Bahia Principe San Juan All-Inclusive, Moca

This was a fantastic completely chill out holiday. Very different from our normal type of holiday. If your used to freedom of having a car at your disposal you may not find this the type of holiday for you unless you feel you would like to try a predominantly beach based holiday. There is however various trips that you can choose to try. We did one organised trip via Scuba Aquatica (on the beach) and had a good day - by Catamaran we visited Gri-Gri Lagoon, Blue Lagoon (where opportunity for snorkelling) a beach for an hour (but there was a few vendors trying to sell) and Rio San Juan - lunch provided and we all enjoyed. Only thing if not got decent sea legs the blue lagoon was a bit choppy and a few people (including me) felt a little sick - you do feel better if you go into the water though with the flippers and lifejacket. The Dominican average wage is $200 per month. The people despite this are so friendly and the kids are amazing - a lot of them have little and yet they seem so happy. The people are also very proud of their homes. Though we really are lucky with our own lifestyles when you see some of the conditions. In the resort as previously noted a lot of the staff speak or make good attempts at English - but come on learn a little Spanish before you go - they love you making an attempt. Is not difficult to say Hola or thank them by saying Gracias. We did a local taxi from the front reception up to Puerto Plata ($100) but the driver stays with you all day. Once again this is really down to what you wish to do - we did the Amber Factory - Brugal Rum Factory - Saint Fellipe Fort - Mount Isabella - a couple of local shops and he would have taken us to Sosua Beach / Carbarete if we had wished on the way back. It took 9.30 - 4.30pm to do what we did do so never got to the others. (Carbarete looks more upmarket than other local towns). We never stopped for lunch. The taxi driver was very friendly and you pay him at the end - we tipped him also. Sand Flies - yeah a bit of a problem - lots of bites - but found Boots Soltan after sun with insect repellant very good in the evening - for us it was better than Jungle Formula. Although people being people moan about the slightest thing - I can't fault this holiday in excellent value for money. Friendly people and the weather on the whole was fantastic - very humid though. The beach is cooler than the poolside and a nice breeze when you sit under the palm trees. Cocktails available both with or without alcohol - the Pina Colada and Banana Mama were good. Will definitely consider going back in a few years.

My gf and I stayed for 2 weeks, NO complaints about the staff...they were very friendly, most spoke english and those that didn't, tried...or smiled and said hola :) No issues about the room nor the hot water. The only thing was the bugs...a few sand fleas over the first week, it's expected. But the next week we kept getting bit by something?? Unlike the sand fleas, you cannot see them bite you, you just get welts on your body afterwards...I'm guessing fleas from the wicker chairs?? They were worse when we went to the shows or ate dinner (both in the wicker chairs). I was covered in welts, while my gf only had some. 'Off' did not work for us. They do spray the beach every day, but we stayed mostly by the pools. Other than that we loved every minute, the food was great, casino staff were friendly after a few visits...excellent trip!! Would go back if I could figure our how to keep the bugs away.

3 weeks ago we got back from Bahia Principe. And I can strongly recommend it! Everyone was nice and helpful even if they couldnot speak very good english. Problems with the toilets 2 days but it didn´t cause us big troubles. The food was really something to remember!! Delicious! And we will always remeber the "gym-instructor" Alex! He was so helpful and nice to us (we where spending 1 hour every morning in the gym). It was one of the best vacations I ever had! It was really worth the money! I would love to go back!

I love it from the beginning to the end...But im not such a "cry-babie" as we can find in these reviews...I mean no desrespect to no one, what do you expect on a poor country? That your wc is made in gold? Please friends,they work hard to keep Bahia amazing as it is...My room was far from the lobby but that didnt bother me,i went there to enjoy as much as i could,and i did it! I love the staff from the hotel, i loved the food, i loved the drinks, i loved the persons that i had the chance to meet, i had a great time. If your looking for an hotel that go clean your "tail" well this is not the one...People say"oh the toilet is not cleaned,oh this oh that.." they dont know the difference between stains and not cleaning...A stain on a toilet that has 15/16 year is not well seen by us,because its in an hotel...well lets tell them to replace 1200 toilets just because a stain or some rust...please,grow up....The only dirt that we can see during the day, is the one that "us" turists do inside the hotel...and even there they try hard to keep cleaning... If you´re looking for a good time,if your not wierd,you will enjoy this hotel,remenber always that this hotel as quite few years,and they have quite visitots to be able to have 100% perfect as "wierds" want to. Oh the rooms are too moist...Well its a tropical weather,what do you expect?? If the persons who say that the staff is not that nice, probably they''re the ones who are not that nice...The persons think that just because they paid to go there, they can be as rude as they want?Grow up my friends...If you are ok, i guarantee you that the stuff is 100% amazing... Well but this is just my opinion...I enjoy it hard... Go and see for your self...Have a nice vacations and dont be wierd :)

For the most part the resort was beautiful to look at, but if you're looking for a tropical beach I'd find another- take away the palm trees and it's like standing on the shores of Lake Erie. Very few of the help (waiters, cleaning staff, etc.) spoke any English at all, and those who could were rude, treating you like you were a nuisance tourist. Besides the beach and pool there was virtually NOTHING to do on the resort especially when it was raining, and all excursions were grossly over priced. The worst part of the trip was the food. The food was always warm, weather it should have been cold or hot. The line ups were long and the selection was pitiful, and everything was made with domestic food. I'm up for trying new things now and then, but when I'm paying that much for a vacation I want to look forward to food I enjoy eating. I think I'll be trying another resort the next time I vacation.

