We (my ten year old daughter and I) loved this hotel. Just returned last night from a one week holiday. Other than the bus ride from Puerta Plata (which was not exactly fun since the air conditioning wasn't working on the way to the hotel), we had an excellent time.

Staff: The staff (other than the reception staff who were not entirely friendly) were fabulous and the service was quick and always with a smile. We especially would like to mention Oscar, Dulce, and the guys from the omelet/pasta bar who were all especially lovely.

Food: Delicious! The desserts, as you can tell from our title, are made for chocolate lovers. There is, at every meal, a wide variety of delicious chocolate desserts. We ate at the Italian and Gourmet restaurants (fyi the Italian restaurant is also a snack bar that is open all night). The service at both was very good and the food was fine (not super, but fine). The buffet had really good food for the most part and lots of variety (pasta, pizza, fish, kiddie items, etc.). Being a red wine drinker, the vino tinto was a bit less than wonderful but the cava/champagne was lovely. There is also a snack bar by the quiet little pool with sandwiches, kiddie items, etc. As with everywhere, the service at the snack bar was fast and friendly.

Views: To die for! Beautiful gorgeous and picturesque from every window (there are many). The elevators (the beach elevator and another are glass so you have great views going up and down) were fun.

Beaches: The main beach is okay (nice when the water is calm but not so nice when the weather is rough) but watch out for the little jellyfish as my daughter got stung. There is another beach down by the quiet pool that is much nicer and lovely when the water is calm (usually it is if the weather is sunny and there hasn't been a lot of rain). We spent a lot of time at this beach and felt like we were on a deserted island with the lovely palm trees and views all around us.

Rooms: We had a room on the 5th floor of the main building and a nice view of the bay and the tiled terrace. The rooms are beautiful with a king sized bed (comfy), a bathtub with jacuzzi jets, and a mini bar, coffee maker, etc. which are always nice touches. The only problem is that the safe is not included and costs $30.00 US for the week to use.

Pools: The main pool is fun with a swim-up bar and a jacuzzi to the side (not hot in case you're like me and like a hot jacuzzi). There is always entertainment at the main pool which is fun if you like that kind of thing (we enjoyed playing a game with some new friends one afternoon). It gets kind of loud at times though and it can get a little tiresome with the same songs, etc. every day. The quiet pool down by the Golden suites is a sweet little oasis where you can relax and enjoy the view. The pool is shallow with three mini jacuzzis (also not hot and sometimes not turned on). The bar down by this pool has great service and a good variety of drinks (margaritas are especially recommended).

Excursions: There are theoretically many excursions you can go on, but it is really a feat to find someone at the tour desk to book anything with. We were with Signature and wanted to book the El Limon excursion but our rep told us it wasn't safe with children. We wanted to get another opinion but no one was ever at the other tour desks to ask about it. We did go to Bacardi Island for one morning (you don't have to book it in advance you just show up at the dock at 9am). It costs $15.00 per person. There isn't much to do there but it is fun to drink out of the fresh coconuts and pineapples at the beach bar and the beaches are more typical of what you'd expect in the Caribbean if you haven't been there before (white sand, clearer water). You can get your picture taken with different animals and birds and there's stuff to buy if you're so inclined. From what I can tell the snorkelling is good there. We didn't venture out too far but we saw many fish even very close to the beach.

All in all, we would recommend this hotel for people who like to relax, swim, eat chocolate and drink champagne in peace and quiet (except for the main pool in the afternoon). One tip for those going with Signature Vacations on the long bus ride from Puerta Plata is bring lots of water because the drivers don't speak English and don't understand when you're dying of thirst and if the air conditioning doesn't seem to be working that's because it isn't so don't hesitate to roll down the windows!

We would return, however, even if we had to do the bus ride again. It was a fantastic holiday all around.

