The resort is absolutely beautiful and located in an amazing mountain Samana area of Dominica. Stunning views, great food, quiet unobtrusive music playing all the time which creates a relaxed mood. We regretted we could not stay longer. We definitely recommend this resort. Make sure to take the zip-lining tour "Walk The Plank" with Bart The Potato Man (he is originally from Idaho :)), it was a lot of fun. You'll even get to taste Mamajuana...

The Roulette sent us to El Portillo.

Gorgeous beach (not shared with any other resort), well-kept grounds with luscious vegetation,clean rooms. Some food great, some average.

Few cons, which didn't bother us though... little nightlife and most bars close early, long drive from the airport

une place très montagneuse où l'exercise est de mise, 125 marches pour aller au resto de la plage. Très propre, bonne bouffe, personnel attentionné.Plusieurs petites plages.la plus grande est large de 250 mètres. C'est l'horizon qui est spécial; d'un côté, on voit un petit village avec port, en face, les montagnes,à droite montagnes.L'eau est verte et transparente.Aller voir Raymond ou Gregory, en dessous du pont du côté de la plage, pour les excursions, (Playa Rincon, super beau ),c'est moins cher. Bon voyage, belle place.

I've been to the D.R. 4 times-this is my 5th and the best stay yet. Hotel is elegant, food is great, staff is wonderful, beach is clean (plus there is a second smaller beach) and overall the trip was the best I've had. I'd go back in a heartbeat.

Nous avons été dirigées au El Portillo.
Ça vaut la peine de tenter sa chance avec le système Roulette : économie. Très belle semaine, belle plage, atmosphère agréable. Banc de corail très près, beaucoup de poissons. Notre transporteur refuse de payer les frais d'autoroute, donc 1 heure et demi d'autobus à faire quand on aurait pu être là en 15 minutes par l'autoroute!

La roulette nous a envoyé au El Portillo. C'est un magnifique hôtel, d'une propreté exceptionnelle, surtout dans les endroits communs. Malgré que l'hôtel était plein, nous avons pu changer de chambre facilement pour être à un étage supérieur. Le personnel est très souriant et dévoué et ne semble jamais attendre du pourboire. La nourriture au buffet principal ainsi qu'au snack bar au bord de la mer (la vue est de toute beauté) est excellente. Par contre, le restaurant à la carte Pescado n'était pas à la hauteur de nos attentes. La plage est très belle, il y a de beaux coraux tout près du bord, qui permettent de voir des poissons sans avoir à porter un masque et tuba. Les coraux sont bien visibles ce qui fait il n'est pas du tout dangereux de se baigner et même de nager dans la mer avec un beau sable doux sous les pieds. Cependant, nous avons appris qu'un autoroute est maintenant ouvert reliant l'aéroport de Samana à Las Terrenas, village situé à 5km de l'hôtel El Portillo. Le trajet serait d'environ 40 minutes au lieu des 90 minutes, dont 60 minutes de routes très sinueuses (la vue est belle de jour mais quand on arrive de nuit...) Nous n'avons pas utilisé l'autoroute car elle est payante et, selon notre représentant, cette dépense n'a pas été prévu dans le prix des billets de cette année...

Almost perfect.Amazing vacation.Hotel was nice and clean,food very good.Service good.Beach nice and clean but 'bit to short[only 250m long].Beautiful views

Stayed at Gran Bahia Principe El Portillo between Nov.27 and Dec.4 2011.Definitely a 4* hotel with clean rooms and excellent service. Staff pleasant and efficient, especially in the dining room.Food was tasty and adequate but a bit repetitive in main buffet. We went to 3 a la carte restaurants and they were OK,great service and presentation but nothing to rave about. Beach was beautiful,great for morning and afternoon walks,we were told by our representative not to go to the beach on the right of the hotel due to safety issues but we did anyway and it was absolutely beautiful. Animation team tried hard to entertain guests but were not really visible on the day when it rained all day.One thing that we thought would be nice to do and it was not available was a bit of dancing music after supper.Grounds were well kept and very colorful.Would definitely recommend this resort.

Très Beaux Complexe j'y retournerai

We must say that overall our one week stay in Samana was excellent, from the staff at air canada to the staff at the Gran Bahia, every was excellent.

we also did all the a la carte restaurant and their service was very proffessional.

thank you

As we have stayed in Gran Bahia hotels before we knew exactly what was in store. A very intimite hotel with great food,wonderful staff and a relaxing holiday.

it was better than we expected,food, room, service, friendly people, beach all as expected from a 4-5 star resort.Rating - excellent. wouldn't mind going back. we've booked BP Roulette so had no idea which resort we'll be going, at the aeroport we were given the room key, lugage tags (taken to room by the bell boy- no tip)and the briefing was done in the bus due to longer drive to the resort. It rained almost every day for 10-15 minutes, just enough to cool down the heat, we liked being in the ocean when it rained, the water is unbelievable clean and clear, you can see all the fishes in the coral reefs just couple of feet in the water, waiting to be fed bread.One day there was a bar & tables & chairs set in the ocean, very refreshing. Only regret was that we couldn't book it for 2 weeks. All in one word - perfect.

