We just returned from a fabulous week in Samana (March 10-17). The Cayacoa resort was stunning and exactly what we wanted. We wanted the conveniences and pampering of an all-inclusive, but we also wanted to experience the country and how the locals live. The Gran Bahia Cayacoa is one of four Gran Bahia resorts in Samana and it is the closest to the town- it is just a 10 minute walk down a hill to the town (or you can take a shuttle that runs every hour). The town is completely safe and lovely. If you turn to the left at the bottom of the hill you will see the section of town where the locals shop, straight ahead when coming down the hill is a row of shops run by the hotel and if you turn to the right you will head to the bay an the local market (is was open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday the week we were there). We got two big and brightly colored beautiful pieces of art work for only $20 each and they rolled them up for us for easy traveling (it’ll cost us to get them framed here, but it will be worth it)

The resort is very clean, safe, and absolutely beautiful. The staff are all so friendly and hard-working. They work 12-14 hour days, but always have a smile on their face and are so happy to accommodate you. We booked through Sell Off Vacations (and got a great deal) and our travel company was Air Transat. We arrived at the Samana airport and had about a 45-60 minute bus ride to the hotel. We had no problems at the airport in either direction. Our flight arrived in the middle of the night, since we were delayed because of a storm in Montreal, so we didn’t have to check in and the bellboys took our bags to our room immediately. The hotel even had a snack waiting in our room for us.

Rooms

We were booked into the Golden Suites and they were quite large. My husband and I were there with our 11-year old daughter, so we had a room with 2 double beds, plus there was a couch. The balcony looked out to the smaller beach and pool and it was a breath-taking view all day long. The bathroom had a separate shower and bathtub. The maids work hard and do a very good job. The floor is mopped everyday and the sheets are changed everyday. She put flowers in our room and we had the typical shapes made out of our towels. I left her little gifts and a dollar or two every morning. She also did a quick clean-up every evening and put chocolate on our pillows each night.

There are about 125 stairs to get to the main building from the suites, but we got used to it. It was a good way to get a bit of exercise.

Pools

We spent most of our afternoons at the main pool. We never had a problem getting a lounge, no matter the time of day. The swim-up bar is great and this is where the animation team spends most of their days. They work so hard and are sweet and friendly, but the music was a bit loud by times. If you are traveling with kids, bring a floaty device and goggles- my daughter spent hours on end entertaining herself in the pool.

The smaller pool was by our suites and we spent the later part of the afternoon there. Around 4:30 or so we would go there for a snack (great sandwiches, hotdogs and burgers) and then basically stay there until they were closing up the pool (around 7:00 or so).

Beaches

The main beach is very nice, but not large. If you are looking for a long stretch of beach to walk for miles- this is not it. It is well-maintained and you never have trouble finding a hut and lounge chairs. The sand is nice and the water is great for swimming and boating. We took the Hobie catamaran out everyday and went sailing, so that was fun. My husband tried wind-surfing a few times and there were also 4 kayaks. You never had to wait to use any of the water equipment. I collected a lot of shells along the beach and on the weekend when the locals were there my daughter had a great time playing with them. There is a bar on the main beach and an elevator leading down. At the far end of the beach you can get on the cool bridge that you see in all the photos. It is not owned by the hotel and it is not well-kept, but it was safe and a fun walk.

The smaller beach was OK, it wasn’t as clean as the bigger beach, but it was very quiet. This is the pickup point for excursions, since there is a dock leading out of this beach.

Food

The buffet was well-stocked and had a variety of food. It got a little tiring after a while, but any buffet would. There is fresh pizza and made to order pasta every lunch and supper, so my daughter loved that. The breakfast was especially good, with made to order omelets and eggs, plus a large selection of fresh fruit, breads and hot food. There is a theme every night for supper.

We only did the Italian restaurant and it was very good. Our service was excellent, although friends of ours went the night before and didn’t have great service. The lamb was excellent. We heard differing accounts of the restaurants in general, but it is a bit of a change from the buffet, so it is worth trying.

