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Gran Bahia Principe Ambar 
Location: Beach front - Punta Cana - East Coast - 30 mins. from Punta Cana airport
All-inclusive - Adults Only - 528 Junior Suites with hydromassage bath tub and separated jet shower with hydromassage, set in 3 storey villas
Description from resort website: 5 Restaurants - 2 Pools - Privileged location: closest possible location to the ocean with exclusive services - VIP Amenities - International drinks and cocktails - Butler Service - Room Service from 10:00am to 6:00am - Nightly pillow turndown service - Bathrobes and slippers - Beach and Pool Towel Service - SPORTS- 1 free hour per day: Windsurfing, Kayaks, Sail Boats, boogie boards, catamaran, day and night tennis courts, mountain bikes, snorkeling, scuba diving classes - Gym - Guests have access to all facilities and services offered at the hotel as well as those offered at the main BAHIA PRINCIPE complex with 5 pools, 8 restaurants, 10 bars, 2 snack bars, 2 lobby bars and 4 wet bars - Unlimited number of dinners at all a-la carte restaurants (with reservations).
 ~ Reviews posted on this page — 44
 ~ Reader's Vacation Photos ~
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 ~ Dominican Republic Travel Forum
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| Last Updated:
29 November, 2009 |
| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Houssam ~ Ottawa, ON, Canada |
November 29 2009
Arrival: Nov 12-19, 2009
Our arrival was tiring. I do no like flying. And I was amazed by the nice welcome that they did for us at Ambar. We never had to stand at the front desk, which is great. They took us straight to a nice room with A/C. They offered us nice cold fruit punches at the entrance. And then they gave us a short briefing and our package (keys, A la carte reservations, maps, etc.). We were impressed by that welcome.
Rooms:
Rooms were great. We were at different Gran Bahia Principe before. But the rooms at Ambar were better.
Restaurants and Bars:
The restaurants were amazing. We loved the main buffet. It was very classy. It had huge variety of food. And for sure it has different themes every night. We went to three "a la carte" restaurants: El Olivo, Don Pablo and the Italian one. We loved them. Make sure that you order the lobster dinner at Don Pablo.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was OK. We were comparing it to Varadero. But it was very clean. We had some waves. Pool was amazing...
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We went on couple of tours: Manati park and Tropical Storm (all day). Manati park was over rated. It is so small. We did not like it. The dolphins were in a very small pool (dirty pool). They did a nice show for us. But the trip back in that truck was too much. We should have rented a cab.
The catamaran trip on Tropical Storm was very nice. We had a super nice rep "Olga" that escorted us on that trip. The most we liked is the natural pool area. It is a wow! But if we knew, we should have selected the sunset catamaran trip. It included a lobster dinner at the best seafood restaurant "Jelly Fish" on the island. But no body told us.
Other Comments:
The hotel was a WOW!. We loved it. We loved the staff. The management presented themselves to us on Wednesday night which we never saw in any other hotel. Listen to this, we met a couple over there that had flooding in their room due to the heavy rain. The hotel staff offered right away moving them to another room. But the guest said that he liked that room. Guess what? They sent 9 maids to clean up the room. I repeat, they sent 9 maids.
The hotel has amazing vegetation/plants. We wanted to have a picture with each plant. They did beautiful work.
The only thing that we did not like is our rep from Transat Holidays "Sonia" she was very dry. She never took the time to explain anything to us. However the other rep "Juan" was amazing.
I am very disappointed with couple of bad reviews for Ambar that I read on this site. I have no idea what they are comparing Ambar to. We went to many 5* resorts. This is the best one so far.
As I said before, the hotel is a WOW!!! We will definitely go back and we will recommend that to other friends.
Email Houssam: howayed@rogers.com
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Steve ~ Ontario Canada |
November 2009
Arrival: 08 Nov to 15 Nov 2009
My wife and I were first time visitors to an all-inclusive type of resort and also first timers to the Dominican Republic, after having done a number of cruises, and therefore seen many Caribbean islands. We used Debbie's web site for much research and reviews, then settled on this wonderful location, known as Gran Bahia Principe Ambar. We were not disappointed. It is a first class resort; clean, friendly, tasteful and probably has too much good food. We have to avoid the bathroom scales upon our return home for a few days.
Rooms:
We stayed in a second floor room in building 62. The main floor rooms have a nice patio, and floors two and three have nice private balconies. Very pleasant to sit out in late afternoon with a hot coffee or a cold one of your choice, all of which is provided in the room and mini bar fridge. The superior junior suites of the Ambar are beautifully decorated, quite large and very comfortable. The beds are king, and very comfy. The washroom is marble and tile and equipped with top quality fittings. No problems whatsoever in here. If I had a suggestion at all for the washroom, it would be to add an exhaust fan for shower humidity control. It's not a big deal, since the air conditioning in the room a few steps away works extremely well. Man, it will freeze you out.
Restaurants and Bars:
As an Ambar guest, you may have the run of the resorts restaurants, and one cannot possibly hit them all in a week. Let me start with the Ambar Palmyria Buffet. What a beautiful spot! You feel like you are in a high-class restaurant. Great decor, a welcoming hostess, and plenty of staff waiters to look after your every need. The food is an amazing collection of delectable dishes that seemed to meet every international taste. I always like to experiment with new food during my travels, while my wife likes to keep it more simple, and we were both impressed. From breakfast where you have more than enough selections, many of which are DR types with salsa, veggies, eggs, meats, breads, cheeses, an omelet station, to orange juices, special creamy banana drinks, and don't forget the amazing Santo Domingo coffee. Fill up on that stuff! I bought three bags of DR coffee on the beach shop and a couple of more jars at the farm.
For dinner, they transform the buffet into a different theme each night, and the choices are too many to mention. I never had a bad meal in this buffet, and in fact, missed going to it on the nights that we enjoyed some of the special a la carte restaurants. Now to the a la cartes. You may multiple choices of visiting Mediteranian, Japanese, Italian, French Gourmet, etc. These will blow your mind and your palate. You are welcomed at each by a friendly hostess with a delicious cocktail of fruit style-who-knows-what - just drink and enjoy it - and given white tablecloth treatment and fabulous deserts. Please dress up a bit for dinner in the evenings. It makes it so much more enjoyable. The staff are fabulously dressed to greet and serve you. Don't return the favor by wearing a t-shirt and jeans and a ball cap.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
My wife and I found the beach at Ambar to be the cleanest of the half-dozen or so that we could walk by. Staffers were attending to the odd dropped cup or blowing trash, and also looked after any sea weed that blew in. Ambar's is a wide, superior beach, with the softest while sand you will ever walk on. The water is clean and warm. Each day, we would walk right by all those folks who rushed to get a palupa hut to sit under, because many of them are well back from the water. We simply obtained beach lounges and positioned them for a 'front row seat' of the beach, and usually we found a place partly shaded by a beautiful palm tree. I can't imagine why some folks want to sit under a palapa so far from the water when all they can see are the backside of other palapas and not the water. We didn't travel 3000 kilometers to not see the turquoise crystal ocean. So we had a front row seat every day. What a treat. We even laid on the lounges though a rain storm - what fun. !
The sun returns quickly after a D.R. rain.
The pool is fabulous. It's just like in the pictures, and is also clean and welcoming.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We ventured off the resort only one day, and that was with the Bavaro Runners tour. This is a good back-country tour with a stop at sugar cane, a farm where you can see locals living and making coffee, etc., and the tour ends with a one hour stop at Macao Beach, so wear your swim suit under other clothes.
Another great half-day fun is just borrow bikes and tour the whole Bahia resort. While you're out, visit some of the other pools and buffets spread throughout the hugh resort. There is the Gran Bahia PUNTA CANA, and the Gran Bahia BAVARO, and within those are the Bavaro PREMIER, Royal Golden, Club Diamond, etc.
Other Comments:
Please make sure you see the Michael Jackson show. I've read many derogatory comments in some forums about the shows, but we were just there, and we both thought it was great and we enjoyed it so much. It was standing room only. Those kids work so hard at putting on the show, and can they ever dance!
Even though this is an all-inclusive, if you go, consider tipping your room maid each day. You'll find that she works real hard. Consider tipping for each meal. You'll find that those great waiters, maitre di staff and servers go non stop to make your holiday great. Treat them great in return.
OK, one last thing............Just forget everything you just read and tell NO ONE about this place. We cannot wait to go back and we want to keep this place a secret. My wife and I have decided that we WILL return one day, and that we will not even look at any other brochures, or locations in Punta Cana since we found this little piece of God's Heaven. We're sure there are other lovely places in the DR, but we can't imagine liking them any better than this one. So if you tell too many people about this, there might not be room for us! Just kiddin'...........go and enjoy.........you will not be disappointed.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Carolyn ~ Toronto |
November 2009
Arrival: November 7-14
We arrived from Toronto via Montreal on Air Canada. All went well with airport immigration, luggage and loading onto buses.
We arrived in the late evening so it was already dark outside. We were dropped off at the Bavaro lobby and were to take a shuttle to the Ambar lobby. There was MUCH confusion and it took 10 minutes for a shuttle to arrive.
Once at the Ambar lobby, more confusion ensued. Finally we got to our room after a painful 35+ minutes stepping off the bus.
Rooms:
Room at Ambar is a bit bigger that the others we saw at resort. Separate tub and shower which was good for us. Shower door did not fully close but we dealt with it. Room was kept tidy. We left maid $2/day and almost never had the fridge restocked.
One thing we noticed as did others in our group staying at the resort was a foul smell in our bathroom from time to time (sewage/cabbage smell) We thought it was the drainage.
Nice to have some English tv channels etc.
Our room was close to main Ambar lobby, beach and pool so that was an EXCELLENT feature.
Our friends stayed at the Bavaro part of resort and although they were near beach/pool it was far to the buffets so they skipped breakfast most mornings.
Restaurants and Bars:
Severerly disappointed with the food. This is NOT 5* in our eyes. We have been to some great resorts throughout Mexico and the Carribean and this did not make the cut food wise. It was often lukewarm, not very tasty and presentable and overall the quality was not there. What a huge huge disappointment. House wine was much better at Ambar A la cartes then other restaurants at resort We went to all the a la cartes at Amabar, with ok reviews after eating there. We really enjoyed the Maiko and El Pesador at the main resort.
Bars were good, servers were usually readily available. They give you the crappy local alcohol brand but we started to ask for dark rum and Stolyska vodka which helped.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pools were great and kept clean. Beach was fantastic and cleaned of debris every night. Never had an issue with chairs unless you wanted shade and then you had to reserve early AM.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
No tours for us although we did pay a guy to take us out to the ship wreak...an interesting 30 min boat ride.
Nighttime entertainment was decent although NO ONE on stage seems to be enjoying themselves. Even the guy running the Kareoke bar looked miserable.
We were a young group (20's-30's) and about 15 of us in total. We decided the night club needs major help....music not very contempory for the most part and the first 45 mins it is opened (at midnight!!) it's all a spanish dancing contest. Brutal night after night.
Other Comments:
Overall we had a great time, largely in part to the sunny days at the beach and pool. The one thing we were suprised with was most staff, particularly front of line staff, don't speak a word of English. Granted I don't expect major fluency but basic words should be a must when dealing with customers. One night I order a fish off a menu and it took the waiter 1 minute and me pointing out dish on menu to comprehend.
Anyhow, somo people in our group really enjoyed the resort so to each his own. I would encourage people to try the resort but not to have a full 5 star * expectation
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Kelly ~ PA |
September 2009
Arrival: September 1-10th
Upon arriving at The Gran Bahia Prinicpe we were greeted quickly by a friendly front desk staff, bell boy and waitress serving us fruit juice and damp cloth to wipe our hands from our travels. 5 minutes later we were checked in and our bell boy took our luggage to our villa (Villa 64) which was set perfectly in-between the lobby, pool and beach.
Rooms:
The rooms were beautiful! The bed and bathroom is the most important to me. It was super clean, the bed was comfortable and the pillow service was a great touch. After a long day at the beach laying your head on an chamomile scented pillow was amazing. The jacuzzi tub was awesome. One day after the beach, the tub was filled with bubbles, tea-light candles and flower petals, the butler service went over and beyond to please us.
Restaurants and Bars:
Great array of foods for everyone's taste. Fresh and beautifully presented. Amazing deserts, hot teas, coffee and cappuccino. In the buffet you can also have steak, fish, or pasta prepared for you to your liking. Each night had a theme such as Mexican, Spanish, Asian, American etc. The waiters here were absolutely outstanding. While we were there, we celebrated my parents anniversary, the wait staff went out of their way to make this a special night. A beautiful cake was made for them as well as some singing and celebrating. Argelis and Nelson were a couple of our favorites. We didn't visit any restaurants, we preferred the buffet.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
We were there in September which was a great time to go. We pretty much had the beach and pool to ourselves. Everything was amazingly clean. Staff always made sure that there were no one from other hotels wandering over to ours and stuck to the rules. The swim up bar had whatever you thirst for, and the beach side buffet was great for lunch!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We didn't go on any tours, but we plan to visit again next year and we will try the ATV tour, a few couples said it was really great.
Other Comments:
We will absolutely be returning to this resort. The adults only really made it a nice, chill atmosphere. The staff at this resort made you feel like royalty. Jorge was especially helpful, sending us special pillows and decorating my parents room for their anniversary. Florence the butler was a riot and wouldn't let us lift a finger. I can't say enough about this immaculate resort. We are already planning our next trip there.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
DDF ~ Toronto |
July 2009
Arrival: April 16-30
We were a party of 4 that travelled to the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar in beautiful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. This was our second visit to this lovely resort (first visit was April 2008).
DEPARTURE: Off we went to Lester B. Pearson Airport in Toronto on April 16, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. for our Air Transat flight to Punta Cana. The Air Transat personnel were checking in people when we arrived that apparently were sitting in economy (a party of 8) in the priority boarding line, so we had to wait longer than we normally do (hubby was a little annoyed, as were another couple behind us). Reason I am mentioning this is that is supposed to be one of the perks of booking Club Class, priority check-in. Once we were on board the flight, it was lovely as usual. The choice of food, wine, beer, etc. is well worth the money that you pay for the little extras. The flight crew were nothing short of amazing round trip, another Best Crew award to Air Transat. You can be sure we will always book Club Class seats again whenever we travel. As a rule we always use Nolitours or Transat Holidays for our vacation. Woooo hoooo, on our way to Punta Cana for 14 days of much deserved R&R.
ARRIVAL IN PUNTA CANA: Arrival at Punta Cana International Airport was perfect and immigration was quick and efficient. We arrived on time, went through immigration with no problems and picked up the luggage, which, I might add, was the first off the flight (part of the Club Class extras).
TRANSPORTATION TO RESORT: We booked private transportation through IBK Servicios (we had booked them last year) and our driver was there waiting for us with the sign with our name on it. Once we loaded up the van with our luggage, we were off to the Ambar. Wonderful and courteous driver, would highly recommend this company.
CHECK-IN: We arrived at the Punta Cana lobby at approximately 9:10 p.m. We were then shuttled over to the Ambar section. Check-in was a breeze as we were the only ones there as we had arrived ahead of the tour bus to the resort. We were put in Villa 60 (see below). Staff at check-in had a bit of an attitude (and if any of them are reading this, never speak Spanish in front of people, as you never know what languages they speak), but we asked to deal with the manager the next day and it was perfect.
Rooms:
ROOMS: We given a room in Villa 60 and it had an extremely bad smell of mildew...we spent one night in the room and then spoke to the Manager and he arranged another room for us. Don't get me wrong, I like the smell of the south, and as a rule it doesn't bother me at all, but this was so bad that we couldn't breathe the next morning. We were both stuffed up. We changed rooms around 1:30 p.m. the next day and then we unpacked and settled in (Room 60105). The rooms are large with a very nice sitting area (the corner rooms are much larger as that is what we had last year). We had a king size bed and a beautiful view of the pool. Couldn't see the ocean very well as we were on the first floor, would have preferred second or third, but that was fine with us as we don't spend much time in the room anyway. The beds were not as comfortable as I remember from last year, but it was o.k. We felt it was the perfect location to the pool, pool bar and beach. It was less than a 5 minute walk to the Ambar lobby and the buffet. They have two beach buffets, tried both and preferred the Las Brisas vs. the Las Olas. We ordered two types of speciality pillows and decided to keep the ones originally given to us in the room. We also had turn down service most nights and chocolates left on our pillows and fresh towels left. Our butler service was fantastic and they did everything they possibly could for us (we had 2 butlers).
GETTING AROUND THE RESORT: I do not understand what people are complaining about, the trams are everywhere and they run every few minutes. Beware of the tram you get on though, it may not be going to the lobby you want, but it is only a few minutes walk to the other lobby. Most of the time we just walked from the Ambar as it was not that far to the Bavaro/Punta Cana lobbies. The trams are wonderful and always stop along the way to drop off/pick up guests. We never had a problem with them. I truly cannot believe people complain about the tram system at the Bahia and obviously a 2-3 minute wait is too long for them.
CLEANING OF ROOMS: During our stay the maid did a fabulous job. We only had 2 days of towel art which I found unusual as the Bahia in Mexico does it on a daily basis, but it was no big deal. Our maid was a warm and wonderful person. As for the others in our traveling party, they reported that their chambermaid was excellent as well. We left US $2-3 per day, plus little gifts I had brought from home. It was all so appreciated.
Restaurants and Bars:
BARS AND SERVICE: Well what can we say, the bars were great, but service was a little inconsistent at the main bar (note: a very small complaint) and I do realize that the Ambar is still a relatively new section and the kinks have to be ironed out. Sometimes we just got up and went to the bar to get our own drink, no big deal. The pool and beach bars were very good with the service. The owner was in a few times and service picked up that day and night, but service was still a little inconsistent after that (only at the Ambar main bar). We had no problem with the pool bar filling our 20 oz. insulated mugs.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
WEATHER: The weather was absolutely perfect, 14 days of solid sunshine. Most days it was a bit windy, but a welcome relief from the heat. If it wasn't for the wind, it no doubt would have been too hot to handle. A few days it was pretty muggy, but we just jumped in the water (beach or pool) to cool off.
BEACH/WATER: WOW, again what an awesome beach, I can never get enough of it. You can walk for miles and the best thing was that you don't have to wear water shoes (unlike the Bahia in Mexico). I would compare Bavaro beach to that of Negril in Jamaica. There is the sunken ship (Astron) that seems to be deteriorating more every year. The water was, however, a little chilly getting in, but once you were in, it was lovely! Love those warm and cool currents.
AMBAR POOL: Now here is where I found this to be a little crazy. While we were walking to the beach to see the sun rise and secure our palapa and loungers (approx. 6:00 a.m. and, as I always say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em), people were actually sitting underneath a palapa waiting to secure their palapa(s) at the pool for the day. They were not allowed to leave the lounges until around 7:50ish. Security the first day was very strict with this rule, but after a few days, the rules relaxed and people would just drop their towels, books, etc. and go back to bed. The days we were at the pool, we were down there at 6:00 most mornings and was getting a little ticked that we sat there and waited (as did others as well), and watched people come down, drop their stuff and go back to bed. Security said that if someone complained, he would have to remove their things and then give the palapa to the person complaining. Apparently it did happen a couple of times where security removed things from underneath a palapa because people were not sitting on the chairs and when the people came back (about 4 hours later) fireworks happened. They were told about the rules, but they still continued to drop and run. Some people are pretty unbelievable.
PUNTA CANA/BAVARO POOLS: We took a walk to the pool on the Bavaro and Punta Cana side and it was extremely busy with children and parents (happy screaming children I might add). It was extremely loud so we hurried back over to the quiet Ambar side. We all agree that we love the Ambar side. The first week we were there, it was extremely quiet at the pool, but the second week, they started to implement water aerobics, ice/fruit carving, dance lessons, etc. I think the pool area needs to be a bit livelier so it was nice to hear some music.
Other Comments:
RESERVATION SYSTEM FOR BOOKING ALA CARTES: We had pre-booked from Canada. When we got there we wound up with 25 ala carte reservations actually it was pretty ridiculous as we kept getting more reservation tickets under our door. So one morning we sat there with Public Relations and got it all sorted out. We felt it wasn't fair that we had all these reservations as people were being turned away from certain ala cartes because they were booked, so hence us sorting it all out.
FOOD
Ambar Buffet: In a word AWESOME! Again, I do not know what people are complaining about. The food was always fresh and there was always something for everyone. The Prosciutto (Italian smoked ham) was amazing at breakfast and lunch, I had that most days. The salads were always fresh, the OJ in the morning was the best, eggs, bacon, etc., everything was wonderful. The made to order stations were excellent. At lunch and dinner they had strip loin steaks, beef tenderloin, shrimp, calamari, etc. We ate at the Ambar buffet the first week for lunch and then the beach bar the second week. The Las Brisas beach buffet had amazing chicken, salads, french fries, etc. at lunch and then we would go up to the Ambar buffet for dinner.
ALA CARTES
Don Pablo: I have to stay the service was perfecto at this ala carte. The food, however, was not our favourite. Both my girlfriend and I ordered shrimp soup and it was more like fish soup, nothing shrimpy tasting about it. Our hubbys had salad. The lobster, well, it was overcooked and while tasty, not big enough. The steak was very tender, but the bacon around it should have been cooked a lot more (actually I don' think it was cooked at all!).
Garden Grill: We had the steaks and they were excellent. Ours were a little well done (we asked for medium, should have asked for medium rare), but very good nonetheless. Service was amazing here as were the soups and salads.
Japanese: We ate here once. Presentation was excellent and the food was good. Service again was wonderful.
El Olivo: This was excellent as far as I was concerned regarding food and service.
Portofino: Would NOT recommend this one. Service was absolutely horrible as was the food. My girlfriend and I ordered lasagna and I have never tasted anything so salty in our lives. It was terrible, as were the other meals our hubbys ordered. Our salad plates were not removed when the main meal came and after we had finished the main meal, the dishes just sat on our table. We left without having dessert or coffee.
This is just my own opinion folks on the ala cartes. Personally, I found the ala cartes to be far more superior at the Bahia in Mexico.
SHOPPING: We were there to relax on the beach and around the pool and that's exactly what we did for 14 days, go for a walk on the beach, go for a swim, etc. We did however, go to Caribbean Street and the market at the end of the beach, they had some nice things, but most of it was all the same. We preferred Caribbean Street as they had quite a few artisan shops which were excellent. We shopped at the Pueblo quite a bit and the prices were pretty good. Of course, we also shopped at Harrison's.
