The resort had excellent location. Even in windy days the sea had no waves at the shore. Because of coral reef the waves broke far away. It also has a great kids pool with sides. This is unfortunately were the good ends for us. The service was non existent. If you manage to book restaurant reservations you'll wait for over two hours for your food, and it's not good. I'm not exaggerating. Our reservation was at 6:45. We were 5 minutes late and left without dessert at 9:10pm. Dirty plates are left at the table (restaurant or buffer) almost as long as your entire meal. It might be because we had kids with us, not sure. Rooms are outdated but it's not a biggie. A disappointment was the jacuzzi since it was moldy. We tried cleaning it but were not able to make it work. I'd recommend the resort for it's beach if you're not picky about food or service.

My friends and I were at the resort in March . We had such a great time. All the staff were so nice. Food was delicious and a wide variety to choose from. Nathaniel was great. I have a bad leg and upon arrival he noticed that and he went above and beyond to get a better room for us. This made my vacation so much more enjoyable. It has become my favorite destination. Keep up the good work.

The hotel looks amazing! The beach is wonderfully close and loaded with long chairs and bars in close distance. The food is insanely delicious and abundant. And pretty much there is anything to eat or snack throughout the day. The bedroom was sooooo comfortable but the AC was not at its best for these summer days. 🫠 The activities and the entertainment staff was fun and had people moving and having a good time. If you get stomach problems, notify. They’ll help you out and follow up both with you and the kitchen staff. 🤍✨

Service overall was good. Not consistent with the good service but decent. Could have more variety of food and switch up the options more frequent. Definitely could use less salt in some of their cooking. Vibe was good. Restrictions of how many a la carts you can eat at was unusual. I’ve never been restricted to how many a la carts I can eat at when I’ve been to any other resorts including Bahia principe in Jamaica. Housekeeping should always check the levels of the shampoo/body wash in the showers every time they turn over the room. Overall a clean resort. Friendly staff. Had a great kids pool with water slides.

This is the best all inclusive resort we have ever been to! The food was so good, we couldn’t believe how much diverse foods were offered at every meal. There was a great snack bar open between lunch and dinner so that if we got hungry we could go there. There were tons of options. So much fresh fruit. I loved that they had fresh ginger available at the hot water and tea station. The service and the staff was so amazing. They were all very helpful, kind, and professional. They were so great with the kids. Everything was very accommodating for families with children. Spend the time to learn some basic Spanish phrases, it’ll go a long way! The beach is stunning and the sand is perfection. The kids swimming pool and the kids water park are so perfect for little ones. There are lots of staff cleaning everything consistently, I always see staff cleaning and sanitizing. I also really appreciate how they have sanitizer at each entrance and all around the resort.

The trip was supposed be a fun family trip, but it turned out to be a disappointment. We were there from May 4-11. Too bad you can’t rate the weather because it would get -1. It was raining every day, few times a day. This place definitely does not deserve 5 stars. 3 is the most generous. This is an older resort that desperately needs renovations. There were holes in the door frames, all sockets were loose and it was not enough of them, the sealing panels were raising in the bathroom. My sons were even getting electrocuted from the balcony door handle. We asked for 2 double beds in each room and we got a king bed and what they call sofa. The mattresses are very uncomfortable. The water system is weird, it takes a while to get hot water even thought the knob is completely on the left side! Some days they were not enough hot water for a second person to take a shower. Sometimes the rooms were not properly cleaned or not at all. After the safe locked us out twice, we gave up on keeping our valuables in it. The staff is polite but very slow with service in the dining room and at the bars and they seem to cater more to Spanish speaking guests. There is no urgency or empathy in their service. The food is alright, although the same for all three meals and not a lot of variety. The a la cart restaurants are a joke. Nicer set up but the food is not even close to Italian or Greek. Don’t even get me started on Brazilian restaurant, what a disaster. In the Greek restaurant we waited an hour and a half for our food. If you came to the beach or pool late morning, forget about getting a chair or a spot in the shade and trust me you want some shade in this burning sun. If you try to reserve the chairs, your stuff might be taken to the reception by a manager. This happened to us but it looked like it was selective because other guests stuff was still on the chairs. Our complains were ignored. If there is not enough chairs for everyone, it’s time to get more. The resort,left us greatly disappointed and we will definitely not be returning.