No one we knew got sick from the food- it was always well cooked and they used purified water for everything.

Excursions

Playa Rincon: We did a few of these and I have one strong recommendation- hire a taxi!!! They are very reasonably priced and can hold up to 6 people. Most of the excursions are over-priced and the hotel keeps half of the money. We hired a guy named Zoilo and his English was super. He was so open and friendly- we learned so much about the culture and lifestyle of Dominican Republic, it was amazing. One of the bell boys (Francesco, I think) called him for us and it was $90 for the full day (9-4:30). The guest service guy in the golden room, Jose (who was super amazing too) also had a friend to take us, but Jose wasn’t working the day that we were looking to book. Zoilo took us to Playa Rincon and stayed with us the whole day. He helped us choose our fresh fish and lobster for lunch from the guys at the restaurant on the beach. We went swimming and snorkeling and walked for miles- this is a typical Caribbean beach- the water and sand were beautiful. There is also a river at one end that meets the sea and there is a forest of mangroves. We visiting it and there were lots of locals there- a few willing to take you on a tour down river of the mangroves. I highly recommend this beach and getting there by taxi is the way to go.

Cayo Levantado: We took the catamaran to Cayo Levantado (Bacardi Island) and it was $15 through SolTours. You don’t have to book ahead, just show up with cash on the dock of the small beach at 9:00am and hop on. They pick you up at 1:00 on the island and bring you back to the hotel. There is a market on the island (feel free to barter) and it is a beautiful white sand, turquoise water public beach (use the white loungers- the locals charge for the blue ones). My daughter got her hair braided for $20. There is at least one restaurant and bar on the beach. People we met took the excursion through the conservation park and then it went to this beach, they felt that it wasn’t worth the money, but did have a nice day.

El Limon: This excursion was amazing. It was reasonably priced ($55US pp), but it didn’t include much. We were picked up at 9:30 in an open-bus and driven to the ranch. We were given rainboots to change into and then given a horse with a guide. They tell you that the guides aren’t paid and that you can feel free to tip them, but that it is not necessary. I don’t know what the real story is, but we tipped ours $10 each. My guy was especially great. My husband had 7-year old kid as a guide- he was fine too. You are on horseback for 25 minutes or so and it is fun. It was my first time and it was an adventure. I am allergic to horses (all animals actually) and have asthma, but I took a Claritin and had my inhalers on hand and was perfectly fine. After the 25 minutes on horseback, we hiked downhill for 10 minutes or so and were at the most beautiful waterfall. We swam in it and took lots of pictures. If you swim under the waterfall to the right there is a cool cave. After making our way back over the trail we were served lunch- it was very average. Then we were brought back to the hotel. I would absolutely recommend the waterfall, but I would take a taxi there and just hire a guide (paradas)- it would be time and money better spent. Our taxi guy Zoilo says he takes people to get a guide and go the waterfall frequently and then he brings them to an undiscovered, but beautiful beach, so that might be an option.

Whale Watching: We chose not to do this, but would have if we had more time. Friends that we met there did the excursion with Kim, who owns the Victoria II (she is from Ontario and has been doing tours there for 25 years). It is $50 for a half day ($25 for kids) it is much cheaper to go with her than to book and excursion. She has a shop by the bay in town and does tours everyday. Friends of ours did it and saw tons of whales and learned a lot from her.

Random helpful hints

- We didn’t feel we had to tip much, we did if someone did something especially helpful. But it wasn’t like we felt the workers were expecting it all the time.

