Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda

We had a great time over the last 6 days at the Esmerelda with 4 couples. The resort itself is small, but combined with all the others it is a massive property. The good: Alberto at the Pool Bar makes great drinks and is very attentive. He made every day at the pool enjoyable. There was a female bartender there every night who was great and tons of fun as well and I am sorry that i do not recall her name. It was our favorite place to have some fun until they closed at 11. The food at Yurta and Casa Bella was excellent. The staff at both were wonderful. The pools are well maintained and very clean. Room service was fast, food was ok. Needs Improvement: Service at the buffets was mostly non existent. Went all of breakfast most days without being noticed for coffee or water. We just served ourselves once we noticed we weren't going to get helped. Lots of staff too, they just were more focused on replenishing the plates everyone was waiting for. The food also left a lot to be desired. The AC at night seemed to quit working at night. The rooms for all of us got very warm. The big property is very tough to navigate where every restaurant is and what entertainment is where. They don't do a very good job of explaining the layout at check in. Like every resort during spring, pool chairs are a premium. Saw a pretty interesting fight over them on our last day. Reservations are very difficult to get at the ala carte if you haven't made them well in advance of your trip. Make them early! This trip was a last minute change from Mexico so we were at the mercy of what was left a week before. We just had to have some snacks at the lobby bar or room service to hold us over, not the end of the world. I know my improvement list is longer than the good, but we had a great experience at Esmerelda. It wouldn't be my first choice of resorts, but I felt like it was worth the price we paid.

My friends and I were suppose to go to Mexico but with the travel advisory we changed course and booked at the Bahia Esmeralda. They had availability and the price was right. Overall we were pleased. I’ll break down the positive and negatives. Positives: Rooms were very nice and always cleaned. Big size pools. Love that you could walk to the Ambar which is the adults only resort. We used their pool so we didn’t have to deal with kids. We also loved their coffee shop located next to the lobby. All the buffets had a great selection of food with high quality. The al la cart restaurants were great. We only did a couple but our favorite was the Mongolian restaurant located in Esmeralda. What’s great is that you can make reservations for any restaurants even if located at the sister resorts. All of them are next to one another. Beach was beautiful. Loved the beach bar at Esmeralda and Orlando makes the best drinks. We pampered ourselves at the spa and it was perfect. Massage, facial and scrub for only $150 and it was 90 mins of relaxation. We felt safe everyday and night. We would walk the beach for miles. Vendors are fun and not annoying at all. They are very respectful. Most staff were friendly. Especially the guys that drive the golf carts to take you to and from their sister resorts. The entertainment staff at the Esmeralda and Ambar pools were great. Negatives: I was grossed out with the cleanliness of the cups they make your drinks in. We saw people brought their own tumblers so I would recommend doing that. The issue is even at the buffets the water glasses and coffee mugs did not always look clean. Some were stained. Luckily they give bottle waters in your room so I preferred drinking out of that and not their cups. At the bar I had no choice. No issues at the al la cart restaurants since they use actually glass that is clean. Beach and pool bathrooms did not always have hand soap. The one by the beach had a shampoo bottle for you to wash your hands. Another complaint most people have is that the reservations for the al la cart restaurant fill up quickly and if you do get one, it’s not always an ideal time. We made it work and it was worth it. O

Budget an extra 5% into your travel plans if you travel to the Bahia Principe at Bavaro in the DR. My smart health bracelet ($150) was stolen from my bathroom by the chambermaids (strap was wet so was letting it dry in bathroom and went to breakfast). I completed the entire Security process but Bahia Principe took no ownership and offered no compensation to allow me to replace the smart health bracelet. Most of the chambermaids are nice, but they do hire some chambermaids that steal from the rooms there so be careful.