DEPARTURE: Always makes me very sad when leaving the any beautiful country, but as my hubby says, there is always next year. Since our flight was leaving at 5:50 p.m., we didn't arrange for a late check-out. We had our showers and we waited in the Ambar lobby for a while, had a drink and then went up to the Punta Cana lobby. We decided that we were going to arrange for private transportation for our return trip. Best decision, gave us a few more minutes at the resort...well, at least until our hubbies decided that we were to leave the hotel around 1:00 just in case of traffic, so in their wisdom, we were on our way back to Punta Cana International and it took approximately 37 minutes. We arrived at the airport and the Air Transat booths were NOT open. Needless to say it was a very long wait at the airport. You can be sure we will never listen to our hubbies again, will remind them of the 4 hour wait at the Punta Cana airport. The flight to Toronto left on time and
we were on our way back home. Club Class on the way home was just as good as the way down. Definitely a more relaxed way to travel.
NEGATIVES: If I had to dig real deep (besides the service being a little inconsistent), was that the food wasn't as hot (temperature) in the ala cartes as we would like, just a personal preference.
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE BAHIA MEXICO AND THE BAHIA PUNTA CANA
(Please note that we have been to the Bahia in Mexico quite a few times (and we always travel 2 weeks each time), so hence the comparison)
Beach: Punta Cana hands down no comparison
Food: Punta Cana buffet was much better (the Ambar side only) while the ala cartes are far much better in Mexico
Service: It's a toss up
Rooms: Punta Cana hands down (Ambar side) Customer Service: Punta Cana and Mexico both have excellent customer service
Spa: Punta Cana has a better set up, but both Spas are amazing
Bars: Mexico has much faster service (and more choice for premium drinks without charge) and more staff on hand
Entertainment: Mexico
Shopping: Mexico hands down, only because Playa del Carmen has so many shops and things to see and do, whereas Punta Cana, doesn't really have as much
So having said all of the above, would we go back to the Ambar yes, in a heartbeat! It truly is a beautiful resort and the people of the Dominican Republic are awesome.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
David ~ Mil. Wis. Usa |
June 2009
Arrival: April 13 - April 20
Very easy frist time unloading on ladder cool thing.
Rooms:
Very nice plenty of room AC, TV, fan, mini bar, deck, shower, bath all good first day maid came about 4PM next day after tipping 3 she was there 11 also leave a few bucks in the mini bar differ person it helps
Restaurants and Bars:
Plenty of food @ main and side buffets went to all main resturants just fine had some stomach problems just slowed me down but survived.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Watch the sun rise great, very clean no bartender, beautiful women, some top less as an american after two day loved it even more.walk down to the flea market its about 2 miles stay in the water or the venders will pull you in.
I didnt mind had a beer @ a place I'll wont forget its worth it.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
2 day trips thurs full day outback surfari thanks to Manney @ apple vac A true way to see the real life of the people i'v seen Panama hardship and his is the same. but please go out and see this country this is life , respect yours. 2nd day trip was to Saona island unbeleivable best looking water i've ever seen frist they take you to swim with star fish /they dont swim then to a island feed you lunch[about 500 islanders live there] drink a lot [whatch out fot mamajuana]just enjoy the veiw as a midwestern unbelievable. Thanks again Manny
Other Comments:
We met a lot of very nice people, mostly from Canada, but thats ok one couple from Iowa was very special Tammy an Mike. On the way back from the island we took a catamaran very cool met a women from Sturgen Bay, WI. Did her husband survive?
dyopps1@wi.rr.com
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Laura ~ Canada |
May 2009
Arrival: April 30- May 6
We travelled with US Airways and everything ran smoothly. We had a layover both ways and it only cost $10 to get into the country which we were suprised at, since we were expecting to pay at least $30 each. The Punta Cana airport is also very lovely.
Rooms:
Rooms were stunning! They were cleaned and washed from head to toe every day. Our mini fridge was re-stocked daily with beer, pringles, pop and little bottles of whiskey. The beds were comfortable AND you even got to chose what kind of pillow you want from a list of 7 different kinds. That was a bonus!
Restaurants and Bars:
The food was AMAZING!! They had tons of variety every single day, so theres no way you could leave the buffet not feeling satisfied. At the main buffet there is a dress code for dinner; men had to wear pants. But the buffets on the beach let you wear whatever you want. We went to 3 a la cartes. They were unbelievable!! The atmosphere was nice, the presentation of the food was definately 5 star quality, the service was right on and the food itself was delicious. My boyfriend and I were very impressed with all the restaurants. They had many bars around the resort. Some you can drink outside and smoke and some you can sit inside. They had a wide variety of drinks you can chose from and you never had to wait longer then 2 minutes to get it. The waitresses were very fast!
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was gorgeous. White sand and clear blue waters. There was never really a lot of seaweed and no rocks in the ocean. We spent an equal amount of time at the beach and at the pool. There were lots of huts you could sit around if you wanted shade but at times they were hard to get. People were up at 6 putting their towels on them to claim them for the day so if you want one you gotta be quick! The grounds and landscape of the resort was perfect. They had staff gardening every day and even had sand designs in all the ash trays!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We were VERY impressed with the entertaintment on this resort. Every evening at 9 they had a different show at the theatre. One night they had a michael jackson inpersonator and boy could he dance! Another night they performed dances from every country and they also did a Lion King show. The dancing was very good, and if they were lipsincing they could have the potential to go on tours with these performances. After the shows were over we went to go watch the House Band which was in an outside bar setting. They had a couple of professional dancers there everynight to get people to dance, which was cool. The band was excellent and played some well-known songs. Everynight at 11 they had a disco, which we had a blast dancing. Overall the entertainment was VERY good!
Other Comments:
All the staff at the Grand Bahia were very friendly and were always smiling and saying hello. We had a perfect vacation and got our monies worth. The negative comments about this resort are absolutely absurd because we recommend this place to anyone and are definately coming back next year!!!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Francis ~ Nova Scotia, Canada |
May 2009
Arrival: April 10th to April 25th
Arrival went very well fast and on the bus to the resort in minutes.
Rooms:
Rooms were great big and clean fridge well stocked daily.
Restaurants and Bars:
Only used the Ambar part and was all we needed.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Pool excellent need to get up early to get shaded area.Ground are
beautiful.Cant say enough about the beach.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Did a tour with Punta Cana Mike cant say enough about that if your going
look him up had a great day with Mike would definitely recommend this guy
for tours.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Christine & Dave ~ Ottawa, Canada |
May 2009
Arrival: April 2-16th
Departure : We left via Toronto, better flight times and cheaper than
leaving from Ottawa. We flew Air Transat, club class and LOVED it! We cannot
say enough about how well we were treated. The flight was delayed an hour.
This was our third time to this resort, two previous stays were through
Sunquest-Diamond Club but this time we went with Ambar which is adults only
( 18+ ) and the higher end of the resort. We were brought to a conference
room where we were given our bracelets,room keys and villa and room number.
We were literally pointed in the general direction of our villa and had to
make our own way to our room, keep in mind it's after 11:30 at night, so it
was very confusing to say the least. Our luggage followed shortly
thereafter.
Rooms:
We were in Villa 70. Our room was larger than the ones we stayed in
previously. Nice king size canopy bed, jacuzzi tub and seperate oversized
shower. The mini bar is "stocked" with Presidente beer, pop, water
and small
bottles ( airplane size ) of scotch and rum ( we requested vodka and
gin....vodka was available but no such luck for gin )It was supposed to be
stocked daily but it was never really fully replenished. The room was a
little mustly smelling but once the a/c got running we hardly noticed it. In
Ambar you are given a PILLOW MENU, a very nice touch, we would recommend the
camomile induced, LOVELY ! We found that this year the maid service was not
up to par even though we left gifts and money daily. The little things were
over looked like floor being swept or table wiped down and unfortunately not
one swan towel art the entire 2 wks ( last year it was totally amazing each
and every day )
Restaurants and Bars:
The buffet each morning was busy but we were never disappointed. The omlette
station where Miguel worked his magic with eggs was always a treat. His
smile alone was so warm, it was a great way to start the day. The fresh
juices were so refreshing, we love the watermelon juice. The lunch buffet
located between the Italian and Mediterrean restaurants had the best chicken
and great nachos.
( in Ambar section, most of your a la carte restaurants are their own
exclusive to Ambar guests and located within that area )Just a heads up, at
the lunch buffet there is no dress code, so be forwarned, you will see
pretty much anything, men without shirts with hairy chests, oversized
bellies and not so nice smelling underarms reaching over the various dishes.
Oh yes, shoes were an option as well....The previous two years, we were not
permitted into any dining area for lunch without shoes and tops.... The a la
carte reservations are somewhat difficult to get the ones you want,
fortunately for us we were there for two weeks so the second week we had no
problems whatsoever, but the first week we had to settle for what was"available", We couldn't get into the two most popular
restaurants, the
Japanese until day 9 or the Garden Grill until day 10...The gourmet was by
far the best, we were there three times and were never disappointed. If you
are wanting a nice relaxing dinner, ask for "servico suave" ( slow ) Ramon, one of the maitre d's,
will take very good care of you. Also if you are looking for red wine at room
temperature ( they keep most if not all of it chilled ) ask for it"caliente". The wines are better in the Ambar section as well.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach was extremely busy the first week. It was difficult to find an
available lounger with all the "reserved" ones, it got to the point
if it
had a towel on it and nothing else, it was free otherwise you would be out
of luck until at least after noon. The pool in the Ambar section was very
warm and the pool bar was a happening spot for sure. The grounds at this
resort are absolutely amazing and so well maintained. We often would bring
the gardeners cold water or pop which was always met with a warm smile and a
mucho gracias! We tipped some as well as they are often overlooked.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did not do any excursions as it was our 6th time to the D.R.
Other Comments:
Would we recommend this resort, yes and we have the previous two years. The
Diamond Club section has nice perks of their own and we were very satisfied.
We were booked to return there again this year but Sunquest cancelled the
flight from Toronto three weeks before departure so we booked with Air
Transat instead thinking that the Ambar would be a nice change. We do not
think the Ambar section was worth the extra money and would not recommend
it.
was more construction on the Punta Cana side of the resort. The beach is
only so big and the restuarants can only accomodate so many so unfortunately
we will not be returning for a fourth time to the Bahia Principe Punta Cana
but would definately go to another Bahia Principe resort perhaps on another
island.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Neil and Dianne ~ New Brunswick |
April 2009
Arrival: April 13 - 20
Ours was a direct flight out of Moncton aprx four hrs and a bit enroute to Punta Cana. Nice trip down on a WestJet B737-800. Check-in at the Ambar was smooth and it took aprx an hour from the airport to the resort which included the bus trip, customs clearance and baggage retrieval. We didn't have to pay any entrance/departure fees as those were included with the tour operator(Transat Vacations). Return leg to Moncton was great as well, no arrival/departure delays.
Rooms
Our room on the ground floor had a very nice layout, everything worked as advertized(AC was very good) and the cleaning service was excellent. We had a small item with the room safe on arrival as it couldn't be opened, a quick call and the manager was over in 10 minutes to do the reset, that was the only issue we had. Incidentally, the Ambar doesn't charge extra for use of the room safe.
Restaurants and Bars
We found the three A la Carte dining rooms on the Ambar side (Don Pablo, Portofino and El Olivo) to be of superior quality in terms of menu, food and service and we really enjoyed our dinners there.
The main buffet at the end on the lobby had the best selection I have seen for breakfast and lunch and there is something for everybody even for the pickiest of eaters (I should hope so). For breakfast, omelets/eggs are cooked to order as well as many meats for lunch, we thought that was a nice touch.
The buffet has a theme night for the evening meal. However be warned there is a dress code for evenings at the buffet and A la Carte (no beach attire) and it is enforced.
We went to the Bavaro side(Garden Grill)although it was OK, it didn't have the quality as the Ambar in our view.If you are looking for lively entertainment/music head to the Barvaro side as there are shows/music and note the Ambar bars (lobby and pool) and shut down by 11.30pm.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
We spent equal time between beach and pool and both areas always clean and tidy, no garbage left around and waste baskets/buckets dumped on a regular basis. The general grounds were magnificent and well maintained, watered/swept/mowed on a continuous basis. As this resort is adults only (+18) use of the Ambar pool and beach area is restricted to the Ambar registered guests only, security is always present and enforced. We witnessed a family and their small children being escorted from the Ambar pool/beach site
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
Didn't partake in off-resort tours although the Transat Tour Rep did provide good info to those who wished to go. Tours are not cheap and I do believe they start at $100.00 US per person and some take up a full day.
Other Comments
We are a middle aged couple and this was our first all inclusive as we have previously done two Caribbean cruises (Carnival and Princess). The Gran Bahia Principe Ambar exceeded our expectations to say the least and we were highly impressed with this all inclusive resort. Would we consider going back at a future date – you bet! Would we recommend the Ambar to others - absolutely?
I will be willing to answer specific questions so drop me a line
nshea0563@rogers.com
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Pam ~ Hamilton, Ontario |
April 2009
Arrival: March 22 - 29
Very well organized transportation from the airport and check in at resort.
Rooms
Lovely, clean, spacious. The in-room safe was a little tricky to figure out, but once we did, there were no worries.
Restaurants and Bars
The buffet was fabulous - if you didn't find SOMETHING you liked, there's a problem. The Don Pablo (gourmet) should not be missed as goes for Il Capriccio. We had three guaranteed reservations and it was easy to change the times or places.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beautiful white sandy beach. We walked from the resort to the flea market and back each morning - a little treacherous on two mornings but otherwise most enjoyable.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We went to the Michael Jackson show and the circus show at the big theatre - both were better than we anticipated.
Other Comments
We stayed at the Riu Bambu last time which we thought was nice, but this is far superior. It is adult only (18 and over) so you don't have kids running all over. We will definitely return - perhaps for two weeks next time!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Kat ~ Canada |
April 2009
Arrival: March 23 - April 1
We arrived early which was nice, the airport wasn`t busy so we moved quickly and got our luggage, found our bus and where on our way, only to discover we forgot someone and had to go back. We where the first to be dropped off at the Bavaro Lobby then transported to the Amber where we got envelopes with our room keys and all our information.
Rooms
We where on the first floor but I had requsted the third floor so we asked to be moved the next day. The room on the first floor proved to be much better then the one we got moved to on the second floor. The mirror was all faded and the hairdryer fell of the wall and the shower got to really smell like sewer after a few days.But the beds where really comfortable and it was quiet at nightand the AC worked really well. After all we did not spend much time in our room anyways.
Restaurants and Bars
The buffet was amazing, and we had 3 a la carts that where very good, the best being the Portofino, then the Japanese, then the Mediteranian. The service was really good at all restaurants, We made sure we tipped well.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
Beautifull grounds, not that many palm trees but lots of flowers and shrubs. The Ambar lobby is beautifull. the beach is not flat, but has a ledge you have to climb up which sometimes was hard to do. The beach farther down was much nicer. Lots of boats back and forth that was kind of annoying and stirred up lots of weeds. But the sun shone everyday for us!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We did the Tropial Storm and I would recommend it to everyone, we met so many nice people and had a great day.
Other Comments
The staff and workers where always friendly with a hola! Some of the other guests where very rude at the Micheal Jackson show,by pushing and yelling at us....did they really think it was Micheal??? I plan on going back next year and hope for just as good of time.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Faith ~ Vancouver |
March 2009
Arrival: March 17 to 27
Our arrival was easy. Got through customs and on to our waiting shuttle. Was on our way within 20 minutes of landing. Dropped at the Bavaro lobby and taken immediately to the Ambar.
Rooms
Our room was wonderful! the Cal-King bed - the marble bathroom - our maid service (we tipped her every day as well left a little gift every once in a while) so roomy, clean and comfortable. There was American TV and our mini fridge was replenished each day. We had a day of tropical rain storms while there and our shower leaked (we were on the top floor) as well as a spot in our closet. They came right away when we called. It didn't get fixed but it didn't rain anymore so we didn't worry about it. They offered to move us but we loved where we were so said no. The next day a gift bag (t-shirts, bottle of rum, fruit basket) along with a letter of apology for any inconvenience arrived at our door. The AC worked well.
Restaurants and Bars
We went to the Portofino (so-so), El Olivio (nope), Mexican (yes!), Japanese (okay), BBQ (okay), Garden Grill (great!) and the Don Pablo (great!). At the Don Pablo we told them were celebrating our 35th anniversary and they brought us a special cake that was delicious. The buffet was good each day - pasta was good, steak not so much, all you can eat lobster & crab night was great. Breakfast was always good. Coffee is hot and delicious.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
We only went to the beach. My husband got up every morning (bless him!) at 6:00 and went down to reserve our palapa. You leave your towels and books. Nobody disturbs them. We loved the beach and the ocean. Staff was constantly picking up the garbage. Remember to drink the bottled water especially when its hot!
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
We didn't leave the resort. We mostly vegged at the beach. Went parasailing the last day which was fun. We didn't go to any of the shows. Preferred to be in the Ambar lobby after supper and watch the couples dancing and have a drink.
One complaint - whenever we went to the Tour Operator's office to look into taking a tour no one was ever there. We did the couples massage at the spa and it was amazing!!
Other Comments
I would definitely go back and recommend this resort to my friends and family.
faithbateman@shaw.ca
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Heidi ~ United States |
March 2009
Arrival: 2/13/09-3/6/09
The first night, they told us our section of the resort (Ambar all adult) was over booked. We were placed in a different area (the golden principe) for the first night, in which children are permitted. My mother and father have heart and knee/hip replacements. All of us were placed on the third floor (no elevator)! Additionally, there were no hand railings in the stairways. The bathroom area was not conducive for the elderly. There was such a large distance to reach over the tub to the floor. There was no safety railing to hold. As a result, my mother slipped out of the tub area and severely injured her right knee to the point she could not walk. This incident could have been avoided had we been placed in our reserved section (Ambar) as those rooms have walk in showers.
Rooms
-
In both of our rooms, we had remote controls which did not work. Later, my parents received a working remote, after calling guest services, only to find it switched with a non-functioning remote a few days later.
-
My parents smelled sewer gases in their room.
-
In our room, there was significant mold in the shower.
-
Our mini bar was rarely replenished unless we called. They were suppose to come on a daily basis.
-
We complained several times to guest services about the room doors. The locks were not lubricated and this resulted in all guests having to slam their doors to close it. As you know, people come and go at all hours, so there really was not much uninterrupted peace.
-
One of the side walks was particularly hazardous because there were large bricks which were not level and it was easy to trip on.
Restaurants and Bars
-
On several occasions, food from the previous day was re-served on the buffet. Such items included dairy products and fish.
-
Cheese, mayonnaise, vanilla sauce and yoguart was spoiled as these items were left out for hours by the pool side and not chilled. Also, many flies were in the food areas, often seen sitting on the food.
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Fish and eggs either were not fully cooked (lobster, steak, eggs) or they were left out for hours only to be seen in the next day buffet.
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Everyone had food poisoning at least twice. We were not the only one who experienced this.
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When we went for meals, we either did not get beverage service or they never asked about refills. This is particularly the case when we ordered soft drinks. The only time we received excellent services in the buffet area was when guests were asked to fill out a survey. When this occurred, the staff hovered over guests to see ratings and comments. One waiter tried to take our surveys away from us after they saw our complaints!
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The Don Pablo ala carte restarant in particular, had poor service. It took over two hours to complete dinner.
-
The other ala carte places, the Portofillio and El Olivo were excellent with service and food preparation.
Beach/Pools/Grounds
-
The pool had dirt and algae on the bottom.
-
One entrance to get into the pool was completely unsafe. We winessted seven people slip and fall because there were slip treads. Also, the railing was unsafe as it was not secure. When you used it, the rail would move because the it was not tightly screwed in place or had rusted.
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At the pool side, there was chewing gum and metal staples.
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Frequently, children and guests which did not belong in the Ambar section entered the pool. Many times, guests had to get security, and then they were asked to leave. I find it outrageous and unacceptable that this occurred! We paid extra money to be in the adult only section (Ambar). We complained to guest services four times during our stay. We finally gave up because security was not always consistent with telling the children and other non-Ambar guests to leave.
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By the pool bar, there were large tiles missing. Additionally, half way through our vacation, all of the soft beverage self-serve machines were out of order, including the water. It was very easy to get beer and liquor though! Not much help to us as we seldom consume alcohol.
-
The pool hours were from 8 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. However, guests were already in the pool area at 6:30 a.m. Once again, security did not enforce the rules.
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The pool was unsafe to use for two days. On one occasion, the pool filtration system was suctioned out, but this occurred at 1 a.m. and was extremely noisy.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel
There was a large variety of activities and excursions. These were very pleasent.
Other Comments
We paid over $4,000 per person to be there and are unsatisfied to say the least. If your travel agency is going to recommend a 5 star resort, then the services should reflect that. Instead, we stayed in an expensive ghetto place.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Robert |
February 2009
A GREAT VACATION AT THE AMBAR.
We just arrived home from our 8 day vacation (Feb 6, 2009) at the Gran Bahia Principe Amber. My wife and I are in our sixties and relatively active people. We needed some real relaxation. I had read scores of reviews of resorts in Punta Cana before selecting the Amber.
We traveled through Apple Vacations on a USA 3000 out of Pittsburgh. The flight was on time and arrived at our hotel a few hours before our room was ready which was okay. There are 3 sections to the Gran Bahia resort; the Bavaro and the Punta Cana which I refer to as the main resort and the Amber. The Amber is an “Adult Only” section. It is the very closest to a pool and the beach of any rooms in this particular resort. Some rooms in the main resort, the Bavaro and Punta Cana sections, are as far as a 10 minute or more walk or a short tram ride to the beach.
The rooms were very nice with a hair dryer, iron, plasma TV, mini bar, robes, slippers, free safe and room service which we did not use. Most of the rooms are the same floor plan except with different views and locations from the pool and beach, but any of the buildings in the Amber section are very convenient to both the pool and beach. The rooms were cleaned on a daily basis. We were really pleased with our housekeeper. Tipping was inclusive but it is still nice to tip some of the nice people you will meet if you vacation here.
My wife and I are early people and reserved a bamboo shade hut on the beach by 5:30am each morning. If can be difficult to find an unoccupied or unreserved bamboo hut on the beach after about 7am, although chairs in the sun are in abundance. There are not many bamboo shade areas around the pool so the later arrivals will usually find only chairs without shade. I usually use a suntan lotion rated 2 or 4, but here I used 15-30 rated lotion to prevent being sunburned. Hint: if you can’t find a suitable shady area, or like more activity and noise, just walk up the beach a few minutes and there are many places to sit in the Bavaro or Punta Cana sections of the beach. However, if you like a more quiet and relaxing atmosphere, the Amber beach is the place to be. We did not see hardly any insects until the last day when it stormed and then only a few. The grounds, pool, and beach are well maintained and very clean. The majority of people in Amber appeared to be in their 50’s and up in age, although not limited to that age range. If we were somewhat younger, we might have selected staying at the Punta Cana or Bavaro sections of this resort which are cheaper and are more active and noisy than the Amber section. Note: If you stay at the Amber, you also have the right to use the facilities of the entire resort including eating, drinking, entertainment, disco, pools etc but vacationers from the main resort cannot use the facilities of the Amber.
