Punta Cana Hotel Tips by montrealsky

Here is our experience at Bahia Principe, 24April 2005 - 1May 2005


SICKNESS
Three of us had some kind of stomach sickness. We didn’t take Imodium with us, nor did we use Malaria pills. It is advisable to do so, as there is a swamp full of mosquitoes in the middle of the resort. A mosquito repellent bought from the resort at an exorbitant price didn’t help: mosquitoes landed and ate comfortably from areas of our skin previously sprayed.

RESTAURANTS
Be on time at your a-la-carte restaurants! At Mikado we were late by 12 minutes. The manager wanted us to reschedule, since the persons with whom we were scheduled to share the table were already there. We refused to go away: being in vacation and not in the army, a 12-minute-late wasn't such a big crime. Finally, the manager agreed to squeeze us in, saying we would have to skip the Miso soup and the Tempura shrimp, our co-table partners had time to eat in those 12 minutes we were late!? However, he seated us at an empty table. While eating our sushi, he came and said: “I see you are eating very fast, so I can offer you our Miso soup, too.” We refused, as we didn't like to be treated as if were at someone’s mercy.

KIDS-CLUB
As its location is next to the ecological swamp full of mosquitoes, we asked for our daughter not to be taken on their outside playground. There were no special activities, probably because there weren’t enough kids. A teacher also advised us we couldn't leave her with them more than 3 hours at a time.

FLIGHT BACK
Our flight was scheduled to leave from terminal #1, which isn't airconditioned. We found very hard to breathe surrounded by smokers and the fuel "breeze” coming from the planes (this airport is an open one :) However, in the adjacent terminal #2 that is airconditioned, one can enjoy breathing, and also eating at some restaurants, or shopping at the duty-free shops. As there are no chutes or shuttles from the airport to the plane, walking to the plane in the tropical heat and fuel vapors was also annoying.

Unique Qualities: HOTEL CHECK-IN
TIP: It was well worth the Bahia Principe Golden Club upgrade, as they did our check-in while we were in the bus to our hotel!

RESTAURANTS AND FOOD
We would recommend going to the French restaurant, “Le Gourmet,” even four times. It was the best! In general, at the buffets, the food was plentiful and there was a good variety but we all seemed to have a problem finding something we liked.

RESORT & BEACH
Awesome room-service (thanks Ramona!), awesome aerobic classes on the beach (thanks Jose and his colleague who’s name escapes me!), and awesome beach (thanks God!). Very, very friendly staff!
TIP1: If you want a hut that is closed to the beach AND the swimming-pools, get up early. Around 6:30 am they were all taken. The tip I’ve read that you can throw your towel on a chair by the midnight wasn’t helpful, as they clean the beach and stack the chairs on almost every evening.
TIP2: Don’t miss the shopping village located a 20-minute-walk from the resort. They have very good deals on oil-on-canvas paintings! They can wrap you the canvas, so it is easy to transport them back home.

CONCLUSION
We would go back to this resort tomorrow!

NOTE
I have posted a more detailed version of this comment on tripadvisor.com, where I am also a member, yet under a different nick.

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Theme: Hotel
Comparison: more expensive than average