Bahia Principe Luxury Ambar

Firstly, thanks to Reme and Claire from the Bahia Principe reservations team in Spain, who made the booking process easy and reassuring during these uncertain times. We travelled from Malaga to Madrid on a small Air Europa plane and then to Santo Domingo again with Air Europa on a modern Dreamliner. Unfortunately no flights are currently travelling from Spain to Punta Cana directly, so we had a 2 hour transfer from the Capital’s airport. I can only say that this was a small price to pay to get to paradise. We’ve visited the DR on 4 previous occasions, but have to say that this time was the best. Probably as we are so grateful to have travelled long-haul during these crazy times. We stayed for 14 nights so were able to enjoy all the food options, which were all excellent. Most things have been covered in previous reviews but I would like to make a point about the following: Scuba Diving The dive team were excellent. My husband and I are rescue divers so know a thing or two about diving, and they were extremely professional and Covid aware ensuring all equipment was disinfected before each dive. We were blessed with Pedro from Menorca as our guide who took good care of us and arranged for us to hook up with another couple so we could have an affordable day trip to the Bayahibe area and enjoy some excellent diving there too. Phil was the face of the centre and was a lovely man. Go diving with Scubaquatic! Room The rooms are lovely. We had a luxury corner room on the top floor. The difference is that you have a big bath in the corner. I am a soaker, so it was good to have a bath option. Tip: Pack some bubble bath if you have a tub. This was one thing that was not provided. Owing to COVID the coffee pots have been removed. No problem as you can just order a coffee through room service and it will be brought to you... however if you are able to pack a travel kettle, and have the room this may work well for you. Plug Sockets are always a big preoccupation for us with several items needing to be charged each night and we travel with a big bag filled with all our chargers, so it was a nice surprise to see that there are USB ports on each side of the bed, plus the sockets can also be used for USA as well as European 2 pin plugs. The lighting in the room must be mentioned as it was one of the best lit rooms we have ever stayed in. The blackout curtains also did the trick for darkening the room for our Spanish siestas. The concierges Watson and Adriel did a fantastic job in looking after us. The wifi was fantastic and we could even WhatsApp call with video from our beach bed. We also need to give a shout out to Marta Garcia who is from Malaga and really looked after us during our trip. The beach is just beautiful and all the staff at the beach restaurants (Angelo, Manuel, Julieta) were kind and attentive. Hasta luego Luxury Ámbar. We will be back.

The Bahia resort was very comfortable to be in, they enforced the mask policy in all common areas, and then people chose to mask depending on the social situation and their comfort level. Wearing a mask is today’s normal at home, so it did not seem extreme to do so and therefore feel protected. We were met for check-in by a member of the Customer Services team, named Orlendy. She was easy to deal with and spoke English well. She checked us in, and then personally escorted us to our room. We met and dealt with Orlendy often during our week, and each interaction was dealt with exceptionally. The other staff member that made a huge impression on us was Albania. We met her shortly after arrival and many times during our stay. She always had a smile and took a moment to interact. Albania’s goal throughout the week was to make us feel like part of the Bahia family…she succeeded. We had the chance to deal with lots of staff during our stay but would like to send a thank you to Nikki and Jose at the buffet, Jensy and Yordy at the pool bar, and Juneor. Juneor is a night cleaner who was always on the move and working. He showed teamwork by assisting others in setting up the main buffet area prior to reopening, and most of all by always having a smile. So in closing the resort is very safe, accommodating, and friendly. Every day we would look at each other and say “I’m so glad we are here”. Some services are not back yet but based on the occupancy are being ramped up.