The restaurants are great to fantastic. There are several restaurants for breakfast and lunch both within the Amber and also at the main resort. It is hard to say which restaurants are the best because we all have different taste buds. My wife is more fruit, veggie and seafood lover and I am a meat, seafood and potato type. We went to 4 ala carte restaurants for dinner. At the Ambar we went to 2 which were the El Olivio which was okay and the Don Pablo Gourmet which was elegant dining, and good food but the Garden Grill steak house and El Pecador seafood restaurants in the main resort were excellent. Much too our surprise, the Palmeyr Buffet (located in the main Amber lobby) had the best meals of all. We never had such consistently excellent meals in our lives and I mean it. They have a different theme every night. The quality and assortment of food was literally unbelievable. On Mexican night, (I don’t care for Mexican food) to my surprise, they were grilling lobster tails, with mussels, calamari and shrimp. It was fantastic. We ate at the dinner buffet 3 nights but unfortunately missed the seafood night. Whatever the nights food theme, there is always something for everyone such as pizza, pasta, steak, chops, salads, deserts etc. The service everywhere we ate was superb. It’s just great.
The skies were blue and almost cloudless all week until late in the afternoon on the day before we were coming home. The weather was stormy for our departure but otherwise unbelievable for the week. Tip: If you are looking for souvenirs, and like to walk the beach, there is a group of souvenir huts on the beach about a 40 minute walk to your right facing the ocean, where we purchased many souvenirs. Tip: Whatever their initial price is, divide it by 4 and begin to bargain from there. .
We seldom drink but on vacations, we make up for it. We could not wait to sample all those fruit drinks such as pina coladas, daiquiris etc. We drank more than our share of these drinks for 2 days with barely a buzz. However drinking only a few small airline size vodkas or beers gave us a great buzz. What we believe is that most of the drinks are extremely watered down at this resort and probably all the resorts. The do taste good but if you like a kick from your drinks, stick to beer or spike your drink from a real bottle of your favorite poison.
The staff at the Amber was wonderful. Treat them with a little kindness and they will usually reciprocate. I also recommend a small tip if you can, they count on it to live.
The whole trip was very well organized by Apple Vacations. The trip home was long and hectic but well organized and we arrived in Pittsburgh on schedule.
In summary, Greater Pgh Travel Agency, Apple Vacations and the Gran Bahia Principe Amber resort all combined for a great vacation. The people at the resort are so nice, the grounds, pool and beach areas excellent along with great food. The Amber is an excellent choice especially for relaxing. We did not partake in any entertainment or real night life. It was not perfection but close to it. If you are from the Pittsburgh area and are confused after reading many of the reviews of the Amber, email me at bobhein2@verizon.net and I will try to reply to your email but no guarantees.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Allan ~ NB Canada |
January 2009
Arrival: Jan 12-26, 2009
A friend and I vacationed at the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar for 2 weeks from Jan 12th-26, 2009. This was our 14th trip south, our 8th to Punta Cana, and our 4th stay at an Adults Only resort. The 2 weeks at the Ambar just flew by and it was time to pack and come home before we knew it! We would rate the Ambar right up there with our stay at the other Adult Only resorts. As expected there were good and bad but the good certainly far outweighed the bad. Overall rating 9/10 Check-in was predone and we were given our room package and wristband on the bus. The main problem is that you are dropped off at the Bavaro entrance and have to take a shuttle to the Ambar lobby. Once on site it took us no time at all to find our room and our luggage arrived soon thereafter.
Room-
We were given room 61301, in building 61, 3rd floor, corner room. Building 61 is close to the pool area and about a 2 min walk to the lobby. There was a somewhat oceanview from our large corner balcony but we were on the sunrise side which was very nice in the morning. This corner room was one of the biggest rooms we have had. There was good comfy sitting areas, ok lighting, plenty of closet space and an included programmable safe. Beach towels were in our room upon arrival and could be exchanged for fresh ones as needed at the Towel Hut at the pool. The room was kept quite clean and the mini bar was replenished daily although the items left were not always the same. The bathroom was a very good size with a separate shower and Jacuzzi tub. Water pressure was good and lots of hot water once it got hot! We had Turn Down service most nights.
Room - 8.5/10
Layout and Grounds- The Ambar section is very compact and everything is only a couple mins away. The large lobby area is very nice and more upscale then most we have seen. There was plenty of seating both inside and out on the patio area where smoking was allowed. The buffet is located off the lobby area and around the back of the buffet is the Gourmet a la carte. There are 3 rows of room buildings running from the lobby to the pool/beach area. The pool is a large size with a pool/swim-up bar. To one side of the pool area is a snack restaurant as well as 2 more a la cartes. There is also easy access to the regular sections either walking or taking the resort shuttle. For only being just over a year old the grounds here are gorgeous and very well kept. Walkways at the Ambar side were well lit, not so the case on the other side though. The beach in front of the Ambar section is very wide and there is a section marked for Adults only.
Layout - 10/10
Staff
The staff at the Ambar itself are very good. We on the most part received very good service. Most staff were very obliging and really seemed to want to make your stay enjoyable. There is no better way to start your day then with a smiling face and a nice greeting, and that is what we usually received here. Often most staff would chit-chat with you- ask how you were, how your vacation was going, where you were from, etc , and even joke around with you. Service and staff on the regular side were good but just not as "outstanding" But this probably is due to the size difference between the sections. Almost every staff member you passed greeted you with an Hola! At the a la cartes a server from the buffet would see you and would come over and say hi even though you were not at their table. You'd enter the buffet and some staff would recognize you and wave from across the room. One day at lunch I saw a staff member help a lady with a cane on the buffet line, holding her plate and scoping up what she wanted and even offering his arm to help her back to her seat. Now that is what I call service.
Staff 9.5/10
Buffet
The Ambar buffet would have to be the best buffet we have experience in our travels. The layout was great, large restaurant with lots of space between the tables. There was always a great selection of dishes which changed daily. Everything was well labeled, even the different kinds of bread and cheeses. The staff were constantly checking and replacing trays of food as needed. Service was also very good, glasses were never empty and dirty dishes were cleared right away. The staff really seemed to work as a team here and anyone going by would fill a glass or clear away a plate. There was a hostess to greet you and hold the door for you on entering and leaving. At lunch here was a great Tapas section and bread section as well as usually 5 or 6 items to choose from at the grill station. Most days there was not even a long line at the grill! There was a good selection of veggies daily that were not over cooked! There were no carts here laden with stacks of dirty dishes, they were lugged off to the kitchen asap. The buffet used linen tablecloths and napkins even for breakfast. As soon as a table was vacant the staff were there resetting it, they were very efficient. No matter what time we entered the buffet we did not see tables with dirty dishes left piled there waiting to be removed and the table reset. The only drawback we saw with the buffet was the food area could have been larger, it was a little tight getting through sometimes.
Buffet - 9.5/10
Las Brisas Pool side Buffet
This snack restaurant was open for breakfast and lunch. Although not the same selection as at the main buffet we found it quite adequate for both breakfast and lunch. It also was a nice change to sit here for a meal over looking the pool and beach. Service here too was very good and food trays were constantly being checked and replaced as needed. 9/10 A La Cartes, There are 3 a la cartes right at the Ambar section but as an "Ambarite" we had access to almost all the a la cartes within the Bahia Complex - a total of about 14 to choose from! There are no limits on the number of bookings allowed so we did 13 of our 14 nights at the a la cartes. We had 4 pre-booked through e-mail prior to arrival and there never was a problem booking the rest. It does make a difference if you are open to what times and evenings are available. We did find the 3 a la cartes at the Ambar more to our liking since they were a little more upscale and not as hectic as the ones at the other sections. Most of those were set up the same, the only thing you actually ordered off a menu was your main course, everything else was buffet style. All the a la cartes were of a good size and the buffet selections at any of them would be plenty for a meal in itself. Although the service was good on the other sections it was not quite the same as at the Ambar and therefore we only tried each one we booked once. We never seemed rushed at any of the a la cartes that we visited. One thing we did note was that the menus at each restaurant were rather limited but this could be because they do have so many restaurants to choose from.
El Pescador
Seafood restaurant on the Punta Cana side. Service and food were just OK here. This was the 1st a la carte we went to on the regular side and we were somewhat disappointed when we compared it to the ones we had dined at at the Ambar. 7/10 Garden Grill, Steakhouse restaurant on the Punta Cana side. Good service and friendly staff. Food here was quite good. 8/10 Le Charro, Mexican restaurant on the Bavaro side. Staff were attentive and the food was good, just not too our liking although my shrimp fajita was quite good. 7.5/10 Meson, A Spanish restaurant in a new section being built just behind the Ambar. The style of this restaurant was more like those in the Ambar section although again the only thing you ordered off the menu was the main course. Service here was a little spotty (could be because it is new) but the food was good.
7.5/10
Note- there is a new Italian restaurant in this area too that looked nice but with an Italian restaurant right at the Ambar we didn't see the need to try this one.
Maiko
The Japanese restaurant on the Bavaro side. This a la carte was different in that you sit at a table with 12 people and watch the chef prepare the main dishes in front of you. There is plenty of food available here! You get 3 app courses to start, sushi, tempura, and soup. The main course has rice, chop suey, shrimp, chicken, beef and fish.
8/10
Note, We did not have access to the Gourmet a la cartes at either the Bavaro or the Punta Cana sides, or we would have given them a try since I had read good things about them.
Don Pablo
Gourmet restaurant located at the Ambar. We ate here 3 times and each time was very nice with the last 2 being better then the 1st. It is a very nicely decorated large restaurant with the tables nicely spaced. The dishes were well presented and for the most part were very good. Portions were not big but more then enough for us. Service was very good as well. There is no rushed meal here, it is a nice relaxing dining experience. This is the one restaurant where there is no buffet, you order all 3 courses off a menu after a small app is brought around. The Smoked Salmon was the best app dish and the Lobster, Snapper and Fillet for the main course were all very good. All the deserts we tried here were very good and were very creative, including a Chocolate Cup which was actually a choc dessert in the shape of a cup! They even came around with pre-dinner warm towels here and brushed off the table after your main course. There really were some nice touches at the Ambar restaurants!
9.5/10
El Olivo
Mediterranean restaurant at the Ambar. We ate here 3 times as well with the 1st and last times being very good and the 2nd time not as good. This was another good sized restaurant again with the tables well spaced. There is a large buffet to start but you also order an app, main and dessert course off a menu. The Shrimp app was our fav and the Fillet was the best main course. Desserts here were good too and also well presented. Again no rushed meals here, just more relaxed dining experiences. Again we found the portions to be a good size, no heaping plates! Service for the most part was very good. 9.5/10 Portofino, Italian restaurant at the Ambar. We ate here twice. Another good sized well spaced restaurant. This a la carte had a large buffet to start as well. These buffets could be meals in themselves! The next 3 courses are ordered off a menu. Everything we had here was good. I had the Fried Sea Mix both times which was very good, this was not the big heaping plate of deep fried seafood one might get at a diner at home! Again we had 2 nice relaxed dinners at a nice restaurant with some very good service.
9/10
The El Olivo and the Portofino are located next to each other down by the pool but we found it odd that there was not a bar area for these two restaurants which we thought would have added to the evening's experience.
We commented to each other how the service at the Ambar a la cartes was better then we have received in some top local restaurants where one can pay over $100 easily for dinner and how the staff at the Ambar could put some local servers to shame.
I am very picky when it comes to beef and steaks and usually do not order them when down south (or even a lot when out at home) since I do not like any pink in my meat! Well after trying a taste of my friends Fillet one night I decided to try it the next night at El Olivo and I was very surprised that it was done to my liking and was very good!
Best Stuff of note about the Ambar:
- The staff, the staff, the staff!!!!!!
- The compact size - Nothing is far away, we even walked to most of the restaurants at the other sections
- Adults only
- The use of the other sections and the ease with which to get there
- The total number of a la cartes throughout the Bahia sections and the ability and ease with which to book as many as wanted as an Ambarite.
- The upscale feel of the lobby and restaurants
- The quiet laid back feel, nothing at the Ambar felt crowded or busy
- The quality of the overall service
- The ability to have a nice relaxed evening of drinks and dining out in a nice eloquent tropical setting
Good Stuff of note at the Ambar:
- Language was not a problem here, but they did seem to really appreciate it when you did try to use some Spanish.
- The whole resort was kept very clean even the bathrooms by the pool and beach were almost immaculate.
- Adults Only was enforced
- Guest Service desk available most of the time for doing a la carte bookings, we even did some after dinner one night
- Next to the lobby bar were tables set up with coffee, tea, juice and pastries available most of the day
- Went to both the buffet or Las Brisas to have my Thermal Mug filled with my morning coffee and they were very obliging at both places
- The shuttle service is very good and the trains come along very regularly, we never had to wait more then a min or 2.
- There seemed to be more staff in all sections of the Ambar, buffet, lobby, pool bar, ground keepers, and a la cartes then we have seen at any other resort
- No Towel cards, (also see under not so good)
- Guest Services called our room twice (that we were aware of) to check how everything was
- This was one of the few places that I have not had to make at least one trip to the guest service desk to check on something we were suppose to have or to complain about a service that was somewhat lacking
Not So Good Stuff: ( but none of which ruined our view of this resort)
- The better International Drinks were only available at the Lobby Bar and not the same selections were included at the bars on the regular side even though they had them there. As well the selection of included Top Shelf drinks even at the Ambar were limited. Other Top Brands were there, but for a cost.
- As we have found with other resorts, they do run out of certain brands quite often
- Checkout, although it is easily done at the Ambar lobby you have to transfer over to the Bavaro Lobby to wait for pick-up for the Airport, this was the case if you even wanted to catch a Taxi
- No Towel Cards, this had it draw backs in that people would take 2 or 3 towels a piece so they could save more chairs and would just leave their towels on their chairs when they left the pool area for the day. This also meant that some days they would run out of fresh towels.
- The Towel game is in full swing here especially around the pool where they really could use quite a few more shade huts.
- Security and staff were not always consistent with allowing other guests to use the Ambar section, some days they were on top of it and other days those from the other sections could set at the pool, use the pool and even get drinks without anyone saying a word.
- Internet Access, although it is included free here for 15 mins per use there are only 2 computers and they can be quite busy at times, as well this means people line up behind you while you are on the computer so there is no privacy at all. You also have to be logged in by someone at the front desk which can take a while if it is at a time of arrivals or departures - I found the best time to use the computers was in the morning when I went for my morning coffee.
Few things of Note:
- Crispy bacon was available at the buffet and Las Brisas any morning we ate at either.
- The wine was not bad at any of the restaurants we went to. We have had worse at home.
- At the a la cartes they come around with a basket of rolls and let you choose which you would like
- Butter was readily available, both salted and unsalted near the bread and roll sections
- The coffee at this resort was some of the best we have had down south
- The stools at the swim-up bar are sand paper rough- not very comfortable next to bare skin
- Entertainment and activities are only available at the other sections, which was fine with us
- The room had facecloths, a hair dryer, an umbrella, iron and board and the plugs were the same as ours
- There were a few power outages, quite a few over night, no prob but if you had set the alarm this could be a problem
- Some days around the pool a couple of the bar staff would come around with a cart with a special drink for you to try, during the last week this was almost daily, there also was a kitchen staff member who would bring around a tray of fresh fruit on skewers
- At the pool bar and Las Brisas there were help yourself juice and water machines
- For an Adults Only resort there was very little Toplessness, especially around the pool
- We had so many staff members that stood out that it is not possible to list them all (too many names to remember too), they are what we will miss the most, the smiling faces that made the vacation so much more special
In conclusion, this is a nice quiet Adults Only resort. There is no loud music playing or animation team around the Ambar pool or on the beach. The lobby/bar is the place to hang out in the evening and there is a piano player/singer there most nights, but it is never loud or rowdy here even though it is quite busy most nights. For us this is what we wanted and therefore would recommend this resort to those seeking the same. If you are looking for a more party resort this is not the section for you. We would return to the Ambar without hesitation except for the fact that we do like trying different resorts. But it is however on my Top Resorts to keep an eye on for a return trip! We have been very lucky with our resort choices over the past few years, thanks to TA and Debbie's site, and now have a number of resorts that we would return to.
Notes about Air Canada, We did Business Class this time and we can now say it is not as good as Club Class with Transat, which actually costs less. One of the best things was of course the use of the Maple Leaf Lounge, but that was only on the flight down. Where Transat made you feel special as soon as you got on board Air Canada took awhile before they even came around to offer you anything. With Transat you have a choice of 4 or 5 meals, with AC it was only 2. And with AC once dinner was over we hardly saw the attendant. People had to "buzz" for service to order another drink and this was with only 12 people in business class on the return flight. At the Montreal Airport 1st Class luggage was on the most part the last luggage on the belt! The AC onsite rep however was very good and she did not try to sell the side trips during the information session which only took about 10-15 mins! But since we did fly through Montreal it was assumed we all spoke French and on the bus rides to the resort and back everything was in French and I had no idea if we were being given vital information or not. At the PC Airport the Priority Check-in was even checking in others ahead of those waiting in the Business Class line. It really was not a big deal but just not what you expect when you pay an extra $300!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Don ~ Edmonton |
January 2009
Arrival: Nov 27 to Dec 11 08
For sure next time I'll pay 40.00 and take a taxi. Buses are included but it takes 3 hrs before you finally check in, waiting at airport for all the passengers, etc. Those staying at The Bavara or Punta Cana got their packets on the bus, but not those of us going to the Ambar.
Rooms:
No issues, clean, spacious, very very comfortable king beds and pillows.
Restaurants and Bars:
The 3 a la cartes at the Ambar were pretty good, but make sure you book the steakhouse at the main complex as it is very good. The main buffets at the Bavar?punta Cana side are biggger and have more variety than the smaller Ambar buffet, but the noise level made us not go there, preferred our adult only buffet for that reason. The newly opened Spanish resteraunt is also very good. We were there for 2 weeks so tried 6 different a la cartes.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Nice and quiet, lots of room, bring an Ipod if you want music cause there isn't any there. Beach gorgeous as always.
Other Comments:
We really enjoyed the "Ambar". Only real negative was friends of ours are sure their safe was opened and some of their cash stolen. They are sure they had closed it but felt pretty sure that over $100.00 was taken. Not sure if this is an issue at this resort but will watch for any other comments to see if other people having a problem. Only takes one employee/thief to cause a problem.
donaubin@hotmail.com
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Gary & Norine ~ Winnipeg, Mb |
January 2009
Who we are and where have we been
We just returned from spending a week (January 4-11th, 2009) in Punta Cana at the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar Resort. This was our fifth trip to the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic. Our previous stays in Punta Cana were at the Sunscape Grande (now called Grand Oasis Punta Cana), Iberostar Bavaro, Bavaro Princess All Suites and at Secrets Excellence. We are “experienced” sun travelers as we have been going to the Caribbean, Mexico and South America for the past 30 years, most years at least twice. Our favorite destination is Jamaica and we have been there 15 times, staying at most high end all-inclusive resorts like Sandals, Grand Lidos and Couples. We appreciate “good/fine” dinning, so when we travel, food and service are our top priorities and to a lesser extent the rooms of the resort as we like to spend our time enjoying the beach and what the resort/island has to offer. We believe .that our vacations begin at home which means we research the location and the resorts before we leave and have a very good idea of what to expect when we arrive. I read most reviews of the GBP Ambar and we knew what to expect.
Conclusion/Summary
We enjoyed our week at the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar and would recommend it. Having been to the Sunscape Grand (Grand Oasis, not a good beach), Iberostar Bavaro, Bavaro Princess and Secrets, our favorites would be Excellence , Iberostar Bavaro and then the Princess. We think that would go back to any of them and the decision would be based on which of the three (3) resorts would be less money. The resorts in Punta Cana offer exceptional value for your dollars. We normally go to Jamaica at least once per year and over the past number of years we have noticed that where Jamaican resort value is good, if you can get a “real” sale price on the resorts, Punta Cana is just a little better value for our dollar at all times of the year. We booked this vacation about 4 weeks before we left and it was supposedly a 2 for 1 sale from Air Canada Vacations. The price was right, and we received more than an adequate vacation for our money.
You can view more of our photos of the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar at the following link:
Photos
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15636629@N07/sets/72157612495314881/
Flight
We booked this vacation with Air Canada Vacations and the flight was direct out of Winnipeg and was scheduled to leave at 7:00AM. We left at about 8AM because of de-icing and the usual delays. Over the past few years, we try and choose Air Canada Vacations as they use “real” airplanes, not the cramped planes of the charter carriers such as Sunquest, Signature, etc. We upgraded to the “Executive Class” seats at the front of the plane which is the only way to go if the extra $299 each is not too expensive for you.
Arrival
We arrived in the Punta Cana Airport at about 3:15PM and it took about 15 minutes to clear customs and get to the waiting area for the taxis and buses to the resorts. There were about 15-20 couples going to the Gran Principe complex on our flight and about half of them were going to the Ambar and the rest to the Bavaro section of the Grand Bahia Principe. The transportation was provided in a large bus. The trip from the airport to the resort took about 30 minutes. If some one says let’s stop and buy some beer, say NO! It’s a quick trip and the beer is FREE when you arrive.
Check-In
We arrived at the resort at about 4:15PM. We were told to get off the bus at the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro lobby and gather our bags and then get on a “tram” which would take us to the Ambar lobby. This took a few extra minutes but went smoothly. When we arrived at the Ambar lobby, we were greeted by the “Butlers” who told us to leave our luggage and go to the check-in counter and check in. We went to the counter and were immediately asked for our travel documents and were given a “hospital” style bracelet (clear one) to wear which was also to identify us as Ambar guests. Gran Bahia Principe guests wear bracelets of different colours to identify what section of the resort you are staying in. Our bracelets were “clear” where other sections of the resorts had green, yellow, etc. I will describe in more detail later on as what Ambar guests are entitled to versus the rest of the guests.
Size of the Resort and Clientele
This resort is huge compared to most resorts in the Caribbean. In Punta Cana most resorts are large, at least 400 rooms but this one had approximately 2200 rooms and they were all very spread out on the property. We actually heard that there maybe more like 2700 rooms than 2200. They had a number of “trams” that circled the resort every 5-10 minutes and depending on the location of your suite, the tram could be full some times when it came to the stop near your suite. All the rooms of the Ambar are the closest rooms to the beach and the layout is much more compact than the other sections of the resort. We used the trams the odd times when we were eating in one of the restaurants in the other sections of the resort.
We enjoy going to Punta Cana because there seems to be a much more “worldly” group of people compared to some Caribbean islands and Mexico. What I mean by that is the majority of people staying at the resorts are NOT English speaking. This was NOT the case this time. The Ambar’s clientele for the time we were there were mostly Canadians (55%) with Russians probably the second most and then a lot from other counties such as the USA, France, etc.. The resort was at 100% occupancy and we were told this by the General Manager who also told us that Canadians were the majority.
