table, and the exact same waiter came back and forced us up again for a customer who wasn't even there yet (likely holding tables for bigger tippers). Non-Existent Management & Service: Room service requests for basic items were completely ignored. When my son was hospitalized with a viral infection and I asked to speak with management about extending our stay, they refused to meet with me face-to-face. They handed me a piece of paper to fill out, ignored it, and simply reminded me that checkout was the next morning. Zero sympathy, zero assistance, and no follow-up whatsoever. Logistical Nightmare on Departure: When it was time to leave for the hospital, staff refused to allow our taxi directly to the Esmeralda lobby. They promised to shuttle us to the main pickup point, but after making us wait nearly an hour, we ended up having to walk there ourselves with our luggage while dealing with a sick child. This resort fails on basic cleanliness, guest safety, and human compassion. Do not bring your family here.

We have been coming to BP resorts in Punta Cans for many years, and usually stay at Ambar or Aquamarine and enjoy both hotels. We were exited to bring our son, his partner and our 2 grandkids (10 & 6) to Esmeralda and expected the Esmeralda as the former luxury family resort to be similar in terms of service and facilities as Ambar. How wrong we were! Check in was good, there were cold towels and a welcome drink, and we were given joining rooms which was nice. So far so good. We found over the first few days that a lot of things were closed, there was no lobby bar, the pool bar had barely any drinks, the buffet was closed at lunch time and the Brazilian was closed. The entertainment was shocking, for a family resort I expected a few more things for the kids or families to enjoy. A loud lounge style singer every other night really didn't do it for us! There was a magician one night, but the stage is so low no one in the audience after the first few rows could see anything. At Aquamarine there is a fire show, a circus show, they decorate the lobby for the white party, there was nothing like this at Esmeralda. No Matum show which we were looking forward to watching. Buffet - so so. No labels on anything, poor choice of food. At Aquamarine which is a lesser class of hotel has so much more choice. Restaurants, we tried some of our favourites, but once you take the adults only ones out there wasn't much choice. Casa Bella - service and food was terrible Yurta - great service and food, a favourite for us all Naan - we didn't go this time but it's ok if you like a set tasting menu The Greek - great service but inedible food Rodrizio - the one at Esmeralda was closed (shame as it's a great restaurant) so we went to the one at Las Olas. I wish we hadn't just shocking service, food when you got it was ok. Thali - had a good meal here So Olivio - our favourite place. Booked it for our son and his partner while we had the kids. They loved it and saw the difference being at Aquamarine. Flame - great restaurant, get the rib eye, it's huge! The pool bar ran out of many drinks daily, the service was poor. They serve the Spanish speaking guests first. There's no service round the pool. The lifeguard shouted at us one morning for going in the pool before 9am. Every day we (and others) are in the pool at 8-8.30 but one morning he shouted at us to get out. After this he would deliberately walk away when he saw us packing up to leave each day so we couldn't exchange our towels (he did the towel exchange). After doing this 4 days in a row it was clear this was deliberate. We There were some truly wonderful staff as well, some go above and beyond and we tipped them very well. A shame that others just were not interested. All in all we found the facilities and service lacking. Yes we compare it to the other hotels in the same resort and I can't understand how it can be so different. I would not return to Esmeralda. We are back at Aquamarine in August, a cheaper hotel where the service and facilities are so much better.We