Samaná (Las Terrenas), Dominican Republic
Rating8.1
Rating6.6
Rating6.6Good
Based on 6.3k reviews
The Stunning Beach
Guests consistently rave about the beautiful, expansive white-sand beach, ideal for long walks, swimming, and snorkeling, with ample chairs and umbrellas.
Friendly and Attentive Staff
The resort's staff are frequently commended for their exceptional friendliness, helpfulness, attentiveness, and professionalism, making guests feel very welcome.
Food Variety and Quality
The buffet, particularly breakfast, and specific à la carte restaurants like the Brazilian and Fish Market, receive strong positive remarks for their diverse and quality offerings.
Overall Cleanliness
Public areas, the pool, and grounds are consistently praised for being very clean and well-maintained, contributing to a pleasant and organized resort experience.
Room Condition and Maintenance
The most significant and frequent complaint highlights that rooms are old, outdated, worn, and in need of renovation, with issues like poor air conditioning and worn-off bathrooms.
Noise Issues
Guests commonly report disturbances from slamming doors due to an old closing system, which can disrupt tranquility and sleep.
Inconsistent Room Cleaning
While overall cleanliness is good, some guests have experienced occasional lapses in daily room cleaning, where rooms were skipped until a complaint was made.
Natural Beach Elements
Although the beach is generally loved, some visitors note the presence of natural plants, rocks, or seasonal algae in certain areas, which are natural Caribbean phenomena.
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Travelife Certification
Travelife
Eco-certified Property
Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo occupies a direct beachfront position on El Portillo beach in Las Terrenas, one of the calmer and wider stretches of Caribbean sand in the Dominican Republic. The beach is reef-protected, which means genuinely calm, swimmable water — a practical advantage over Atlantic-facing resorts where waves can limit beach use on windy days. The resort's 2020 renovation cost $10 million and introduced a 'Mirror of the Sea' village concept throughout the public areas, giving it a more distinctive coastal-town aesthetic than standard all-inclusive design.
Families with children and honeymooners are the two main audiences this property is pitched at, and both are reasonably well served. The beach footprint is the largest differentiator — guests in guest reviews specifically cite 'long walks on the beach' as something this location enables in a way Bavaro doesn't. The connecting rooms sleeping up to eight guests make this viable for extended family groups. The Boavista Brazilian rodizio receives the best food reviews of any specialty restaurant here.
The rooms remain the biggest gap between promise and delivery. Despite the $10M renovation, post-2020 reviews continue to describe room air conditioning as unreliable, bathroom fixtures as worn, and doors with old closing mechanisms that slam audibly throughout the night. If you're a light sleeper, the slamming door issue is worth flagging to reception for a room assignment away from high-traffic corridors.
The resort opened in 2006, has 484 rooms across five categories, and sits about 34 km from El Catey Airport (AZS) — 45 minutes to 90 minutes depending on traffic on the winding coastal road. Motion sickness medication is worth packing for the transfer. Las Terrenas is a smaller destination than Bavaro with less off-site infrastructure, but that also means the beach is less crowded.