Luxury Bahia Principe Runaway Bay

Customer Review of the Luxury Bahia Principe Jamaica Resort: If you are considering residing at the Luxury Bahia Principe Jamaica Resort – DO NOT DO IT. I was a part of a group of 30 people residing at this location (Luxury Bahia Principe) from June 09, 2017 – June 14, 2017. As a group, we experienced so many dissatisfying events that were poorly or nonchalantly handled by hotel management and security. The incident that has me literally FURIOUS at this point, is my room and another one of the group participant’s room were robbed. When hotel management or representative assert that valuables can be securely stored inside the safe located in each room, DO NOT BELIEVE THEM. Our safe was accessed and a total of $320 US Dollars were stolen. We immediately brought this to the attention of one of the hotel representatives who notified hotel security at 10:00 am on June 12, 2017. It took the head of security (Ford O’Neil) approximately 20 minutes (no sense of urgency) to arrive in the hotel lobby where we were located. We went through a series of questions and were told that it was unlikely that this could have happened, even though we assured him that not only did we check our wallets the prior day before leaving the room, we made sure the safe was locked. Once we walked to our room with Mr. O’Neil, he notified someone to come and perform a lock audit on the door to determine everyone accessing the room between time we left the room with a locked safe and the time we realized we were robbed. Again, no sense of urgency from the lock examiner who arrived at our room approximately 15 minutes after he was summoned. When the lock audit was complete, Mr. O’Neil asked if we wanted him to notify the police. We responded yes, because we wanted to file a report to have the incident further investigated. Our request to speak to a police officer was made shortly after 11:00am. Mr. O’Neil left our room stating that he was going to complete his report to forward to the resort’s public relations department and we would receive an update shortly. He also stated that he would contact the police department and would call us once they arrived at the resort. We were scheduled to leave with our group at 2:00pm. At approximately 1:30pm we went back to the front desk for someone to advise us on what was transpiring with our complaint. While we were waiting for Mr. O’Neil to arrive in the lobby, we were approached by the executive manager. She heard about the incident and read an email notating our details. When we asked her how will the hotel resolve the theft of our money and compensate us for it, she told us in no uncertain terms that there was no way to prove that we had money stolen from our room. Next, Mr. O’Neil arrived in the lobby and informed us that not only had he not begun an investigation, he also had not completed the report. This was due to the fact that in another room two parties reserved the room, but five other women were staying in the room. I was so angry I could have screamed. To make matters worse, the police station was NEVER contacted. He called once he realized that we were beyond angry. The police officer stated that they would not come to the resort to take a report. We had to go to the station if we wanted to file a report. Once we returned from our group outing, Mr. O’Neil drove us to the police station. The incident was brushed off and we were given an antiquated handwritten report. During our drive back to the resort, I again expressed my frustration with the lackadaisical manner in which our complaint was being handled by the resort. Mr. O’Neil advised me that I can follow up with my Embassy to hold the police accountable for investigating the incident. I then advised him that I spent thousands to stay at their resort, they hired thieves and I intend to hold them accountable. The next morning, we went to management to get an update on our complaint (Security or management NEVER initiated contact with us to provide updates). No addition information was provided. We followed up later that evening when we arrived back at the resort and the security manager on duty stated that no one had interviewed the remaining three employees who entered our room. She would provide us with an update before the night was over. Shortly after we left the lobby, we received a call in our room advising that a safe audit was required. We then asked why was the safe audit not done the day prior. Later that night when Mr. O’Neil arrived on duty (shortly after the audit was completed) he informed us that he had bad news. The information from the safe audit could not be read and they needed to involve IT. I told him that this was yet another diversion, because they knew we were scheduled to leave for the US the next day on June 14, 2017. We left Jamaica on June 14, 2017 and never received a telephone call or email (both forms of communication captured by Mr. O’Neil) from anyone at the resort. Another representative approached us when we were checking out, apologize and claimed he would escalate the situation through management. Today is June 15, 2017 and we have not received any additional information or calls from management or security at the Luxury Bahia Principe Jamaica Resort. BE AWARE…YOU RUN THE RISK OF BEING ROBBED IF YOU STAY AT THE LUXURY BAHIA PRINCIPE and will receive minimal assistance from hotel management and security – AND ZERO RESOLUTION regarding compensation for items stolen from you. This was by far the WORST vacation experience in my life. I will never stay at any Bahia Principe Resorts and intend to share my unpleasant experience with as many people possible. Genette Fields-Smith Charlotte, NC 704-780-8432

