Bahia Principe San Juan, Dominican Republic

Location: B
Amenities: B
Service: B
Fun Factor: B
The Food: C
Cost:

Best For: Families or couples who can make their own fun.
Date of Stay: December 2009.

The Lowdown: Traveling over Christmas is expensive no matter how you look at it or where you go. This is high season for most Caribbean resorts and finding a place to suit your budget can be a challenge. This holiday season we were traveling with another family and after some research we settled on Bahia Principe San Juan in the Dominican Republic. The resort met our basic requirements of beach, pool, and all inclusive and also promised a variety of meal options, entertainment and kids’ club.

Overall, we were satisfied with Bahia Principe. However, what I learned about myself (and certain members of my family) is that “basic” maybe isn’t quite enough. Don’t get me wrong, we had a great time but I worry that part of this is because we were there with friends and if we had been left to our own devices we (and yes this is the royal ‘we’) may have gotten a bit squirrely. Here is why: there was a fabulous big pool and a smaller pool in the Diamond Club near our room, there was a nice beach (dark sand), and there were a few options as far as extracurricular activities but overall the theme of this resort was relaxation. Lounging by the pool or sipping watery cocktails on the beach, eating oversized plates of food at the cafeteria like buffet, and a general feeling of inactivity. Perfect for some but a little less than for us. I guess we were expecting some more scheduled fun – beach volleyball games, water polo, darts, and maybe a ping pong tournament. If it was there, we didn’t see it. There was beach volleyball and ping pong but it seemed to be constantly occupied and not open for all. The truth is, by the end of our trip I think there was a little boredom setting in.

However, it is really important to clarify that this seemed to be how must guests wanted it. They wanted to relax and lounge and eat and drink. The laid back vibe seemed to work for most as far as we could tell. The resort was nice and we had a good time. That’s the bottom line.

Kid’s Comments: We had a great time at Bahia Principe with our friends! We had hoped that maybe there would be a bit more to do and that we would meet other kids but we played football on the beach and in the pool, swam to the “bubble” in the ocean, and had so much fun every night at the Mini Disco. The mini golf and tennis were fun but very busy and the ping pong table was always taken by a group of teenagers. We were never able to find the kids club for older kids so we made our own fun.

Top 5 Things You Should Know About Bahia Principe San Juan:

1. The Beach: The beach at Bahia Principe San Juan stretches the length of this huge resort and there are lots of options for lounging in the shade or sun, in a secluded corner or closer to the action. You should know that the beach is not white sand and, although I didn’t think it would, this made it slightly less desirable in my opinion. The kids had a blast swimming in the ocean. When we first arrived there were major storms so the waves were pretty spectacular and even when they weren’t the beach has these “bubbles” (see pic above) that the kids loved to climb on and get washed overboard. I am not sure what the purpose of these is but they definitely made for some fun times!

2. The Food: This was an all inclusive resort and my feeling is that in response to the desires of its patrons the Bahia Principe offers a huge selection and quantity of food but, in so doing, compromises the quality. Although my husband and son often went back for seconds, I found myself sticking to bread and fresh fruit. The food was done in a cafeteria style so there were a lot of fatty, processed foods and few options for salads or fresh foods. The A la Carte restaurants were a little better offering restaurant style dishes of a higher calibre. However, if I am to be honest, I was not impressed by the food. I would have preferred a simpler, fresher menu. 

3. The Amenities: Bahia Principe is promoted as a 4 Star resort but, in my experience, one can safely remove 1 star from pretty much any Caribbean resort to get a more accurate rating. So, in considering this, the amenities were OK. Due to the storms earlier in the week most of the water-based activities were out of commission so we were land-bound. The mini-golf was a fun option for a bit of a break, we played a few games of tennis, and the pool was definitely a focal point. Because the resort was so packed it would have been nice to have a few more options although the staff did get creative and got some of the guests up and involved in some beach or poolside contests and games.

4. Kid’s Programming:
The regular evening kids Mini Disco was a huge hit! My kids participated every night and looked forward to the chance to get up with a group and “perform” for an audience. Although it was a bit repetitive (same song and dance), in some ways it was good because by the end of the week the kids knew the routine quite well. As for specific kids programming during the day, as far as I could tell there wasn’t any. There was something for kids under 5 years-old but nobody seemed to be able to tell us where to go for the 6-12 year-old group. The kids, of course, had each other but would have enjoyed some organized games and crafts with others their age.

5. Location: The Bahia Principe San Juan is a pretty straightforward one hour drive from the Puerto Plata airport. Like most Caribbean countries the driving is a bit crazy but transportation was decent. The flight is an easy 4ish hours from Toronto making anywhere in the Dominican pretty easily accessible from Toronto which may explain the abundance of Ontarians and Quebecois at the resort.