Bahia Principe San Juan, Puerto Plata > Reviews > Christmas at the Bahia Principe.

Author's product rating:   

Value for Money	Excellent
Quality of Rooms	Good
Standard of Service	Excellent
Quality of Facilities	Excellent

Advantages:	Beautiful place, lovely people, great service and just plain good fun .
Disadvantages:	Telephon service goes down regularly though mobile reception was good .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I visited the Bahia Principe San Juan over Christmas 2007 until New Year 2008. Earlier in the year I had grave doubts about the holiday after reports of people hospitalised with food poisening, dirty rooms etc. Well, in retrospect I was there at the perfect time. All the rooms had been redecorated and a strict hygene regeme was in force such that all visitors to all the restaurants had to clean their hands with a cleaning gel before entering the actual restaurant.
The food was excellent with a bewildering choice. Many times I would get my dinner and say to my wife or daughter "I did'nt see that, oh I love that". You get the idea, just too big a choice.
The entertainment was not Broadway standard but that said, you dont get to rub shoulders with the stars after Phantom of the Opera. If you can accept the lack of polish, the pleasure is more than made up for by the charm of nice people working their socks off and doing their very best.
During the day you have lovely quiet beaches, active and quiet pools, mini-golf, tennis etc. The Animacion staff who run the activities are never less than friendly but all retain their own personalities. These people take a genuine pleasure in what they do, they are not Butlin Redcoats.
In the evenings, after the show, the cast and Animacion staff accompany the night birds to the street (owned by the Hotel) where a dance area is layed out and a small stage. They play some silly games and you can dance the night away (at least until 2am). You can then go to the bar (The Hard Rock) and dance, drink and sing or the Casino (slot machines, roulette, poker etc). Bearing in mind that all drinks are free (well you know what I mean, the hotel in all inclusive) if you don't have a great time, you are not trying.
The rooms were nice and clean and the setting perfect. The room staff were great and could not do enough for you.
We went on a few trips and can recomend Ocean World to swim with dolphins, to the blue lagoon where you can swim in the icy water which legend says will take 10 years off of your age and the Fiesta Night Out.
If I had a flashback I would see beautifull girls dancing, humming birds, flowers and Rum. Lovely.