Long story short, if your looking to party with young people this is not the resort for you. If you are looking for a relaxing time in a beautiful resort with amazing staff and good food then this is definitely the resort for you.

Please read my extended review on Tripadvisor reviews for GBP Cayacoa

the hotel was not fabulous, as an avid traveler I'd give it a 3... maybe a 3.5. The food was decent but the hotel staff was borderline rude and since this hotel is in the mountains which sounds awesome, it rained every single day and the sun was gone by 2pm.

We encourage anyone going to Dominican to go to Samana while it is still untouched by commercial greed. Resort offers whatever your looking for. Food was good (a la cartes were very nice). Beach and pool never crowded. We were fortunate and had a room overlooking the ocean but it seemed that every room had its perks. Staff was very helpful.

Not recomended for people with disabilities, a lot of stairs. Beaches and food not great.

We loved it. Our room was spacious, and clean. The food was good. The views were spectacular. It was never crowded or harried there. Alot of pools for the size of the resort, so there was never a rush to find seating. Loved Samana, reminded us of St. Lucia. Will definitely return. The excellent price was the icing on the cake!

belle hotel pas plus

if you like nature you will love this place,it is very relaxing, day time activities are pretty good but there is no night life after 11:30 PM, it is a small hotel but they make best out of it, this was our forth time in Dominican and we had a very good time,somehow this location attracts great tourist,we met so many great people from all over the world.

hotel services and staff were great

We went to the Cayacao resort in beautiful Samana in early February. It is a 45-1hr drive from the airport which you are on a tour bus with a guide describing Samana and the area for you as you go. The hotel is spectacular with incredible views everywhere. This is a 5 star resort. The staff are extremely friendly and personable. The resort location is great, within walking distance to the town of Samana (there is a free shuttle service to go down to the town so you don't have to walk). We went to town 3 times! The food was good, great on a few nights, at the buffet. The al a cartes were good too. We didn't make it to the seafood but the gourmet and itialian were excellent. The resort has a lot of stairs so it is not very suitable for those with restricted mobility. We enjoyed the lower pool area best as it was the quietest. The beach is good but spots fill up fast!
We did one excusion where we went to the los haitis caves and then to the island where our sister resort was ($90 american each and this is two exursions combined). Amazing beach on the island and if you can go there, save your souvenir shopping till then, you will get way more bang for your buck!
We also did a couples massage spa treatment which we enjoyed (jacuzzi bath followed by a full body massage $70 american each).
Overall we had a fantastic time, we made some new friends, relaxed and rejuvenated! I would highly recommend this resort. We hope to go back to Samana and try out the sister resort on the island next time to mix it up!

Malgré le fait que le soleil n'était pas toujours au rendez-vous, j'ai adoré mon séjour. La végétation, la nourriture, le service et le site sont génials. Nous étions Golden, donc les chambres étaient superbes, très tranquille et très spacieux! J'y serais restée une deuxième semaine.

Superbe hôtel. Nous étions dans la section Royal Golden. C'est l'endroit idéal pour la tranquilité. Toutefois, le bloc principal, est plus bruyant.

La nourriture excellente tant au buffet qu'aux trois restaurants à la carte. Bravo aux Chefs! Les chambres dans la section Golden sont spacieuses et ont tous la vue sur la mer.

L'Hôtel est d'une propreté remarquable.

Les Dominicais sont tous très gentils et n'ont pas la main tendue à attendre le pourboire.

Pour ceux qui aiment prendre de longue marche à la plage, ce n'est pas pour vous.

Attention au gens qui sont à mobilité réduite et les enfants, il y a énormément de marches, mais c'est bon pour la forme.

Bref, voyage superbe malgré le fait que le soleil n'était pas toujours au rendez-vous.

Just returned from a 2 week stay at Cayacoa. Overall we were very impressed with the resorts layout and cleanliness. The hotel is built on a cliff, the views are spectacular. Although there are a lot of stairs you don't need to take them if you are not able. The golf cart service was quite good but of course at meal times it was a bit slower to come.

The beach is small but never appears overcrowded. I would have liked a longer beach to walk on but we made due. The water was always warm and you could swim no matter what the weather as it never got really wavy. There were some days that debris was in the water and we could deal with the natural things being washed up, but there was a lot of trash on certain days. (The trash is obviously not the hotels fault.) The beach bar is always ready to serve you a drink. The elevator ride is never a problem and you rarely wait for long.

The large, main pool is always hopping and the views are spectacular. There are 2 smaller pool/jacuzzis on the other side of the resort that are quieter. The smaller beach is quiet but the water is less clear there.

Overall the food is good yet a bit bland, but that is typical of Dominican food. There is always a wide array at the main restaurant and your wine glass is never empty. The al la carte restaurants are average. Unfortunately, all seafood we had was overcooked. They did have lovely assortments of vegetables cooked in a variety of ways.

The lobby bar was always hopping at night but somehow it lacked real ambiance. On occasion the bartenders would run out of mint or limes early on in the night. They could use some kind of entertainment here.

The evening entertainment was a real let down as it was very basic. It was crammed into a small room that could not accommodate the audience. Then this area was turned into the disco which was often empty. There was a basic bar but no fancy drinks there.

Avoid the time-share people as they can be a bit of a pain once you start talking to them.

Overall we enjoyed our stay and would recommend the resort. Will we return, no. The place did not have a wow factor that would draw us back.

This hotel is absolutely stunning, pictures do not do it justice.

Rooms were nice, staff was friendly, food was ok - a bit on the greasy side.

Some of the Villas are no where as nice as others on the site.

Stairs and travel from one end of resort to the other was brutal.