We booked our family vacation last minute after deciding to switch from Mexico. We have travelled to Nickelodeon and Majestic Mirage in the DR before. We didn’t have a lot of options but decided to go with Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda. I’ll start with the negatives: the lobby is underwhelming. For those who don’t know, you arrive at Bahia Fantasia and then get on a smaller transfer to Bahia Esmeralda. The lobby is more open air and the luggage is just stored there on arrival and departure. I’ve seen nicer landscaping and our swimout was small and facing what seemed to be a delivery road so not a great view. The service at the buffets were hit and miss: often times missing plates, bowls and spoons. Besides water, it’s harder to get drink service while at the buffets, especially the one by the beach. The rooms are clean, but not the cleanest. Definitely some wear and tear. However, the food was good! Lots of options. Yurta restaurant was great - totally unique format. The main buffet had plenty of options for breakfast and even for dinner. The ocean is beautiful and only a short walk away. The ladies at the Kids Club were wonderful! Our kids didn’t stay there but did a few activities and participated in the dance evenings. Overall, if you’re willing to overlook some minor problems and have some patience, you will have a good time! The service on the whole was kind and pleasant.

This is not a true 5 star, probably around a 4-star, but it's a beautiful resort. Front desk: We had some issues with our booking that did not get addressed until far after check in and the manager didn't appear to be in a rush to help us out. We weren't impressed by the way we were treated there. The biggest complaint is that, although we had 2 rooms in our booking, we weren't placed in connecting rooms or even close to one another. To make matters worse, one room was a connecting room, which begged the question of why the other members of our party couldn't have been placed in the adjacent room. Grounds: Beautiful. Walking past the other resorts' villas, particularly Grand Punta Cana, it's obvious that Esmeralda has newly been updated. The resort itself is large and makes for nice walks. Some amenities (the tennis court by the main entrance to the property) are run down; the ground is cracked and the net of one of the courts was down during our stay. There is another tennis court, near the Aquamarine/Ambar area of the resort, that we were unable to access for unknown reasons - we were just direced to the one at the front of the resort. Bathrooms in the common areas of the resort varied in levels of cleanliness; wastebaskets were rarely empty which wasn't a nice sight (or scent). Beach is clean and big, little/no seaweed in the warm water, and workers come around often to clean up any garbage. Seating area gets busy so it can be tough to find seats by the water. Rooms: Spacious and clean. However, our remote didn't work, meaning that we couldn't use the TV (the TV also controlled the lights), and it was unclear how to operate the fan independently of the A/C - you just had to click all the buttons and hope for the best. Hot water from the shower was inconsistent; some days it didn't even get warm. The drains often smelled like sewage. The lid on our toilet seat was loose. Housekeeping: Inconsistent. Some days we did not get bottles of water and had to request it be to brought with the app, other times we had to flag down the water bottle restocking person in the hallway to get service. Towels were sometimes not replaced during room service, making for an unpleasant surprise when we returned from a day at the beach to see that the towels were still on the floor although the room had already been made up. Our room didn't have a hair dryer and when we asked for one we never got it - we had to borrow it from another room on our booking. The maids/housekeeping staff are very loud in the hallways starting from about 8am, which makes it tough to sleep in. Service: Ranges from either terrible to fantastic. The bad: The manager at the sports bar was unhappy to serve our group even though other groups were being greeted with big smiles and attended to. At the sports bar, we asked for an espresso martini only to be told that only the lobby bar makes this drink. The lobby bar pointed us back to the sports bar, where we saw that another group beside ours was served an espresso martini after we'd already been told they did not make the drink at the sports bar. Service at the lobby bar was abysmal for our group but they seemed to be happy serving others. Though the front desk tried to book tennis for us, the staff at the tennis courts didn't answer their phone call, and so we were unable to book a court until the third day of our stay. Hilariously enough, there didn't appear to be a need to even book as the tennis court was unoccupied by other guests every time we went. However, on one of the days we booked, we arrived at the tennis court to see staff playing, and they made no move to leave despite our arrival. Not great. The hostess at MEAT À la carte restaurant was very rude. Coming from Esmeralda to Ambar, some members of the party got lost due to a lack of signage showing where MEAT was. Despite the restaurant being nearly empty, the hostess had a lot of attitude seating the members who had arrived late because they were a whopping 5 minutes late for a reservation at the nearly empty