Gran Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado – Bahia de Samana – Dominican Republic – Caribbean

Grand Bahia Principe Cayo Levantado is their flagship resort. Standard in the package that are extras at other Bahia resorts are things like room safe, 24 hour room service, unlimited a-la-cartes, internet access with wifi & branded spirits.

If you know the Bahia resorts already, it’s as if the whole resort is a Golden Club/Don Pablo upgrade. There are 194 rooms in total which makes any early morning rush to grab a sun lounger unnecessary.

The best rooms to go for (IMHO) are the superior junior suites which are located in villas dotted around the island. The mini-bar is topped up daily with two beers (Presidente), Pepsi, 7Up, & Fanta along with miniature whisky, vodka & Barcadi bottles.

The food is up to normal Bahia standard which is pretty good, but no better than other Bahias. The service & friendliness of the staff is excellent – same as the other four Bahia’s I have been to. The lobby bar is tiny compared to other Bahias, eight stools fill it up & only once did I see it fully occupied the entire holiday (two weeks).

There are bars located by each pool, & one on the beach but the lack of any swim up bars is noticed if you have used them in the past in other resorts. If you want any “nightlife” this resort is not for you – hardly anyone is around much after 10pm (when the show finishes).

The lobby bar closes at 11pm & then transfers to the public beach bar until 2am but on most nights there were at most four people there. Because it’s an island, you can’t get a late taxi back from a night in town – unless you don’t want to get back until 8am! If you want two weeks of relaxation in a paradise-like location you can’t do much better.

The island itself is the resort’s best selling point – it’s quite simply breathtaking.