The luxurious five-star Bahia Principe Amber Hotel & Spa on Punta Cana’s Bavaro Beach recently completed a six-month renovation, relaunching the property as the flagship hotel of Bahia Principe in the Dominican Republic, reports Andrew Forbes.
I headed to the Caribbean to celebrate the hotel’s grand opening/reopening party, marking the relaunch of Bahia Principe Amber Hotel as one of the island’s premier adults-only all-inclusive resorts, and I’m here to give you my insider’s take on what’s great about vacationing in Punta Cana.
Punta Cana
Getting to Punta Cana is easy: there are regular direct flights from the US, UK and Europe, as well as holiday tour operators offering flights.
We flew direct to Punta Cana’s contemporary international airport on BA. This modern hub handles around eight million passengers but retains a rustic Caribbean charm thanks to its traditional architecture, including open terminal terraces and sloping roofs covered in palm fronds.
Upon arrival, it felt so good to be enveloped in the warmth of the Caribbean Sea. Our driver was waiting for us and provided each of us with a cool, clean hand towel, a nice touch after a transatlantic flight.
From the airport, it’s about a 30-minute drive along the new highway that connects the airport, the vibrant town of Punta Cana, and luxury coastal resorts such as Playa Bavaro.
This spot on the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic has become a popular Caribbean holiday spot, and Grupo Piñero, the Spanish family-run company under which Bahia Principe is also owned, has played a key role in the island’s tourism success. The group owns 14 properties on the island, including the luxury Bahia Principe Ambar and the group’s first property, the Grand Bahia Principe San Juan.
Bahia Principe offers a wide range of accommodation options, giving guests the opportunity to combine different destinations in one vacation: the luxury and vibrancy of Punta Cana and the tranquility of the Samaná Peninsula.
overview
The luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel has been completely renovated.
All-new guest suites, including stunning swim-up suites with private pool access.
Our elevated culinary menu ranges from a gourmet coffee shop to fine ala carte dining at our Italian restaurant, Portofino, our steakhouse, MEAT, and the unforgettable Limbo restaurant, complete with a spectacular cocktail bar.
The luxury hotel is also part of Bahia Principe’s new “Escape Experience,” which offers a unique Bahia Principe experience that encompasses every element of your stay, from captivating live entertainment including DJs, new burlesque and rock shows, to a fascinating immersive tour to explore the Dominican Republic and learn about the country’s sugar cane, tobacco and cocoa history, plus the chance to discover and sample the national drink, Mamajuana.
Guests at the luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel will also have access to select amenities within the seven-hotel Bahia Principe Bavaro Resort complex, including a new sports bar and additional à la carte restaurants.
island
The Dominican Republic is a Spanish-speaking Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola with its French Creole-speaking neighbor, the Republic of Haiti. Hispaniola means “Spanish Island” and was named after Christopher Columbus’ arrival there in 1492.
Take an excursion to Bahia Principe to explore more of the island, see its beautiful scenery, and experience its culture.
We headed to a cocoa farm to discover how the Dominican Republic became the world’s largest producer of sustainable, Fairtrade certified cocoa. It was a delightful journey. The farm had cleverly created different zones showcasing the island’s various crops, from plump cocoa berries ripening in the shade of banana trees, to sugar cane tangled around the trunks of mature tropical trees, and even vanilla. We also had the chance to see tobacco being traditionally rolled into cigars – a great way to soak up the atmosphere of this charming Caribbean island.
Bahia Principe also owns properties on the picturesque island of Cayo Levantado, which sits in a spectacular bay on the Samaná Peninsula.
Even if you’re not a guest, you can still enjoy this amazing area by joining a horse trekking tour through the peninsula’s lush forests, surrounded by trees covered with flowering bromeliads and lush ferns. The sound and singing of the river will lure you to the impressive Cascada Limon waterfalls, where you can cool off by bathing in the lagoon. On the return journey, you’ll be rewarded with a lunch of traditional Dominican dishes, including chicken cooked in molasses. So delicious! Oh, and expect some great rum, too; they often serve it with sparkling lemonade, affectionately called “Dominican Champagne.” Cheers!