We had a great time at this beautiful resort. The food was delicious and the staff was very friendly. The only drawback is the small size of the beach, but we were aware of that before we booked. The stairs helped burn of the calories from all the wonderful cocktails.

It was more than I was expecting, especially for the value.
Beautiful views from anywhere on the resort. Incredible views from the elevator bridge.
Clean, beautiful, hotel, lovely staff, good, hot, buffet food, and decent a la cartes. The only resort I have been to where I have returned to the a la cartes the second week.
I would especially love to mention the hardworking staff at the eggs and pasta and pizza stations and Hose, the airline tour representative.

Lovely hotel, food and service good, staff friendly.
Only disadvantage is the beach. If you like walking for miles on sandy beach this hotel is not for you, as it is limited to a small area. This is limited due to geographics.

Nice place for a weeks get-away. Lovely views from anywhere in the complex. Decent food and good quality specialty dining.Lots of stairs between room buildings, small pools and public beaches could put off some people but for us everything was fine. Note of caution watch out for time share salespeople in lobby area.

Not a great beach. Food is typical all inclusive...repetitive. Staff is wonderful and very eager to please.

Jan 1st 2012 The hotel is upscale but not 4 stars. LOTS of steps so not so good if you are a senior or badly out of shape. Staff are pleasant and helpful. Not a bad vacation but keep in mind that this is a rainforest area and there will be rain. 3 days constant rain and the rest with short showers.

Enjoyed the resort very much. First time I have ever travelled alone and would recommend the resort to people who need to get away and relax...the view was unbelievable!!

We went as a family of 5 with 3 teenaged girls. It was a very beautiful resort with friendly, hardworking staff. The beach was sandy but it was not very good for snorkeling since it was a bit murky. There was no current or undertow which made it safe for swimming. Definitely do the "Walk the Plank" zip line tour. We had a 4th floor room with a spectacular view and a lovely balcony to sit out on.

Had a great time, second visit to Samana, can always count on Grand Bahia Principe to deliver 5 stars. Visited the hotel chain in other Dominican locations, as well as Jamaica and was always pleased. I would go back anytime.

This vacation was amazing. We had beautiful ocean view rooms, great food, friendly staff.
I would definatly and already have recommended it to several people since returning home as well as I would return for a future vacation myself.
Thank you for everything.

you can not beleive everything you read, take a chance, this is a nice spot. it is a large property and you need to be mobile to enjoy all it has to offer. not the best beach!

This is our second time at this hotel and have noticed a decrease in the food choices. Also, we thought this was an adult only resort which isnt so anymore. We had a good time, but will choose another hotel next vacation.

Just returned from a one week stay in Samana. We have travelled on several occasions to Punta Cana and Puerto Plata (DR) and found this stay exceptional. The rooms were very large wih 2 beds, the bathrooms clean, view was fantastic and our mini fridge was filled daily 2 beer, 2 pepsi, 1 sprite, 1 red rock (orange) and a litre of water. Be sure to make reservations for the restaurants as we have never seen such beautiful presentations of food and very tastey as well. Keep in mind that we do not travel to the DR for a nice juicy steak (more like leather)but the fish and other local dishes are remarkable. The hotel was not filled to full capacity therefore getting a lounge chair, towel, or service for a beverage was not difficult however the main pool is not all that large so during high season I can see there would be difficulty finding a spot at the pool. There is also many stairs to get to the second pool (more like a hot tub)where the snack bar is located. I counted them on my way up and there were 149 steps. This may be very difficult for some people, but we were on vacation and in no hurry. The is an elevator to get to all the rooms and another elevator to take you to the beach area. The beach is narrow and the sand is OK but not the white sand as seen in other locations. Still soft and hot by mid morning though and a bar there as well...no food at this spot which was sort of a disappointment. We did one day trip and I thought they were a little $$. Most were 93 US and some were only a 1/2 day. We did the Haitos National Park and enjoyd it. The boat had soft drinks and Rumm but no beer, so if you go on this trip and are a beer drinker you may want to take your own. We really enjoyed ur stay, 2 adults and 11 yr old boy and would return again if we can get t for the same price 781 ea adult boy 1/2 of that. We had a wonderful time and although it is considered hurricane season we learned that Samana has not had a hurricane in 7 yrs. I would recommend this hotel but not during high season. I have attached some pics as well.

Excellent,beutifull resort.Service,cleanliness was exceptional.Fully enjoyed our dinners at all ela carte restaurants,food was great,service best.

I've stayed in Bahia hotels before and always had a good experience. However, this hotel needs a lot of improvements starting with the cleanliness of the rooms and maintenance of the beach. I felt that staff was very indifferent to guest's needs. When we got to our room, first thing we've noticed is that the floors were not swept and there was lots of sand every where. The television in our room wasn't working. When we looked at our bed, we could see that the pillow cases were not changed, they were stained with some one's make up and god knows what else!!
The beach is accessible to everyone and local youth comes to "party" there every afternoon. When we would get to the beach in the morning, we used to find broken glass bottles and plastic bags on the beach and in the water!
The food in the buffet was very mediocre. Same dishes were repeated every day, no variety.
I would NOT recommend this hotel.

We had a great time at this hotel!
The staff was always accommodating and friendly. The location of the hotel was spectacular with an amazing view of the Ocean, mountains and the town of Samana.
The food was great with a wide selection offered 3 times daily and the a la carte restaurants were delicious!
We really enjoyed the pool staff and activities offered daily!
Definitly recommend doing the excursions that are offered in the lobby by our air canada representative, Zip lining was amazing and the National Park was fun as well also heard the ATV tour was fantastic but we missed that one.