Fantasia Bahia Principe Punta Cana

We checked out last night.. heading back to sunny Scotland from Punta Cana via Manchester....! 14 hours later and if given the chance to go back right now I would about turn and repeat the journey again. I read the reviews and honestly was very hesitant to go to the Fantasia through the reports of HFM, deaths in Punta Cana and negative reviews of the hotel. I'm so glad I went it's just paradise. Hotel was fantastic. Very clean and pristine. The staff work tirelessly to keep it that way. Food is great. Plenty of selection in buffets, bbq’s and lots of a la cartes to choose from. I tried most of the Al a cartes (apart from the adult only ones ) and my favourites were the Asian and the Tex mex BUT I cannot fault any of them The room was spacious, clean and beautifully decorated. we had a pool facing room and whilst the pool entertainment can be loud it didn't disturb us. Room was immaculate, towels changed twice daily and minibar restocked everyday. Robes, slippers, iron, hairdryer, umbrella all in your room. The staff are amazing. Smiling, interacting with the children and nothing was a hassle. Two specific staff helped make my personal holiday better. Ramon, the butler is the perfect example of amazing customer service.We had one day when our mini bar wasn't restocked ( an oversight on our part for leaving the do not disturb hanger on door) we asked him for diet pepsi and half hour later he appeared at our room with an entire mini bar ( and the pepsi) and he then called us every day to ensure we were happy. Even when we told him we were happy he still maintained contact. The second person who should be mentioned is a hidden wealth of knowledge in the gym Wilkins Hernadez. We went to the gym every day and very quickly learned that Wilkins has a wealth of knowledge regarding work outs/weights and a variety of exercises to liven up your gym workout. I would normally have ran for 30-50 mins then left as weight etc were an enigma ... After Wilkins input both my dad and I felt we got better use from the gym. The other hotels have gym classes within them whereas the Fantasia does not( they have aqua aerobics/stretching ran by entertainment staff.)... Wilkins is definitely underutilised. We have paid lots of money for personal trainers at home and he could meet any of them toes to toe. We were very impressed.( Ps I know it's not everyone's cup of tea to go to the gym on holiday but it's my thing!) The beach is lovely and the seaweed is changeable daily. Keep checking. Short walk or cart ride to the beach. They try to keep raking up the seaweed but without a tractor or trailer Tips for those coming: bring plenty of high factor sunscreen - it’s extremely hot in DR & sunscreen is expensive! Take basic medicines for kids and plenty anti histamine tablets and bite cream. ‘Off’ spray helps with the bites ( cheaper to buy there than at home) and they offer it out at all restaurants. However, it’s virtually impossible to avoid getting some mosquito bites 🦟 . We all got some bites despite all our efforts to avoid them. The main pool has the entertainment team working all day with competitions, games, contests and inflatable slides etc. They have pirate parties etc. The evening shows run for a week and then go back to the beginning. A bit repetitive but a good standard! Circus show, magic show, princess show, Dominican show, trivia, lion king. Then it’s live music every night ( always Spanish songs and merengue) - Same every single night. Other shows are on elsewhere.My son were happy playing beach football and basket ball by the water park in between swimming. I didn't realise that The teens club isn’t just for teens, it’s open to all kids who are too old for the kids club ( kids club is maybe for smaller kids age 8 or less). Our kids would have enjoyed it. If you do have any problems Dessy, the manager walks around the grounds every day and is very approachable. She will listen to anything that anyone has to say and make every effort to rectofy it. There is no need to ever be unhappy. There is nothing that will interfere with your stay being renovated or built within Fantasia. Absolutely no concern with regards to the the alcohol or mini bars etc... just completely forget about all that scaremongering US press. All in all- Fantastic hotel, felt very safe! No real complaints... unless I was being very very picky, and then those issues were caused by hotel guests and not by anything they hotel can control easily. You will love it there!! ... oh & yeah ..the castle projection show is every night 10pm... “ welcome to the world of Fantasia “ it’s a nice touch. I'll be back