- There were no bugs at all.
- We didn’t have time to get our HepA/B and malaria shots, but we were perfectly fine. I took some antibiotics and pepto-bismal, but didn’t come close to using anything.
- We had a week of sun- only a few clouds everyday. The Weather Network said it would be cloudy, rainy and sunny all week, but all we had was sun and a few clouds. It was about 28 degrees everyday and it rained once for 10 minutes.
- Bring lot of sunscreen (I used 45 all the time), since it is expensive to buy. Also bring aloe or some kind of after sun treatment, since you are bound to get a bit burned.
- US money is accepted everywhere. We used it all the time, but the bank machines give you Dominican Pesos (100 Pesos= about $3 US). Bring lots of $1 US with you. The front desk will exchange money for you.
- Our daughter had a great time, but there are not a lot of kids or activities for kids. She is a water bug and is good to entertain herself and was lucky to meet another kid her age to play with a bit, but there is no “kids club” or separate kids activities.

This was our first all-inclusive experience and it was fabulous. From what we heard from other people, we got a great deal and won’t find much that compares to the experience. It was truly a 5 star quality. We felt like we got to see real Dominican life and learn a bit about the country all while having a relaxing vacation.

My husband and I just returned from Cayacoa, Samana on March 8th we stayed there for a week. We travelled with Sky Service and didn't have any complaints with our flight other than on our return, which I will mention later.

We travelled by small bus from Puerto Plata airport to Samana which was hell. I questioned to myself a few times whether or not we would make it. Our driver Sandy was awesome and had very good reflexes thank god. We did make it and were very happy with what we saw. We were welcomed with a nice refreshing punch drink and checked in very quickly. Our luggage was taken to our room by the porter in a timely manner. In case some of you may not know you do have to pay for use of the safe(but it is well worth it) if you want your personal effects safe. The Hotel is definetly a 5 star, except for the rooms, I myself was a little disappointed. Our room was very basic and small, wasn't at all what the pictures show. I don't know if I am just being too picky but at every other resort I have stayed at the cleaning staff would put flowers in your room and decorate it with towels and stuff. We left tips and gifts for the cleaning lady and still the room was just ordinary. We only had our room cleaned every other day and the bathtub had only been cleaned once, and due to sand and stuff it clearly would have been noticeable that it should have been cleaned. Other people that we met there said they had the total opposite, there room was very clean and was elegantly decorated.

Everything else was amazing, the food at the buffet was fantastic something for everyone. If you are not into seafood, you may find the a la carte restaurants difficult.
We only ate at the Gourmet restaurant. My husband had a very good meal as he really likes Seafood. The only thing that he was disappointed with was that he ordered Surf and Turf and was expecting Lobster and steak but was served with steak mash potatoes with shrimp. However he did say that his meal was good. (also all men must wear long pants for evening dinners even at the buffet, you will be refused by staff. Also for the females make sure that you are covered up even during lunch buffets where some of you may attend the restaurant in your bathing suit, make sure to have clothing over top or you will be refused as well)

We spent a lot of time at the main pool and found it very enjoyable. The music was actually very entertaining and the animation staff we're great. Be aware that the drinks at the swim up bar are very strong and may take you by surprise. I can't remember the female bartender's name, but she was also very friendly and always happy. I really enjoyed the beach area, it was not very big but was very quiet and the ocean is still beautiful. I spent some of my time picking up sea shells on the beach. This beach has many beautiful shells.

We did book a whale watching tour with Raymond from the end of our beach off of Cayacoa property. We were a little weary about it because the prices had changed from the day before and Raymond was supposed to come with us and didn't. We were nervous but went. All in all the boat ride was good and we did see whales! Mom and baby ! We even got the see mother whales tail, which was amazing, it's hard to believe that this animal is so big. Raymond's prices are very cheap sometimes almost haft the price of the hotel's. So if you are wanting to do any tours, you can find him at the end of the main beach where they sell pictures and rum and other stuff.

Be careful to wear a lot of sunscreen as the sun is very hot and burns very quickly, my husband and I burned on the first day and suffered most of the week because of it. This may be because on the first day we visited the spa. I had an exfoliation and my husband had a massage. (which were both great by the way) but I am wondering if the use of creams and chemicals may have caused us to burn more quickly.

