Just want to be clear - I was completely sober, coming back from the beach, planning on going for lunch.
I had a fall incident from the trolley/golf cart (the ones which take you around the hotel/to the beach), where I asked the driver to stop, he slowed down to almost a stop and when I started stepping off the trolley - he did not wait until I fully stepped down started driving off pretty fast, which caused me to fall badly dislocating, fracturing and breaking my shoulder (4 fractures, displaced bone), requiring emergency hospitalization. By the way, the drivers of these carts often drive around pretty reckless.
So I fell and immediately realized I am in big trouble as my arm no longer felt like my own arm and the pain started coming in, which was unbearable. Until we waited for another golf cart with the stretcher, the workers of the hotel were very confused not knowing what to do. After a while - couple of nurses (or whoever they were) came in, 1 out of which started bending my arm towards my chest....I have never felt such excruciating pain as my shoulder was broken and out of place (you could clearly see a big bump on top of my shoulder as it was really out of place), but she kept bending saying "this is the procedure" - I nearly fainted couple of times from the shocks of pain, but somehow managed to bend my arm so they put me on the stretcher and moved to the local medical post.
At the medical post, once they brought my phone and passport from my room - they kept screaming "WHERE IS YOUR WALLET AS WE NEED CREDIT CARD", it was very hard to explain that my phone - is my wallet as they don't speak any English and making sure credit card is right now with me is the most important thing. By this time, still in medical post office - I was already crying-screaming asking to give me something from pain, one of the nurses responded "It's not going to help! " - I seriously forgot about my broken arm for a moment, WTF do you mean by "it's not going to help"?? ? Anyways, I got no painkiller of any kind even when the ambulance came in and even at the hospital. They moved me to the ambulance on another stretcher, never secured me to it and then there was a long and painful 35minute drive to the hospital as I was rolling around the stretcher with a broken arm.
At the hospital - they took me to xRay and 2 dudes started getting my shoulder in place, which actually gave me some sort of relief as while it was still very painful - it was not super painful and I could finally have my arm rest somehow. They did put in the IV and gave me some medicine, not sure what it was, but thanks for that. Then, the long wait where at least 20 patients with various minor injuries got processed and I was just waiting, contacting my family and friends letting them know what happened to me. I started asking what is going on and why this is taking so long, I am at pretty bad shape, I only had my swimming shorts on and nothing else (was coming back from the ocean), after 3.5 hours they finally gave me a bottle of water and kept saying to wait...I literally started going into different rooms telling them that I will fall and faint right there, I need to know what is going on, or at least get out of the hospital (my family helped me move my airplane ticket for next day already), they finally explained that they were preparing an estimate for a surgery and finding a doctor who could do that. I had to convince them - that I will be doing the surgery at home and to let me out, so I literally waited for like 4-5 hours in very cold hospital in my swimming shorts for nothing...At checkout they charged me: $2776.45, I am not kidding (attached receipt). I did translate the receipt in English and more than half of it is complete BS, I am already working with the bank to reverse partially the charges. I was in no condition to challenge the costs as I was ready to faint out and just fall and die there, so I paid with credit card so I could get to hotel and start packing up for next day painful journey.
Now besides overcharging me + charging me for BS they never did - the way they treat you is something beyond anything...like you are another nuisance on their hands...I know they did put my shoulder in place - but that's about it! On my way out they said I should take a bus to the city to a store to get painkiller medicine myself! After charging me nearly $3K - you could at least give me some painkillers! Absolutely horrible hospital and people who work there.
Here is the name of the hospital: Hospiten B? varo
So I was finally back to the hotel, I packed somehow with 1 hand and after painful sleepless night (I could not get any painkillers as I was in no shape of going to the city, nobody could help be at reception and local medical shop was already closed. . was like 8PM or something). In the morning, I started calling reception to help me get to the lobby with my carry on and backpack as now it was very problematic for me. While they called me fine the evening before - nobody picked up the phone so I had to walk to the reception and started asking for help - everybody would literally point finger to go somewhere else, it was unbelievable! Until I started screaming to help me out please now as I am in very bad shape and I just need someone to help be bring my crap to the lobby and drive me to the medical shop so I could get something for the pain as I had a drive to an airport and 5 hour flight ahead of me...After screaming and swearing at them - finally 1 dude started helping me out, got me to the medical shop so I got some painkiller medicine thank god (it did help a lot! ) and was taken to the lobby with my carriage where I checked out.
