Santo Domingo - Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo

The trip from the airport was horrendous. Long, scary, bumpy etc. then to be charged $5 to come back to the airport by taking the "new road" which took only 35 minutes is literally "highway robbery". We were 3 in the room (by no means a suite--just a big room) and housekeeping could not get it s .. More>

The trip from the airport was horrendous. Long, scary, bumpy etc. then to be charged $5 to come back to the airport by taking the "new road" which took only 35 minutes is literally "highway robbery". We were 3 in the room (by no means a suite--just a big room) and housekeeping could not get it straight that we needed more than 2 towels daily. Safe I paid for needed to be fixed 3 times and then was finally replaced. Last night came back to flood in the room. Had to convince them that it couldn't wait until the morning and then they came and found it to be in the ceiling from the air conditioning. They did send someone to mop up. Tob shelf liquors promised. At first no Jack Daniels to be found then when they got it on Tuesday, four bartenders had to tell me that it wasn't included. I kept saying that I was willing to pay and it was finally resolved. Water aerobic instructors did everything in Spanish and one seemed bored to death with the less than a half hour class. Bought snorkeling trip at beach water sports. On the way back, the water was extremely rough. No one had life jackets on (as we did going out) and the boatman took delight in taking the waves head on (I owned a boat and know that this could have been avoided). We flew up high and then came down with a bang. My granddaughter had major major heart surgery two years and while she was cleared to do this, it was scary. My daughter has a bad back and was really shook up by it. I have a huge black and blue mark on the back of my thigh from where I was constantly smacked as I came down on the seat. Not to mentioned soaked by the waves crashing on board. We did speak to the boat renters and the young lady offered us a catamaran ride for free but due to the bad weather the last two days we couldn't do it. It is a beautiful spot but these "downers" were not fun.

We did not see your people in the hotel at all. We had to find out about everything ourselves, especially difficult was to find out time for the car back to the airport. This happened with us for the first time. We arrived at airport more than 3 hr before time. .. More>

We did not see your people in the hotel at all. We had to find out about everything ourselves, especially difficult was to find out time for the car back to the airport. This happened with us for the first time. We arrived at airport more than 3 hr before time.

The hotel was sold to us as a 5 star...it is DEFINITELY NOT a 5 star property .. More>

The hotel was sold to us as a 5 star...it is DEFINITELY NOT a 5 star property

You have to see the place! The good service when you eat because of a wonderful man Bienvenido Coca R. The food manager. You feel special. The ocean is beautiful and a lot of fish just in front of... More>

You have to see the place! The good service when you eat because of a wonderful man Bienvenido Coca R. The food manager. You feel special. The ocean is beautiful and a lot of fish just in front of the hotel. When you like to walk like us it's a paradise. I recommand this place at 110%.

My expectations of this hotel were high due to the Bahai reputations. Upon arrival I was disappointed, but as the week went along something happened....it turns out to be a special little spot not... More>

My expectations of this hotel were high due to the Bahai reputations. Upon arrival I was disappointed, but as the week went along something happened....it turns out to be a special little spot not only for the magnificent beach that you can walk forever, but because of the special people who work there and are doing everything they can to make it the best for you. The assistant manager Carlos Rosario who listened and solved an issue for my traveling freinds, the way he is always out and engaging with all guests of different ages and sex and they way he makes you fall in love with him. The restaurant manager Benvinito just new to the property who was there morning noon and night who went all over the hotel to find us a bottle of wine that we wanted when the waiter said there was none. The very tall gentlemen who would great you outside the morning breakfast and as my husband would say " he was on a dose of double happy pills"....he would high five you with such enthusiasm and serve you a bloody merry for breakfast wow....he also recognized u in the bar later that night. With all the good there are some negatives, the seafood restaurant was the worst. We all ordered different dishes and we all considered them bad! Staff in this restaurant did not measure up to what we experienced every where else. The hotel rooms need to be brought up to speed in their decor such as bed linens and a big flat screen tv. Room was big for the basic, but the bathroom needs to be converted to a proper shower stall. For the value , the quaintness, the great associates and the most spectacular beach you cannot beat it. Monica....aka MLCND

Stayed at the El Portillo in May for a week. Fantastic hotel. Love the beach, food, friendly staff and cleanliness. The only issue I had was connecting with the hotel wifi. They should include a step... More>

Stayed at the El Portillo in May for a week. Fantastic hotel. Love the beach, food, friendly staff and cleanliness. The only issue I had was connecting with the hotel wifi. They should include a step by step guide notice with your package on how to connect with the free wifi. And also mosquitoes in the washrooms. Since the windows have no netting they should at lead burn a citronella candle to kill the bugs.

