Hotels near Humpback whale monument, Samana

We stayed at the Bahia Principe Luxury Samana March 11-18. Here is our feedback There are some potential “negatives” about this resort, although they were not issues for us (except perhaps the last one) 1) Resort is a small boutique 140 room resort, if you are looking for nightlife and party atmosphere, go elsewhere 2) The beach is rather small and little washed out, but nonetheless very accommodating and private 3) The resort has a lot of stairs, there are elevators in certain areas but be advised that you may need to use your legs! That’s good since the food and drinks are so excellent you need to burn off calories 4) The road is close to the resort, depending where you are you can sometimes hear the noise. Thankfully the rooms have soundproof doors that work well to hide the noise 5) There is nowhere to walk outside the resort, road is not safe to walk As for the positive, there are so many to list I don’t know where to starts 1) The Food – So EXCELLENT, really (like really!) good, at both buffet and “a la carte” restaurants. They are all really good, and great attention to service by staff. I loved the option of pre-booking all our restaurants 5 days before our arrival, very nice 2) The views are amazing, from every location, all you see is the sea, absolutely stunning. Our favorite was the view at breakfast and lunch from the buffet, we even saw whales swimming in the bay in front of the resort 3) The drinks and bar service are superb, we enjoyed the “Drink of the day” every day. They always use fresh ingredients (fruits etc) and top shelf spirits for mixing. So good!!! 4) All the staff are so nice, I can’t compliment them all personally here, but special shout-out to Dario (Mamajuana!) and Rosa at lobby bar, Ingrid was our favorite server, Daurelin at front desk was always smiling, and Leandro for his Yoga/Pilates/Workouts. Really amazing people 5) Free Day-trip to Cayo Leventado was really pleasurable, beach there is amazing (but public) 6) Rooms are nice and comfortable, we paid for Junior Suite upgrade and honestly, I think the standard Balcony Room would be great 7) The resort is so small that you get to know all the guests, which was very nice. Met some very nice people from Canada, France and Germany. Adults-only is also nice! We definitely recommend this resort for those looking for a peaceful, relaxing and intimate holiday with great food, good drinks and panoramic views.

My wife and I have just returned from Vista Mare in Samana, DR and have nothing but good reports. We have stayed at another Xeliter property but this one is tops. It is primarily because of the staff. True, the property is stunning from a physical point of view, but alot of times a holiday is made by the people. On check in, Terbis was welcoming and friendly, and after three days of our ten day stay we wanted to be closer to the ocean and he went out of his way to find us the perfect room just above the beach. The entire staff, from the bartenders to the cleaning staff and even the maintenance crew will always greet you with a sincere ”hola”. The operations manager (Freddy) was tremendously helpful in planning our day trips and was always around to tend to our every need - pretty rare in this day and age. The manager (Alberto) bent over backwards on the last day to allow us a late check out to accommodate our 10:00pm flight back to Toronto. Again, read other reviews about the beauty of the place, but for us, it was the friendly and welcoming people that made our stay, so much so that we bought wine as gifts for Freddy and Terbis when we left - that doesn't happen often! Enjoy.