We recently returned from a two week stay at the Cayacao in Samana and had a wonderful time. The only problem, was Signature Tours. I will not begin to list the problems with them only to say that we would never book with Signature again. Also, their rep at the hotel was, in our opinion, less than honest.
The hotel itself is beautiful and well maintained with the pool areas cleaned every morning and there were always lounges around the pool and the pool was very seldom crowded. The staff are great but a small percentage could not understand English, which is suprising as 80% of the tourists were from North America.
The hotel is rated as 4 1/2 star but the food was 3 star at best. I read a review from someone that said the buffet was so good that they never ate at the gourmet restaurants and I have to think that perhaps their regular dining meant Wendy's or Burger King 5 days out of 7. The food is fine but repetitive. The pasta bar was the same at noon as in the evenings, everyday. Very boring. The theme nights in the buffet were not too bad as were the gourmet choices. The folks that run the hotel seem to have no idea about North American eating tastes. Most of the meals were fried or grilled. The so called lobster was Cuban crawfish, cut in half and grilled until it was almost rubber. Surf and turf was a four ounce steak with 6 prawns. Very tasty but hardly filling.
Still on the food, in the morning the bacon was done two ways, hardly cooked and basically burnt. If you wanted the pancakes warm enough for the butter to melt, you had to put them through the toaster. Same wit h the french toast. The salad bar was not good at all. Some lettuce, green peppers, red onions and olives with pits, no red or yellow peppers, no green onions, no fresh mushrooms, no radishes. This is not a lot different from the buffets at the Riu hotels in Puerto Plata or Punta Cana so maybe it's and "island" thing.
Kevin, the gentleman that runs the sucba shack and gives the lessons is great and a real bonus for the hotel. If you want to scuba dive when you are there, see Kevin and arrange to dive around the outcrop just east of Levantado. The water is warm and clear and our dive was very enjoyable. They will also take you the suken barge just west of the Island that sits in about 30 feet of water and that is interesting also.
Kevin is very patient instructor and very accomodating and an interesting man to talk to.
The town of Samana is interesting and the flea market is the place to shop when the cruise ships are in. We walked through most of the main street into the markets and other shops and felt very safe. The people and the vendors we met were very friendly and did their best to get you to buy at their store.
One other small problem, was that the lobby lounge shut down at 11:00 pm to get a drink you had to go to the 'disco' across the parking lot.
The animation crew at the pool and the beach were great and did their best to entertain everyone with all the activities they had. They work very hard and it does not hurt to tip them a bit.
Overall, would we go back, sure but this time we would find a flight that lands in Samana rather than the 4 hour bus ride from Puerto Plata. Not fun.

We just came back from a fairytale wedding at this resort. 19 of us went down for my son's wedding. They treated us like royalty and the wedding couple were pampered in many ways. The wedding was so well co-ordinated, not a glitch. Many thanks to all those at the hotel who made this beautiful occasion very memorable.
We all loved the hotel, the beautiful rooms, the friendly staff, the food, just everything about it was excellent. Yes, there were a lot of steps, but who among us cannot afford to keep trim???? There was also a couple with 4 children, ages 6 years down to 3 months with us, and they managed fine. There are also shuttles, to take you back and forth to the main buffet and pool, if you think that you don't need the exercise, but we all loved the walk. Our rooms overlooked the small pool and ocean, and the view was breathtaking.
We all agreed, we would return to this hotel in the future in a heartbeat. The whole trip was truely
amazing....

What an adventure at Cayacoa … I am physically back to my office desk but in spirit I am still at Bahia. Originally we were at the Golden section but after having climbed only once the stairs we have decided to move to the main building. I think we only stayed 4 hours at our golden room. I let my wife to deal with the reception desk to change our room. (The reception desk was very unfriendly …) The fight’s result was breath taking. We moved to the 4th floor of the main building into a junior suit. Our new room was much smaller but it had the nicest view that I ever had from a hotel. Bahia should move the Golden section to the 40 suits available in the main building with the ocean view.


STAIRS 2/5
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Climbing the stairs with 6 glass of rum and 2 beers in my head was never an easy task … So we basically stayed around the main pool during the 7 days that we spend at Bahia. The hotel should build a second elevator for the golden section. The problem is not the number of steps. The stairs are just too steep. It’s is like climbing Mt-Everest.


POOLS 5/5
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The lower pool beside the snack is very nice, clean and quite. If you want to rest, this is a good place to stay. Even the pool is very good for children. But you have a lot of steep stairs to climb if you want to return to the main building … The snack downstairs is disappointing (unless you want only fried food and fast food). A couple of times at 5PM I ordered food to “take out” to the main pool. It was good to feel us up until diner.

The main pool is the place to be if you want dance and play funny games. The main pool is Bahia Boot Camp … I had 12 salsa lessons, Played water polo, won drinking contest, played ping-pong, had aerobic sessions and so on … The animation staff is amazing. Since the hotel is very small the animation staff knows nearly each person around the pool. So there is no way to stay quite or sleep at the main pool. The girls or boys will get you … Started day from 10AM to 1PM at pool. From 1PM to 3PM had a little nap. From 3PM to 6PM it was boot camp again … I would rate the animation staff in the top 3 of the Caribbean resorts.


