Gran Bahia Principe La Romana Rating: 3.5 Pearls

La Romana, Dominican Republic

Guests enjoy a drink at the swim-up bar

Located off an empty strip of highway between San Pedro de Macoris and La Romana, this genteel family escape trades in raucous late-night discos for serene, manicured lawns framed by gleaming white trellises, and bushes of tropical flowers. The lobby bar offers afternoon tea service, with silver urns of coffee followed by nightly serenades by the lobby's own piano player.

With a little more than 400 rooms, this is actually one of the smaller Bahia Principe properties -- many of them weigh in at a staggering 700-plus. Some guests I talked to were disappointed by the less-impressive entertainment and fewer amenities. But the small size does have its advantages -- it’s quieter.

Couples here enjoy the 2,800-meter-long beach with room for privacy; families benefit from the sizable suites, kid-friendly menus, and early-to-bed hours. For those who believe "resort vacation" shouldn't equal Speedos in the lobby at 10 a.m., this hotel is also ideal. A list of rules (mostly observed, occasionally not) prohibit guests from cruising around the marble lobby in their swim trunks or showing up to white-tablecloth dinners in shorts. At times the rules can seem a little oppressive: "No loud noises" and "don't mess up the cushions in the lobby." Fortunately, the staff members all seem to follow a live-and-let-live policy.

The staff leads pool games

Service runs the gamut -- incredibly attentive at the restaurants, but lacking at the front desk. When I checked in, my bags were never sent to my room by the porter -- even though I waited for more than an hour. After one call to the bellhop (a hang up) and one call to the front desk, I walked down to find out what was taking so long. The staff member at the front desk assured me that the bags would be delivered, eventually, but after seeing my bags ignored by the porter again, I decided to just haul them up to the room myself.

At the bars and restaurants, service improves. Drinks are offered within minutes, and at the buffet, a waiter even honored my special request for club soda at breakfast. Waiters were always on hand to clear up plates within minutes. At the à la carte restaurants, the staff doted on every guest and dishes arrived at just the right times.

While some guests complain about a language barrier, I didn't find this to be the case. Compared with other resorts in the area, I found that more of the staff here -- especially at the à la carte restaurants -- could switch into English quite well.

View on a Larger Map

Just off a quiet strip of highway between La Romana and San Pedro de Macoris, Gran Bahia Principe La Romana has nothing around it for miles except for Playa Nueva Romana's construction site and the Cueva de las Maravillas (Cave of Miracles), a cave-rock formation 25 feet under the ground (and a major tourist draw).

The shoreline

Privacy is key at Gran Bahia Principe, and it starts with the beach. The coastline is long -- 2,800 meters -- giving guests an opportunity to stretch out to more secluded areas if they wish.

But there’s a reason the beach here is less developed than the beaches in Punta Cana, or even at other hotels in La Romana. The water is a light green color, and the farther out I ventured I hit more algae and the occasional rock. At the farthest end of the beach, even the shallower water is algae-laden. But the resort does maintain the sands, and I found no trash or litter nearby (or floating in the water, for that matter).

• Guests can escape to the picturesque wooden pier for a view of the nearby islands.
• Ample bathrooms near the beach
• Two snack bars at opposite ends of the beach, as well as the Hibyscus Bar.
• Despite rumors that the beach is "man-made," it is, for the most part, a natural formation. Like most other resorts, the hotel did import some sand (largely to lighten the color).

Sitting area in the Standard Room

Sizable junior suites (the only room that Gran Bahia Principe offers) give families enough room to spread out on the single king-size or two queen-size beds, or in the separate living-room area, which has a sofa bed. Two adults and two children, or three adults, can be accommodated in each room. Sunny porches separated by white picket fences look out onto the pool or the flowered lawns.

• Comfortable beds
• TVs have better reception and greater variety of cable-TV channels than at other Dominican resorts, though English-language channels are limited and there are no free movie channels, pay-per-view movies, or DVD players.
• Showers have four showerheads (two lower ones, one massaging one, and an overhead rainfall showerhead).
• Large bathrooms: two sinks; toilet and bidet; basket of toiletries refilled daily
• The lights and electricity are activated using the room’s card key -- this is good for Mother Earth, but it means guests can’t keep the AC running all day.

Though the rooms are all the same, for as little as $15 more per night, guests can upgrade to "Club Golden Principe" status, which means you can check-in inside a separate, air-conditioned reception area that comes with free Internet access. Club members also get slippers, a bathrobe, and a pool towel in their suites. Room service is also included from 10 a.m to 6 a.m., but the menu only includes snacks like chips and soda; not full entrées.

The archery range

Gran Bahia has one major pool that branches off into three sections: one section has the swim-up bar, one part overlooks the nearby kiddie pool, and the third (and loudest) part is where water aerobics classes take place every day at 4 p.m. Islands of greenery and flowers add a pretty focal point and help separate the sections.

• Despite the pool's popularity, it’s usually pretty easy to find an empty lounge chair (unlike at other resorts). *There’s a Jacuzzi beside the pool kept constantly bubbling, but, like at many other resorts, it’s not heated.