First the good: I should say that the entire staff was amazing! The shuttle drivers, the door men, bell hops, servers, bar tenders, front desk staff. All super nice, polite, and helpful! The location is amazing too! They sit on a beach and you can walk for miles in either direction and see some of the nicest beaches in the world! Breath taking sunsets a short walk away. The not so good: The rooms are very dated. I had three different things fall apart in my hand! The hook thing to hang towels, a part of a lamp, and part of the shower. Everything was very well used from the furniture to the towels. IMO, 3 star hotel quality and no way 5 star. They only stock a few basic items in the mini fridge and only refill it every other day. The AC and internet worked very well so that should be noted. My biggest issue was with the food. They have 5 or 6 restaurants but only ONE of the specialty/ala cart restaurants is open per night! You have to eat at the buffet for every meal because the one other place that is open per night fills up and do not take walk ins. Open up two spots per night with the buffet! Make those reservations ASAP! The food at the buffet was "ok" with most of the meat being dry and over cooked. Resort level pizza...that sort of thing. No room service! They did not bring this back after the C19 closure is what I was told, same reason for the lack of dinning options. I would not go back

Another wonderful experience here thanks to the friendly staff. Eduardo is amazing and kind and along with his staff including Ydeliza and Maria and others helped make our experience wonderful! Albania at the poolside bar is a total sweetheart and so kind. The hotel should make the name tags larger since the current font is really small. The food at the buffet was delicious each day and for each meal so shout out to the chefs for their consistency. The beach is beautiful and every facility within the hotel grounds is a reasonable walk. Very good family friendly location. It could use more beach/pool beds since they were all usually taken. But amazing experience overall.

We had a great time at this resort. The food was amazing and the beach was stunning! Prettiest water I have ever seen. I had so much fun doing the water aerobics with Benito and Benito also played volleyball with my kids and they had a blast! He made this experience so much fun. We will definitely be back and bring family from the United States next time!

Grand Bahia El Portillo in Samana has outdone themselves. I have been to multiple Gran Bahia’s across the Caribbean and this gem is truly the most beautiful, impressive and beautiful location. The staff is wonderful, the buffet is truly good food, there is always something for everyone. The tennis court is a great addition. I want to say a special thank you to Victor from the entertainment staff. The waitresses on the outside terrace were exceptional. Incredibly attentive to ones likes and quick to please. Definitely sad to leave but very happy to have found this incredible destination, can’t wait to return very soon.

We have mixed emotions on this property. The Bahaia Principe brand has amazing locations and service, but the small resorts always seem to have issues which was the same for El Portillo. We had problems with the room air conditioning and then the hot water through the entire stay. The restaurants were a mess on all fronts. Menu issues and the time it took, caused us to just leave through towards the end of each dinner and go to the buffet which was actually very good. The location is just amazing, you can just enjoy the beach and water all day and it makes up for a lot of the issues.

Just got back from a family vacation. There were 20 of us and we all had a great time. The staff are all amazing, friendly and so hard working. I felt safe and well looked after. The beach is beautiful. The pool was always a fun time (especially the foam party). The entertainment staff are so lively and funny. The food was good, the rooms were clean and spacious. I would highly recommend this resort. Thank you for a wonderful week!!!

It's been a great week with family almost time to head home. I would definitely come back. Clean resort, people are friendly. It would be nice to see the waiters and waitress visit a few more times at the à La carte dinners. That was honestly the hardest place to leave a tip. Everyone else was easy to leave something for. Our maid was awesome she really works hard. Guys at the beach bar are awesome drinks taste great.

Great resort on par with other Bahia's I've stayed at. Its small in comparisson to those I've stayed at in Mexico - which is a good thing. Beautiful beach, comfortable, clean rooms, amazing staff, beautifully kept gounds, good food. My only real criticism is that the buffet is very repetetive. Very good food, but a rather small salad bar and pretty much the same thing on the menu every day. Not a big deal, I never went hungry. Ask for Donald at the reception - he is amazing. Slip him $50 and he'll take care of you for your entire stay.

Rooms were clean and good for the money you pay. Location is good, being right by the beach. Beaches are maintained nicely. I just didn't feel like the service was as good as could have been. There were times were me and my wife just kinda felt ignored like they would walk by us and yes before you say it we always tipped above average.