restaurant and threatened to not let them in - again, for 5 minutes of lateness - when half of the party had already been seated. Left a bad taste in our mouths. To add to this, even after the full group was seated, we didn't get approached by the server until about 15 minutes later. The great: The service from the guest services manager in our villa, Manuel, was 10/10. Manny was the absolute highlight of this trip for us. He went above and beyond to make sure our group was booked at the à la cartes and always greeted us with a smile. The shuttle drivers were also very friendly, including giving us directions when we were lost and offering to go out of their routes to drop us back off at our resort, even if they weren't going that way. We have nothing but positive comments for the service from the female bartenders at the pool bar and sports bar; we were always greeted with a smile by them and they made great drinks (I wish I could remember their names, but the female bartender working during the day at Amana Pool Bar and the female bartender working nights at the sports bar). The gentleman delivering water was also very pleasant and agreeable, as were the bellhops. Finally, the animation team by the pools always had big smiles on their faces and made us want to join in. They were really lively and put on fun games/challenges. Bars: Drinks are okay. The worst drinks were from the beach bar. Drinks from the swim-up bar were consistently good, especially the one in the main pool. Sports bar was also decent. Good variety of drinks available, although no top-shelf liquours. The sports bar didn't make coffee drinks using the espresso machine for our group, no idea why, but the coffee machine we were directed to use instead wasn't bad. The coffee shop at Ambar resort makes good coffee and I highly recommend going there instead. Buffet Restaurants: Food at Caney Buffet isn't bad but will get repetitive like any other buffet. The best food is the seafood, the grill station, the pasta station, and egg/omelette station at the breakfast buffet. There are not a whole lot of options at breakfast and it is also inconsistent - some days the bacon will be drenched in salt, other days it will be totally unseasoned. Fruit and vegetables are fresh. I don't recommend the Caicu beach buffet unless Caney buffet is closed; its selection is even more limited. Again, inconsistent service at the buffets: our drink orders would be taken once we were seated only to arrive at the end of the meal, even when the restaurant was not busy - why? Food at the snack bar is ok in a pinch but room service food was better. À la carte restaurants: At the MEAT restaurant, despite being asked about our preferred doneness for steak, everything arrived rare. Service at Caicu, the à la carte Brazilian restaurant, was lacking - the workers were friendly, but it took about 30 minutes for service to begin when we already had a late reservation, and it seemed like the late time (our reservation was at 9:30) was used as an excuse for the infrequent service. Even though typically, the waiters at Brazilian steakhouses come around very often to serve, the waiter at Caicu came around with 1 skewer every 15 minutes and would only serve us 1 piece of meat/chicken wing/sausage etc - very stingy. However, this is the best meat restaurant here. The Dominican restaurant Taino is delicious with great service. The Indian small plates restaurant was good but not great - Thali (vegetarian Indian) is better. Pools: Seating around the pool could get busy, but there are 2 pools on Esmeralda as well as many more across the property so it's not a big deal. Very little enforcement of people leaving towels on seats. The pools are large and clean, calmer than the neighbouring pool at Grand Punta Cana. Hours of operation are a little ridiculous, though; the pools closing at 6pm when it's light outside until 7/8pm isn't great. Finally, this is a complaint for the Bahia Principe reservation system itself. Avoid booking directly through the BP website if you can because, somehow, you will be considered a third-party booking where no one can do anything to help you. Due to delays getting in, we missed a night of our reservation, so we reached out to the Bahia Principe reservations team to extend our stay by a night. Despite numerous calls and correspondence with the booking team, who claimed they had tried to get in contact with the front desk at the hotel to extend the stay prior to our arrival but were unable to get into contact with them, this issue was not resolved until far after our arrival, leading to stress. Bahia Principe Reservations also tried to shift responsibility for changing the flights onto our airline, who immediately told us that we'd have to consult the party who booked it -- Bahia Principe Reservations. Although the issue was eventually resolved, the lack of communication and coordination between Reservations and the resort itself, as well as a general unwillingness from Reservations to recognize the inconvenience faced, left a bad taste in our mouths. This was not a cheap trip, so for the service to be so lacking was disappointing. Aside from this issue, there was no indication that booking direct with Bahia Principe had any benefits: a request we had made prior to booking was ignored and rooms on the same booking didn't get placed close to one another. If I return, I'll likely stay at Ambar and not book with Bahia Principe online.