Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana

THE WORST HOTEL EXPERIENCE I’VE EVER HAD – Cockroaches, Poor Hygiene, Limited Food, Extra Charges, and Terrible Service Travel type: Family vacation Stay: October 29 – November 1, 2026 Rooms booked: 3 Nights: 3 per room I rarely feel compelled to write such a detailed negative review, but after everything my family and I experienced at Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana, I believe future guests deserve to know exactly what they may be walking into. I personally booked and paid for three rooms for a three-night family vacation. My intention was simple: give my family a beautiful all-inclusive experience where we could relax, enjoy the facilities, eat together, and create lasting memories. Unfortunately, this turned into the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had. 1. Basic necessities were missing from the very first night We arrived expecting our room to be properly prepared. Instead, we encountered missing essentials such as toilet paper and soap, along with inadequate housekeeping. I began reporting these problems on our first evening, around 7 PM. We were repeatedly assured that someone would take care of everything. Hours passed. Nothing was properly resolved. By midnight, we were exhausted from traveling and dealing with an issue that should have taken minutes to fix. The following morning, while we were trying to rest, the hotel called our room around 8:30 AM to check on the situation, disturbing our sleep after an already frustrating night. 2. They actually provided USED toilet paper rolls This was one of the most unbelievable parts of the entire experience. After repeatedly requesting toilet paper, housekeeping eventually provided rolls that were visibly partially used instead of new, properly stocked rolls. I cannot understand how a resort charging guests for an all-inclusive experience considers this acceptable. Even after Expedia representatives contacted the property and were assured that new rolls would be delivered, the promised replacement never arrived as expected. This wasn’t simply a housekeeping oversight. It became a repeated failure to provide something as basic as clean toilet paper. 3. Cockroaches in the rooms As if the housekeeping problems weren’t enough, we also encountered cockroaches in the rooms. I took photographic evidence. Seeing cockroaches inside guest accommodations, combined with the other cleanliness problems, seriously affected my confidence in the hotel’s hygiene standards. Guests should not have to worry about insects in their rooms while paying for a resort vacation. 4. All three rooms experienced problems Initially, I thought our room was simply having an unusually bad experience. Later, while explaining my frustration to my family, I discovered that the other rooms were also experiencing problems. My brother’s room was missing towels, and my mother-in-law’s room lacked soap. What made this particularly upsetting was that some of my family members had never stayed at an all-inclusive resort before. They genuinely believed that these conditions might be normal. That was heartbreaking to me. I had personally paid for all three rooms because I wanted them to enjoy a special experience, not because I wanted them to learn to tolerate poor service. 5. Food availability was extremely disappointing Another major disappointment was the food situation. There were periods during the day when finding something to eat was unnecessarily difficult. At certain times, there were practically no options available, or hamburgers were essentially the only choice. When I book an all-inclusive resort, I expect reasonable food availability throughout the day, even outside the main buffet hours. I don’t expect every restaurant to operate 24 hours a day, but I certainly expect better options and more convenient access to food than what we experienced. For a family vacation, this was frustrating and disappointing. 6. Nightlife was not what I expected from an all-inclusive resort Another thing future guests should know is that the nightlife experience was disappointing. There wasn’t a nightclub experience included in the way I expected. The disco option we encountered wanted to charge an entrance fee, and drinks inside would also cost extra. That was particularly frustrating because we had already paid for an all-inclusive vacation. I understand that some resorts charge separately for premium services, but guests should have a clear understanding of what is and isn’t included. For anyone expecting nightlife, dancing, and drinks as part of their all-inclusive experience, I strongly recommend verifying those details before booking. 7. Repeated promises with little follow-through What frustrated me the most wasn’t that problems occurred. Problems can happen at any hotel. What matters is how management responds. Throughout our stay, I repeatedly contacted hotel staff, traveled back and forth to the lobby, waited for transportation, and communicated with Expedia representatives. On multiple occasions, hotel staff assured us that the issues would be resolved immediately. Even when Expedia contacted the property directly, those assurances did not consistently translate into action. I spent a significant portion of our three-night vacation following up on complaints instead of enjoying time with my family. That is time I will never get back. 8. A disappointing family experience This vacation was never just about a hotel room. It was about spending quality time with my family and giving some of them their first all-inclusive resort experience. I paid for three rooms expecting comfort, cleanliness, hospitality, food, entertainment, and an opportunity to relax. Instead, we dealt with missing amenities, cockroaches, disappointing food availability, unexpected nightlife charges, and repeated failures to resolve complaints. I don’t expect perfection. I expect reasonable standards and accountability. Unfortunately, based on our experience, this resort fell far below those expectations. Final verdict Would I return? Absolutely not. Would I recommend this resort to friends or family? No. I strongly encourage anyone considering Bahia Principe Explore Punta Cana to carefully research recent guest experiences, food availability, nightlife inclusions, and housekeeping standards before booking. I genuinely wish I had known what to expect before paying for three rooms. The worst part of this vacation wasn’t the money spent. It was the family time lost dealing with problems that should never have happened.