Travelled here for vacation for a friend's destination wedding and we were not disappointed! Such a wonderful place to visit, everyone was so friendly. The food was great, especially at the French restaurant! the beach was beautiful. The resort was very clean and employees were constantly cleaning. Only downside to the pool was it closed at 6pm everyday, but aside from that was a great time! The only thing that was kind of annoying was people reserving beach chairs early in the morning then going back to bed or reserving them with a random item then leaving for several hours.

The trip was organized very well. The resort is suited for kids and adults. The entertainment team is so cheerful, positively with lots of interesting activities. We really enjoyed the "Dominicana" show! 🇩🇴 Variety of food is available at all times. We do recommend this resort! 🌴🍹😍

Great time at Bahia Principe El Portillo. Good food, beautiful beach and location. Only complaint is hotel was so full of people felt a little crazy at times in the buffet and pool and this cause service to be very slow at times. Staff was always friendly even with the crazy amount of people. Suggestion if you book the Brazilian a la carte make sure it's not buffet style cause we were disappointed that night. Buffet was good so much variety of food. Lots of older couples and families and kids. Not a party place!

Thank you to Jorge, the bartender at the sport bar, who helped me stay hydrated throughout the day after getting sick one night. His service was always friendly, personable and engaging. I had a blast with Emmanuel, Hector and Luis Miguel from the entertainment crew! They know how to get the crowd going and such great dancers! Loved the classes on the beach and the poolside dance routines! Overall, a pleasant and unforgettable experience. I made so many new friends. I hope to return some day! -Jahry

Room in villa 26. We're told they were renovated rooms. If this is renovated, they didn't do much. There are many things in the bathroom needs attention. We stayed in villa 7 a few years ago, and it seemed much more renovation that this one.

Beautiful beach and nice garden. Gorgeous ocean view restaurant. Very entertaining evening shows, only sometimes could have last a bit longer. Nice stuff. Food and drinks were ok. You can see that the hotel is quite old - rooms definitely need renovation.

Wonderful stay at El Portillo, entertainment staff is amazing! We love Betty Boop and Mini Cooper they do such a great job! The resort on the whole is perfect, never a dull moment! I’m coming back 😘

Our family of 9 just spent a week. We found that the servers in the buffet were always running around, but don't stop to see if everyone at the table gets what they want. For example maybe half would get asked what beverage we wanted. Then they were off, and don't return. It's advertised as a family resort, but as for beverages for children, there is very few to choose from. There was a large selection of food at the buffet, but everything was cold, except the made to order omelettes. Too few bartenders at the pool bar, and sports bar, no servers walking around asking if you want a drink, we had to stand in very long lineup's. There is an entertainment center, but it's very small, for the amount of guest's. Our rooms were kept well cleaned and supplied with towels and bar fridge. The drivers of the carts were awesome. Beautiful beach, perfect to have fun in the water and calm enough for children. Entertainment staff were great, and friendly. Overall, we enjoyed our family vacation, but I would not return to this resort.

Overall, a well maintained hotel with good food and a nice pool/beach setup. One flaw is that the hotel doesn't respond to messages sent to the email listed on their website. I sent several to try to line up a shuttle bus to arrive but received no reply (I was told that their customer service ticket system is not always functional) The lineup for breakfast was also an issue a couple of mornings. Staff can be friendly, but when the hotel is full, it can be a challenge. The nightly entertainment was OK (a talented team) but too much moving between different locations and then waiting for the disco to open an hour later. They could coordinate better.