I booked my trip with my boyfriend from June 3rd to 10th through Flight Centre, which included flight through Transat and shuttle transfers.  The first time we visited Jamaica in 2014, we stayed at the sister resort, Grand Bahia Principe, which is attached to the Luxury. The shuttle trip to the resort was about an hour long, and when we arrived at the resort, we had to be seated in the lobby for a short briefing, and to get our wrist bands and room keys. We were brought up to our room (#25401) and were told about all the features and inclusions in the room. The view was just stunning! It overlooked the main Luxury pool and the Luxury beach. Unlike the dark wood furniture we had on the Grand side, everything in our Luxury room was white, giving a more clean look to the room. In the bathroom, we had 3 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 2 face cloths, and a bath mat. We were given all the basic amenities such as shaving kit, body wash, bath gel, etc. which we didn't really use because we had already packed our own. The beach towels were in the closet. Overall, the room was very clean, mini fridge was well stocked, and the bathroom was spotless! The pools were always clean and staff would always go around and clean out any leaves and things that found their way into the pool. There are two pool "sections" for Luxury members. One is much quieter and always has open cabanas with loungers. The other pool is much more live and is right by the towel hut, which plays music almost all day and is more of a "party" pool. The cabanas by these pools are usually all taken, but you can still always find loungers for those who don't need shade. Both these pools have pool bars attached, but the one on the "party" side also serves delicious sushi from noon to 4pm. The "party" side also has servers and drink trolleys that will hand-deliver drinks to you! We visited all the beaches to find the best spot to snorkel and look at sea life. We didn't find many fish in the luxury beach because of the break wall that separates the beach from the ocean. We found the most fish on the beaches on the Grand side. The small beach where boats are docked, near the wedding gazebo, was the most fun. The main beach on the Grand side was large and had the the least murky water for those who just want to go for a dip in the sea. We used water shoes at every beach we went to, just to be safe. We never got the chance to eat from the seafood raft because they had a very limited amount of lobster due to then not being in season. The Las Olas jerk hut had such good food! The most memorable was obviously the jerk chicken, but so was the seafood casserole which had scallops, mussels and shrimp. I'd be wishing every morning that it would be there when we went down to lunch! CARMELLA, our server, was the sweetest woman and we'd see her almost every day! We also visited Piscis (the jerk hut for the Grand side) on our way to and from the Grand beach. We also loved that we had unlimited reservations to the a-la-carte dinners for the whole week! We got to try the Las Olas Brazilian BBQ, which had endless amazing cuts of perfectly cooked meat. We also revisited the Don Pablo and Picasso because we really loved them the first time we visited, and we still love them! We booked the Takara which had pretty good soup, but the food was okay, not really the most memorable of them all. For our last dinner, we booked the Garden Grill and it was the perfect end to our trip! I got the ribeye steak and it was massive! After dinner, we'd rest before meeting up with our friends at the lobby bar and then we'd make our way to the Bahia Village, either by foot or by golf cart when one was available. We spent a lot of our nights at the sports bar where we plays penny slots, darts, or pool. It was always very well air conditioned! Every time we stopped into the karaoke bar, it was always packed with people and we would never be able to find seats! It did look like a blast though. We also went to the disco a few times and they played the best music to get you into the mood to dance. It would very packed by around midnight. As for late night food, we had to go to the Piscis to get burgers, hotdogs, and other dishes that changed every night. There was some good drunk food. I loved the stuffed ravioli! We also had the option to get room service at night. We got to try out the salad, chicken nuggets, ham and cheese sandwiches,  all served with crispy fresh french fries, and nachos. They all satisfied my late night cravings! The service we received was wonderful! We always had our room cleaned and fridge restocked when we wanted them to, and our room service would always within half an hour of when we requested. At the dinners, the servers always made sure we our glasses were never empty. The only restaurant that had slower service was the Garden Grill but it was very busy when we went and the server had a lot of guests to tend to! I highly recommend downloading the Bahia Principe app because you can book EVERYTHING with it, from reserving dinner times to requesting another roll of toilet paper. We also used the app to request room service and pick our room scent. I love the fact that being a Luxury guest gets you unlimited dinner reservations, and gives us the ability to also enjoy all the facilities on the Grand side while they are unable to use ours (which made us feel like VIPs!). We also loved having free wifi everywhere we went, and the quick and efficient room service which we used almost every night! All in all, we really loved every second we spent at this resort and we'd definitely visit again! I'd like to thank all the servers we had the opportunity of meeting but I'm so bad with names that I can't remember any. They, as well as all the other resort staff members (security guards, pool staff, etc.) were very welcoming and helpful!