We just returned last night from a 1 week AI at this hotel. We have been to this resort 3 times and this section (Fantasia) was one of the best on the property. It compares very closely with the Esmeralda next door. Since it is relatively new and caters to kids most, there was always activities, music, food that appeals and peaks there interest. Never too many dull moments. The people are extremely friendly and love kids and always took an interest in making them laugh or calming a tantrum when needed :) The kids club could be improved and perhaps run more arts and crafts through the day. My older son likes to build, they could have just left scrap material out and have kids go in when they wanted to be creative and explore. The rooms were very clean and always topped up with towels and not many bugs. I did sleep with insect spray on my ankles because they would creep in from the balcony, or even when opening the door really fast! The shoes were great and the people are very talented, it would have peaked mg kids interest more however, if they started the shoes earlier. 9-10 was too late for them as they were drained de being at the pool and beach all day. Food selection was abundant at both the buffet on the resort and the snack bar at the beach. My kids loved the nachos and cheese, chips and pizzaria at the water park. My older son loved the inflatable slides they had in the pools a few times during the week. The snack bar at the beach was great and they also had s BBQ you could access mid day. I loved that you could take food in plastic plates to your beach chair and not stay be bound to sitting in the restaurant only. Servers would continuously come to your beach chair and ask you for drinks and they always followed through. Asides from the seaweed, we loved the beach most! I loved ordering espresso a few times a day and had plenty of mojitos. My kids had plenty to choose from and were very overwhelmed because they don’t have that much selection at home! My kids loved the ice cream and dipping fruit into the chocolate fountain at the buffet. Overall, the castles, entertainment, pool, beach and rooms were great and we certainly would recommend this resort and possibly may return again. Don’t believe what the media says, people die all the time, things happen all over the world no matter where you go. A few people had Oxycontin in there system and some had heart conditions to begin with. Yes be cautious and cross bridges as you need too, but do travel and enjoy and make judgement calls as you need too along the way. If you listen to everyone’s fears you will never experience the worlds beauty and have the chance to build memories :)

Will start with the airport. Take the help with the guy that takes suitcases honestly we flew through the airport right past security and straight 2 the bus, just tip him. Check in at the hotel did take a while, we were all tired and very warm so I had 3 very fed up kids. Once arrived 2 the room we were given a room that was 2 small but they did sort this the next day and got a room suited for 5 with a pool view, excellent service. Food- we found it really repetitive now I know this happens with all inclusive but it was just too much fish and we dont eat fish. Our favourite a la carte was il paradiso honestly was amazing. Although we did book it for our last night and they couldn't handle the amount of people that had booked, we waited 40 mins for a drink and over an hour for food. Pools- amazing no other word for them apart from people allowing there kids to poo in the pool. In our 14nights the pool was closed at least 7 times during the day. Not the hotels fault at all. On one occasion the pool was full of flies it was disgusting but we just went to the waterpark. Pool bar- yordany best barman there he has so much time for you and your family. On our second last day we had noticed that there was a wasp flying into the slush machine, the barman was making more slush and left it wide open. We told him it was inside it so he just gave it a mix, this is disgusting and we spoke 2 a manager about it and he didn't seem to care much either. This is so dangerous to people that are allergic to wasps, some child would eventually get this in there drink. I'm glad it was our last day because it totally put me off. I understand its sweet and wasps will fly about but good practice would be to keep it shut at all times, make your slush and put it in not leaving it open for at least 5minutes. Rooms- spotless although not very big especially for a family of 5 nowhere near enough cupboard space we struggled. Room service is amazing. Does take a while to come though. Entertainment- the entertainment team work so hard to keep everyone occupied especially during the day, my boys loved it. Night time was good aswell although its the same for the next week but still the shows are really good. Check out was super quick. All in all we had a great time