Resort Details
Customer Ratings & Reviews
TripAdvisor Traveler Rating
8512 reviews
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Apr 06, 2025Overbooked
Overboooked and overpriced Too many people Not enough beach chairs People sit on restaurant stools! Had to wake at 7 to get some spot-not a good one, just any! Last time at this property, this was my fourth and last visit Reality is unable to accommodate any requests even for a high price point repeat guests
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Apr 02, 2025Good, but not a 4.5 because of the rooms
The beach, pools & entertainment is all good. The buffet is good, never ran out of options. The Restaurant’s are very good but places are limited so its best to reserve ahead of time on the website or app. The problem with this resort is the rooms are very outdated. The first room we got had only one outlet close to the bed and it was broken so my husband could not plug his CPAP. We tried to call reception but the phone wasn’t working either. No jack just 2 wires hanging from the wall. We went to the reception desk where they offered to upgrade our room for $100 US which we did. This room had an outlet and a working phone. The room is outdated but OK the bathroom really needs repair leaky sink mouldy shower, hardware is rusted and leaks. On one day we had no hot water. After speaking with a few guests they too had upgraded for similar reasons. Although I hear some rooms have been renovated ours were not. The resort itself is clean and the grounds are well kept.
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Mar 28, 2025
So So
Our experience started with disappointment. After a 5-hour flight and a 1-hour drive to the hotel, we had to wait over an hour in line to check in. When we finally arrived at our room (11307), we discovered that the floor of the washroom was covered in water and unusable. Two maintenance staff came to look at it, but when we returned after dinner, the washroom had not been cleaned—it was still dirty and unusable. The next morning, I attempted to use the washroom again, but it was still flooded. I went to the reception at 6:00 AM to report the issue, but no action was taken. Later, around 9:00 AM, I returned with my family to raise the concern again. It was very upsetting, especially as the following day was my birthday. In general, communication was difficult, as many of the staff did not speak English well, which made it hard to order in the restaurants. The resort app showed that restaurants were fully booked, yet we noticed many empty tables. Additionally, we were surprised to find that not all restaurants were open every day. On a positive note, the beach, pool, bar service, and entertainment were all amazing, and we truly appreciated those aspects of our stay. However, due to the issues we experienced, we are unsure whether we would choose to return or recommend this resort to our friends.
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Mar 26, 2025Excellent Hotel!
Excellent hotel! There was an abundance of delicious food and lots of choice. The grounds are so well maintained and lots of staff around to get good service. The layout of the resort is so well designed, that the dining, pool and beach are all in close proximity of each other. Only drawback would be the well used sheets and pillows and the abundance of smokers.
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Mar 23, 2025Good vacation
Excellent vacation at the Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo Resort during the 2nd week of March. Beautiful beach, well maintained resort, new pool and buffet, since we were here last many years ago. The food was good, the pastries the best I tasted from any resort. The only item I missed was the chocolate fountain they used to have. The A la Carte restaurants were difficult to reserve since mostly all booked on first day of arrival except some openings on last 3 days of our stay. So book early. We preferred Brasilian one best. They serve different meats or fish on a sword they bring at each table. Entertainment was often a different singer in the evening. Finding room at the beach was never a problem. The water warm with no waves at the beach because of the corals. Bring your snorkel and mask to see beautiful fish. No fins required since beach has soft sand and you do not want to go fast near corals that are 20 ft from beach edge at places. WI-FI good, even possible at beach near buffet building. The service from personnel was very good. Hope to go back again.