We got married at the Bahia Principe Runaway Bay (Luxury) on Tuesday May 30th and just had to take a moment to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the staff and managers who made it an unbelievable week for my new wife and I as well as our 31 family and friends who joined us. Here are a few special people who made our wedding week perfect: Natalya Wholas the Front Desk Manager who took the time to ensure all our rooms were perfect Brian Farqurson, Bar Manager, who went above and beyond to make sure we had our requested wine at our reception but also arranged for an amazing party at the Beach Bar for us after! Gayon Robinson, the Public Relations Manager, for helping us to have our party together as often as possible for group dinners. Simone, the Butler Supervisor who managed to keep track not just of our wedding but the 3 birthdays and one graduation we had while we're were at the hotel and made sure special things were done in their rooms! Andre, Alex, Clarke and Xavier the waiters at Dolce Vita who never stopped giving us the best service as well as the kitchen staff who cooked our incredible meal!!! Jodianne, the server from Jasmine Buffet and Las Olas lunch, who went above and beyond to celebrate my wife’s birthday and to take care of all of our guests. Cruz, the server from Las Olas who took care of all of us. Calesha, the Luxury Pool server who took such good care of all of us. Calesha from the wedding planning office, for helping us with the final details before the wedding, and Amesha, our wedding co-ordinator, for making sure our special day was absolutely perfect and every detail was looked after. It truly was an amazing day!! We highly recommend this resort and already our guests are telling us they want to come back with us to celebrate our 1 year anniversary!! Thanks everyone!!

First, this resort is absolutely amazing! I stayed for my 30th birthday and definitely would go back! Starting with the check-in, we were greeted with champagne and a warm welcoming. The resort and accommodations were great, but it was really the people that worked there that made our stay even better. First, we met Jason, the butler that showed us our room. He was very courteous and helpful with explaining everything included in our package. We had a personal butler, Kadine, whom decorated our room for my birthday. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! The bartenders, Charlyne, Shawn Henry, Melissa, Donovan, another Jason and New trainer Floyd handled the group of thirsty guest very well! It was amazing seeing their grace and patience with everyone! As for the food, we didn't make any reservations, so we ate at the buffet majority of times. HOWEVER, despite what the others have said, as a vegetarian I was very pleased with the selection of food! The wait staff was always attentive and polite, which made the dining experience much more enjoyable. I also highly recommend booking through Scuba Quatic for any adventures. We met Joel Thomas, who escorted us to the office and assisted with booking out trip to the Rivers Dunn. Joel was awesome in explaining the different packages and even helped us get the best value! Joel also took us to the paddle boats to enjoy some time on the water & went above and beyond to take photos for us! The resort also had plenty of entertainment and activities. We went to eater aerobics which was led by Bryan and Tobay. Both was full of energy and professional! Bryan led the group afterwards I'm a few games, which was fun! At night, we enjoyed a Michael Jackson show, I forget the name of the people but they put on a heck of a show! To management at the resort, take care of your team. They work extremely hard, put up with a lot and are the reason my friends and I will be returning much sooner than expected. Overall, the resort itself is just beautiful. If anyone had a bad experience here, it's probably because they suck. Thank you everyone! -Staci

Arrived late in evening 11 pm. After travelling all day my brother and I were tired, wanted food, a drink and to go to bed. We are privilege members who paid a lot of money to receive service. Brian at front counter tried his very best. Night manager Mr Carter was rude and did not provide any service although he said he would take us to our room, he proceeded to assist other non-privilege members. I think he may have been irritated over something, not sure what. Young guy assisting with luggage was rude and joked with coworkers how we had to wait. He also couldn't direct us to our room. Bartender in front lobby lounge would only tell us bar closed. Wouldn't say where restaurant and/or lounges were that were opened. Very disappointed. Privilege lounge staff were of no help when we approached them in the morning. Room was supposed to have two separate sleeping areas but we were provided with two beds side by side with one bathroom. Wow all the money and we got less then if we had not been a privilege member. Don't waste time or money with this resort people!