Ambar Section versus the rest of the Gran Bahia Principe Sections
The Ambar section of the Gran Bahia Principe Resort is by far the most elegant and luxurious and it is ADULTS ONLY!.
The rooms are the closest to the beach and are very well laid out such that you do not have to use a tram when staying within the Ambar section. Actually, there is no tram within the Ambar. If you want to go to any of the other sections, you go to the Ambar lobby and catch a tram from there. Ambar guests can have unlimited a la carte dinner reservations in any of the restaurants within the entire Gran Bahia Principe Resort ecept for the Goumet restaurants in the Bavaro and Ounta Cana sections.
Ambar guests can use the facilities of the other sections but the other sections can NOT even enter the lobby of the Ambar. We saw many instances where people with other coloured bracelets were turned away by resort staff at restaurants, bars, etc. This is enforced but we did see some children at the pool and on the beach in front of the Ambar, as the beach was open to all Gran Bahia Principe guests. The Ambar section had a small series of fences on the beach identifying it as Adults ONLY but we did see children on the beach areas near the Ambar section.
Rooms (actually Junior Suites)
All of the rooms at the resort are what could be called a “junior” suite. The rooms are contained in blocks of 48 suites that are 3 stories. The rooms numbers are grouped by villa number first, then the floor and then the suite number. We were in Villa 67, 2nd floor unit 8; 67208. This was a corner unit with a larger balcony and sitting area. One issue that people should be aware of is that there are “connecting” doors in 50% of all suites at the Ambar! We did hear some noise one night but other than night, the rooms were very quiet. The suites are very spacious with a large balcony or main floor patio.The rooms are very well decorated and very clean and no “musty” smell and we did not see any insects at all. There is a min-bar that is sometimes stocked. Ours was stocked 4 of out the 7 nights but we always had plenty of bottled water supplied. Normally the bar would have soft drinks such as Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-UP, 2 airline bottles of scotch, small can of Pringles and 2 cans of Presidente beer. The maid looks after the bottles of water and there is a different person who supplies the mini-bars.
This was one of the better rooms that we stayed in during our 30+ years of traveling in the Caribbean.
Room Service
Room service is included for all guests and it is available 24 hours but you can only get continental breakfast and not a full cooked breakfast. The menu included all types of breakfast items and other items like sandwiches, Caesar salad, nachos, etc. We didn’t use the room service but you should know that you can NOT order drinks as part of room service. They tell you to us the mini-bar for that, so hopefully they have stocked your mini-bar the day you order room service.
Beach and Pool
The main reason why we go to Punta Cana is the beach! The beach in front of the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar was as good as any beach could be in the Caribbean. White powdery sand, clear turquoise water and a gentle slope towards the water describes it. Some of the beaches in Punta Cana have some “seaweed” in the water and this can wash up on the beach from time to time. The beach at the Gran Bahia Principe did not have any of this seaweed.
There were many palapas to choose from and if you were up and on the beach by 9AM, you could have your “pick” of the palapas. By 10AM, most of them were taken but there were always some chairs available. Chairs on the beach were always available but we have noticed that most resorts in the Dominican have more than enough chairs to go around.
We would bring our beach bag, towels, hats, etc and leave them on the chairs with no problem. I have to mention that I am an early riser and that I would reserve our palapa by about 7:30AM and there were many palapas that already had towels, etc on them. The resort was at 100% occupancy the week we were there, so in other times the reserve a palapa game might not be that bad.
The main pool by the beach was very large, clean and very warm. During the afternoon it got a little more crowded but nothing to bad. There were lots of chairs and the chairs under the palapas around the pool went first in the morning. It seemed that most people were sitting on the beach this week as there were always lots of chairs available around the pool, even more than on the beach. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing. We never sat around the pool as the beach is what Punta Cana is all about! There was a swim up bar as well as a standup/stool bar around the pool which was never busy so drinks were available very quickly.
Restaurants
As we had mentioned in our introduction, we like good food when on vacation as well as the option to dine a la carte for all evening meals. The Gran Bahia Principe Ambar gave us this option and we took advantage of the a la carte dinning for all of our evening meals. We e-mailed the resort about week before to ensure that we had a minimum of 4 reservations to begin with and ended up eating all of our dinners initially in the a la carte restaurants. Generally we thought the food was good but not great. We never really had an entrée that was memorable but we survived.
Ambar guests going to non Ambar restaurants should expect children to be present. Just a heads up comment.
Ambar Buffet (Palmyra)
This is the main restaurant in the resort (off the main lobby) and it is buffet for all meals. We ate about half of our breakfasts here and the selection was very good. They had the usual persons making fresh eggs of your choice, great breads and sweet breads, cereals (no high fibre cereal) and a good selection of fresh fruits. The service here was excellent in the section that we choose to sit for all of our breakfasts.
We ate lunch here a couple of times and the selection was good. The journey from the beach back to buffet restaurant was about a 3 minute walk. We are not that big breakfast or lunch eaters, so we thought that Ambar buffet was adequate for our purposes, good but not great.
La Caracola Snack Bar
This is the snack bar restaurant located at the beach between the Portofino and El Olivo restaurants of the Ambar. We ate about half of our breakfasts and lunches here. The breakfasts were similar in the main buffet but no cooked to order eggs. The lunches were more than adequate with BBQ chicken, etc, lots of salads, pastas, etc. There was a bar here as well. This restaurant is open 24 hours but we never went there after dinner. It seems to close around 5 and then re-open at 10PM.
Anyway, very convenient for us as our room, Villa 67 was right next to it.
Garden Grill Steak House
This is the main steak house of the Gran Bahia Principe complex. It is located within the Bavaro section near the “premier” pool. We had heard lots of good reviews about it, but it was very disappointing to us. The appetizer bar had lots of items but most of them were cool or over cooked. We tried the Pork ribs and they were not edible. The shrimp wrapped in bacon was good and my rib-eye steak was grizzly and just down right nasty! We left immediately after the entrees arrived and we couldn’t eat them and went to the buffet in the Ambar.
Don Pablo(Gourmet)
This restaurant is the Gourmet restaurant of the Ambar section. It is the only a la carte restaurant that does NOT have an appetizer bar. We ate here twice and the cheese salad and smoked salmon appetizers were very good. For entrees, we had the lamb twice, a seafood medley in a baked crust, the beef tenderloin and the lobster. None of the entrees were that great with the lamb being the best, the first time we ordered it, followed by the lobster. They had many dessert options but the wait staff was a little clued out as to what was available. They had bananas stewing for flambé but no one to do the flambé! On our second visit, we left after the entrée and went to the buffet for dessert.
Porto Fino(Italian)
This is the Italian restaurant of the Ambar. They had a decent appetizer bar with lots of choice. We ordered the Rack of Lamb and beef tenderloin. The Lamb was good but the tenderloin was tough. The desserts were decent. You could easily eat off the appetizer buffet and it would be as good as or better than ordering an entrée off the menu.
El Olivo (Mediterranean)
This is the Mediterranean restaurant of the Ambar. Again, they had a decent appetizer bar and we ordered the tuna and pork rib. The tuna was way over cooked. The pork rib was a little tough but had a smokey flavour which was decent. Again, the appetizer bar would provide as good a meal as ordering off the menu.
Maiko (Japanese)
There are two (2) Japanese restaurants in the Gran Bahia Principe complex. They are both identical and are the teppanacki style of grilling all meats and vegetables in front of the guests. This was by far our best meal during our stay. The meal started with a cold appetizer of tempura vegetables and shrimp as well as some vegetarian sushi. Very good! Next, the “chef” asked all of the people (12) at our table if we wanted fish, shrimp, steak, chicken or all of the above. Everyone at our table said YES to everything. The chef then proceeded to cook all the meat and some fried rice in front of us and then went around the table and served each of us what we wanted. All of the meats were cooked perfectly, fish not dry, meat not overcooked, etc.
After the main course was eaten we were asked to move to another section of the restaurant and then we were served dessert by a waiter. We had the fried ice cream which was different than any fried ice cream we have ever had. Not bad, just different.
El Charro (Mexican)
This restaurant came in second for the best meal next to the Japanese one. The appetizer bar was great and everything was hot and well prepared. You could definitely do a meal from the appetizer bar. For our entrees, we had a Pesca Veracruz (fresh fish) and a special from the Chef of three different quesadillas. We didn’t stay for desserts.
Beverages
This is where the Ambar is supposedly upgraded compared to the other sections of the Gran Bahia Pricipe Resort. You do get some “International” quality alcohol included in the Ambar lobby bar such as Baileys, some vodkas from Russia and some better gins such as Tanquay and Scotches such as J & B, Dewars, JW Red Label but you pay extra for Grand Marnier, Drambuie, etc. If you want Canadian whiskey, it will cost you $13US+ per drink for Canadian Club (CC). You can’t be a Five (5) star resort and charge extra for decent alcohol.
Now, to the included wines. They were BAD! The white was from Chile (Sauvignon Blanc) and the red was a Cabernet from Spain. Both were typical European everyday house wines which most North Americans would not drink at any time. They had an extra cost wine list which we did not use because the meals in general didn’t command spending extra money on decent wine for an average entrée. I am a wine snob!
Service
We found the service to be overall very good. On our fourth day, the maid didn’t get around to clean the room until after lunch which for us is too late. I found our maid and asked that she make up before noon. The room was always made up by 10AM and the maid left us lots of extra soaps, flowers and towel sculptures.
We did tip a little over the week. The maids received a couple of bucks and lots of unused cosmetics such as lip sticks .We did not tip any one else throughout the week. We always said “Hola” to everyone and it sure pays off in service. A pleasant “Hola” and “gracias” goes a long way with the Dominican people. Actually it goes a long way in any country and at home.
Entertainment
The entertainment was non existent at the Ambar. All of the entertainment was at the Main Gran Bahia Principe theatre area which was located just in front of the Bavaro/Punta Cana sections of the resort. Here they did a children variety show from about 8-9PM and then the more adult entertainment would begin. We saw a show about Michael Jackson and it decent. Other than that one night, we would go back to the Ambar lobby and have a drink and then be pretty tired and off to the room. The Ambar lobby did have a musician playing an organ of some kind but other than that, it was VERY quiet. They need some better entertainment at the Ambar!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Valeisha ~ Toronto |
January 2009
Arrival: Jan 3 - 10 2009
Flew via Air Transat and it was wonderful compared to other carriers I've been on. Flight was on time, trouble free. A little confusing upon arrival as far as where you're going is concerned, the bus stops at one of the Principe's and then another and from there you shuttle to the Ambar. Check in was quick and easy, didn't have an issue checking in early (we arrived at 12:30pm, and check in isn't until 3:00pm).
Rooms:
The room was beautiful, not as spacious as the pictures portray but I have no complaints. Our maid was good to us and was consistent in ensuring our mini bar was re-stocked. We were in building 61, ground floor facing opposite the pool area. It wasn't one of the building with ocean views but it was right beside, this made it convenient for short distances to pretty much everything.
Restaurants and Bars:
This was the only other confusing aspect of this trip. As a guest of the Ambar, you can choose to eat at an a la carte any and every night of the week free of charge. Reservations for three nights are already made for you and ticket reservations are included in your check-in package, however this was not actually said to us - so we had no idea we had reservations until the second or third day. While chatting with other guests, we heard a lot of poor reviews on the a la carte's so we decided not to go to any of them mostly because we enjoyed the buffets so much and we didn't want to chance it. I'm a fairly fussy eater regardless of where I am and I indulged the whole week in a variety of dishes, the food was wonderful. I watched my boyfriend eat pretty much everything (the only thing he stayed away from was the seafood) and he also enjoyed all of it, trouble free. I will say that the Ambar staff are quite fussy on what the men wear for dinner, in my opinion a little over board for a buffet dinner. So my advice to all men is make sure you have a couple of nice collared shorts, long pants and covered shoes. They will send you away otherwise.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
While reading other reviews, I was under the impression that the pool area would be completely pin-drop quiet. This is not the case, and not in a bad way. There are a variety of people - all ages. The pool is quite busy, there's lots of chatting and music playing at the bar (not loud annoying music). There was just enough noise that it wasn't bothersome and I was content by the pool all week. I enjoyed the adults only aspect. I love kids, but I enjoyed them not being around for the week. You have to get up early to get a good spot at the pool, but don't go any earliar than precisely 8:00am as again the Ambar staff are fickle and ready to take your towels away if done before 8:00am.
Grounds are kept to perfection.
The beach is always beautiful in Punta Cana which is one reason I keep going, I can't say anymore than that.
Other Comments:
I enjoyed an evening at the spa and would recommend it as they do a fantastic job and throw in a few extra's for a very reasonable price.
I would definitely stay again and again at this resort. If I go to Punta Cana next year, I will book at the Ambar. Once we figured out all the "rules" we were relaxed and enjoyed everything this resort had to offer. The only thing I would do differently is just take a cab from the airport upon arrival as it is time consuing with all the stops/shuttle ride.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Samuel ~ Indiana |
January 2009
Arrival: January 2-5, 2009
My wife and I stayed at the Ambar during our second visit to Punta Cana. This is a smaller Adults only section of a VERY large Bahia complex. So large there are 2 drives with shuttle trains to move people around the resorts. Arrival is at the Bavaro Section outside the lobby. Tell the bellman Ambar and you will be shuttled to the Ambar Lobby. We arrived shortly after noon so our room was not ready yet. We had to check back 4 times until it was finally ready. We were fortunate enough to get a 2nd floor corner room in building 67 with a nice view of the pool/ocean. (Thank you Laura!)
Rooms:
The room was spacious with a king size bed, 26†flat panel TV, separate bathroom with shower & separate single Jacuzzi tub. The mini fridge was stocked with 2 cans Presidente, 2 mini Dewar's, assorted soft drinks and bottled water.
Restaurants and Bars:
As for the food, I would rate the buffets a 5 on a scale of 1-10. We ate at 3 ala carte restaurants. The BBQ by the beach is really a buffet style. They cook steak, chicken and pork on an open fire grill and have buffet lines. It is all self serve besides drinks. I would rate the food here a 7 and service a 2. We had a bad waiter.
We dined evening 2 at The Don Pablo Gourmet. It is indoors and very elegant. We had the lobster and fillet. The presentation and service I would rate a 9 with the food a 7.
Our last night was at The Maiko Japanese Restaurant by the Bavaro section lobby. This is also indoors with several large tables/grills that the chef cooks in front of a group of about 8 people or so. The rest are smaller tables where the food is prepared in the kitchen. I would rate the presentation, service and food all 9. It was by far the best we tried and the only one we would have wanted to try a 2nd time. Others I spoke to were mostly disappointed in the food, mostly the buffets.
The bars seemed pretty good to us but I talked to several people who liked some name brand/ top shelf liquors which were not included and very expensive. I could not say which ones. We mostly enjoyed the Brugal rum, Presidente beer and fruity drinks.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The resort is very beautiful and well kept. There were many groundskeepers working constantly watering, trimming or cleaning throughout all the resorts.
The beach was nearby and lovely with the shipwreck just offshore. Many huts and lounge chairs. If you want a good location you better get up early. Most were being saved just after daylight. I went out at 7:30am and the closest hut to the beach was 3 rows back. Also there were people from the other Bahia sections saving good locations on the Ambar beach area. The beach can be very busy with people walking and jogging since there are so many resorts in this area. There is water sports available, boats, scuba, snorkel and parasailing.
The pool is located near the beach. It has a swim up bar in built in Jacuzzis. Chairs around it are also selected quite early her but not as bad as the beach. Beach towels can be exchanged all day at the hut by the pool bar.
Other Comments:
Service varied throughout the resort maybe in part due to its mass size and some language misunderstanding. Almost everyone I was in contact with tried hard to please. On the other hand every time I called for service it was very poor. I asked to have my fridge checked because it was not cold. They came and checked while I was out. I found out all the refrigerators here only get cool. Maintenance took 1 beer and 1 scotch out when they checked it. I contacted Rosa at guest services and the taken items were replaced. When I contacted Express Service early our second night for pillow service and for robes we never had, I was not able to receive them until about 24 hrs later. About 1 hour before our checkout I called Express Service for a bellman to get our luggage. After waiting over 30 minutes I spoke to our maid and she called. We finally gave up waiting and lugged all 6 pieces of luggage about ¼ mile to the lobby. Our maid, bartenders and waiters were all very good but 1 waiter at the BBQ.
They have 15 minutes of internet access each day in the main lobby by the cigar shop. They have just 2 computers so you have to wait. Once it is your turn you have to get someone from registration to log you on. I had the power go out during my turn and I helped get both computers working again.
We did not go to any of the shows in the main complex. We just wanted to relax and enjoy the Ambar section. As for others at the resort, we met many nice Americans and Canadians at the pool bar. There also appeared to be quite a few Europeans.
As for it being adults only, we often saw children around the Ambar. They were in the lobby/bar, swimming pool, beach and walkways. There are a few signs saying Adults only section but the resort sections look alike. I only saw one security guard at the pool who had to be shown the children in the pool by a guest.
Overall I thought it a beautiful resort but a bit large for my taste. Express Service was poor during my stay and the buffet food could be improved. Our thanks to Laura Vogler in sales and Rosa in customer service.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Patricia ~ PEI |
January 2009
Arrival: May 2008
Staying in the Amber Section had its perks! Check in was done for us. Once we arrived at the resort we were skirted off and escorted to our room. They simply checked our wrist bands and knew exactly what to do with us.
Rooms:
I was there with my friend Cheryl. Our room was beautiful. We had two four poster canopy beds, modern furniture, gorgeous tiled bathroom with walk in shower, seperate bath and whirlpool tub. There were robes, slippers, rooms service and a pillow menu. We could see the ocean to the right of our room just off the balcony. We were on the 3rd floor.
Restaurants and Bars:
No complaints about any of the food. The restaurants were beautiful and even the lobster was good. Our favorite was the Japanese. The food was prepare in front of you. We had steak, chicken and shrimp and it was all amazing.(especially the shrimp)
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
What can you say about the beach except totally everything you can expect in Punta Cana.Seriously, the sand,the beaches, the chairs,pools...everything, all of it was spectacular. The grounds are very clean and crew is also around to see that things stay the same. The amber section is adults only and a couple of times we witnessed staff escort families with children (who were booked into a seperate section on the resort)out of the pool and even off that section of the beach.
Other Comments:
I would definitely recommend this resort for a girlfriend or couple trip. My husband and I are thinking about this same location for a trip this year. That was my 6th vacation to Dominican.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Donna ~ Pittsburgh, PA |
January 2009
Arrival: December 26, 2008-January 2
The bus arrives at the Grand Bahia Principe Punta Cana, and then a small tram took us over the Ambar. We were the only two on the bus that were staying at Ambar, so we were able to go to check in right away. Check in wasn't very smooth since they were answering phones and handling other things. Each person has their own job and they don't cross over to help someone else. We had to fill out a paper and then we were given our room key. Had a wait a couple of minutes for our welcome drink, then we were escorted to our room by a bell boy. No welcome bag, no basket of fruit when we arrived.
Rooms:
Beautiful rooms! Bed was raised and the frame was very nice. Bedding was very nice. Very clean. Plasma TV on the dresser. Bathroom was gorgeous. Jacuzzi tub, glass shower door, rain shower head with a wand attached, seperate area for toilet. Huge closet with robes and slippers,iron with ironing board, also had an umbrella and the safe. Tray with coffee mugs with saucers and small spoons, drink glasses and all coffee powders and sugar. Coffee maker behind the tray with two large bottles of water. Hidden in the dresser was the refrigerator with two small bottle of water, presidente beer, sodas, tonic and two small bottles of either bacardi rum or absolute vodka, or a scotch. Area by sliding glass doors with table and chairs, and a long bench along the wall with a long cushion on it. Patio was clean with table and chairs.
Restaurants and Bars:
Bars had good alcohol available!! We were surprised. Each night we had a couple of Baileys Irish Cream on ice. We did purchase a Glen Levitt Scotch for $11 and it was put on the room tab. Service at all of the bars was smooth. In Ambar, the bar at the pool closes at 6pm and the one in the lobby closes around 11pm. Restaurants: Ate at Portofino, had the steak. The menu stated that it would be a filet, but as we experienced before, it never really is beef. It was tough, but the sauce was good. Japanese restaurant: Hibachi style. Sushi was good, fried rice was under cooked, and the cook was basically cooking on a griddle. No fancy stuff like at home at the Japanese places that we go to. But, this is the Dominican. Olivio Restaurant-Had another steak. He had cod. Cod was good. Steak was unusual. Don Pablo Restaurant was excellent. Had the Mythical Lobster which was two small tails. The appetizer was smoked salmon roll around anchovy mousse with some salad on the side. Fantastic! He had the Beef Filet and said that it was excellent. Presentation in all a la carte restaurants was fabulous. Buffet was very good for a buffet. New Years Eve~Lobster, Lobster, Mussels, crab,....desserts that were out of this world!! Buffet was decorated in white chocolate! Right now they have a pastry chef that came from a 7 star hotel. I met him on NYE and he showed me all of the things that he fashioned out of white chocolate. He is truly amazing. The lobster and prawns were cooked on the griddle that night, I can't say enough about how wonderful that was. Prosciutto and cheeses....yum! Drank all the filtered water in the restaurants, and all bottled water. No problems. Wine was so-so. You can order bottles of better wines from a wine list and put them on your tab. Prices were 30 US dollars and up.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
Beach~fluffy white thick sand. Tons of chairs. Close to hotel was Adults Only and close to the water there where children from the main hotel. Many chairs and huts available. Pool was huge and cold-which was necessary because it was sooo hot. Pool area had alot of chairs and huts too. Topless sunbathers at the beach and pool. Grounds~Extremely well kept. Very clean! Gorgeous.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
No tours for us. Just relaxation. Friends that went on tours said: Marinarium was average. Safari was great.
Other Comments:
All inclusives are great, but can't' be perfect, I understand this completely. So...
Wonderful place to go and relax and feel special. Ramon, Nelson and Juan in the buffet restaurant took really good care of us. Most employees were very accomodating.
Found out the day before we left that we were to receive a welcome gift, a bag with t-shirts and other goodies in it and a fruit basket. Never got it, even after I asked about it.
The internet/computer area was small and always soo busy. They need to improve that. Guest services usually had a line, but it wasn't bad, since I've seen worse.
Accidentally left my diamond earrings on my night stand and went to breakfast or the beach, can't remember, and that evening and the next morning I looked for them and they were gone. I needed a "report" to take back home to my insurance agent and they told us that we would have one in a couple of days, which was the day we were leaving. Went to guest services on last morning and they wouldn't give us a report. They said that the report was confidential. They would not accept ANY responsibility for this, even though I accepted a large part of the blame. Lock up all valuables! One of the couples that we met had her sandals stolen and another had a strapless bra taken?!