ANIMATION TEAM 5/5
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A big thank to the animation team that made us laugh and animated the public. They are really there to make fun with the guests. The morning and after noon games around the pool are great. Then at 9PM they start the dancing lessons (4th dancing lessons of the day) in the main lobby bar. At 10PM every body moves to the theatre and the lobby bar closes. The theatre is very small. I only loved the live music band and the Mr. Bahia show. Otherwise we were having drinks (a lot) on the empty patio in front of the Theatre. At 11PM the theatre becomes the disco. The animation team stays in the Disco and you can dance with the animators.


FOOD 4/5
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The food was so so. It is below the Bahia standards. The chef cook is very good because he can cook amazing things with little variety of ingredients. The hotel is running on budget and don’t buy first quality ingredients. Basically the problem is the size of the hotel. It is too small to have a wide variety of food in the buffet. What you get is really well done (except pasta bar) but don’t expect a wide variety of selection.

BUFFET at breakfast: It is not so bad, a lot of vegetables, a couple of sausages, and the usual egg staff 5/5.

BUFFET at noon: The only place to get some decent food at noon. Good soup, A lot of vegetables, chicken, a couple of meat dishes, salad bar is a little small, not enough dessert selection. Pasta bar is bad. Grill is disappointing. 4/5.

BUFFET at night: Every thing is good except pasta bar and grill. A lot of tasty fish in the buffet. The dessert is made by a chocolate specialist: a lot of fine chocolate on the menu … 4/5.

Italian restaurant is very good: 4/5. Gourmet is very similar to Italian 4/5. Fish restaurant is not perfect 3/5. Actually the fish in the fish restaurant is not as good as the fish in the buffet !

BEACH 5/5
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The beach is small but it is not a problem. It is clean and there is plenty of shelter for every one. The water stays clean as long as there is no rain. The beach is a swimmers paradise. You can swim easily around the bay, there are no waives. Take your time and discover the bay by swimming. We definitely loved the beach.

You can also have a wonderful walk on the long bridge. It leads to a place where the President used to organize chicken fights. In fact the site of the hotel complex was built very long time ago. It belonged to one of the dictators of the island.

EXCURSIONS
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Just didn’t have time for any of them …. Though I went on a diving excursion to Cayo Lavantado. There is a sink ferry just in front of Lavantado. There are plenty of fish and local fish hunters around this wreck. The problem is that sharks eat the same fish. Once all the fish will be gone guess what … sharks will get after the tourists at Lavantado. It will be a place like Rijeka in the 70’s where many tourists were on the shark menu. The diving team is very experienced. I don't think that this is a good place to start diving but for an experience (and rich) diver there are a couple of places to discover. Diving 4/5


SAMANA 4/5
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Samana is a small city. There is not much to do but it is a great place to walk in the after noon. I was expected a cleaner and more tourist oriented city. Samana is definitely tourist friendly but there are just not enough tourists in the town to have a nice patio to take a beer. Cruise ships only arrive on Sunday and Tuesday. On these days the city is more animated and there is no way to get any type of deal.

AIRPORT 5/5
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The Samana airport is well organized. There are only a few airlines that land here. This makes Samana a very quite area. Unboarding and boarding is very quick. The duty free shop at the airport is cheaper than the Super Mercado in Samana ! An aged bottle of rum is $7 at the airport. The restaurant serves good hamburgers. The airport is much cheaper and better than the one in Punta Cana. A meal for two at the airport costs $19.

Conclusion: Cayacoa is nice small scale and very personal resort. It is not perfect but an open minded and experienced traveller knows how to get around problems. Cayacoa is located in one of the most beautiful bays of the Caribbean. The animation team is fantastic. The entire Samana area is very unique. Hotel rooms are nice but not very clean. The maid has 10 min to clean the room. In fact the entire resort is running on a very limited budget. The budget issue is so sever that most of the lights are turned off during night and day ! Food variety also suffers from this budget issue. Though the cooks make miracles from what they get. There is not enough staff in the buffet. I had to wait sometimes 15 min to get some water. I don’t think that Bahia make a lot of money with this resort. More planes needed at the Samana airport to bring in tourists. However this rarity of tourists makes also this resort unique and very personal. If there is a good deal on Samana we will definitely return to this place in November 2008.