Other resort highlights:

• The full-service Bahia Spa offers massages, facials ($65), and aloe vera, chocolate, and coconut body treatments ($73). Half-hour access to the relaxation circuit -- vapor room, sauna, and Jacuzzi -- runs $9.
• The Bahia Gym’s equipment is in decent condition, but there’s not much selection -- mostly free-weight stations, just five bikes, and no ellipticals. Fortunately, air-conditioning is available, unlike many other Dominican resorts.
• Three tennis courts, all well-maintained
• Large casino, open from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., with slot machines and a few poker, roulette, and craps tables
• The Internet center, situated across from the main lobby in the Puebla Principe shopping section, offers four computers for guests' use. It costs $12 to use the computers for an hour, but the time can be stretched over a five-day period. Guests with their own laptop can take advantage of the Wi-Fi in the lobby ($15 per day).

Toys in the kid's club

• Sizable junior suites can sleep up to two adults and two children in each room (15 connecting suites also available).
• The lobby bar, Daiquiri, offers a daily kid's cocktail named after a cartoon character, such as the "Nemo" (vanilla ice cream, milk, bananas, and chocolate chips).
• High chairs are available everywhere, and all three à la carte restaurants offer a separate kid's menu with spaghetti, fish sticks, burgers, and French fries.
• Two kiddie pools
• Bathrooms near the pools and the beach
• Miniclub Principito, one of the nicest kid's clubs in the D.R., includes a plastic mini playhouse, bicycle helmets, plastic racquets, and finger paints, as well as a separate naptime space with brand-new cribs and kid-size beds.
• Babysitting services available with 24-hour advance notice ($10 per hour, per child)

Outside dancing

Most guests retire early, so attendance is pretty low at most evening events. A sizable number of guests did show up at 10 p.m. for the evening theater, which alternates between the usual celebrity impersonations (Michael Jackson, Madonna, etc.) and variety shows with singing and dancing numbers. In general, performances are not up to the same standards as other Gran Bahia Principe resorts. For example, the set at Tropicana Theater looks like something you might see at a high school play.

After the theater performance, a few couples might walk across the street for outside dancing at the pastel-painted Puebla Principe, Gran Bahia Principe's mini Epcot-like village of shops. The staff attempts to lure guests over with free cocktails and late-night pizzas from Burger Principe (the only snack bar open after 11 p.m.), but most guests by this hour are back to their rooms.

Well-groomed grounds

After a complete renovation in 2008, the rooms -- along with the rest of the hotel -- remains well-kept. There are no nicks on the furniture, no stains on the couches, and no scratches on the tub.

Housekeeping does an outstanding job. Toilets and tubs are gleaming white, and there isn’t a speck of dust or dirt anywhere. Moldy grout can be a problem at tropical resorts -- but not this one.

Grounds are constantly groomed, and there’re ample staff members to repaint lamps or water bushes. A bug sprayer comes around every night to give all the grounds a good dousing. It's unfortunate when you run into him and his cloud of noxious fumes, but he does keep the mosquitoes away. After a day here, I stopped applying bug repellent (not the case anywhere else).

Le Gourmet's food

Orquidea, the buffet, offers some great extras: imported New Zealand butter cooled over trays of ice; fresh donuts and churros fried in front of guests with sugar-cinnamon and chocolate dipping sauces. I added a side of the buffet's savory eggplant ragout to my plate at every meal. The salad selection, however, is less exciting. The romaine lettuce and iceberg looked a bit wilted. Oddly enough, the romaine at El Pescador was fresh and clean, leading me to wonder if they saved the better quality produce for the à la cartes.

It wasn’t difficult to get reservations at Gran Bahia Principe’s three à la cartes -- although I made sure to book as soon as I arrived. (This is another bonus to Club Golden Principe status -- all à la cartes are booked for members ahead of time.) At El Pescador, the seafood restaurant, they don’t skimp on the buffet -- plenty of crab and ceviche. For entrées, my gratin with flaky red snapper was excellent.

• One international buffet, Orquidea
• Three à la carte restaurants: El Pescador (seafood), Le Gourmet (upscale continental), and Il Capriccio (Italian).
• Two snack bars on the beach: Snack Las Olas (close to the resort) and Snack La Caracola (on the furthest reach of the 2,800-meter beach).
• As is the case at most Dominican resorts, vegetarian options are scarce.

Tasty frozen beverage

Tropical cocktails are a little on the sweet side. While I watched bartenders in the morning cut up and blend fresh fruit for the cocktails, it seems like there’s some heavy-handed sugar syrup pouring later in the process. Guests are better off sticking to simple drinks, beer, or the cava and sangria.

• Drinks here are usually made with generic-brand liquor, but certain name-brand liquors can be added at the guest's request: Tanqueray gin, Smirnoff vodka, Bacardi rum, and Barceló Dorado rum.
• Mid-shelf liquors -- such as Absolut, Beefeater gin, Jack Daniels and Jim Beam -- are available for about another $4 to $6.
• Top-shelf brands, like Glenfiddich scotch, cost about $12.