Then, board a catamaran to the beautiful island of Cayo Levantado, where you can splash around in the ocean and enjoy a pina colada sandwiched in a fresh pineapple.
This is a relaxing, fun-filled day that captures the essence of the Bahia Principe “escape experience”.
Hotel
The luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel is located right on the beach and also boasts a huge pool, meaning there are plenty of different areas to unwind and relax.
Read a book on your room terrace, sip a rum cocktail at the pool bar, or take a nap under the shade of a palm tree on the beach.
The hotel’s centrepiece is its enormous lobby, with its colonial-style architecture and impressive vaulted ceiling, which houses the reception, the guest experience team, the lobby bar and a new coffee shop nearby – the perfect place to start your day with a freshly brewed gourmet coffee.
spa
Mamajuana is the national drink of the Dominican Republic. It’s an unusual drink made by mixing rum, wine and honey, and infusing it with bark and herbs. The resulting alcoholic drink is a bit like port wine. Thanks to its herbs and natural ingredients, locals will be quick to tell you about its health benefits, from improving digestion to improving blood circulation.
The spa at the luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel had created a massage therapy inspired by Mama Juana using the company’s essential oils, and I was keen to try it – it combined two of my favourite things: being pampered and enjoying a drink!
The facilities are great and the staff is very friendly. How about the massage? I didn’t feel much effect from the Mamajuana but I can say it was very relaxing.
Suites
I was fortunate to stay in one of the new swim-up suites at the luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel. The well-proportioned room, with a seating area, desk and ample storage space, opens onto a private terrace with sun loungers. A flight of stairs leads to a beautiful pool that stretches the entire length of the building. All ground-floor suites are swim-up.
The room was bright, contemporary and elegant with welcome amenities including a handmade chocolate gift box filled with fruit, macaroons and a chocolate fountain pen – I wish I had taken photos of the pastry chef at work, but instead I just munched away!
Guests can also enjoy daily maid service and evening turndown service, as well as an all-inclusive minibar stocked with rum, vodka, whiskey, beverages and snacks, plenty of bottled water and a coffee maker. The hotel has 528 rooms.
Butler Service
Each block has a butler station where a friendly and dedicated team member can take care of restaurant reservations, tour bookings and provide extra housekeeping services like clothes pressing – a wonderful touch and enhances the quality of service.
dining
The great thing about all-inclusives is that dining with friends and family is much more relaxed – everyone can order what they want to eat and there’s no need to think about the cost.
The luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel has raised the bar for all-inclusive dining, offering a buffet restaurant as well as a new sports bar and terrace, as well as an upscale à la carte restaurant.
Limbo is a spot not to be missed: it has a central cocktail bar and a strikingly elegant design that exudes sophisticated urban style.
The cocktails are tailored to the seasonal tasting menu and I chose the Angle Kiss, made with pineapple, basil, lime and gin, which sounds like a strange cocktail but was delicious.
From the tasting menu, we had a beautifully presented creamy sea urchin and scallops, a sophisticated appetizer with many layers of flavor, followed by shrimp with spicy mango and an excellent steak tartare.
Fresh fish was a great choice as a main course, in fact the tasting menu catered for all tastes, with seafood, fresh fish and vegetarian dishes – this was definitely the highlight of our all-inclusive dining experience at Bahia Principe.
Contribution to the local community
Family-owned Grupo Piñero is committed to making a positive economic, social and environmental impact in the countries in which it operates, and is committed to contributing to the growth of tourism in the Dominican Republic through significant investments, such as the renovation and development of the luxurious Bahia Principe Amber Hotel. The group provides housing for approximately 3,000 islanders, supports local education, and works with the local community to address the pressing issue of waste management on the island. The group is actively committed to corporate social responsibility and is working to reduce the use of plastic at its resorts.
The luxury Bahia Principe Amber Hotel is part of the Bahia Principe seven-hotel complex in Punta Cana.
You can read our spotlight on the new Fantasia Bahia Principe Punta Cana here.