I can honestly say that my experience at this resort was wonderful from beginning to end. From the moment I arrived, I felt welcomed, comfortable, and genuinely cared for. What I appreciated most was how the resort seemed to anticipate my needs and make sure every detail of my stay was taken care of. For me, a great vacation starts with the basics: a clean, comfortable room, a relaxing atmosphere, good food, and a place where I can truly unwind. This resort delivered on all of that and so much more! The accommodations were comfortable and well maintained, the food was delicious with plenty of variety, and the amenities offered everything I needed to enjoy my time and relax. What really made the experience special, however, was the attention and service. The staff made me feel important and appreciated. Their kindness, professionalism, willingness to help, and attention to even the smallest details made a huge difference. It is refreshing to visit a place where the people genuinely care about making your stay enjoyable. I believe a resort is not just about beautiful surroundings or luxurious amenities; it is about how you feel while you are there. And here, I felt welcomed, valued, relaxed, and completely taken care of. I left with beautiful memories and a genuine appreciation for the entire experience. I would definitely return and recommend this resort to anyone looking for a place that combines comfort, quality, excellent food, wonderful amenities, and outstanding customer service. Thank you to the entire team for making my stay so enjoyable. It’s not always easy to find a place that gets everything right, but you certainly made me feel special. I look forward to coming back!

We didn’t realise it was during sargasm season so the seaweed was everywhere making the beach and sea quite unpleasant but the selection of pool side areas was amazing with only one of the pools having to cleared closed and cleaned after a child had an accident in the water. The cleanliness was very good but not perfect and the hotel was in good repair. The transport service offered to get around the resort was excellent. Even the rainy season didn’t cool things off or affect our relaxation and fun. The replenishment of drinks and coffee etc was inconsistent and there are no kettles for tea in the rooms though a coffee maker is provided for filter coffee. The need for bottled water as the tap water isn’t safe in the country, was difficult a little when the water bottles were not replaced in full each day. The food in the nomad (5/5) and the buffet was fantastic though the buffet was packed some days. The flame restaurant was poor with the steaks being overcooked, too gristly and the salmon was rank. The starters were nice but service was a little surly with the servers being more interested in upselling than ensuring a good experience. Recommend avoiding Flame (1/5) if at all possible. The Italian was nice food and the went out of their way to help us communicate about an autistic party member who found the lack of pizza availability difficult. It’s gets a 4/5. The spa was amazing though pricy and the excursions were out of our price range for our large party. But we thoroughly loved our stay and were very sad to leave at the end of the week. Be aware the transfer drivers may not speak a lot of English so make sure to speak to the bell boy staff to identify the correct vehicle for your transfer back to the airport.

Well Travelled Family Used to Caribbean & Egyptian All Inclusive 1. Beverages - poor poor quality , cocktails are sweet slush rubbish, totally inconsistent ingredients and always running out. Beer again can be nice or disgusting. Coffee machines permanently out of order. 2. Food - Nacar Buffet & Nomad Mongolian the only places worthy. Greek ( disgusting ), Asian ( Cold, bland , poor quality & no staff ) , Indian ( again poor quality not worthy of a 1* hotel. 3. Staff - Reception over run with slow long queues, no welcome drink , no information on the vast grounds and basically left to you own to work out. Cleaners missed our room 3 days out of 8. Bar staff again are lazy , over run and inconsistent with drinks 4. Pools are nice , pretty clean . 5. Beach is nice but not clean with alot of dried seaweed and rubbish. 6. Rooms are decent size and decor but unfortunately 1 out of our 2 room stunk of foul sewage waste from something, looking at the review people have complained about the same room numbers 24201 -24204 . 7. Shops , ridiculously expensive , 29usd deodorant, 25usd razor, 43usd suncream. In a nutshell the Hyatt group should be ashamed of their hotel. Rated 2-3* at best... For me the service & beverage quality was not acceptable and we spent 500 usd of premium brands. Holiday date 19th-27th Oct 2 x Adults , 3 x Child 14, 6, 5 Location - 35mins airport

1-We have been to your resort Bahia Principal many times. 2-We are members if the Privilege Club and the Hyatt Privilege travel. We paid a lot for the Privilege Club membership and the Hyatt membership. We are not happy. 3-The service has gone down a lot since Hyatt took over. Food quality was poor. Only good place for dinner was Amber Buffet. Breakfast at Los Olas was good. 4-Seems that not as many people working at the buffets and pool has dropped since Hyatt took over. Other people we know feel the same. 5-Being a privilege member does not receive the same attention that it used to. 6-Other privilege members told us there are 20% to 30% fewer staff. We were told that Hyatt had the highest rated service and locations. It seems they dropped the ball here to save money. 7-Now that we belong to Hyatt, we hoped it gets better. More staff that speaks English would help. 8-Privilege Club does not give the privilege that we use to receive due to many factors. Bed mattress was HARD. The staff said "If we were staying at the Amber we would get the topper but the room we were in did not qualify." We got it before. 9- It took 4 calls before someone was sent about the mini frig not working. It had to be replaced. 10-When I called about the mold on the ceiling in the bathroom and hallway along with ceiling paint falling off over the bed. We were told they did not have a record of the call. I have pictures of this. We both had breathing problems because of the mold. This is a health concern. We were not happy this trip.