Bahia Principe Luxury Esmeralda

The hotel was closing we did not know. Food was not very good. Service mediocre and everyone was asking for tips all the time. The rooms old not nice emenities. Will never come back. No one helped with restaurant times were terrible. [Details]

I sent reviews during my stay. [Details]

We had high hopes for our 15 days in one of the most beautiful places in the Caribbean to be wonderful in every way. And it wasn't right from the beginning. Our first room, there wasn't a mattress on the bed just box spring, the next morning we spoke to the front desk and told them about what we found. Unacceptable and we'd never experienced this ever in all the travelling we've done. The front desk, adventually offered us another room that did have a good mattress but for more money. You'd think they would be so ashamed they not require us to may more. The whole hotel needs a complete upgrade, halls are dirty and needing repairs and paint. Stairwells dirty, stairwell railings in our building wiggling not safe to hold on to. Also needing a fresh coat of paint..dirty, The pools were lovely and kept clean, entertainment was good on the whole. We watched only a few as they began to late for us. Now to the last and the most disappointing part was the food! We wondered why and many guests who said they had stayed at the hotel before said the same. The buffet restaurants twice ran out of butter for toast, syrup for pancakes, French toast or crepes. I personally asked the kitchen staff to replenish the bowls...to no avail. Either they didn't have the butter or syrup and didn't review supplies before opening for breakfast or lunch. Also, No Bran cereals for the older generation who are needing fibre in their diet. I said to our Butler if we knew that we would have brought in our luggage bran flakes, buds or even raisin brand. Surely with the number of restaurants in all the joint owned hotels someone in charged, should have seen the shortfall and borrowed supplies. One lunch the restaurant ran out of beer! Also, the way this chain of hotels arranges for the guests to make reservations for dinner is very complicated and stressful. The internet during our 15 days wasn't working some days at all, we paid extra for the streamline service which near the end of our stay didn't work at all. All in all our stay at your hotel was very disappointing. The highlight on the most part were your staff, they tried to attend to us with little English and no Spanish or French on our part. The Butler we had, Maria, was wonderful and tried her best to help us make our holiday pleasant. Needless to say we won't be back to your chain of hotels. Coming from Vancouver, British Columbia the cost of this vacation was not inexpensive and the front desk when the internet or our room was far from satisfactory kept asking for more money. You have to know, many of the guests all were complaining about our same observations. We have stayed at a few all inclusive hotels and you should be ashamed of your hotel. [Details]

Firstly, the hotel is older and in need of updating although it was clean enough. The a la carte restaurants had amazing food and did not disappoint. The buffets were sub par with little to no variety. The worst service was as the Jasmine restaurant. The servers are extremely slow and rarely acknowledge you. On New Year's Eve, we did not have a choice but to book at this restaurant. Although we had reservations, the staff seated on a first come first serve basis and when questioned, were very rud, snapped at you and then ignored you. I asked the three hostess' names who were disinterested in assisting and at fist they lied and told me false names, then turned their name tags around so you could not see them or took them off altogether. Yurianny attempted to conceal her name, but was too late. She did gather all the staff to alert them and point me out which was unacceptably rude. The second hostess told me her name was Maria. Her name was actually Yasanfry. The third hostess told me her name was Nicole and it was actually Ludy. Obviously these three ladies knew they were rude and attempted to hide their identities. I did put in a complaint but the hotel manager did not reach out to discuss the poor service and rudeness of these three individuals. Totally unacceptable!! In addition they regularly ran out of food and drinks. The grounds are beautiful but you better pack your patience if you go to this hotel. [Details]

We enjoyed our stay because the beach was incredible and the grounds/pool were immaculate. That's what we came for and we got it. But like most places since the pandemic, service has taken a nose dive. From check in, to the lobby, to the restaurants, there is barely any motive to serve you. It didn't matter if I tipped or didn't tip. Sometimes servers would disappear after getting a tip. It was not like this before the pandemic. The food was not appetizing. I lost three pounds in the week I was here. The Brazilian steakhouse was good and the breakfast hash browns were my favourite. Everything else was poorly seasoned and way overcooked. The food problem is easily solved by better training. The poor service is solved by better management. I saw a manager in the lobby pointing out people to servers who were without drinks and the servers moved to solve that. These are easy fixes. I saw the cooks making the burgers over an inferno on the grill which explains why they were all burnt on the outside and almost raw on the inside. The cooks need better training. So much food is wasted because it is made poorly. The room we had smelled bad like mold. It's probably tough to keep that smell away but it's necessary. We had to plug our noses when we first entered the room. I'm not too put off by chips and dents, but smells are a problem. I would come back here if I got another amazing deal and if they fixed the food. Our next vacation will be somewhere that is a true five star. This place is a strong three or weak four. If they fix the food and service it will be a strong four. The entertainment crew is five star. They are bright, cheery, friendly, and kept the mood light. [Details]