Our return trip was actually pretty interesting, we left Samana at 0615 and arrived at Puerto Plata airport at approx 0940. The ride was actually not a scary as the ride to Samana as there was not as much traffic on the roadway which shortened up the trip. The driver is very willing to stop along the way if you need to pee, but be wary that the toilet facilities are not very clean and sometimes do no have toilet paper ( bring extra tissue paper and hand sanitizer). On arrival at the airport things went smoothly but was long process. While boarding the plane we were given a letter stating that Puerto Plata was having a gas shortage and that we would need to do an extra stop in Turks and Caicos. We had a few problems with our plane seats but the were resolved quickly. We had an hour stop over in Turks and Caicos. (which is beautiful by the way) The water is Turquoise in color which looks like paradise from the air. We arrived in Toronto during the snow storm and were delayed there because of it. But finally we had made it on the ground.

All in all our vacation was fantastic and would return in a minute. We met some fantastic people and will remember this trip forever. The only thing I would do different is fly directly to Samana airport the next time as travel time was way too long. For us because we come from Timmins we travelled for over 22 hours on the way back.

Very excited to go to this new resort, had stayed at the El Portillo last year and it was amazing. We wanted to go back to Samana area this year, did a lot of reading of reviews and decided to try the Cayocoa Gran Bahia. We knew from the reviews that there was a lot of walking and many stairs to climb to get around the resort especially if you were booked in the Jr Suites, which we were. we also knew from reviews that the beach was small. we flew Sky service Feb 11-18. The food was horrible but service was great. We arrived at the airport had a drive of probably 1 hour or more, great bus , good driver and we were there before we knew it. Upon arriving at this resort it was absolutely beautiful, check in was quick, room was ready and we were excited to be there. Our room was in the Jr Golden Suite section, room was amazing, huge, very clean, balcony with beautiul ocean view. The down side was many many stairs to get from our section of the resort to the main lobby,then had to take elevator down to beach. Beach was very nice but very small ,disappointing as my husband and I truly enjoy just walking along the beach, service was excellent in every aspect but it was not what we wanted as we found it very difficult walking up and down all those stairs to go anywhere on the resort. Next day we met an increduible Air Transat Rep by the name of Melanie who truly deserves mention as she was able to have us transferred to the El Portillo Jr Suites section, as I stated we had stayed there last year aand loved it. Needed to pay a small transfer fee and transportation but that was minor because we really wanted to go back there.I can only say good things about the Cayocoa and the servivce from all of the employees there as they truly do cater and try to please everone,Melanie thank you so much for going that extra to help us move to another resort, Cayocoa is truly beautiful, food was great for the few meals we had there at the buffet, but it was not for us. We had a wonderful vacation back at the El Portillo, it truly is a beautiful resort, food was great, room was amazing, no complaints

We are a couple from Calgary and we travel a lot the republic dominican. This site is very beautiful, on top of a rock mountain with an inimaginable view of Cayo Levantado. After 1 or 2 days you realize that you are a 360 degree view: the Bay, the port, the village (look a village on the andalousian coast in spain), and the island. I would just let you know that this hotel is very good but you have to know that it is a resort for couple and not very for family. They are close to 250 steps from the golden beach to the hotel lobby but there is a shuttle that can bring you where you want. For the room I have nothing to say: Beautifullllllll.....The beach: not the most beautiful but this hotel is not for the beach. The pool: amazing, the animation team are incredible, go talk with danny . The restaurant: the best is the Orquidée the fancy restaurant, the worst is the pescador and the italian is ok. the buffet is amazing for the dessert. Don't batter with bringing your laptop cause you have to use the hotel one for the internet but it is ok they provide you some dell laptop very fast. For diving it's nice cause you start your trip on the levantado island and there is 2 sites: one is a ship wreck new from one year and the other is a coral banks very nice. The personnal from the spa are very professional and to get a muscular massage it cost just 50 dollars for an hour or 40 dollars for 30 minutes. hope you ll enjoy and just try to not travel with skyservice, signature.......Eric