My wife and I have travelled to many destinations in the Caribbean, and have stayed at many Gran Bahia Principe resorts. We booked with Air Canada and booked the Roulette (and stayed at El Portillo)in June for 2 weeks. We had a great time!
If you are looking for a great beach and amazing snorkeling, this is the resort to visit. In visiting the other BP resorts (Cayacoa and Cayo Levantado) we are happy to say that we preferred El Portillo.
It had an amazing beach and wonderful snorkeling. The food and drinks were pretty good as well. The atmosphere was very relaxing- we had a fantastic time!If we were to provide any criticism about the resort, it would be primarily about the front desk service and the a la carte restaurants. We feel that it was often difficult to communicate effectively with some of the front desk staff and to have our needs and requests met. With regard to the a la carte restaurants, they may benefit from improved menus and higher quality of food and service, in comparison to other BP resorts (e.g., Mexico).
Overall, however, we had a wonderful vacation and would absolutely return. We highly recommend this resort to anyone who is interested!

When we arrived we were told that we would be going to the GRAN BAHIA PRINCIPE EL Portillo instead. It was a beautiful resort. My husband and I enjoyed our stay there and we would go back there again. The food choices was great, beach ok, the service from the staff all friendly, our room was great. We loved everything except when we knew our vacation was over and it was time to come back to Canada. R & M

Cet hotel est un paradis terrestre, pour les amateurs de calme et de paix... Les activités sont présentes mais modérées, et le service est exceptionnel! La beauté du site est à couper le souffle, mais il vente beaucoup sur la plage en après-midi..

La Roulette Samana - Grand Bahia Principe - nous a choisi pour etre sur le site El Portillo (5 etoiles). C'est un environement magnifique: l'eau, les vues, la plage, les animateurs, la nourriture, l'hotel, la chambre, les gens responsables de ton confort.

Belle vacance beau temps ne payer pas plus de $900.00 pour cette hotel et encore

nous avons adoré nos vacances très belle hôtel je coterais cet hôtel un 4.5

Magnifique site, tres propre et bien entretenu. Wow la plage, superbe pour snorkeling. Restaurant et buffet tres mal gérer. Decu par le bahia principe El Portillo, repas vraiment pas à la hauteur de cette chaine. Donc, si vous avez cet hotel a bon prix cela vaux la peine...sinon...

Très belle semaine. L'hôtel et ses chambres sont d'une propreté exemplaire! Son décor et sa végétation,remarquable. Le buffet est moyen, mais ses restaurants à la carte sont très bien. Nous avons été décus par la petite plage et ses activités. Nous sommes très sportifs et ce n'est pas la place pour bouger que ce soit au tennis(aucun terrain),ni plongée sous-marine!

Hotel was the El Portillo...
Food was great, accommodations were good but nothing spectacular,beach was fantastic- great easy to access snorkeling

The hotel itself was very nice, clean! Some bad smells in the rooms and surrounding areas though. Food was as expected as this was our forth time to the Dominican. We had some problems with our room and they were taken care of promptly. I celebtated my birthday while at the resort and the staff really tried to make it special for me (my 50th)and was much appreciated!! Too bad the dining areas are not larger to accomodate the volume of guests. There is plenty of food choices but the areas were so crowed and hard for people to get around without being bumped ( or occasionally pushed)

Great place if you can get a good deal. Wouldn't recommend paying full price.

If beach is a top priority, you will be disappointed however the scenery and various small beach/pool areas make up for it. Beautiful resort, exceptional staff, very well maintained. Not a place to go to party until all hours. There is a lot of walking depending on what area you go to but you can get a ride back up to the main hotel. We will definitely return.

The resort was beautiful and the staff were very friendly and helpful. Lots of lounge chairs, pool lounge chairs are the best we have seen in awhile. Beautiful beach, walked over 1 hour and could have gone further. The food was the best we have seen in Dominican Republic, lots of variety, salads and fresh fruit. The only negatives were the internet- very poor wireless, free but hardly ever worked. There were only 2 computers for guests to use, at a cost of $8.00/ hour and was hit and miss if they worked. The only other negative was you do not find out which resort you will be going to until you land in Samana - would be nice if you could find this out 1 day before you leave so you can leave family members this information in case of an emergency. Otherwise a GREAT deal!

We loved this hotel. The scenery was breathtaking, the staff friendly, and the food top notch. It's not the place
to go if you want to party (if you are traveling in a group then you can make your own party). It was fabulous for relaxing and for romance, which was why we went.

Air Canada advised us on the Tuesday prior to leaving that we would be staying at El Portillo. What a great resort - we loved the smaller size and the huge beach area. The standard room was very comfortable, but if you want more space, suggest paying the extra for a junior suite. Pleased to find that Air Canada includes 4 a la cartes, safe fee and the $20.pp exit tax.

Beautifully green and lush, quiet family resort location, best of the 3 Bahia's on the penisula. Al a carte restaurants very good. Shows and evening entertainment just OK.

we have stayed at many resorts thru out the d.r. but overall this was the best my only complaint was that we had to come home

Generalement bien