How they handled this, just left a bad taste in our mouths. Very upsetting. We would not go back there because of this.
As I mentioned earlier, everyone had one job. If they set the silverware, they don't fill your water glass. We noticed this alot. Some, but very few, crossed over to other jobs, but they were usually the "bosses".
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Ellen ~ Edmonton, Canada |
December 2008
Arrival: November 27th to December 11th
We are a couple in our late fifties who were holidaying with a friend our age and her 30-something daughter. This was our first time at Gran Bahia Principe but our 6th time to Punta Cana.
Flight:
Our Air Transat flight from Edmonton was uneventful, with everything going exactly as it was supposed to. Can't say the same for the return but it seems it is always that way flying home.
Check In:
A little confused as our Air Transat rep did not meet us at the Punta Cana airport as we were expecting. We eventually found the correct bus and were taken to the Bahia Principe complex. Since the road through the hotel complex does not go all the way to the Ambar where we were staying, we were unloaded at the Bavaro and our luggage transferred to a luggage cart and we were then carted to the Ambar, which is the 'adults only' hotel in this complex. Check in was quick and in English.
Rooms:
Upon arriving at our room, we found a welcome fruit basket, two t-shirts and a small bottle of rum, a nice touch. The room was very spacious and spotlessly clean, with 2 double beds, a good sized sitting area, a flat screen TV atop a large dresser which also housed the mini-bar and coffee maker. The bathroom was spa-like in all marble with a Jacuzzi tub and a walk-in shower. There were even 2 bathrobes and 2 pairs of slippers. The mini-bar was restocked daily with bottled water, a variety of soft drinks, a couple of mini bottles of various alcohols and a small can of Pringles chips.
Our maid did a very good job of keeping our room clean and most days we even got a face cloth, which is not common in DR. We never ran out of towels, tissue, toilet paper, etc. and there were never any insects of any variety in our room. We left a small tip each day, rather than tipping at the end as I think you get better service that way. At night, another maid comes to turn down the bed. She tidies up the room a bit and replaces any towels you've used since the day maid's visit, and leaves a box with 2 chocolates, another very nice touch.
Restaurants and Bars:
Each of the hotels in the complex has it's own buffet, a few a la carte restaurants, a snack bar (more like a mini buffet), a lobby bar, a pool bar and a beach bar. Guests of the Ambar hotel were allowed to frequent any of the restaurants at any hotel but only Ambar guests could go to the Ambar restaurants. The food was good but not the best I've had in Punta Cana. That award goes to the Grand Palladium. Still, there was lots of variety and we never went away hungry. There were theme nights at the buffets and a wide variety of a la carte restaurants, Japanese, Italian, Mexican, French, etc. Room service is also available. None of us were ever sick for even a moment. In an effort to be environmentally conscious, the hotel does not provide bottles of water at the bars and restaurants. There you will only be served water in a glass and it is fine to drink. In your room is the only place you will get water in bottles. We used ours mainly for tooth brushing.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
The beach here is very nice with palm trees and shrubs as well as the thatched-roof cabana thingies. At the Ambar end of the beach, it was quiet, partly because the Ambar was not full and partly because it is adults only. We were very happy with that. The water was clean and weed-free but a bit too rough for a non-swimmer.
The pool areas were very nice but we came for the ocean so we didn't spend any time at the pool. You do have to go there for beach towels, though.
The grounds are beautiful and very well tended.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
We did not go on any tours or excursions although they are available. Since we've been to DR many times, we have done all that before.
Other Comments:
There is a gym at the Ambar as well as a spa if you want a massage, etc. Guests of the Ambar had free internet access in the lobby. At the other hotels you had to pay. There is a central market near the other hotels for trinkets, swimwear, rum, cigars, jewelry, etc. as well as a pharmacy and the doctor.
The staff at Gran Bahia Principe are outstanding. We had a few favourites but all were professional and accommodating. Since we had an attractive young woman with us, I think we got better service as the young Dominican waiters were quite taken with her. However, I did not hear anyone else complaining about service. The staff at the front desk and at guest services spoke English but we did not have any problems requiring their attention anyway.
Over all, I found the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar to be top notch and would not hesitate to go there again or recommend it to anyone.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Graham & Donna ~ Brampton, Ontario. Canada |
December 2008
Arrival: November 23 - 30th
Air Transat was the carrier, the flight was on time and trouble free and the flight was full and space was not at a premium, only snacks are now provided. Flight time just under 4 hours. Punta Cana airport is reasonably quick in regards to disembarkation, customs and luggage claim. There are porters who physically try to grab your luggage claiming your tour operators name, just refuse firmly as your tour guide is just outside the entrance to give you your bus number that is parked in sight. The transfer to the hotel was approx 30 mins, your hotel check in package is completed on the bus. The arrival is at the Gold and/or Diamond club lobby, Ambar guests and luggage are required to board a tram to transfer to Ambar lobby. A vast improvement would be to be taken directly to the Ambar lobby without waiting for the other sections guests to leave the bus and claim their luggage first. There is some confusion sorting out luggage and Ambar guests when the bus is full.
Rooms:
The rooms are beautiful, with plasma TV, four poster bed, day lounge, and other extras not found in the other sections. There were no problems at all throughout the week; The building corner suites are slightly bigger than the others (our first visit was corner room). We did in fact email the hotel two weeks ahead and request two third floor rooms together facing the pool as we had friends with us, we did not get our requests met at all. This was a disappointment for us as we have been to Bahia Principe (Punta Cana) on four occasions, Diamond, Gold and Premier Clubs we were guests of Ambar in June of this year too, we were classed as VIP (repeat guests) interestingly during the vacation, talking to other guests (whom arrived same weekend) they were in the rooms requested by us even though it was their first visit to Ambar, So we are not sure whether loyalty has any advantage with Bahia management. Nonetheless, Ambar rooms are far superior to the other sections of Bahia. !
You are located in a small enclave within a very large resort that is totally self sufficient in a superior setting, close to the beach. Our maid did a really good job, our room was always cleaned by mid afternoon, with flower/artistic arrangements daily, and our bed was turned down nightly with gifts, fridge/bar restocked as used.
Restaurants and Bars:
The main buffet, speciality restaurants and lobby and bar are set in colonial style that is very pleasing and stunningly beautiful, great care is taken to maintain a perfect setting in elegance, style and cleanliness. The buffet is varied and excellent, staff service impeccable. We booked the Garden Grill, Mediterranean and Beach BBQ restaurants and they were all very good. However the buffet gives you the choice of type and quantity of meal over a preset menu offered by the different restaurants, the choice is yours as meals are excellent at any option preferred. The lobby bar is very good although some international drinks are at an extra charge, there is nightly entertainment too, the ambiance is magical.
Beach/Pools/Grounds:
I would rate the beach (with the wreck Astron embedded on the reef) as one of the best in the world, the ocean is clear, clean and warm. One can walk for miles in either direction on the pristine white sand and barely see a pebble. There were ample loungers and palapas available, although closest to the ocean are taken before 8 AM. It seemed to me there were less motorboats zooming up and down all day than previous visits, - that is a plus too! The pool is very clean and quieter than in other areas, the gardens are very well tended and beautifully landscaped. This scenic setting will give you peace of mind.
Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel:
Both us guys booked diving, we are not certified and on the day booked we found the ocean to be very strong with huge under tows that made us struggle, we hardly got down to the ocean bed and could not manage there long at all, in fact on return to the boat several of our group of eight suffered from motion sickness, we believe the dive should have been postponed for inexperienced divers, we were told there had been no diving for nearly a week prior because of ocean conditions, I guess they needed the money. The Tropical Storm cruise is a riot.
Other Comments:
On previous vacations we have travelled to Mexico (3 times) Cuba (twice) Jamaica, USA (4 times - Florida & LA), Spain (3), Canary Is, and other Dominican resorts (12 times). We tend to use Bahia Principe as the yardstick to rate resorts, Ambar is presently the best. Clearly, the proprietors of Bahia have spent millions of dollars to create this splendid marbled jewel in such a beautiful scenic setting that could be described as paradise. Our future return is assured.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Julie ~ Buffalo |
December 2008
Our Stay at the Bahia Ambar was November 15th-22nd 2008
We enjoyed our stay at the Bahia Ambar. We flew Skyservice from Tornonto to Punta Cana. We had a late arrival into Punta Cana where we were bused to our Hotel Bahia Ambar. We were dropped off at the Bahia Bavaro and took a tram over to the Ambar. It was about 1130pm when we arrived at the lobby. No meet and greet or welcome drinks. We got our keys from the front desk and the bellboy took us to our room. We were hungry our first night arrival and the only thing that was open for food was a snack bar in the center square. We were not impressed with the snack bar, but i'm sure it would be fine it you were looking for a snack after a late night of drinking.
Our room was very nice and clean. Third floor ocean view room 67315. Everyday we left a tip for the maid and got water bottles and diet coke. Our regular maid was great but one day she wan't there and the other maid didn't give us any water or soda.
The resort itself is very pretty and well groomed. I thought the resort would have more marlble and decoration to meet its five star rating.
When it rains you can use your provided unbrella. It would have been nice if they had a covered walkway like many of the other resorts we have stayed.
The bar was ok. The bartenders seemed to only put alcohol in your drinks if you asked for alcohol. I thought that was weird. The pool bartenders were always smiling and friendly. I brought bubba mugs to keep our drinks cold and they filled them for us. The lobby wait staff was always friendly. Balieys is included in your all inclusive but the bartenders were very stinchey with the Bailieys. I wasn't impressed with the alcohol selection for a five star Punta Cana resort, way too many drinks cost extra. It seemed like you drink dominican rum or dominican rum. I was also surprised that you could only get water in a cup from anywhere on the resort. The only place for bottled water was the few in your minibar. They do use purified water and large water bottles to supply the cups of water but very inconvinient when you want to take bottle for a walk.
The 3 Ambar restaurants were very good. The Gourmet seemed to be the best food,service and atmosphere. The italian and mediterranian were good but having a buffet for some of the food took away from the atmosphere. We tried the Bavoro side restaurants Garden Grill, Mexican, and Barbecue. The food was good but it really was a glorified buffet, I would rather have made reservations for the Ambar side only. Reservations were not provided to us apon arrival. It seemed like we got stuck with late dinners, which I normally eat early back home so I was starving for our 830 dinners.
The pool at the Ambar side was very nice. I do think they should clean it more but it was still nice. There are 9 buildings that share the one Ambar pool so it is very busy and the Palapal hut shaded chairs are very hard to get. We got one once when we actually played their game of putting towels out at 7am. I personally think it would be better if they didn't allow the towel game because some people would leave their towels all day and hardly use them. The Bavaro side Diamond pool is off limits to the Ambar..too bad because it was empty, no towel games and only served 4 buildings. I tried to down grade to the Diamond Club just to have the pool but they wouldn't let us.
Late check out is very expensive 15 dollars per hour and they only let you do it till 3pm so if you have a late flight pray for sun so you can relax by the pool and shower in the gym.
Over all we did enjoy our vacation. The resort was nice but we would only return if we found a super cheap deal because we found the Majestic Colonial to be better for us and would rather stay there for the rooms, drinks, water and restaurants
.jllmb79@aol.com
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Gail ~ Whitby |
November 2008
Arrival and Flight
Left on Sunday November 2 at 7AM on Air Transat. Flight was on time and arrived in Punta Cana at 11AM. Shuttle to Bahia Principie took about 40 mins. They let you off at the main building Bavaro/Punta Cana and then you are shuttled to the Ambar lobby. All check in was done on the bus ahead of arrival and bracelets put on. Luggage was tagged with room number so when we arrived at the Ambar lobby we just went to our rooms and then to lunch buffet. There were 6 adults on this trip.
Rooms :
Were very spacious and bathrooms very big and everything was clean and new. The Ambar has only been opened for about 2 years. Your beach towels are already in the room for you and you get a fully stocked mini fridge with pop, beer, water, soda water, small bottles of rum, vodka and whiskey, and a small container of pringles. Flat screen TV. Room service if you want it and a pillow service, different scented pillows. We were in building # 64 which is just outside the pool area and beyond the pool is the beach. Great location. We did have a connection at the resort from reading reviews. Her name is Laura Vogler and she arranged our rooms and booked our al la carte restaurants for us in advance of getting to the resort. This was great because we did hear while there that some people could not get into all the al la cartes they wanted because they were completely booked. Good to know.
Restaurants :
The buffet was plentiful which we went to for 2 nites and then we had al la carte restaurants booked for the remainder of the week. Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean,Seafood and Garden Grill (steak house) The steaks were to die for, great. We did go to the main building buffet one nite and that was it. Too busy and many children running around.
Bars :
Many bars but didn't use them much. Waitress were around to get drinks if needed.
Beach and Pools :
We are not pool people. There is no breeze at the pool area but there were plenty of chairs and very clean at all times. The beach was wonderful. Many chairs and beautiful sun rises every morning. There is a barrier of sorts that tells people that beyond the barrier if for adults only. This was nice because you don't have to listen to children or adults yelling at them all the time or loud music. Very peaceful side of the resort. We witnessed 3 weddings on the beach while there.
Grounds :
Are always clean and most of the tree trimming is done in the morning and very conscious of guests around as to not to disturb you.
Activities and Entertainment:
Great singer at the Ambar lobby and great show (Michael Jackson) at main theatre.
Tours :
Took none since we have been going to Punta Cana for 20 years now (sometimes twice a year)and have done the tours.
Departure and Check Out :
We checked out at 8:30am and had breakfast before leaving and then was shuttled to the main building to await our bus to the airport. By the time we got to the airport we had about 2 hours to wait for our flight.
Conclusion :
This has been our first Adults Only resort and I think it has spoiled us for future visits. Great resort, great people and would not hesitate to return.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Linda ~ Manitoba |
November 2008
Arrival and Flight: Air Canada Vacations Wpg to TO and then to Punta Cana
Rooms: We were in Bldg 60 on the main floor. This Villa or #67 are closest to the pool/beach. However, it is not a big distance to walk if you end up in another Villa as this resort is not really that big.
Lobby: The lobbies at the resorts were amazing. The marble floors at the Ambar were polished and shone like you would not believe. It was so nice to sit and relax in the spacious lobby or sit outside in the evening.
Restaurants: A la Carte: we went to the Italian Restaurant – was good. Not a lot of selection at the salad bar. I heard so many positive reviews about the Don Pablo Gourmet a la carte restaurant. Unfortunately, both my husband and I got sick from what we think was the lobster we had that night. The food at the Buffet was always good and a big variety. You cannot go wrong eating here for all your meals. The waiters were always there to clear your plate and pour you more wine. We did eat at the beach buffet and always enjoyed that too, especially since we could go in our bathing suits and not have to go back to our rooms to change. Food was always good there. The only negatives were that lunch wasn’t served until 1:00pm at both buffets and if you waited to eat sometimes the hot food in the buffets were on the warm side.
Bars: The lobby bar in the Ambar and the Bavaro were the best. Drinks were much better here – way more variety.
Beach and Pools: The pool at the Ambar was always quiet and very relaxing. It was so nice not to have kids splashing you or whistle blowing games going on in the pool – as was at the Bavaro. We visited there a bit and left as it was quite annoying.
Grounds: Immaculate, immaculate, immaculate!!! No real bugs to complain of. We did see one huge Toad on the sidewalk one evening. No birds either….besides lots of hummingbirds.
Activities and Entertainment: There is no real formal entertainment at the Ambar. You have to take the trolley next door to see either the House Band or the Nightly Entertainment at 9:45. The Michael Jackson show (Monday) was really good!
Departure and Check Out: Check-out was smooth. Our flight was at 9pm Saturday night. We checked out at Noon and had our luggage locked up in a room by the Lobby. We spent the rest of the day at the pool and the beach. We showered at the gym before we had to catch our bus for the ride to the airport. It was a 30 minute ride to the airport. The airport was full of travelers and I was surprised at how fast we moved through the line-ups. There are restaurants and shops at the Punta Cana airport as well as a big Duty Free shop.
Conclusion: This trip was taken at the end of October 2008 which is considered low season. Was a nice time to go, not too many travelers and the price was good. The weather was fabulous, 32C for the highs and the lows were around 24C. Sometimes the a/c in our room felt cold when we came back to our room with wet bathing suits…so we would open up the balcony door to turn the a/c off and enjoy the beautiful Caribbean weather. This was our first all-inclusive resort. It exceeded our expectations. The resort is beautiful, the beach is amazing, the staff were all so friendly and helpful. The water was rough at this time of the year and families with smaller children could not enjoy the beach and spent their time at the pools. I packed a noodle and had fun with the waves in the water. The lack of English speaking workers did pose a problem when we were trying to communicate. We would definitely go back to this resort if we did not bring our children (15 and 13). This resort seemed popular for those on their Honeymoons or wanting a romantic, relaxing holiday!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Tracy ~ Toronto, Canada |
September 2008
We went to this restaurant for our honeymoon. We are 29 and 31. We were a bit concerned about peak hurricane season but we hardly got any rain and had the best weather we ever had in the D.R. There were two things in particular that I was really impressed with at the Ambar. When you purchased something at the store like Pepto Bismol they called your room the same day because the doctor on site wanted to make sure you were okay. I had also mentioned to the front desk that I had a seafood allergy; and every restaurant we went to knew this and had a special dish prepared for me – very impressive and I have never had this service before. We didn’t get sick from the water, fruit or food at this resort which is a first for us. They purified the tap water so you can brush your teeth with it. I would advise bringing any medicine cabinet items with you because it is a bit more expensive.
I have heard and read other people complaining about the trolley service at the bahia principe punta cana which is ridiculous. Even if you have to wait for a trolley it’s never more than 5 minutes; and if you have to walk from ambar to bavaro or punta cana its less than 5! After all the eating and drinking you would think people would want to burn off a few calories.
Arrival and Flight - We came straight from our wedding and the flight was with Skyservice. The carrier is not the best but the arrival to the resort was without incident and easy. The best way to think of this resort is in 3 sections/lobbys – ambar, bavaro and punta cana. The bus dropped us off at the Punta Cana and we there weren’t many of us heading over to the Ambar section. We had to wait 10 minutes for the trolley which seemed like a big deal at the time – only because we were so tired.
Rooms - We had requested building 67 and were pleased to see we were in room # 67217, one of the best rooms at the Ambar. There are no ocean view rooms at this hotel but this room overlooked the pool. We absolutely loved the room – marble bathroom and very clean. The 4 post bead, slippers and robe are a plus. All the rooms have a separate shower and Jacuzzi tub and the rooms are huge. They stocked our fridge every day with beer and had decorated with balloons for our honeymoon. We had stayed in the D.R. twice before and this was the first time we didn’t see any insects at all in our rooms.
Restaurants – The resort had pre-booked us in at 3 restaurants, and we added 2 more when we got there without any problems. You can eat a la carte every night if you wish. We ate at the Japanese, gourmet Ambar (there are 2), garden grill, meditranian and Italian restaurants. There is always food available – we ate at the buffet which was really good and ordered room service 24 hours a day. The Japanese was our favourite.
Bars – The service was great; I actually found they served women before men. When I got back to Canada and went out for dinner I was surprised by the differences I noticed. The Dominicans were more polite and had better manners. The drinks were good at all the bars and you have drinks in your hotel room fridge, pool bar, lobby bar, and almost everywhere you go. I asked for many different types of drinks and they knew how to make all of them.
Beach and Pools – The beach is the best at this resort, there are waves so I recommend packing a cheap plastic raft in your suitcase for floating on the beach. There was never a problem getting a beach hut; that could be because it is peak hurricane season so low season for travelers. The pools were spotless – the resort is brand new so everything is in great shape. When I walked up the beach to the main part of the resort I appreciated ours much more. There was a lot of noise from music and kids at the main part and the beach was much more crowded than at the Ambar section. There were the most topless sunbathers and speedo wearers at this resort than we have seen before, probably because there were mainly Europeans when we there and hardly any Canadians or Americans.
Grounds – I read reviews about the grounds and I am glad I did. It helped me appreciate all the work they put into the grounds here. Everything is meticulously taken care of and beautifully lush. I also noticed there were no insects or lizards anywhere because they spray.
Activities and Entertainment – I didn’t realize we get a free hour of rentals everyday until we got back, oh well. We didn’t do any excursions but there was parasailing and the usual activities available.
Departure and Check Out - Perfect and sad departure from this resort. We had breakfast and then took the trolley to the bus to the airport. There was no wait to check out and it took about 40 seconds. The punta cana airport has gotten much better in the last 10 years. There is an air conditioned section and more shops.
Conclusion – If you stay at Ambar you can eat, swim or visit anywhere else in the resort; however guests at the bavaro or punta cana cannot eat or drink at the ambar which is a perk of the ambar. There is never a shortage of places to go. Yes its quiet at the Ambar but we just walked to the other sections after 11pm. If you want to party this isn’t the resort for you but there is always the disco to go to every night for a party scene. They played different music every night such as R&B and 60’s/70’s night. Our daily routine was wake up 9am and go to breakfast. Then to the ocean for 4 hours and have lunch. Then we would go to the pool bar for a couple hours and head to the room for a nap (it was our honeymoon after all). Then we would go to dinner, and head to the show at 9:30 pm.The shows were actually the best I had seen, usually they are pretty bad. There was a Michael Jackson show, international show, Lion King show and a few more that were actually really entertaining. After the show we would sit at the open air bahia square where we would watch the house band (very good) and then go to the disco. Then head back to our room to order room service and watch some TV in our very well air conditioned room.
I can’t understand why anyone would complain about this resort. It has everything you go to the D.R. for. The staff was unbelievable, they waited on us hand and foot and got us anything we needed. On our last day we asked to speak to the manager to tell him how amazing our honeymoon was at this resort and we honestly could not think of one negative thing to say. If you are a couple wanting a romantic vacation or a few couples going for some fun this is the place for you.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Graham & Donna ~ Brampton, Canada |
August 2008
We stayed at the Ambar section of this resort from June 15-22nd. We have previously stayed at the Premier, Gold and Diamond sections of this resort. On other visits to Punta Cana we have stayed at Catalonia (2) Occidental Grand Flamenco (2), Iberostar Bavaro, Riu Bambu (2) Riu Taino. With two trips to Puerto Plata, three to Mexico, two to Cuba, Jamaica, Spain (5) and to USA beach resorts (3).
We tend to use Bahia Principe as the yardstick to rate resorts as it is simply the best we have visited to date. Bahia Principe Ambar section is superior to the other areas of this large resort, however there is room for slight improvements.
Flight/Arrival
Air Transat was the carrier, the flight was on time and trouble free, there were approx thirty empty seats on the plane. The transfer to the hotel went smoothly, we were taken to the Gold area of the resort, Gold and Ambar guests disembarked together which did lead to some confusion as the lobby construction caused congestion in a cramped area. Ambar guests boarded a tram and were taken to the ambar lobby to check in and receive a more fitting welcome. Within minutes we were taken to our room 64317, which was a larger corner room with poster bed, day area, plasma TV, larger bathroom and the other amenities found in the other club sections. We could look down from our third floor we see the pool and ocean. (we had previously emailed the resort with our request, which were fulfilled).
