We have just returned from two weeks in the Samana Area. One week at Grand Bahia Samana and one week at El Portillo.We stayed at Samana from Feb 25 to March 3rd. We found it to be a lovely little Hotel. The staff are excellant and are there to make your stay plesant. The fight down from Toronto was another matter we flew on good old Skyservice (I can;t understand where they got the service part) we where an hour late leaving Toronto. Many apologes coming from the crew and then another one saying only two of three washrooms where working.Not nice at all when you sitting in the back of the plane in aisle seats.We had also requested a second floor room which neither the Air Trasat rep or front desk had any record of. We ended up on the forth floor which had probably onr of the best views in the hotel from the window.The beach is small but very nice but there can be a large surge from the ocean.The funny thing about this place is that it seems extremly windy there compared to El Portillo which is on the Atlantic side of the point and Samana on the bay.By the way take Binoculars as from my fourth flour window I had morning perfomances from the Humpbacks in the bay.Also there is only one computer in the Golden Room but they will hook up your personal laptop.Great vacation after getting over the flight.

My family and I went to this resort the week of February 4-11 and we loved every minute of it. This is our fourth trip to the DR but our first to Samana. We have been to large resorts and small. This one was quite small, only 109 rooms, which was great for us because then I always knew where the kids were. My husband and I have a son 10 and a daughter 14 and they both had a great time. I have been reading review sthat this resort is not good for children and teenagers, but I STRONGLY do not agree. If your kids need constant entertainment, yor maybe they are very small, then yes, this is not th resort for them. However, the beach at this resort is great. The wave are just big enough to have some real fun. We had a blast snorkeling, boggie bording, body surfing and just plain swimming. If you're not into waves, the pool is georgeous. The entertainment staff was fantastic at getting the kids involved in beach volleyball, bocci ball on the beach and having fun in the shows at night. The shows are a little hokey, but lots of fun. The entertainment staff were really great and friendly, but not too bothersome. Perfect.

If you're into excursions, there are lots. You can do them through the resort, or through tour companies in Samana. We saw amazing waterfalls and Humback whales. The kids and myself and my husband loved it.

The buffet selection was smaller than some resorts, but the food was really good. Very fresh and always warm when necessary, which cannot be said for MANY of the larger resorts. There was always LOTS of fresh fruit and a nice selection of meat, poultry and fish. The staff in the restaurant was unbeatable.

I found the front desk staff to be very helpful The day staff was much better than the night. The english of the night staff wasn't the best. We arrived at the resort at 11:30 at night and found mine and my husabnd's room to be on the same floor as the kids, but at the other end of the resort when we had requested adjoining rooms when we booked. Went I went to change it the night staff seemed a little confused. However, everyone was checking in at this point at there was lots of comosion. The next morning
I went to the front desk and the man there (King was his name) fixed it immedaitly. From then on King went out of his way to talk and joke with the kids and every day we found fresh flowers and chocolates in our rooms.

The resort was spotless and our rooms were cleaned perfectly every day by lunch.

And yes, there was a place to go for a walk. The tennis courts for the resort were across a small road from it. A paved walkway (or roadway, but we never saw any cars on it) went from the tennis courts up a hill for about 1 to 1 1/2 km. At the top of the hill was the most spectacular view we saw while we were there.

I cannot say enough good things about this resort. We all agree that we would go back in a heart beat. But if you're looking for a romatic geataway this is DEFINATELY the place. It was a quiet out of the way spot the was absolutley beautiful.

we had a great time met great poeple.food was lovely.hotel clean.would say beach small.if going out on trips go see local man on beach.we went across to bacardi island .had a great day.also took atrip to limon water fall.did horse trip down to the fall.found that abit scarey.but was a veiw to be seen.all in all a great holiday.would say go if you can.we are trying sri lanka this year so wish us luck.ha ha.

We stayed from February 25 to March 3rd, 2008. Had the time of our lives. Hotel is reminiscent of Bermuda with it's pastel colours and architecture. Fabulous rooms with four poster beds, marble bathrooms, terrific views from balcony that overlooked Samana Bay and Cayo Levantado Island. We could watch the humpback whales jumping in the ocean from our rooms.
Staff is very friendly and eager to please. You should attempt to learn some spanish to ease communication.
Food in the Buffet Restaurant is better than the A la Carte Restaurants. But service is speedy everywhere.
Hotel is very clean and well-kept. Gardeners and hotel maintenance staff are constantly cleaning and tidying.
We tried to use the equipment in the gym but the treadmill was broken and so was one of the bikes. Spoke to our rep, but don't know whether that has been rectified yet.
Transfer to hotel was speedy. Transfer to Airport at the end was late by 1hour 15 minutes but we made the flight in time. My husband was very happy and trust me, he's hard to please.