The hotel overall was a mediocre experience. The room was beautiful and was always cleaned very well. The hotel itself was pretty clean and and had lots of variety to offer in terms of food, drinks, activities, and different restaurants. However with all those amazing things the most important thing to me is staff treatment and how I was being treated as a guest. The staff was not very nice at all and a lot of them had many attitudes that were not pleasant. A lot of the waiters kicked us out of different restaurants for variety of reasons that didn’t make any sense to us and we understood some of them but the way situations were handled were very unpleasant and rude. We also decided to leave the hotel and discover the outskirts of the hotel and we left the hotel for 8 hours just to come back and find out our hotel room was left open for 8 hours after the cleaning ladies went in. We had a lot of valuable stuff in there and were schocked on how the room was left open. After trying to speak with a manager multiple times they didn’t want to let us speak with them and we had to basically force our way and they didn’t offer any help or solutions. We also had some trouble with the people in the front gate where they saw our car leave the hotel multiple times and they were being very ignorant and unpleasant about us coming in and out of the resort. Sometimes they didn’t want to let us in and sometimes they did so it was a whole mess. Lastly on the beach my boyfriend and I were simply trying to take the salt water off of our bodies and staff were being super rude and simply because we were in the section of VIP in which we didn’t know and they wanted to kick us out of the hotel. They also did the same to my brother and his girlfriend. Staff needs to be trained more on how to receive and treat guests. We checked in on Feb 15, 2024 to Feb 18, 2024. I wouldn’t recommend this resort if you want to have a pleasant experience and feel safe leaving personal stuff in the room.

This resort is absolutely amazing! Everyone is super nice! We had the best time at the beach as well as the pool. We recommended you go to the pool in the afternoon to get drinks from Joander at the swim up bar! The nicest and makes the best drink! 1000/10!

This place has good food and a great buffet, clean rooms, with its own stocked fridge. Our beach/Bar drinks were really good, kept us happy. Entertainment was as expected and enjoyable, you could get involved with any of the exercise programs by the pool or on a mat. Best of what we loved were our long walks on the beach, both east and west of the resort the beaches were lined with palm trees that were bent towards the ocean, felt like we were on an exotic island. The reef broke the waves therefore you could get into the water without any disturbance, to cool off during your walk. There are beautiful mountains on the east side of the hotel. Walking east along the beach we seen many mangroves and a lot of warm pools that would feel like your own hot tub. I will to go back this place was worth every dime.

If you are considering a family-friendly vacation, this is your spot. It is also good for romantic couples but you have to be ok with a lot of kids on the resort. We had amazing experience. The beach is the best. Shows and the entertainment team are a blast! Great food! (and I am very picky eater). I would recommend this hotel and definitely will come back.

Fantastic service. The hotel is incredibly well run by management and staff. Everything is meticulously maintained with people working around the clock taking care of guests. Very kid friendly resort. Our 3 year old had a great time at the kids waterpark, kids club and shallow beach. The rooms are a bit dates but it's not a big deal. 5 stars from me and I will be going back l.

Joander y Ana Julia the bartender on the poll Was very helpful. Tending to all my needs. And putting the attention to every body on the same way. Super recommend this guy for a raced of salary. Definitely I would recommend this resorts to every one I know

We are a family of 3 (including a 10 month old baby) and we had chosen this resort because of the amenities for children/ babies and the many positive reviews. After our week long stay I would say I have mixed reviews on this resort. Firstly I want to say that I believe this resort had many positive reviews because staff at the resort walk around asking you to complete a review on your phone for positive reviews (often enticing guests with prizes). In terms of my actual experience: Pros: The resort grounds itself is very well taken care of and the beach is perfect! Water is clean and no seaweed. We like resorts that aren’t too big, which is definitely the case for this resort. Everything is fairly close and if you do happen to have a room at the far end, there are carts that can transport you (if available). The staff are Extremely nice and were very friendly to our baby. The entertainment staff were lovely and tried to have activities for both kids and adults to keep them entertained (big thanks to Blondie amongst many others). I do wish however, that they had more entertainment in the evening. After 5pm, there was only one show at 9:30pm. We could never attend this because our baby was asleep by then. Wifi was ok - spoty at times especially on the beach but for the most part was accessible. Cons: The rooms are very dated and really needed an update. The shower pressure was very poor and the fridge didn’t work very well either. We had a problem with the fridge door not closing properly which was a huge issue. The staff who refilled the fridge with beverages would leave the door open which led to my breast milk going bad twice. It was only after the third complaint that they finally replaced the entire fridge. The buffet food was very mediocre. For A la carte we chose the French, Brazilian and Greek. French was actually quite delicious and the Brazilian was decent, but I could have done without the Greek. The one thing that I did find in all restaurants including the buffet was that drink service was a really big hit or miss. There were many times that we would not be asked for drinks so many times we would have to get our own water and coffee. Even for drinks like sodas, you would have to try and flag someone down just to get a drink. They would come around to clear our plates but for some reason didn’t really ask us for drinks and refills very often. Tips for babies: The do provide a crib for the room and high chairs in the restaurants if you request it. I had to wash my baby’s bottles and utensils in the sink and after doing some research was told to use bottle water. You can request for more bottled water which they were more than happy to provide. To warm milk, I used to coffee maker in the room to boil water. They do have a little kids club, however the activities are more geared to kids 4+ but you can still use the kids space to play with your baby.