Ambar Club
The Ambar lobby, and restaurants are very beautiful, in a colonial style that is very pleasing. The pool area is well laid out with excellent landscaping that in total could be described as paradise. The quality of all the food groups we had was very good, It would improve in my eyes if the entree stations actually started cooking some choices prior to your request rather than cooking each individual request in turn resulting in longer line ups, especially in high demand times. I found it disappointing that despite the dress code advertised some people came to dinner in tee shirts, jeans and flip-flops. clearly, the proprietors of Bahia have spent millions of dollars to create this splendid marbled jewel in such a beautiful setting that attracts people from around the world (in some cases great expense) and some people do not bring a shirt or two and pants to fit more into this elegant setting for their evening dinner - shame..
Beach/Pool
I would rate this beach (with the wreck Astron embedded on the reef) as one of the best in the world. One can walk for miles in either direction on the pristine white sand and barely see a pebble. there are amble palapas available, although closest to the ocean are taken before nine, it seemed to me there were less motorboats zooming up and down all day than previous visits, - that is a plus too. The pool is very clean and somewhat quieter than the other areas, it is my first time in an adult only area and it is very pleasant to have a brief time without the children present.
Room
Our maid did a really good job, our room was finished by early afternoon everyday, although we left a gift and money daily we did not get any artwork or towel decoration at all this trip. Nonetheless, we were very pleased with our room.
Overall
Ambar was a beautiful experience for us, check in and out of Ambar direct on arrival would be a vast improvement, nearly all staff was friendly and helpful, our return is assured.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Mervyn |
July 2008
I have done a lot of traveling, but have never stayed at a 5 star resort before & thought this would be a good time as my sister was visiting from England & it had been a long time since the family traveled together.
My mother 76 years old (whom uses a walking cane), my three sisters & myself who are all in our forties & fifties, we heard many mixed reviews on this resort but decided to try it. We decided to upgrade & go Club Class with Air Transat Vacations which was one of the best things we did & it was a great flight both ways.
This will be brief & to the point & is based on the incidents that happened us.
We were given rooms on the third floor which was not what we had requested due to my mothers disability.
The following day we went to change our rooms & was promised 2 rooms on the ground floor & were told to come back at 2:00 PM.
Returning at 2:00 PM, the same man at reception denied the fact that we were promised these rooms & shrugged us off, we were passed onto a man by the name of ********, whom was aggressive, arrogant & rude.
Every day we had to go to the reception or guest services to have water & the mini bar replenished.
The bath was never ever cleaned during our stay.
On several occasions we booked wake up calls & never received one of them.
A Le carte restaurants were pre booked for us which we could not change.
The lobby bar shut down at 11:00 PM even though it says midnight.
Bartenders were extremely rude to females in our party.
The icing on the cake was, when my mother was literally dragged when getting off one of the golf buggies, he didn't even get out to check & see if she was O.K. or even apologize, neither did the hotel management.
Conclusion:
This is the worst resort I have ever stayed at !!!! staffing & customer satisfaction is what makes a 5 star resort, which is what this hotels lacks.
We have lodged a complaint with Gran Bahia Principe in Spain & are seeking compensation with Air Transat for offering a resort of this caliber.
If traveling to the Dominican Republic I recommend you pass on this hotel.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Jen & Brandon ~ Hamilton, Ontario |
July 2008
We visited the Bahia Ambar from June 22-29, 2008. This was our 12th visit to Punta Cana and our first stay at the Bahia chain. Most of the resorts we have stayed at in Punta Cana have been five stars, so we had certain expectations going in as far as service, food, etc. We enjoyed a lovely vacation and had a good time, but we will not be returning to the Bahia Ambar. It seems they've bitten off a little more than they can chew and have some work to do before I would truly classify this as a five-star resort.
That said, let the review begin!
Arrival & Flight: Our flight with Air Transat arrived on time and we got through customs and the baggage claim quickly. Everyone on our bus was going to the Bahia Principe so we didn't have to make any stops along the way. The people staying at the Bahia Principe were able to check in on the bus; Ambar guests had to wait until we got to the resort. Once we arrived, we were dropped off at the Bavaro lobby and took a quick shuttle trip over to the Ambar. Check in took a matter of minutes as there were only a handful of people arriving with us. A bellboy accompanied us to our room with our luggage and showed us the safe, a/c, etc.
Rooms: Our room was on the third floor corner of villa 64, #64317. We were pleasantly surprised to find a gift bag contining two Bahia Principe t-shirts and a bottle of rum awaiting us. A maid also showed up within a few minutes of us getting to the room and brought us slippers and bathrobes to use during our stay. The room offered plenty of seating between the couch, small table with two chairs, desk with chair, and another chair with ottoman in the corner. Our king sized bed was quite comfortable and we were happy with the pillows provided so we never made use of the pillow menu offered by the butler service. The plasma tv worked well and had a good selection of English channels to watch. The room was typically cleaned by 2 p.m. each day and the mini-fridge was refilled with a few Presidentes, soft drinks and Pringles (a nice touch!) I think the room could have benefitted from another chest of drawers, but otherwise it was perfect. The bathroom was enormous! We had good water pressure in the shower and the jacuzzi tub filled up quite quickly. There was also a hairdryer (I think 1200 watt) available that did a decent job of drying my hair.
Grounds: Quite mature for such a new resort. Lots of trees, greenery, flowers, etc. Everything was kept very clean. Nothing was more than a five-minute walk from anything else. The Ambar section is very easy to navigate but the main resort next door is absolutely huge. Definitely keep your resort map handy if you venture over there! You can catch a tram to the Bavaro section outside of the Ambar lobby. It's not a very far walk if you miss the tram - maybe 7 minutes or so. I believe the tram service runs until 3 a.m.
Restaurants/Food: One of the major disappointments at this resort. In general, we were quite unimpressed with the Palmyra buffet. Service was brutal and the food was nothing special. We only attempted breakfast twice...getting a cup of coffee was like pulling teeth! They had the usual breakfast offerings of pancakes, fruit, made to order eggs, etc, but the service was so bad that we eventually decided it wasn't worth getting up early for. Dinners weren't much better. Nothing on the buffet was hot - I ate lukewarm veggies, rice, and pasta with my meals when we dined here. The chef's charving station was good and I had some delicious beef there one night, but in general we did not look forward to our dinners here. The gala night on Saturday was probably our best experience in the buffet. There seemed to be a wider selection of foods available and service was as it should be in a five star resort. We were seated by a waiter and our drinks were waiting for us by the time we got back from the buffet. When they asked us to fill out surveys about the resort at the end of our meal, we realized the reason for the sudden change in service.
The pool restaurant, Las Brisas, was our favourite spot for lunch. They didn't have a ton of food to pick from but what they had was good. Hotdogs, burgers, usually a cut of beef or pork, delicious roasted chicken, a nice salad bar, and good pastas with at least two choices of sauce. Service was typically better here, but it could also get very busy and seating was hard to find by mid-afternoon. Ladies, keep in mind that if you eat here you do have to be covered up. A sarong or shorts & a t-shirt is sufficient. I'm not really sure why they are so adament about women being covered up when men are allowed to dine shirtless. Perhaps it's their way of making it up to the men who have to wear long pants and shirts with sleeves to dinner at night?
When we arrived at the Ambar we had three a la carte reservations pre-arranged for us. We ended up rescheduling two of them in order to try the a la cartes next door, and we were unable to make the third one as I was feeling ill that day. The a la cartes that we tried at the Bavaro section were the steakhouse (Garden Grill) and the Barbecue, which is right on the beach. The steakhouse was excellent and was probably the best meal we had all week. I had fork-tender beef tenderloin with the most delicious, buttery mashed potatoes. My husband ordered the rib eye which was tasty but very thin. Their appetizer buffet seemed a little odd with its large selection of roadhouse type foods (nachos with cheese & chili, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, potato skins) but everything we tried was tasty. They also had a soup and salad bar available. The Barbecue restaurant was another winner. The side dishes and salads are served buffet style but you can get pretty much any meat you can think of grilled up at the barbecue stand. They had sausage, ribs, chicken, pork, etc along with a tasty paella. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was very nice being right on the beach. Service in both a la cartes was friendly and fast.
The quality of the room service was fine but the menu left a lot to be desired for an adults only resort. Choices were limited to hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken nuggets, sandwiches (ham & cheese or BLT), roasted chicken, or a fruit plate. Everything came with a heaping pile of french fries (except the fruit plate, I assume). Drinks were not available through room service. When you call to order, they tell you it will take at least 45 minutes for your food to arrive. We ordered room service twice and both times our food was in our room in less than a half hour, so that was a pleasant surprise.
Bars: The bars that we frequented most were the pool bar and lobby bar. The consistency of drinks like pina coladas and bahama mamas were much better at the lobby bar, where they had blenders, but still tasty at the pool bar. The resort needs to have more waitresses working the lobby bar in the evenings. The outdoor seating area was always full (partly because of the lovely breeze out there, partly because smokers could not smoke in the interior bar), yet they only had two waitresses to serve everyone. As such, wait times to order and actually get a drink were long and many people resorted to just going to the bar to get their own drinks. The lobby bar had a pianist playing in the evenings who provided some nice background music. Other reviewers were not kidding when they said this place shuts down at 11 p.m. Literally, the lights start shutting off, the waitresses take your seat cushion, and they empty your drink into a plastic cup. Closing up shop at 11 resulted in a mad dash to the bar around 10:50 each night. After 11 p.m. you can go to the Pueblo Principe square at the front of the resort for drinks, entertainment, and snacks. While we were well aware prior to our visit that everything shuts down at 11 p.m., it was disappointing that patrons of the adults only resort weren't able to sit and enjoy a bit of a later evening at their own resort. Definitely bring some bug spray if you are prone to mosquito bites at home. The noseeums went to town on my lower legs the first night we sat out at the lobby bar. After that I wised up and used the OFF spray that I'd brought from home (thank you to the makers of OFF for coming out with less offensive smelling products!) and our subsequent bar visits were much more comfortable for me.
On our first night we ventured over to the Bavaro section to sit at their outdoor bar. Their patio was very large and there was plenty of seating available. Service was fast and efficient, but be aware that they will ask you to sign your room number when they realize you're from the Ambar. You won't be charged for anything - they just want to track who is going where.
Beach & Pool: The beach was breathtaking and very clean. There were always lots of chairs and palapas available at any time of day. The swimming area was flat-bottomed and a good size. There is a fence of sorts that separates the adults only area from the section that's available for everyone to use. The water was yellow flagged every day that we went down there.
The pool was very nice, but getting a chair after noon was challenging. Some people did head out early in the morning to reserve palapas but chairs were usually readily available until late in the morning. Pickings were slim after that. The pool itself was very clean and never very crowded. The resort did a good job of keeping the area clean; there was always someone walking around picking up empty cups. The washrooms at the pool were also kept impeccably clean. The pool was very quiet - there was no animation team (yay!) but also no music. Sometimes the bartenders had a radio going so you could hear some quiet tunes when you were right at the pool bar, but otherwise it was completely quiet. It was definitely a relaxing environment.
Activities & Entertainment: There were no poolside activities at the Ambar, which was fine by me. We often heard a ruckus coming from one of the pools next door so there was no doubt where to go if you wanted some daytime amusement. We never made it to any of the shows at the Bavaro, either. I believe the shows started at 9 p.m. and included something for the kids before they got to the main show of the evening. One night we did venture over to the Pueblo Principe and the disco. The square was quite busy, as everything at the Bahia closes up at 11 so people from all three sections end up there. I can only imagine how hot and busy it must get over there during peak season. The disco was very busy and very loud. They had a few staff members available to teach us some bachata and meringue dancing, which was fun. Unfortunately they had the strobe lights going a mile a minute and I'm very sensitive to them, so we didn't stay for long.
Tours/Things to Do: Since we've been to Punta Cana so many times, we never bother with any of the organized excursions. The only trip we make each time is to Don Lucas cigars, where we pick up our coffee, rum, and cigars for my husband. They also sell jewellery, artwork, t-shirts, and such. If you decide to visit, look for Kelmin or Rafael - they're great guys who really know their stuff. Round trip transporation is free of charge. You can arrange a visit through guest services, or call Don Lucas directly at 1-809-466-1212. On the topic of cigars, I should mention that the cigar shop at the Ambar is operated by Don Lucas Cigars, so if you choose to purchase cigars there you don't have to worry about their authenticity. Prices at the resort shop are a good 20% higher than at the factory though, so if you plan to purchase more than one or two, I would definitely recommend visiting the factory.
The Bahia resort has a few things on-site to keep you occupied. They have tennis courts, a mini-golf course, and I think you can rent bicycles as well. Unfortunately our one attempt at playing mini-golf didn't work out so well. The kid at the sports equipment hut spent a good five minutes playing on his cell phone before he acknowledged our presence. When we told him we needed clubs and balls for mini-golf, he said we'd have to wait because the four clubs that the resort owned were already in use. Seriously? Four clubs for a resort of this magnitude? Ridiculous! By the time we got to play a round with our friends, it was getting quite hot so we cut our game short. A round of mini-golf isn't going to make or break our vacation, but the lack of equipment and the blase attitude of the attendant didn't make a very good impression on us.
Departure & Checkout: Checkout is at 12 noon and Air Transat wasn't picking us up until 2 p.m., so we left our suitcases with the bellhops and just kept our carryon bags with the essentials (passports, tickets, etc). We hung out at the lobby bar until it was time to go. I never did find out if there were courtesy rooms available so I'm not sure what we would have done if we'd chosen to hang out at the beach until our pickup time. The bus picked us up at the Bavaro lobby on time and we headed back to the airport to endure the 3+ hour wait until our flight left.
Conclusion: The Ambar is a beautiful property, but they have some work to do in their service department before I would truly consider it a five star resort. Service often came without a smile and it didn't seem like most of the staff was very happy to be working there. My husband and I usually tip very generously on our vacations but this was the first time that we came home with almost as big a stack of $1 bills as we had when we left. All things told, we did get what we wanted out of the trip, which was a relaxing week away from home. Unfortunately that week didn't come with first class food and service, but hey, you can't win them all. Hopefully our next trip, lucky #13, will be a winner!
If anyone has questions, they can email me at ginnyfyris@yahoo.ca
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Mark ~ New Jersey |
July 2008
Arrival and Flight: USAIR, Saturday afternoon
Rooms: all of the suites are the same. The amber is new and the room was wonderful. A very large bathroom, shower and jetted tub, double sinks. There is a hair dryer in the bathroom. A few words of Spanish goes a long way with the staff as does a small tips now and then
Restaurants: the buffet was average to good. We expected more Dominican food. Plenty of choices for all meals. The ala cart restaurants we a step above. The service in all restaurants was very good. Make your reservations early in the week for the ala carts. Even though they were only half full you cannot get in without a reservation.
Bars: in the Ambar you have your own. They were fine for resort bars
Beach and Pools: very well kept and clean. Get up early to reserve lounges or you can tip the pool boy and he will do it for you. The beach was beautiful, clean and not crowded. The water was warm but, cool enough to be refreshing
Grounds: the gounds were immaculate and manicured. The landscaping is amazing. Did not see a piece of paper on the ground all week. The resort site is big but, you can take the shuttle to get around.
Activities and Entertainment: we didn't do too much except relax around the pool and beach. My wife was very happy with the services and service at the spa
Tours: only went fishing but did not catch anything. Asked others who went fishing and they did not catch anything either.
Departure and Check Out: a real pleasure. Waited 10 minutes for our bags at the airport. Had the PINK shirt taxi drivers take us to the resort. We checked in in about 10 minutes. We were surprised that we were upgraded to the Amber from the Punta Cana. Another 10 minutes and we were in our room with our safe functioning. On our departure, we had the head bellboy make our transportation arrangements - an air-conditioned van to ourselves for the same price it took to get to the resort.
Once we got to the airport it took a half an hour to get our tickets, go through customs and immigration, get to through security and arrive at our departure gate. It make a big difference that this is a private airport owned by one of the resorts.
Conclusion: one of the best vacations we ever went one. The resort and the service we recieved there was excellent. Yes, we will go back. By the time we get there, they will have doubled the size of the resort. Yes, we do recommend that you vacation at this resort.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Graham & Donna ~ Brampton, Canada |
June 2008
We stayed at the Ambar section of this resort from June 15-22nd. We have previously stayed at the Premier, Gold and Diamond sections of this resort. On other visits to Punta Cana we have stayed at Catalonia (2) Occidental Grand Flamenco (2), Iberostar Bavaro, Riu Bambu (2) Riu Taino. With two trips to Puerto Plata, three to Mexico, two to Cuba, Jamaica, Spain (5) and to USA beach resorts (3).
We tend to use Bahia Principe as the yardstick to rate resorts as it is simply the best we have visited todate. Bahia Principe Ambar section is superior to the other areas of this large resort, however there is room for slight improvements.
Flight/Arrival
Air Transat was the carrier, the flight was ontime and trouble free, there were approx thirty empty seats on the plane. The transfer to the hotel went smoothly, we were taken to the Gold area of the resort, Gold and Ambar guests disembarked together which did lead to some confusion as the lobby construction caused congestion in a cramped area. Ambar guests boarded a tram and were taken to the ambar lobby to check in and receive a more fitting welcome. Within minutes we were taken to our room 64317 which was a larger corner room with poster bed, day area, plasma TV, larger bathroom and the other amenities found in the other club sections. We could look down from our third floor we see the pool and ocean. (we had previously emailed the resort with our request which were fulfilled).
Ambar Club
The Ambar lobby, and restaurants are very beautiful, in a colonial style that is very pleasing. The pool area is well laid out with excellent landscaping that in total could be described as paradise. The quality of all the food groups we had was very good, It would improve in my eyes if the entree stations actually started cooking some choices prior to your request rather than cooking each individual request in turn resulting in longer line ups, especially in high demand times. I found it disappointing that despite the dress code advertised some people came to dinner in tee shirts, jeans and flip flops. clearly, the proprietors of Bahia have spent millions of dollars to create this splendid marbled jewel in such a beautiful setting that attracts people from around the world (in some cases great expense) and some people do not bring a shirt or two and pants to fit more into this elegant setting for their evening dinner - shame..
Beach/Pool
I would rate this beach (with the wreck Astron embedded on the reef) as one of the best in the world. One can walk for miles in either direction on the pristine white sand and barely see a pebble. there are amble palapas available, although closet to the ocean are taken before nine, it seemed to me there were less motorboats zooming up and down all day than previous visits, - that is a plus too. The pool is very clean and somewhat quieter than the other areas, it is my first time in an adult only area and it is very pleasant to have a brief time without the children present.
Room
Our maid did a really good job, our room was finished by early afternoon everyday, although we left a gift and money daily we did not get any artwork or towel decoration at all this trip. Nonetheless, we were very pleased with our room.
Overall
Ambar was a beautiful experience for us, check in and out of Ambar direct on arrival would be a vast improvement, nearly all staff were friendly and helpful, our return is assured.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Steve ~ Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
June 2008
We are a couple in our late 40’s, we have visited numerous 5 star all inclusive resorts in the Mayan Riviera, Puerta Vallarta,
Jamaica and Bahamas. I would not rate this as a true 5 star, although many more positives than negatives.
Had great week, just feel that the Ambar is still experiencing a few growing pains, could use more staff
in the lobby bar area, and buffet areas.
All in all, a very nice resort for relaxing and taking it easy.
Arrival and Flight
Flew Air Canada from Montreal, arrived 12:00 Sunday May 18th
Were through customs quickly, very casual, the ran the gauntlet of porters
and went outside and found the Air Canada Vacations rep with no problem.
Were on our way shortly after that. Our tour guide spoke minimal english, would probably been
better off without one. He then asked / coerced us into stopping to buy a beer, we did not bother, figured
we would be at the resort in 15 minutes, the people who bought one had to cough up $5 for a large bottle
of Presidente beer.
The transfer time from the airport to the resort was about 35 minutes, excluding the unnecessary stop for beer.
Somewhat confusing when we pulled up to the lobby, surprisingly no bellman in sight, so my wife and I
carted our bags to the checkin desk only to be told that this was not the Ambar lobby but in fact the Bavaro
checkin desk. Dragged out bags to the trolley that took us to the Ambar section.
Checkin went smoothly, a hostess had a drink for us.
I went immediately to the concierge desk, to attempt to amend our dining reservations were given.
Rooms
Were given room 61114, ground level with a garden view, which was fine with us.
In my opinion all of the villas have a good location, ours was a 2 minute walk to the pool and 2 minutes to the lobby.
The closest villas to the pool / beach are Villas 60, 64, 67.
compared to the Bavaro and Punta Cana sides, the Ambar rooms are all very close to everything
I chatted with a fellow from Toronto who slipped the front desk clerk $20, he was suddenly given a corner view room
in building 67.
We had a couple of maintenance issues in the room, however the front desk solved them in a remarkably quick manner.
Beach towels were in our room.
The Jacuzzi tub really isn’t that much larger than a standard tub, drain system didn’t work.
Rooms are generally very quiet, except for guests who insist on slamming the wooden doors early in the morning.
Room safe, no charge, although some people seemed to get charged $32.
Not sure how that works.
I felt very secure in the room and all areas of the resort.
One night we had a yahoo next door neighbour, who decided to have a room party at 01:00.
I went to the front desk to notify them, they sent security 10 minutes later to tell them to shut up.
Nothing wrong with partying, but you don’t expect it at 01:00 at an adults only resort.
Turn down service every night which was a nice touch.
There is also a pillow menu, I tried a different type for the week.
I never did see the fictional butler that each villa is supposed to have.
Maid service was very good, friendly. I left a gift for her on 4 occasions and tipped a couple of
days. No problem getting beer, pringles, mini rums.
The fridge seems to only run when your keycard is in, takes a while to get cold.
Restaurants
We ate at 4 ala carte restaurants:
Ambar side:
El Olivo, Mediteranean Had a vast buffett, the food was ok
Don Pablo, Gourmet restaurant. Generally unimpressed especially with the lack of service.
The dress code did not seem to be enforced.
We did not try the Italian restaurant “Porto fino”, heard mixed reviews from guests that tried it.
Bavaro side:
Garden Grill, Grilled meats. Very good, chicken and shimp dishes recommended, the steak tenderloin
was good. Found the service and ambience to our liking.
Maiko Japanese: Liked this the best, 12 people around the chef and cooking station. Lots of food and
very entertaining.
Would be nice if the lobby had coffee and tea for those who just wanted some morning caffeine.
Unusual that there was not a hostess at the buffet restaurants, seemed to be hit or miss.
On a couple of occasions we did not know which section of the dining room was open.