Me and my wife had our first time in DR and we have chosed El Portillo to spend a week vacation (because of representative recommendation) and also for the very first time to celebrate my birthday... More>

Me and my wife had our first time in DR and we have chosed El Portillo to spend a week vacation (because of representative recommendation) and also for the very first time to celebrate my birthday (May 07) in this resort. We have no idea what they have in store there and since it is our very first time to travel in Dominican Republic, so we are so excited and cannot wait to come the big day. We have been dreaming of nice, perfect, relaxing and great time stay vacation as we want to pamper ourselves after stressfull work, plus to take advantage of our priviledge membership for the first time.(first time to used our benefit). We travelled as BP Priviledge member for we thought that being a member we can experience much even better services compared to those occasional guests. We were generally dissapointed with our stay. We probably have high expectations since we had that great time spending a week vacation in another BP resort in Mexico. As much as we dont want to compare these experiences, but we cannot avoid not to, for we thought it was standard service to BP hotels and resort. Anyway, to make the story short, jus to have an honest opinion (for me), service is not that great. First night, we saw cockroach roaming under the cabinet (we were shocked and surprised). When we call the phone for request, it will take too long to be answer, and sometimes we are even hanging up and have to wait on line. We have couple of requests that never been served despite of requesting not only once, the food at our first day of stay seems good, but we noticed that everyday, it was almost the same menu, and we are kinda sick of having the same breakfast and lunch. We booked our nightly dinner at 3 a-la-carte resto, but we decided not to try once again after we have tried, service is kinda slow,(took more than an hour just to serve the appetizer, main course and dessert and finish our dinner), the staff have communication issue, most of them cannot even speak english, and we cannot even understand their spanish, we tried our very best to express ourselves, but mostly we failed to be understand. We have been reserved just one time for a beach bed and have a nice spot in the beach, but the next following days, we have to do it by ourselves, despite we have already requested it from the BP priviledged club staff. Ended up to injured my wife toenail while pulling the beach bed as we need to stay under the shade of tree (think that we are priviledge member), and the regular guests enjoing the shade of cottage. (very dissapointing). Bottom line, my wife had a spoiled vacation since she cannot stay much on the water because of her swelling injury on her foot. The ambiance look so dry, after short activities, mostly just find your way to enjoy your vacation, sound system which add life while outside were turn off, sunny in the morning, and becoming cloudy and ended up raining, so not so fun to stay in either beach or pool. Nightly shows were kinda bored for us, though its entertaining but since most of the time they talked in spanish (which we could hardly understand), we just go with the flow even it does not excite us. There are still some more uncomfortable experiences, but I'd rather not to go further, though there are also some good part of our vacation, but generally, we are kinda bored and not really enjoyed most of our stay. (wish we can pack and go back home). I just thought that having my birthday here is something memorable and a good idea, since I have never done this before, but I was so dismayed. It was so laid back. I don't think that we can possibly be considering to go back in this place if ever we are thinking about to visit Dominican Republic anytime soon. I think there are lots of room for improvement with this resort so that it may attract more guests if they are really serious to promote this place. Wish that being a BP member (we are paying for it), we can really feel the benefit of signing for it on our next plan vacation. It was such a nightmare experience.

The beach was beautiful! The hotel staff were very friendly, but there were way too many sales people walking around that were trying to push vacation plans, excusions, spa deals, and locals on the... More>

The beach was beautiful! The hotel staff were very friendly, but there were way too many sales people walking around that were trying to push vacation plans, excusions, spa deals, and locals on the beach trying to sell things. The rooms were comfortable and clean. The only bad part about the rooms are the walls are so thin you hear everything outside and next door.The food was just average and left a lot to be desired. The hamburgers and hot dogs at the snack bar were all filler and barely any meat content. They almost looked plastic. The beach barbecue they had for lunch one day was very nice and the food was good. There are NO wash cloths in the entire hotel, only towels. NO ice machines. The mini bar consists of one 20 oz flavor of orange soda, pepsi, 7 Up, and diet Pepsi, and two 12 oz cans of El Presidente. They only replace what is used each day - if you don't use it, they don't add any. The shops at the hotel charge extremely high prices. Have the hotel get you a taxi and go into the village of Las Terranas. It costs $20.00 US round trip, and you tell them how many hours to come back for you. They are there and waiting when you get to the parking lot. There are shops, restaurants, and a beautiful beach. Everything is much cheaper than at the hotel. We ate and had drinks ocean front at Paco Cabana, Las Terranas on Tuesday, and loved it so much that we made the trip back again on Thursday. The food was excellent!