Good luck calling room service for towel, baby crib, food or hygiene products. Absolutely no service. With over 7000 people per day in all the Bahia, the staff was not able to handle the high demand population. The WiFi was cutting on and off all the time. Down jn our room for almost 3 days. [Details]

Hands down 5*. We had such a great time all round - dining, pool, beach, services, rooms.
3 of us (2 rooms) travelled in March to this new to us resort. So impressed we will return next year. TY Esmeralda!! [Details]

Friendly, clean, excellent proximity to.beach, pools and restaurants. Amazing quality and variety of foods daily. Fun for family OR singles. [Details]

My husband and I booked Esmaralda for our 5 year wedding anniversary and were very disappointed in the service and the cleanliness of the bathrooms in the lobby and pool area. The ocean was too busy to enjoy, let alone get a spot. The pool was beautiful but were not able to get a spot everyday. We loved the food and drinks at the Ambar restaurants and the service was great at the a-la-cartes but service everywhere else was very unlike what we are use to at other Punta Cana resorts. We are use to the staff being so friendly and helpful, where we felt we were bothering them at this resort. Sadly disappointed as the reviews were so good. [Details]

Covid measures are not always followed and never enforced.
Check in form clearly states you will follow Covid rules and regulations. You must sign it digitally.
The site is VERY clean, pools are cleaned every morning VERY clean, eating areas and rooms VERY clean.
Disappointed with beach area for a 5 star it was not even a 1 star. Ambar resort beach was cleaned only. Until I complained to the right person. Mother Nature was not kind but they should have a person to at least clear a walk way to the ocean because the stench of seaweed that's 1 foot high. When they finally cleaned the beach of seaweed it was great!
The food 5 star restaurants!!! Buffet requires you to wear a plastic glove. Room service also a plus!!
Rooms are big!
First time I saw a cirque de Soleil show over the pool. Amazing. [Details]

Please see strong and weak points. Overall, we enjoyed our stay and recommend the Bahia Principe Esmeralda in the Dom. Republic [Details]

The hotel was clean, the grounds and beach beautiful. [Details]

Nice food and drinks. Good service if you tip. Interior in the room is a bit tired. Good luck with booking a la carte... Not too much of kids entertainment. [Details]

This hotel is over priced and over rated. This hotel is nice but best suited for families with young children. There is little to no adult entertainment and the lights and bar go off at 11:30 pm. The food at the buffet is average and the staff speaks little to no English. This can be a source of frustration for both the guest and staff. [Details]

We enjoyed most of the trip people food entertainment t was good not enough for adults at es. Esmeralda entertainment big problem with restaurants we had 2 weeks ahead and only 3 went through very hard getting them [Details]

Loved the resort! The junior suite we had was exactly as it looked in the pictures! Very wide range of restaurants which was awesome. Would highly recommend this resort!! [Details]

Great hotel, friendly and helpful staff. Restaurants are excellent. [Details]

Great hotel, friendly and helpful staff. Restaurants are excellent. [Details]

Vacations with my wife and 6-year-old son. Very nice complex. Resort is very nice, clean and well maintained. Beautiful beach (not too much algae when we were there). Staff always smiling and helping. Food was great; especially the ''a la carte restaurants'' while the buffet was good but not has much choices compared to other ''all-included'' I have done recently. Free WiFi acces on the complex. Would go back! [Details]

Location is good with a nice clean facility and amazing staff. The food at the buffets were good. The french restaurant was excellent but unfortunatly the Japanese restaurants takara and mikado dont serve actual japanese food. Whatever we order they serve the food in a dominican way and it takes a long time. The higher floors have brighter and less humid rooms [Details]

Our family stay at the Resort was great. The entire team are fully focused on customer enjoyment from the Beach Restaurant (you need to meet Jesus at the grill; amazing waitress Luis, Hector, Marylin), at the Restaurant Buffet the food was decent and Juana made our breakfast an excellent experience. If you like "mojitos" as Juan at the Pool Bar to make them for you. Alexandra at the beach will ensure your drinks are always filled and she has a friendly and joyfull approach. When you get to your room find your mayordomo (buttler); Amauris was ours and what a great service. Our pillows were always ready every night and even our bathtub was prepped to celebrate our anniversary. Strongly recommend this hotel. [Details]