This is the first resort we have been to that did not have a dedicated hostess.
We usually had breakfast and lunch at “Las Brisas” right by the pool and beach.
Breakfast started at 08:00, lunch from 12:00 – 4:00, snacks were then served from a menu
from 4:00 – 6:00 pm.
Great atmosphere, outside looking out a palm trees
Ate 2 nights at the Ambar buffet. Generally good, although we were disappointed the the seafood buffet, Tues night.
Not really anything out of the ordinary for a specialty seafood night.
One night we had dinner at the buffet on the Bavaro side, actually much more selection, lots to choose from.
Just gave our room number, didn’t seem to be a problem.
Bars
The bar closes at 11:00 pm sharp, lights go out and everything stops.
Wasn’t a big deal for us, although one night we were having a few cocktails and chatting with a fun
group from Canada. I think the bar should stay open a little longer, 11:30 ?
We found it very odd that not all alcohol and liquours were included in the all-inclusive rate.
My wife and I like to drink “mudslides” at the pool bar, but the ingredients were not available at the pool or beach bar.
I feel that if you are at a 5 star adults only all inclusive, that you shouldn’t have to pay extra for i.e. kahlua, gran marnier etc.
Gran marnier would have cost $11 U.S. !
The pool bar opens at 10:00 am. First customers are at the swim-up bar immediately.
Great swim up bar with about 15 or so stools. Very conducive to socializing, met all kinds of great people
from Canada, U.S., Spain.
Bar closes at 6:00 pm, for those who wanted to keep drinking, Las Brisas open for drinks until 10:00 pm
Found the service on the Bavaro and Punta Cana sides actually better for obtaining a drink in the lobby bar.
Very quick service, the Ambar side needs to work on this.
Beach
Lots of palapas by the beach, no problem getting shade.
Although the more popular ones closer to the water, with the breeze go quicker in the day, 08:00 or so.
The sand is very hot, the further you are from the water.
Gorgeous beach, 10 out of 10 !
No rocks at all, the ocean was great.
Pool
Some people have complained of lack of shade, I counted 25 palapas by the pool, seemed enough to me.
They are very well spaced apart.
I did not encounter any problems obtaining a palapa by the pool.
Some readers have said that security will take your belongings if you put your towel and bag
under a palapa before 08:00. This was not the case, the pool officially “opened” at different
times every day, ranged from 07:40 – 07:50.
I figured out the best method is to get down to the pool around 07:15, place your towel and bag etc
on a small table under a palapa to stake your claim. The workers then place all the loungers under the palapas
07:30 – 08:00. My method which works well at obtaining a lounger is to secure my belongings with a small
travel combination cable lock. I put down a beach towel, old magazine, book, hat etc to procure my space.
Very relaxing by the pool, no annoying music blasting away. If a person wants some entertainment, one can
easily stroll over to the Bavaro pool, very close by.
Grounds
Beautiful grounds, immaculate landscaping and very clean.
The staff have done a great job here.
Activities and Entertainment
We did not do any excursions.
The free activities are not really free, if you want to go snorkelling by the shipwreck, you have
to pay a $29 “taxi” fee.
We took in the Michael Jackson show on Monday night, quite entertaining.
Very good bar service as well at the back of the large Tropicana theatre.
Checked out the karaoke bar a couple of nights, good for laughs, quick service at the bar.
The Congas disco opens at midnight, by 00:01 there are a lot of people inside, and big lineups at the bar.
Played blackjack a couple of times, no problem getting on a table
Tours
We did not do any tours or excursions, were content to lounge by the beach and pool.
Departure and Check Out
Uneventful, the bellman were at our room very quickly to get our bags.
Conclusion
All in all we had a very enjoyable week, gorgeous grounds, friendly staff, beautiful beach.
Other Comments:
The lobby has 2 internet terminals, they have a very good system of allowing only 15 minutes per session.
However, always a lineup to use, the resort should consider having a couple more.
Service in general was ok, but not consistent.
Poolside bar service was offered on occasion, but not always.
Not a big deal to stroll from the lounger to the bar at the pool.
Somewhat difficult to obtain dining reservations, I had to go back on several occasions to attempt
to get a reservation or 2 on the Bavaro side.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Bob |
May 2008
My wife and I just returned from Punta Cana . We stayed at the Ambar resort at Gran Principe Bahia,this place was amazing to say the least. We flew by way of Air Canada,left here Sat morning May 17, 630am arrived there 530 pm had stop over in Montreal,Once there a bus took us to the Gran Prinipe Bahia aboat 25 mins.When we got there the service blew me away,our bags where place on a trolly and we where told we would be driven to our resort the Ambar. That took aboat 5min. Once at the Ambar both of us couldn't believe where we where at ,the place is beautiful. We where greeted at the main desk by a well spoken man who could speak very good english. once check in was completed we where taken to our room by a Bellhop who showed us where and how everything worked, for example that if your patoidoor is open your air conditioning goes off ,good to know. We arrived to late for a booked supper but could go to the buffet.This is where the people who work at this resort blew me away the staff was and is the most polite and well train people we have ever met, they go out of there way to serve and help you its amazing.This place is so clean Itook over 300 pictures to show friends back home. The main lobby washroom that would see hundreds if not thousand of individuals, you could sleep on the floor and not worry.We had breakfast everyday at buffet in the lobby, you could go down to the pool buffet as well but I like the indoors for the air conditioning. There was more than enough to pick from champange an orange to start an what ever you could amagine. Everyday we where on the beach by 830am lots of place to sit,they rack the beach of seaweed evertmorning this is notice if you walk the beach by other resort who don't maybe they should the water is much clean because the Ambar does.Lots to do sailing ,paddling ,boating ,windsurfing ,and yes the wife even got me to do aroebics. Thank you Jocelyn for being easy on me,a very nice man.We would leave the beach by 4pm go to pool have a few drinks there and a small lunch at the buffet yea right,my lunch was awesome everyday.Back to the room for shower lovin and lotion,dress for supper ,pants for the guys but thats ok.theres a wide range of different place to eat, its a matter of perferance,we like all.To the lobby bar by 8pm back to our room by 10ish.Only to find our bed turn down with chacolates and pringles.Our maid all week was Asbella we loved her she was the best.Up at 6am to do it again,and do it again we will.I don't like going on trips and spending big money,normally to camp fish and hunt but I will be going back to this very place,because wife loved it ,I loved and were are worth it everyone should treat themselves. Thank you Ambar and all your staff who are the reason were coming back,
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Kasia and Steve ~ from Bowmanville, ON
|
April 2008
We have just returned from a wonderful trip to the Bahia Principe Ambar. (March 30th to April 6th). We are a couple in our mid 30's and have visited quite a few 5* resorts in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, etc. We were very impressed with this resort. We booked with Transat Vacations and flew with Westjet airlines. This was our first time on Westjet. The flight left on time and the service on the flight was excellent and curteous. We asked for emergency exit row seats to allow for a little extra legroom and we were granted our request with no problems. The seatback live television was a nice touch as we did not have to strain to view the television sets that you sometimes get on other charter airlines like Skyservice a.k.a "Skysquish" The Westjet plane was newer and very clean, the crew and staff were very friendly. We arrived 4 hours later and got through customs at Punta Cana quickly, got our luggage right away, and were taken to a small bus that held about a dozen people. We were off in minutes to our resort.
The drive to the resort took about 35 minutes. We were dropped at the Bahia Principe Punta Cana lobby and taken to the Ambar side via tram. The Ambar side is adults only and therefore alot more quiet and relaxed. We highly recommend this resort to couples who just want to relax and have a quiet romantic time away from kids. If you are looking for a resort with lots of activities by the pool, music and more of a "party" atmosphere, or a place that caters to families and kids then we recommend the Bavaro side of the resort. We stayed on the Bavaro side in Nov 06 and although we did enjoy our stay there, we found it a little too large and busy compared to the Ambar side.
We checked in at the front desk of the Ambar and we were given our bracelts and key cards to room # 67111 which is in building 67 on the ground floor. This is one of the closest buildings to the beach and pool and we had a partial ocean view. Our room had a garden view and we were quite happy with this as the pool side tends to get a little noisy in the late afternoon. The room was quite large and had a big bathroom with a seperate shower and a jacuzzi tub. There was an iron and an umbrella in the room as well as two beach towels, bathrobes and slippers. The maid did a great job cleaning our room and restocking our mini-bar every day. We tipped the maid each time and the bartenders and wait staff very often. We feel that these people work very hard with long hours for very little money and still manage to have warm smiles at all times. It was nice to be able to show our appreciation in this small way.
The pool at the Ambar was very warm and not too crowded. The swimup bar had quick and friendly service and someone came around the pool to take your drink orders every 10 minutes or so. The palapas and chairs around the pool were in very high demand. There did not seem to be enough of them for the amount of guests at the resort. This seemed to bother alot of people and resulted in complaints. We were not bothered by this too much. We were eager to start each day so we liked going out early (around 7am) to secure our spot by the pool. If you like to sleep in then there is a good chance you will not get a spot by the pool! However there are always plenty of spots at the beach. The beach is fabulous with plenty of palapas for shade, white powdery sand, beautiful tall palms and turquoise water. Punta Cana is our favourite destination for exactly this reason.
The food at the resort was wonderful. There were two breakfast buffets available, one in the main lobby and one in the restaurant closest to the beach. Both were excellent. However, the buffet in the lobby had alot more choice due to its size. The buffets were never very crowded and always had fresh hot food with a little something for everyone. Lunch was available in the buffet in the main lobby or in the open-air beach restaurant. The a la carte restaurants vere all very good. We tried the Grill (BBQ) restaurant, the Mediterranean, the Italian, the Rodizio, and the Gourmet. They were all excellent. Our favourite was the Gourmet due to the presentation of the food. We only ate dinner at the buffet one night and it was also very good with alot of choice.
All and all, our stay was wonderful and we highly recommend this resort to people wanting a quiet relaxing vacation. We would return here in a heartbeat!
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Chris and Susan |
April 2008
My wife and I just returned from staying at the Ambar resort and had a great time. This was our first all inclusive and our first Caribbean vacation since Cancun 20 years before. Not having a good comparison point, I would still have to say that this resort was great. I can definitely find some negatives and will share some below, but overall, we were very satisfied. First the good... The rooms were beautiful and spacious and located by the pool and/or lounge/bar area. We wanted a second or third floor room but had to settle for a ground floor. We were worried about bugs but all we got was one tiny centipede the entire time (okay there was one cockroach the day we left). But if definitely beat walking up and down the stairs. The pool and beach area was also incredible. I liked the spaciousness of the beach area especially. When we walked down the beach to look at other resorts I kept commenting on how much nicer our beach area was. Many of the resorts seemed to have way too much shade and crappie palm trees. The Ambar lounge and bar was also beautiful. It was very comfortable and relaxing and we thought the service at the bar was especially good. "Wilson", the bartender we socialized with often, was friendly and respectful and took care of us very well. The 3-piece band at night was very good!!! The buffets were also great. Anytime I can get all the mussels, smoke salmon, and proscuito I am happy. The Ambar felt like our own private resort, but the fact that the Bavaro and Punta Cana were right next door was actually nice from the standpoint that you could also enjoy that part of the resort. The resort offered so much in terms of space, shopping, and just general things to do.
The negatives are really not big things but should be mentioned. The biggest one for us was the fact that there was no dance band any where (unless you count the band in the shopping area which was very good but not what we wanted to hear). I would have liked to have heard either a Reggae type band at the pool in the afternoon, or a rock/pop/soul band in an enclosed bar area starting at say 9pm at night. There was no way we were staying up until midnight to go to the disco. I don't even like disco anyway. The pool drinks were not the best all the time. One day all the machines seemed to be either broke or just out of gas. They also did not put much alcohol in the drinks. I was also hoping for some premium liquor at no charge. I can understand that they can't make that unlimited because I drink a lot of Jack Daniels. However, I did not mind paying for a few drinks. The other minor negative was related to the restaurant dinner food. If you are looking for the best dinner you have ever had you are not going to get it at these restaurants. The Don Pablo was the best however, but when you live in a city like San Diego that has amazing restaurants you want the best. But the food was still very good and the service was always exceptional.
Overall we really enjoyed this place and would definitely go back. We still would like to find a resort where there is good snorkeling right there so we will probably look for that next time but we will be torn with coming back to this same place. The weather and the beach really were magnificent.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Ron & Cheryl |
March 2008
My wife and I booked a week at the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar as we had business in Punta Cana, this was hailed as a five star adults only resort. We were extremely disappointed with our entire stay, if it hadn’t been for the amazing beaches which has absolutely nothing to do with the resort itself, our trip would have been a complete disaster. The staff with the exception of a very few individuals were lets just say, bordering on rude and totally incapable of handling any problem. The hotel itself had totally inadequate night lighting, steps of every size to create tripping hazards, no large flat screen televisions in the rooms as advertised, no beach beds as advertised. Their idea of an adult only is certainly different from ours seeing as they allow 13 year old teens at what is supposed to be for adults only. The food is definitely five stars in its presentation which was pleasing to the eye; however it falls short when it comes to your taste buds. Don’t look for security here on this resort because it doesn’t exist. This is in no way a reflection on the D.R. or its people. We for one love the island and its people so much so we purchased a condo for retirement. This is only our opinion of this one resort, we have travel here repeatedly and have enjoyed many of the other adult only facilities as I am sure most will agree the D. R. is a tropical paradise but to make your stay a experience to remember with fondness stay away from this particular resort.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Perry and Heather
|
March 2008
DISCLAIMER
I am not one of those people who complains about every resort I go to. I have never written a negative review before and I have travelled to many all inclusives over the years. This was my 7th trip to Bavaro Beach. Every trip has been rated as a succcess until now. We are providing an honest assessment of this resort as it presented itself to us last week. Read it and weep if you have already booked!!
Adults only. We purchased and carefully selected adults only. Do not presume that this really means anything at Ambar. If and when the hotel next door The Bahai Principe (the mother ship) oversells to the max - they simply move those guests into your hotel. Suddenly the place is full and there is all kinds of activity in the halls, in the pools and on the beaches that is not expected at an adults only resort. This was very disappointing. These imported guests are seemingly associated with other people who did not "luck in" and get the Ambar upgrade so they spend the day trying to weasel their way onto the (now) crowded adults only portion of the campus - usually with their towel covering their wrist band to foil security until they become established on a chair. When security arrives to advise them (if they do) they grumble and complain and cause a fuss...all which irritates me to death and interrupts my peaceful vacation. Serenity now!
Chairs and Palapas. This hotel has no shade. It is new and the vegetation will catch up with the construction eventually but right now it is man-made shade or no shade. I am not a hotelier but one would think that to compensate for this lack of comfortable seating a few umbrellas might be added until the trees grow a bit. No. There are no umbrellas available, there are only the permanently installed grass palapas that are scattered around the pool. I did not count them but I would say there are less than thirty of those. There are 600 rooms. This means that all hell breaks loose in the morning as people get up earlier and earlier to try to save a spot. Security is tight at Ambar at 6:05 am. They have an officer on duty who informs you that the POOL IS CLOSED until 8pm. Then you tell him you are not going in the pool. Then he tells you to go away. Then you tell him you will be "camping" under this palapa as of this minute until the pool IS open. He doesn't like that but he leaves you there. The poor souls who presume we are operating under the usual "resort rules" where if your towel and a personal item (like a book or a hat) is placed on a chair early in the morning you have officially staked a claim and you will be sitting there once the sun is up. At Ambar they let you put your things down, wait for you to leave and then Security collects the items and dumps them off at the towel return kiosk. This causes lots of entertainment because at 8 am when the "collection service" is over some un-assuming vacationer comes to an empty chair and puts his things down and then goes about his business of breakfast or walking or whatever. Soon.....the original claim staker shows up...."HEY ...What the hell did you do with my towel...These are MY chairs"....and the conversation ensues. Over and over and over again. It was very entertaining. One senior citizen confessed to us that she comes every morning "just for the show". Sadly this is not fun to watch and is extremely stressful. If you cannot make it from 6 am until 8 am without a bathroom break - or if you do not come down to the pool as a couple early, early in the morning so that one person can always be present with the chairs - then you will lose your opportunity for shade for the entire day. This is a standard resort problem however at Ambar this is very real, a severe shortage of shade exists and is very irritating when you have booked into a new 5 star that is not sold out.
Wine This is a subject which can be written on from many different angles. One man's pleasure is another man's poison but ...this is not snobbery or the critique of a sommelier....this is just bad wine. It is labeled with the hotel name - Red and White. Those are the choices. In the A la Cartes they serve equally bad wine but from a different bottle - label says something else and your choice is Red or White. No grapes or vintages to worry about here. Red or White. Not worth drinking. Sad statement for a five star hotel. The Champagne was quite nice and available most times but when dining they need better wine to offer. Period.
Food Good. Mostly very good. The standard breakfast fare and then some. Good. The lunches - excellent choices and nice venues. Good. The dinners were all a la carte for us. No problem booking although they pushed us to 8:30 reservations when we preferred 7 or 7:30 until we complained and they changed them to earlier. The restaurants on our Ambar property were not exclusive to Adults although they were promised to be. We had teens and kids in the dining rooms and...we did not sign up for that. Adults only means Adults only especially at dinner time when people are sunburned and cranky. This also affects the experience as teenaged girls are wearing flip flops and short shorts and I wanted to enjoy my sequined dresses and act all grown up. Disappointing - no frustrating really...see that coming up again...the frustration....and we were on vacation. The dishes in the restaurants are BEAUTIFUL. Some of the plates - especially the soup bowls are something I would love to see in a five star restaurant in Canada....works of art really. The service was so slow that some nights we had to leave after 2 hours and not having received the dessert. When you got the food it was really good and well prepared and beautifully presented. The service is kind of one job for one man - don't ask the water guy for bread or the waiter for butter - (the bread guy does that). It was a bit of a circus but the dishes.....beautiful...or did I say that already!! One bad food comment. Margarine. Little do they know that all the good bread in the world cannot be enjoyed with yellow waxy margarine as a spread. Once in a while (twice I think) we found butter and celebrated the fact. I was going to tell the chef that because she was asking opinions but I did not run into her at a good time to stop and interact.
Drinks Now call me crazy but when I go to an all inclusive, adults only, five star resort and I ask for a liqueur after dinner - I do not expect a bill. The little waitress in the lobby bar (only place to get a drink by the way after 5pm each day) has a list you can read. This shows you what is exposed on the rail but is not available to you without a charge. This include Drambuie, Grand Marinier etc etc. I was really taken aback by this. The literature says Fine Imported Wines and Spirits are all inclusive. I can truly agree that they might want to stock some really old Brandy or some good single malt scotch that needs to be eked out and paid for but.....some of the things on that list (I cannot remember clearly enough to write them here) were shocking to be called premium. Bad form, not five star, terrible Wines (did I mention that already) and made you feel like you were at a bargain basement 3 star sell-off vacation spot. Shame really.
Rooms Just beautiful. New. Fabulous, large, great beds. They have a pillow service but don't do that because it takes two days to get it delivered and then the maid takes it away the next day and you will NEVER see it again. Our friend finally got his and went into a little depression (kidding) when, having invested his time, patience and a sizeable tip, had the pillow taken away after just one sleep! This was amusing really. The maid service was thorough and the floors sparkle. We read a lot about theft in other reviews and we locked up our valuables including expensive perfumes etc but nothing was disturbed in our suite. Perfectly happy with the room and with the service. We wrote in advance asking for a particular building and room config and we were thrilled to receive exactly that upon check-in. Lovely, new hotel.
Staff I don't know what happens but if you challenge them on anything - like when all the kids moved into our hotel - they become quite animated and angry. I don't like that. I just walked away because it was a beautiful day and I wanted to get back to my Palapa - I had been there since 6 am and it was beginning to feel like home. Just smile and say Hello and everything will be all right. Don't have a problem. They don't want to deal with it and they will let you know that with quite a prompt, angry response. Shocking really. We did not let it upset us.
OVERALL - this may turn into a good vacation spot. I don't think it will ever rival a true - unassociated-with-another-hotel- adults-only spot but it has the potential to be better than it was. We felt cheated because we travel a lot and we forecasted the vacancy and looked forward to the peace and quiet. The influx of less than desirable and not age appropriate to the resort guests was a deal breaker. The lack of shade and fighting over chairs was really unfortunate. We had a lovely week, we got great tans (lack of shade has it's benefits) and we thought these were the nicest rooms we had ever seen in the Caribbean. There are management problems. They need to make a five star, higher paying guest feel like they own the place. During the week all kinds of problems errupted where the pay and one and play at 4 system was revoked and Ambar guests were asked to leave the adjacent resorts and refused service etc. The reviews that say they literally close the bar and hand you your last drink dumped into a plastic glass at 11 sharp are correct. It happened to us. That is true. If they don't break all those beautiful dishes before they get the service up to snuff and improve the wines then, one day, you will have a really spectacular dinner at Ambar - but not now!
OPINION: Beware - this is a four dressed up like a five. It has some growing up to do and some segregating of it's guest lists so that the star in the crown is not used as an over-flow destination for lower paying guests from next door. We had fun - we always do but this is my honest opinion - to much hassle and too little to compensate for that. I would not go back and that is too bad because I LOVE Punta Cana and we were hoping that this would be an annual event. We now have to go back to Excellence or try the other new Adults only on Bavaro Beach - dirty job but SOMEBODY has to do it.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Audrey and Allan ~ PEI |
March 2008
Six of us went to the Gran Bahi Ambar resort March 16=23 2008. It was excellent and would go back in a heartbeat. It was great because they did your check in right on the bus and gave you your bracelets and room keys as well as a list of your a-la carts already booked on the bus. It was great.
We flew Westjet which was a blast from beginning to end. Their staff are great. We booked through Air Transit and they were wonderful too.
The beach is unbelieveable. We had 2 "storm sea" days where we could not swim in the ocean but it was hot and sunny and we still could be on the beach, just a bit further back. They had the red flags up and security on the beach. This was impressive as it showed they really cared about our safety.
The pool was great. One thing is you can't save a chair at the pool unless you sit on it until after 0800.Then you can leave your towels etc to mark your spot. There are security guards there all night too ensuring no one gets into the pool.Something fun at the pool are the blowup pool lounges. You get them at the same place as the towels. One day I asked for a lounge and he said "there was none" and when I said oh shoot and held up a dollar he opened the door and there was 1 left... he gave it to me. There are only abou 7-8 so get one early. We shared ours with others when we were not using them. ( Surely the Canadian thing to do.
The barbeque a-la-cart was not great but the others were wonderful with excellent service.
Julia is the greeter at the Italiano day and night and she is just a sweetheart. I told her someone said she was great from this website and she was so excitied that you mentioned her. She always says." you my friend from Canada" and then hold her hands to heart and hug you... I loved her!!