OK, let me start by saying we did enjoy ourselves. On the night of our arrival, I was very concerned about what we had gotten ourselves into. It was the first time we had taken one of our children (5 yrs old) to the Carribean and the isolated location made me feel nervous when arriving at night. The first room we had was very uncomfortable and musty and WAY at the back of the resort (beside barbed wire fence!). Since we had a large group (25 people for a wedding) we had a wide age range and the distance from the main areas was difficult for young and old alike. I will say that the resort addressed our concerns in the morning and we were all moved to rooms closer to the pool, beach and restaurants. My security concerns also dissipated once I saw the place in the daylight. I'm writing this to help you when you go so: * some in our group had no hot water (we did) * take your own facecloths and kleenex if these are things that are important to you * ask for rooms in A or B buildings or by the adult pool if you don't have kids with you * "king" beds are 2 double pushed together and pillows are foam bricks, just get used to it! * tip the mini bar filler guy and tell him what you'd like to stock up on * Outback Jungle Safari Tour was great and worth every cent, guys and kids in our group also liked the Dune Buggy tour * Beach massage is a nice setting but not a professional massage * This place is far from everything/ ok for us, but not for everyone * Buffet is OK - nobody got sick * Mediterranean restaurant is best choice - forget Mexican or Italian * If you like good wine, bring your own (I did) * Sand fleas on the beach around 4:30 pm, bring bug spray or get in the pool * This place is totally average, but a good time, especially for families - lots of kids there and kids entertainment before the nighttime shows was really great * This is not a 4+ as advertised

The only thing that wasn't superior was the showers, no water pressure and no hot water (only tepid and warm) The service was excellent the staff were friendly and always willing to help. The food on most occasions was good, however, breakfast wasn't always hot......especially if you slept in. Would reccomend highly to anyone who wants a relaxing and restful spot to lie on the beach and drink fruity drinks.

First of all you have to remember you are in the Dominican and then you can appreciate all this resort offers. We found this resort clean, the food good and the location stunning! The a la cartes were awesome (as good of food as I have ever eaten). We loved that the resort was a little out of the way; we felt we had some space/privacy which also allowed us to relax. There were some people complaining around us, but we couldn't imagine what for- some people are never satisfied. There was lots to do on the beach (banana boats, snorkling, sailing, etc). The staff was friendly as well. We would definately recommend this resort.

The grounds were beautiful, lots of beach and lots of beach chairs. We liked the location and the shops on the way in the gate. The lobby and main pool are gorgeous, but our rooms were a bit of a disappointment. It took 5 days to get the phone working, and our friends were without a working fridge for 4 days (one request was not enough to get things fixed). And a "king" sized bed in our rooms meant two single beds pushed together. The food in the a la cartes was very good (we ate at the Seafood and the Mexican), the buffet was average. We did the Ocean World Tour and dolphin encounter, thought both were well worth the money. (beware the guys at Ocean World trying to give you a bonus tour, it's a sales pitch for a time share and they'll waste an hour of your day if you let them) We also did the Jungle Safari tour and it was a great day.

My husband and I just got back from Bahia Principe San Juan last night. We had a WONDERFUL time!!!!! The resort is beautiful, the weather was awesome and the people are all so friendly. We loved the Mediteranian Restaurant. We highly recommend going to CAMPO TOURS. Walk to the right down the beach past a few shops and over a bridge. There are tons of excursions at half the price of the hotel for the same tour. We went on the JEEP SAFARI and it was the BEST day ever! They take you through the country side (BREATHTAKING). You visit a typical Dominican family, visit with the locals, see waterfalls, see where Jurasic Park was filmed, visit a church, and spend an hour at the 2 most beatiful white sand beaches you've ever seen. Lunch and all the rum you can drink are included. Bring a bottle of water. As you are driving through the country side there are hundreds of little ones under school aged that run to the jeep as it is driving by. They get so excited (it's like the icecream truck coming when we were kids). They sell bags of lollipops at the tour before the jeep leaves for $5.00 a bag. I bought 2 and wish I bought more when you see their faces. Next time we go (and we will again). I will fill an entire suitcase full of treats from the dollar store to throw to them. 2 kids that were on the Jeep Safari tour with their parents brought stickers and colored pencils from the dollar store. They absolutely loved it. You might be concerened about giving candy to these kids when it comes to their teeth, but don't. Our tour guide, Tido, said they have the whitest healthiest teeth from eating sugarcane. The one family that you visit has a little girl (about 4yrs) and a boy (about 2and1/2). It would be nice to bring something special for them. You will NOT be disappointed!