Was there 1 week ago.Had a blast. not one problem. Yes the water pressure wasn't the greatest the water wasn't the hottest but that did not ruin the holiday. the entertainment was spot on. Always something to do. Beach was beautiful. Hotel was great. It is a huge hotel so for the amount of people there the staff did an amazing job. Never had to wait in any line for drinks or food. I would recommend this hotel to anyone friends, family. I would also recommend whale watching it was such an amazing experience! Friendly staff lots to do. Don't let the little things ruin a holiday. Sad it is over but we will return .

The hotel turned out to be absolutely amazing, even though we were looking for something to just sleep at and nothing more. To our surprise it was not only clean and pretty but also it was well run by a French family which meant that the standard of service and overall experience was up to European standards. The stay was great! Only 5min away from the beach 🙂

Awesome hotel, great location, perfect pricing, has all the amenities you can need. Close to town, yet away from the bustle, walking distance to the beach, Will come back for sure!!!!

We have booked three nights, and moved out after just one night. The room was run-down, and not clean (especially the ceiling fans, which all had a sick layer of dust and mildew on them). Pool water was dirty and had a milky colour. Don’t understand all the positive reviews by other guests.

This is a very quaint and quiet little hotel. They have cute rooms in the small pool. The rooms are relatively like a little cottages. Their modern inside have high ceilings in my ceiling fan. The bathroom is modern the Decour is very nice. They have a little porches with little chairs where you can sit. The cottages are near to each other but that’s OK if you and the family type. The owner lives on the premises right next-door I believe. There is also a bar where they can make you some drinks so you could swim in the pool and enjoy your vacation. This place is close to the beach with in walking distance. Overall I enjoyed my stay here very much and I would recommend it to a friend.

Fantastic chilly feel good place! Quiet, but next to Playa Bonita and still far away from the busy streets of Las Terrenas. Informal atmosphere with super friendly owners and staff! Very clean rooms, cozy little bar, swimming pool and table tennis. Even though weather was not our best friend this place made up for it and had plenty to do. Probably best in Las Terrenas! For sure now our favorite!

Would not recommend, they do not let you have a relaxed time, since the owner is always micromanaging any activity you want to do in the small villa. It does not mention anywhere that you can not use your own speakers or play your own music. Found a few roaches in the bathroom every night.

Great location! We walked to the beach in 5 min. My wife loved the hotel because remind her our pad back home. The owners are very nice! The place is very boutique! Love it and will highly recommend it!!!

Wonderful cute place with reasonable price. The night staff Davidson makes most amazing cocktails and works incredibly hard.

a very nice place next the most beautiful beach (around 10 mn by walking). Very calm, just 7 bungalows and a swimming pool in a charming garden. Cooking is also possible. Property owners Laurent We spend 2 wonderful weeks, Laurent and Sophie are very easy going and helpful.

Large beach, forest palm tree , small river, very nice

Excellent, Long Beach! Good for water sports.

Quiet beach with a great restaurant with Fresh fish and lobster. Nice sandbar surf break and doesn’t draw a lot of people b/c of close by Playa Bonita. Hidden Gem! One of our families favorites. Great little surf shack where you can rent boards. 🤙🏻

Perfect beach. Nice food places.

Gorgeous beach, very long and empty! A few places to get drinks but the rest of the beach is not developed. We absolutely loved it.

This is one of the best beaches in the area. I particularly like it in the summertime when the waves are small. If you go in the winter time there a larger waves which is good if you like surfing. This is a beautiful Long Beach that sells for many miles spend the whole day exploring. There are a few restaurants along the way including Luis’s restaurant. This is probably one of the most popular beaches in this area I highly recommend you check it out.