We went up to the shows 2-3 nights at the Bavaro and they were ok. The casino is smokey but small and nice to go to for 1/2 hour. Lots of little shops inside the square at Bavaro.
I would definitely go to the Ambar again as it is adults only. Luv the kids too but it was nice and quiet and no splashing and yahooing at the pool. Butler service was great, maid turndown services great... love those pringles and little choclolates on the pillow. The rooms are just as you see them on the website.. exactly.
They have beer and pop and 3 little bottles of rum, gin and rye in your fridge but no wine whuc was crazy but you can just fill your container at the snack bar and take it back with you.
Always remember the Dominican time is "un momento"
The lobby is wonderful in the evening and there is a quiet band playing 9-11 PM. It then becomes quiet and the lobby closes down which is too bad. I think they absolutely need something for us over 50 and very young at heart other then the bang bang of the disco.
We met thew club freddy group there and between us all we livened the place up a bit. the waitresses liked it too.
There was a nice houseband up in the square with a 5 piece jazz band but it was at Bavaro.
The trams are great and just whip you around the resort anywhere you want to go every 10 minutes.
This trip was a 9.9/10.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Richard and Jackie ~ Nova Scotia, Canada |
March 2008
We spent the first week of March 08 at Gran Bahia Principe Ambar. We are a young middle age couple and this is our fourth trip to Dominican and have also been at 5 star resorts in Cuba and Mexico.
The bus tour rep who took us from the airport said we were going to the V.I.P. section of the resort and he was right. They drop you off at the Bavaro resort and as soon as their bell staff knew you were heading to the Ambar section they took charge of you. Getting you on a tram and making sure your luggage is looked after, etc. From there its a short trip to the Ambar section. The check in was easy but you could see where some people might be put off. Although there were several people at the desk only 2 were responsible for registering the new guest. Ours was a small group so no problems. We had an early flight so our rooms were not ready. We were told 3.00 P.M. but were able to get in around 2.00 P.M. They gave us our bracelets and even that was a nice touch as they were made of a soft plastic instead of the hard ones that can scrape you in the shower if your not careful. We were given a check in packet that included 4 a la carte dinner reservations than had already been made for us. They could be changed or added to as we wanted.
The first evening we went to the buffet. I was refused entrance because I was wearing walking shorts, not long pants. This was a first at any of the 5 star resorts were stayed at. When I checked the resort directory in the room I found that the entire common/lobby required long pants after 7.00 P.M. None of the trip brochures at home mentioned this. I was used to this at the a la cartes so had I known I would have been spared the embarrassment.
The rooms were great! 4 post bed, large shower, whirl pool tub, in room safe, and a large balcony with an ocean view. We were villa 68 3rd floor. We found the restocking of the mini bar a little hit and miss. This was quickly corrected when we brought it to the attention of the maid/turn down service that was present in the villa from approx. 8.00 A.M. till 9.00.P.M. There was even a pillow service that gave you a choice of 7 different pillows.
The Ambar has its own beach section reserved for adults only. This area has lots of huts are very spacious. It is located at the back of the beach area and you cant see the ocean from there. We spent our beach days in the general resort area for this reason.
The A La Carte restaurants were all very good, probably depending on taste. Our favourite was the Garden Grill for 2 reasons. First the staff seemed to be having a good time and because the food was great! At this point I want you the keep the words" having a good time" in mind.
The lobby is done in white and brass; very elegant looking. The lobby bar service seemed to be lacking. The resort evening focal place is the lobby and it always seemed to be under staffed and under stocked. This entire area seemed to lack atmosphere. My general feeling was the entire resort staff was there to serve you and was very good at it. The problem was this also took away from the very reason we continue to return to the Dominican. There was little to no music, no bright colours, no singing or dancing. I found the atmosphere, even at the swim up bar, to be low key, quite and even stuffy.
We booked here for the adults only and unlimited a la cartes. If you are looking for elegance, style, and service try the Ambar. The next time I would book the Bavaro section as this was where we spent most of our time.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Barb & Gary ~ Mississauga, ON
|
March 2008
My husband and I stayed at the Ambar from Feb 28 - Mar 06 / 2008.
We have previously stayed at the Bahia Principe Punta Cana in Jan 2007 and May 2007 (both times at Golden Club).
Our flight out of Toronto was delayed about 1 1/2 hrs but this would be the airlines fault, not the hotels (Air Transat).
Arrival in DR was quick quick quick as we had upgraded to Club Class on the plane and therefore were first to disembark and first to retrieve our luggage.
After collecting our luggage & heading through "customs" it was onto the bus. The only issue with this was that for the 1st time in our travels to the DR we had to stop at other resorts so the ride was just over an hour and it was almost 2am when we finally checked in. But again, not the hotels fault.
Our room was SPECTACULAR! Building 60 Room 309 (so room #60309). Upon our arrival there was a fruit basket and a gift bag of 2 t-shirts and a bottle of rum. Approx. 5 min. after unpacking our "butler" called to see if we were getting settled. We were and he showed up about 10 min. after that with a meat, cheese & cracker platter. Just before his call my husband asked me to order him a burger & nacho's via room service. They arrived about 10 min. after the butler's gift.
On the Friday morning (we arrived in the wee hours of Friday Feb 29th) ... we headed to the pool for the day after breakfast at the main buffet at the Ambar (Palmyra). It was approx. 9:30am and while chairs were plentiful, we were unable to secure a spot under a palapa. Needless to say, my husband got a tad burnt that first day but again ... not the resorts fault .. HIS for not listening to me and applying sunsreen :p
On the Saturday morning and all thereafter, I would set my alarm for 7am. I was usually up just before that and out the door by 7am and headed to the beach. We didn't stay in the Ambar section of the beach as it's far away from the water and you can't really "people watch". At that time of the morning had no problem securing a "prime location" palapa (clear view of the water, just in front of the beach restaurant (Las Olas 2). I would read and watch the sunrise and husband would join me around 8:30am. I really enjoyed that "quiet time". Very surreal and traquil. We ate breakfast everyday thereafter (and lunch) at that beach bar/restaurant.
We are 40'ish and have 4 kids back here at home as well has very full-time jobs. We don't go away to sightsee or do excursions so I can't comment on any of that as our entire time was spent on hotel grounds.
Dinner reservations were pre-booked for us and there was a letter in our room indicating the times/restaurants. We cancelled the reservations for the 1st evening and ate at the buffet and added a reservation to the Japanese Rest. for our final night (Wed. Mar 5th). Time's were PERFECT for us (7:30pm each night)
Other dinners booked by the hotel were:
Sat. Mar 1 Don Pablo Gourmet
Sun. Mar 2 El Olivo Mediterranean
Mon. Mar 3 Portofino Italian
Tues. Mar 4 El Pescador Seafood (located on Punta Cana side)
Wed. Mar 5 Mikado Japanese (located on Punta Cana side)
All the restaurants were wonderful. Service was best at the Italian and Japanese.
While the food was incredible at the Don Pablo, we liked this the least. All the other restaurants have an "appetizer bar" that you go up to prior to your main meal arriving. We really liked this aspect of the restaurants.
Because we have been to the Bahia Principe before we know the layout very well. Our favourite waitress is at the lobby bar of the Punta Cana side. We went there our first evening and reconnected with her and shared lots of hugs. She was then off for 3 days so we stayed at the Ambar Lobby Bar after dinner and this is my only real complaint. Despite it being MUCH smaller then either the Punta Cana or the Bavaro lobby bars ... service was HORRIBLE. From the time your seated until someone brings you a drink was almost 30 min. There seemed to be a ton of waitstaff yet the wait for get a drink or a refill seemed very very slow.
After the 3 days at the Ambar Lobby Bar and when we knew our favourity waitress would be back we ventured back over to the Punta Cana Lobby Bar after our dinner.
Maid staff was TOP NOTCH. We not only filled out the card in our room requesting when we'd like our room cleaned but I also had a co-worker translate a note for me asking that our room be cleaned between 9:30am - 2:30pm and this was done every day without fail. Plenty of towels AND faceclothes (even though we never used them except for the one time I spilled coffee) and our mini-bar was always stocked and restocked without issue.
Thursday, March 6th came WAY too fast and check out was a breeze. Flight home was 15 min. early and all was smooth and well with that.
The resort while large is not THAT large. It takes us way longer to get from our hotel room to the casino in any Vegas hotel then it does to stroll around the Bahia Resort. And the Ambar section is VERY small and intimate.
Bottom line, we LOVE the Bahia Principe line of hotels. We TRULY loved the "adults only" aspect of the Ambar. The pool and restaurants were blissfully child-free. Several times on the beach (which was for ALL customers as we didn't stick to the Ambar Beach), it was kinda annoying having the lady beside us changing her childs diapers (ewww the stench) or the 4 yr old who threw major tantrums all day while the parents closed their eyes or read their books ... but that was OUR CHOICE to be in that section of the beach. Not the hotels fault in any way, shape or form.
I'm now stuck in my bedroom at home on my computer as here in Toronto we're getting nailed with yet ANOTHER snow storm. UGH! How I wish my biggest complaint was "do I lie on my back or on my stomach"! LOL
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Hans and Hilda ~ Fenwick, Ontario |
February 2008
Hi Debbie,
This was our 3rd time travelling to Punta Cana, DR, so with our friends, we decided to go for a 5star resort. With the Ambar section being brand new, we thought we would take our chances and find out for ourselves.
Registration was all done on the bus so when we got there we only had to put our tags with room numbers on our luggage and off we went with a staff to find our rooms. It was all done very smoothly, nice after having left T.O later than supposed to, and arriving at about 11.00 p.m., no hassle with registration yet at the that time. The next mornng we checked the place out and found that we had made the right decision in choosing the Ambar, we were definitely not disappointed! My friend and I even tried looking for something to complain about, but could not find anything worth remarking on.
We were both in Bldg.#60, 1st floor, close to the pool and beach. Great place to be. We enjoyed all our A la Carte's, maybe did not always like what we had ordered, but that is not the fault of the restaurant., we never did try any of the buffet restaurants for dinner, so not sure what we missed there. The Italian restaurant serves breakfast, so for us it was just a walk across the pool area and we were there. Our friend usually did put towels out on seats by the beach, because it does fill up quickly each morning, but if you were abit later we could always find chairs to put together in some shady area. As far as the place being quiet by 11p.m. we didn't mind, after sitting out at the beach and pool in the hot sun, we were usually tired by then anyways. We found Julia at the Italian Restaurant, to be our sweetheart of the week. Her warm smile greeted us every morning for breakfast, we couldn't have started out any better. She always found us a spot to sit together and was just really nice to us. As far as the different waiters, waitresses, bartenders and room maids...we found them all very polite and willing to help in whatever way we needed.Smiles go along ways with them.
Rooms are large and spacious, clean with king size canopy beds, large bathrooms, our refrigerators were restocked everyday, with pop, water, beer.alcohol and pringles. Room service available 24/7 which was great the first night we got there, it was rather late and we were abit hungry. We had burgers, fries and a pizza delivered within the hour that we had arrived.
The Bulters on each floor would try to help in whatever situation that needed it. IF there was a problem with anything they would be there to help get it fixed as soon as possible. As for the beach, there is not a nicer one to be found in the DR.......we loved to walk an hour or more everyday, enjoying the scenery and people that you would stop and talk too. We did the Bavaro Runners tour, a GREAT day out........and also tried the new Reef Explorer, a good morning outing as well...........you can go snorkelling, swimming with stingrays and sharks, have a massage, kayaking, or just laze around doing nothing. . As a guest of the Ambar, you have access to the rest of the Gran Bahia Principe, so there is lots of noisy places to be if that is what you are looking for. The whole resort is absolutely beautiful and well maintained on a daily basis. Pools were sparkling clean, no matter which one we saw, and the tram service will get you from one end of the resorts to the other rather efficiently, never had to wait much at all for them. You get 20 minutes free internet per person every day if you want, so that was nice to have. The drinks at the lobby bar were usually better than the beach bars, and the Irish coffee was one of my favorites, nice night cap. Nice to see the waiters and waitresses dressed up in the lobby areas, and all the A la Cartes. The Mikado Japanese Rest. on the Bavaro side of the resort was fun, watch your food being cooked on the griddle by the chef and his helper. We totally enjoyed our week here, the weather was just wonderfully hot, just what you want in February, only wished we could have stayed a few more days to enjoy.
We will recommend this resort to anyone looking for a more quieter type vacation, with a classy look all around.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Heather |
February 2008
We stayed at the Gran Bahia Principe February 8 to 15, 2008. The resort opened in December of 2007. The reason that I mention this is because we were pleasantly surprised that everything was up and running while we were there. We are a couple in our early 40’s and have travelled to other five star resorts.
Arrival: Enroute to the resort we had one of the concierge on the bus with us. He handed out packages to everyone who was staying at the Ambar. Guests staying at other parts of the Bahia Principe Resort would check in when we arrived at the resort. In our package was our room keys, a map of the property, a list of restaurant reservations, our removable bracelets and the bahia principe passport. We had to fill out a form with our passport info and home addresses, etc and hand this back to the rep. The ride to the resort was about 45 minutes.
Once at the resort, we were dropped off at the Bavaro lobby. We were asked to mark our luggage with tags that were provided in our envelope. A trolly was waiting to take us to the Ambar section.
The Ambar lobby is beautiful… marble and dark wood and wide open.
We stayed in building 66. It is located just off of the lobby. One would think this might be a concern with noise, but it really wasn’t. The lobby bar closes at 11pm. The building is a 3 minute walk from the pool.
Rooms: We had a corner room on the second floor. The corner rooms are very spacious.
The area close to the patio door has a table with 2 chairs, a built-in daybed and another chair with an ottoman. Opposite this is a writing desk and chair. The bed is very comfortable… king size four-poster canopy. A dresser is opposite the bed and has 3 large drawers and a side section which contained the mini bar. The flat panel TV is on the dresser… a bit inconvenient if you don’t want to watch TV in bed. The safe is located in the closet. An umbrella, slippers and robes are also provided. The bathroom has a jacuzzi tub, separate shower with glass door and toilet area with glass door. The sink area is quite large, but only has one sink. There is a hairdryer and makeup mirror attached to the wall.
For a new resort, there are problems, minor however, with the rooms. The toilet seat was broken, lights were burned out and never fixed while we were there, and the outlets that were not in use in the room were broken… they actually fell out of the wall when I tried to plug in the iron. The minibar was not plugged when we arrived, but maintenance arrived within 5 minutes and got it hooked up for us. A few things to note: a room card must be left in the slot by the room door for power and a/c to work in the room. Also, the a/c will not work with the patio door open. It must be closed.
Restaurants: We ate at the 3 a la carte restaurants on the Ambar property. The mediterranean and Don Pablo gourmet restaurants were both very good. We did not feel rushed, nor did we have to wait long between courses. We also ate at the Garden Grill and Le Gourmet on the GBP Punta Cana side of the resort. Service was excellent at Le Gourmet… try the surf and turf. The fillet mignon was done to perfection at both restaurants. Be sure to chat with Jose at Le Gourmet. He is the maitre’d and full of valuable information about the area. Las Olas- the Brazilian bbq was mediocre. Food is already cut into portion size pieces rather than being cut from larger pieces. Some of the meat was over-cooked. The restaurant had 2 large groups eating while we were there and this seemed to create some confusion with the servers. The restaurant that I would not recommend is the Italian restaurant on the Ambar property. Everything started out very good. We were seated on time, wine was poured, and our orders were taken. Appetizers were brought out, except I was brought my soup and my partner was brought his main course, lasagna. Dishes were cleared and then we sat for 30 minutes before getting the manager’s attention and inquiring about my main course. The server completely forgot my partner’s soup. When my main course, escalopine, was finally brought out, it was obvious that it had been sitting under the heat lamp. It was completely dried out. We decided to leave at this point. Unfortunately for us, this was our last night at the resort and it was Valentine’s Day. It was clear that there was a service issue at the restaurant. Contrary to the evening problems, the Italian restaurant was the best place to have breakfast. It was quiet and relaxed.
Look for Yina at the poolbar and Justina on the patio next to the lobby. Both will provide service with a smile. After a couple of days, they will remember what you like to order.
We didn’t go to see any of the evening entertainment other than the house band in the pueblo principe. The karaoke bar was fun. Say hi to Yara, the bartender. She is awesome.
The disco was ok. Very typical with loud music and crowded dance floor.
Overall the resort is esthetically beautiful. The lawns are well manicured, shrubs and flowers pruned, and never a spot of garbage around. Service definitely needs some work in the restaurants. Our housekeeper, Daisy, kept our room clean and minibar well stocked. The pool area was always busy and hard to find a chair after 11 am, but there were always chairs available on the beach. Check out time is noon hour. If you leave later in the day, you must leave your luggage in the room off of the lobby, or haul it around with you. The porters will show you where this room is. You are allowed to use the facilities until your departure.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Joe |
February 2008
Overall rating 4.5 stars…some room for improvement. Went there because of the "Solo Adultos"…nice vacation for me and he wife.
LIKES:
-The beach was great…been to Punta Cana 4 times now and never found anything different. With all the new resorts popping up there was quite a bit more pedestrian traffic on the beach than I had noticed in the past.
-The resort was beautiful.
-The room was great. No complaints.
-Food was overall good, usually something to find at the buffet and I found the A La Carts to be "hit or miss" depending on what you ordered.
-The service was fantastic…they are always getting you drinks or taking your plates away etc. At he A La Cart restaurants there seemed to be even more staff to give that little extra service.
-The Ambar pool was very nice…we usually found a couple of chairs by the pool. There is a limited number of seating that is shaded so you would have to be out there by 8am.
-Always found chairs at the beach no matter what time we went down there.
-Using the Catamaran was easy and a lot of fun.
-Room safe was included at Ambar and it was secure and easy to use.
-Maids did a fine job.
-The "locals" at the Bahia were friendly.
-Enjoyed the Bavaro lobby bar because the singer there was more up beat and lively than the jazz type at the Ambar. Both singers were good. The waitresses seemed to be a little quicker at the Bavaro too.
-Met a lot of great people, some were from North Bay, Winnipeg, Richmond Hill, Hamilton, Milton, and Barrie. I am sure there are others but those were just the people we met…
-Free Internet in Ambar Lobby.
DISLIKES:
-The Ambar lobby bar was really quiet (Don't know if they think because of adults only everyone would be sleeping?). At 11pm they stop serving alcohol and shut down the bar…son after they were coming out with plastic glasses to put your drinks into. It really is a shame because several nights we were anywhere from 6-10 people gathered around as a group and the place was quite busy and people obviously still wanted to be out…
-The room mini fridge was not always stocked with everything on a daily basis…I want my Pringles!
-Had to wear long pants to all the restaurants for dinner…It was a bit warm and muggy some nights and I prefer to wear dress shorts….which still look formal enough in my opinion.
-The entertainment shows…but who goes to Punta Cana for the shows?
Side Notes:
-Our bus arrived in to the resort late and we went directly to the room without ever having to check in at the front desk. Due to overbooking we were put in the Bavaro Premium part of the resort for the night. The guy on the bus told us it was part of the Ambar resort which it clearly was not…not tough to look at the map and see we were on the other side of the line. The next day we went to the Ambar lobby desk at 10am and they told us to come back at 1pm and they would be able to give us a room at that time…because checkout is noon. Returned at that time and we got a great room on the 3rd floor in building 67 overlooking the pool with a view of the ocean. Very happy with that. They even gave us a couple small bottles of rum. 4 t-shirts (make great giveaways upon returning home), and $100 USD.
-Checkout is at noon. Advised to have a small bag with whatever you need including airplane clothes because you can change and shower at the Bahia Gym shortly before having to go to the Bavaro lobby to catch the bus. There are clean towels there for you to use.
-Calling to Canada or USA from Domican Republic – We had no problem I got a calling card that calls above for a great rate. Upon checking out of the hotel we were NOT charged any type of connection fees nor any other hotel per minute fees…the calling card has 888/800 numbers to facilitate the connection. (Just google buy america calling cards).
-We didn't eat at all the restaurants so I am only going to make one recommendation – We liked the Mediterranean at the Bavaro Gold section at the resort the best.
-They have a square not far from the Bavaro lobby somewhere that is open after midnight for drinks and snack food…in addition to the disco.
-Bring your own shampoo/soaps…I found that I had a bit of reaction to them.
-Try the drink of the day…and enjoy.
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| Gran Bahia Principe Ambar |
Igor ~ Toronto , Canada
|
February 2008
We arrived to the Gran Bahia Principe Ambar section at approximately 1.30 AM on February 07/08 ( actually it was already Feb 08/08 ).
Unfortunately, we were not too impressed with the initial greeting that we received at this resort.
We were told to go to the biding “ Villa” 64 on the second floor and look for room 64206 and 64204 ( we were two couples and travelled together )
To our big surprise only two doors on the floor had the number tug .....in order to found the right door we had to play a guessing game: trying “our door card” in different doors ( At 1.30 AM ......).
We were told that “because we arrived so late – the restaurants are close..... and if we like to get something to eat, we will need to call and order room service. We called room service, ordered some food for 4 persons – and after waiting 2,5 hours the food finally arrived ....... The order was mixed up ! We received not the food we ordered .... But for 4 persons we received only one fork and one knife ......was lathe and we went to sleep.
In the morning we started to unpack the luggage - another surprise: the safe was loose and not attached to the wall ....... I called to the express service: the answer was “wait in five minutes the person will be to fix this problem” – this repair took to resolve all day long ! When I complained to the customer service they told “ you did not had to wait in the room” .....
Next day after our day on the beach my wife told me that her make-up is missing. After double checking all our belongings, we went to the customer service desk and informed the clerk Victor about this incident. Victor told as not to worry and he will get back to us next morning..... Next morning and during all day – nobody contacted us! My wife went again to the customer service desk, this time she specked to **** . **** specked to ***** and told to my wife that by next morning action will be taken and reported back to her...... The next day is over – no further responses! My wife was pretty really upset, went to the customer service and requested to speak to the manager of the customer service. The lady that called herself manager, told my wife that we need to fill-out a special report, go to the room with security guards – then she will resolve the problem..... We did all what she requested and next day she approached us in the lobby and told as that the investigation did not bring any results: they searched the locker of the cleaning lady and could not found any-thing...... ( after 3 days ......? ) She advised to proceed with our travel insurance....
By this our poor experience was not over : next day TV stopped working – took two day to fix it ....
One day after, when we wanted to get in to the room – the card did not open the door – we forced to walk to the lobby, wait in line for 45 min. ( there was a line of not happy guests ! ).
Completely upset – I went to the manager of the customer service and told about all what happened – she promised to contact us in the morning (before our departure) – nobody did !
I am disappointed with the way customers are treated in a five star hotel and strongly would advise to all my friends - stay away from Bahia Principe Ambar !
I wish to receive comments from Bahia Principe Ambar management in regards to all surprises we went threw in a five star resort.
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Last updated: July 11, 2009
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