This resort is not only beautiful but so well kept! You can see how hard the people work to make the grounds look the way they do! Very friendly people and good service! We enjoyed the food very much especially the buffet because of the variety of foods. There are beautiful pools even one for children if you like that but we prefer the beach. The beach was like never ending it was so long on both sides of the resort. Great for long walks everyday! Our room was beautiful with a safe and cleaned very well everyday! We had a wonderful time and experience! [Details]

About 7 years ago we stayed at this resort but, in the Anbar Blue section. We loved the attention to detail then, and since we were traveling with our family believed we would love the Luxury Esmeralda.
When we were taken to our rooms my daughters room had at least 10-12 large bags of laundry, the room was not made up and the shower had a fuzzy mold on the shower walls. We tried to address the mold and the fact that her room was still not made up as other rooms are again on the third day, the room was finally addressed but the fuzzy mold was still there.
Since we were a group we decided to establish the coffee bar as our meeting point, so each am and pm we would meet before meals. Attention to service was little to non existent. Self serve Coffee machines in the coffee bar were available well into the evening on the day we arrived. Following that they were shut down at 6pm.
Pool side service was non existent...since the wind was high the beach was not accessable due to high waves, so we stayed around the main pool. Only once during a 7 day stay did we get any poolside service! Pool loungers well there were lots of towels on many chairs, no people to claim the towels...it would have been nice to have had management enforce the no saving loungers rule...only then would we have been able to have seating for our group. In fact we all agreed that the day before our last daywe would sit together at the pool, however the only way we were able to do that was to have my husband head to the pool at 5am and gather 7 loungers and guard them. All other loungers were claimed by 6am.
We asked for assistance to find loungers and were told we needed to find someone who worked in the pool area...good luck!
Although the hotel may appear to be 5 star I would not class it 5 star any longer. As noted earlier 7 years ago I was amazed with the service and care we received...this time it is asif no one really cared.
We have stayed at 4-5 other Bahia Principe establishments in various countries each experiece knocked me off my feet and we always spoke highly of our experice, I will not return to this establishemtn in Punta Cana would not recommend this Hotel;. [Details]

Very beautiful and well kept set of resorts overall. Took the hotel 4 hours to get our room ready. Housekeeping was always slow every day, and never followed our instructions for no alcohol and extra chips that we regularly shared with reception and their manager. I really hated how crowded the beach was. We went during low season, so I can only imagine the nightmare for those people who go during busy season. One of the two buffet restaurants was closed the whole week we were there. Some of the a la carte's were really delicious, though we were only able to secure reservations for them on 4 of our 7 nights' stayed at the hotel, and basically took what was available. Doesn't feel like a true 5 star hotel. [Details]

It was a great experience overall, the Esmeralda hotel was really close to the beach and convenient. Food was good and they have a great variety of alcoholic drinks as well [Details]

The experience was amazing , I was in paradise . The staff were so happy and upbeat made my experience even better . The resort was spotless and the food was good . It was beyond my expectations . I liked that Esmeralda went adults only for the winter months . I will return next spring if it is adults only for that time again . Our butler Aneary was a polite young man and made our stay unforgettable . [Details]

Very large facility with 7 hotels within the resort. The grounds and rooms and restaurants are kept spotlessly clean. Wonderful people who go above and beyond to make your vacation outstanding. The only negative was the gym, the one at fantasia is the only one to use, the other two are pretty basic, and not very well equipped [Details]

BEAUTIFUL BEACH, DOSENT GET MUCH BETTR. CLEAN, STAYED ROOM 93004 FIRST FLOOR GREAT ROOM.QUIET. WOULD RECOMMEND THIS RESORT. HAD A GREAT STAY. I HAVE BEEN MANY PLACES AND I WOULD RETURN HERE. [Details]

I HAVE BEEN TO THE DOMINICAN 4 TIMES. THIS RESORT WAS VERY NICE , CLEAN, AND WELL KEPT. THE GROUNDS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND BEACH WAS AMAZING.CANT SAY ENOUGH ABOUT THE BEACH. I ALLWAYS DO A 4 STAR OR BETTER THIS WAS TO MY FUL EXPECTATIONS.ONLY THING IS THAT THE ALACART RESTERAUNTS ARE VERY SPREAD OUT BUT THEY DO HAVE A SHUTTLE TO EACH ONE AND ARE EASY ENOUGH TO CATCH [Details]

Our 3rd time returning to this resort. Excellent service and amenities [Details]