Super super nice beach. Without the seaweed this is in my top three beaches worldwide. It is very quiet but not dangerously quiet. There's two or three restaurants to choose from (my favourite being the reasonably priced one at the far east of the beach), and multiple roads to reach the beach. The best road is the one leading to Caffè Coson and you can use a moped easily. It's a beautiful beach with a nice curve, mix of wave strengths (be careful, there's extremely strong currents in some places), palm trees, and a river that changes shape every day. When I went (Dec 2022) there was a bit of seaweed (like everywhere in DR) but seemingly not as much as Playa Bonita. I recommend you set up camp near the river somewhere - you can get there on two wheels if you're a confident rider!

Truly beautiful, exceptionally long beach, postcard perfect. This is what real Paradise looks like. Enjoy it before the development kicks in.

Beautiful, vast and wild beach. We visited many beaches in DOP but this was our favorite. It's so vast, if someone is there you still feel like only person there. It's a mix of calmer and wavy beach, so one day you can chill and the other day you can have fun in the waves. Beach is clean and great parking spot just few meters from beach.

Beautiful beach, not so good for swimming. quite windy,there's waves and rocks.

Make sure to use HoteITully.ᴄᴏm when booking a place. This website will compare thousands of booking web sites and usually will have prices much cheaper compared to others! Thank me later! This place is one of the most well known in this area. I've been staying here for a very long time. If you choose this place you for sure won't regret it. Super cute and very active water ( lots of waves). It’s fun to throw yourself in there and roll with the waves 😂 Also very clean sand!

Love this beach! It is a more quiet beach (except on weekends, when parties tend to happen). In my opinion, to becomes prettier the further west you go, and ends in a quiet cove. It has a number of beach restaurants where you can grab a quick bite for lunch, and one of my favourite places for pizza is down near the west end (Chiringuito). It is a quieter area to rent on, and is usually our choice on Airbnb.

Crystal clear water the ocean colors are beautiful multi colors of turquoise great place to just chill for the day

Lovely beach, specially the shaded cove at the end. Soft white sand and clear waters. Very little to no sargassum on September 2022. Parking is 100 pesos.

Playa las ballenas is pretty much a nice beach that offers a beautiful view while enjoying a dip with the family. A must visit for any new visitor. However, one visit is all you need, and you can move on to your next adventure. Take the family or just your love one and kick back with a drink while soaking up the breeze in this breath of fresh air. Cheers!

Even though this is one of the most accesible beaches in the country, it manages to keep everything in order, unlike almost all other beaches that attract noise, trash and disorder. In this beach you can also find boats, kayaks and paddle boards for rent. You can also have an excellent choice of beachside restaurants at different prices for the quality of their service. If you choose not to spend any money, it’s okay, since it is not necessary to buy anything to enjoy this area. Vendors and hustlers are at a minimum here.

Beautiful beach !! Nice water! Not too busy. Beautiful sunset.

Definitely one of the best beaches in Dominican Republic 🇩🇴

I went only to the public beach, not to the hotel. One of the best beaches in the world. A lot of differences between morning and afternoon. The wind and the currents are much better in the morning, at least when I was there in June. Corals are a few mts from the beach and a lot of diversity for snorkeling. The sun is nice and you can play with young kids. Not too crowded

One of the best beach I ever been! Amazing 😍😍

Awesome scenery with restaurants and coffee shops along the walkway by the beach ⛱️ 😎

Best beach in Las Terrenas overall Ian’s that is saying something!) Calm, clear water, white sand, near shore shallow water reefs that are fun for snorkeling. Great for families. Has restaurants along the beach road and on the beach itself and places to rent water sports equipment. Plenty of palms for shade.

Relaxed long beach with lots of entertainment and food options. Protected by reefs so good opportunities to swim and lots of shallow spots to enjoy. Lots of shade. Great for romantic evening walks.

Beautiful beaches for all. Lots og lovely beaches to swim. Great restaurants to stop at to enjoy beverages and food.

I love terrenas and when in here i have to visit colibrí restaurant go in the pool eat and get a massage in front of the beach loveit here

Perfect for watching the sunset!

Find the cove area near the sailing club and it is the perfect slice of beach. Soft waves, but had some depth so you get wet. And there is a wood fired pizza place right there, El Charinguito A+