Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo

“Good experience with this hotel.”

I just recently stayed at the hotel. Gabriel and Maria --Liz at the front desk are wery helpful. The other staff also, was friendly. I recommend this hotel. Butiful Beach. Good food. Brazilian and French restorants are proffesional management.

“True Dominican Experience in a Resort”

We just returned from 6 nights at Bahia Principe El Portillo for spring break and I am still processing how profoundly this place affected our family. We are Dominican, and usually vacation in my hometown La Romana, but changing to Samana was worth it! Samaná itself is unlike anywhere else in the … more

We just returned from 6 nights at Bahia Principe El Portillo for spring break and I am still processing how profoundly this place affected our family. We are Dominican, and usually vacation in my hometown La Romana, but changing to Samana was worth it! Samaná itself is unlike anywhere else in the Dominican Republic. The people here are proud, warm, and genuinely invite you into their culture rather than performing it for you. That tone runs through this entire resort. The property is beautiful without being pretentious, . The grounds are lush, the beach is calm, clear water, and the reef right at the water's edge means fish greet you during your swims. The resort cats, ducks, and birds are friendly and well loved by guests — my son made fast friends with the ginger one who visited our patio daily. This is true Dominican "campo" living at a resort which is rare. Do not come here trying to change Dominican culture that you are lucky to be exposed to, sweet animals roaming freely are part of that and they are safe, not hurting or bothering anyone. The food was consistently excellent and plentiful. My son, who is a notoriously picky eater, ate everything put in front of him all week. That alone tells you something about the quality. Also, you actually had really good Dominican food!! Which is hard to find at most resorts who seem to just have western food, and who vacations just to have the same food you can get at home. We also made reservations which are a must in the morning, at the Greek and Italian restaurant which were both fantastic. The tuna carpacio was nice, the fresh fish at home were perfect. We missed the steak house Boa, but heard it was their top spot. The location makes day trips seamless as well, we were picked up here fro Monkeyland, and zip lining which was a huge hit with our 7 year old. We were able to get taxis easily to Las Terrenas and then took motos back, but if you have a car it's easy to get around as well. We had the kids water park, basketball court and gym next to us which made it easy to do other activities when we wanted a break from the pool/beach. The staff were all consistently kind, present, and genuinely happy to be there. I was craving a fresh Coconut water and the staff found it for me at the pool from the sports bar. Multiple people told us they choose to stay and work in Samaná despite better paying opportunities elsewhere as resort staff because of the quality of life. You feel that in every interaction. Also, I see a lot of reviews about the rooms being old which we knew before we booked, but honestly it wasn't that bad. The rooms were spacious and clean, it has an older style, but its similar to any older styles in Palm Beach/Miami. It gives more vintage Collins/deco vibe than anything, and that's ok. Everything doesn't have to be modern, we have enough of that, it was fine/ and pretty charming. We prioritized a calm/clean beach, food, kid friendly fun, and restaurants and got all of that and more. My son sobbed at breakfast on our last morning. He has never done that leaving any vacation. That is my truest review. We will be back. This one stays with you. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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