Now I had to switch my transfer, which I did that same morning and I told like 5 times to the greeting person or whoever it is to make sure I do not miss it as he told me to just sit and relax and he will call me when the transfer arrives and guess what? He just lets the transfer leave without calling me...When I asked what I should do now - he told me to talk to the guy who is responsible for transfers, so I went to that guy and he is like - "it's your fault, you should off got on it", so I called the guy who missed my transfer, so they could both talk as this is not my fault at all and I NEED to get to the airport, I cannot run around it with my arm messed up alone with a carry-on and a backpack, so I need to be on-time, even before on-time! They literally said they can't help me, sorry sir, bla bla bla....This was super unprofessional as I did not ask for any special treatment even though I was clearly injured and in pain - yet since I am checked out - I don't deserve any sort of service or anything at all. Once again I started screaming at the dude who missed my transfer to get me a taxi and that I do not have any cash anymore, I need a taxi with credit card machine – now I have to pay of course as my paid transfer already left and already probably arrived at the airport by that time as it was 45min since my transfer pick up, so I was losing it...if I would have miss my flight - that would be a disaster as I needed to get to a NORMAL emergency room and further treatment! . So he finally called a taxi - it arrives, I get in, sit down and guess what - this taxi does not take credit cards...I was honestly ready to just run to the ocean and drown myself as I was exhausted, in pain and it felt like these people who work for the hotel literally having fun there finding a stupid injured American boy in despair very amusing. Second taxi finally arrived, which took credit cards and I made it to the airport and made it to my flight - thanks to the security people who kept letting me through ahead of the line!
It has been 2.5 weeks since my fall now, I am home safe, still suffering from pain, but in much better state of mind. I went through a surgery, I got titanium plates in my shoulder and hopefully the bones will re-attach and heal (I won't know about it for next 5 weeks or so). If all goes well - there is a LONG therapy ahead on getting my arm back to the most useful condition, it will never be the same as before, but with time and therapy it should get back to 80-90% working arm...
I have reached out to the hotel already 2 weeks ago asking to at least refund my money, as I had almost 3 more days of stay and the fall was not my fault and so far they are just quiet, not responding at all...
So,
- This is by far the worst thing I have ever experienced
- If you are going to these all-inclusive hotels, especially in countries like Dominican Republic - be very careful, as if you get hurt badly - you are on your own
- Bahia Principe hotels suck, you can clearly see how they treat their guests, once guests check out or after an accident – they don’t care about you
Wi-Fi connected only at 12:00. Such a rule. Periodically with the speed of the problem, it pulls, then it doesn’t. Especially on the beach - not at all, but in principle not bad. Photos and videos could be uploaded.
The husband bought a card in the city for the Internet for $ 4 for 5 days, then it needs to be extended for another 5. This one worked everywhere and with good speed.
In terms of nutrition - in principle, everything more than suited me. Rum, all kinds of cocktails, beer, fresh juice in the morning, always juices, Pepsi, Fanta and in that vein - all without restrictions and of good quality. For lunch and dinner - always delicious ice cream of 4-6 types.
Jamon, slightly salted salmon, pork, bacon, turkey, beef, lamb, in general, abundance. Desserts are rather weak for me, but pineapples are just honey. Every day there were oranges, bananas, guava, melon, watermelon.
The territory of the hotel is just huge, well-groomed. Electric cars run around the territory, very often, it was not necessary to wait long. Since the territory of the complex consists of 7 hotels, there is where to walk. You can visit all hotels (without meals, of course), except for one - Fantasia (it is for families with children, made in the Disney style), there are close security guards on duty here.
From the reception (where the main restaurant and the lobby are located, it takes 5 minutes to drive to the ocean by car, so choose where it is more convenient for you to live).
There are many birds in the mangroves, ducks, herons, green parrots - I really liked to watch and listen to their songs.
The room was cleaned every day, they left a dollar for Victoria and she did everything right.
Replenished miniatures, water. tea and coffee.
In the evenings, some programs constantly. There is music, a casino, but the hotel is not particularly youthful. Entertainment for those who need a relaxing holiday.
And in the end, I would like to warn people like us - who were in the Dominican Republic for the first time - you can’t take fruits and alcoholic beverages in hand luggage. We bought a souvenir of rum in Ol as a present and had to put it in our luggage and pay $ 10 for each extra kilogram. And you could buy it in duty free (although, of course, the dutik from La Romana is rather weak, very weak).
This is the perfect hotel for families!
We were the first time in the Dominican Republic with 2 children, 3 and 8 years old, we thought how we would entertain them, but throughout the rest they were busy, animation, kids club, evening performances, a huge hotel area, which is very pleasant to walk around, all this great fun for the kids!
I want to separately note the food, we have never seen such a variety anywhere else, perhaps there is simply nothing to compare with, before that we rested in Spain, Turkey, Egypt, Bulgaria. The hotel has many restaurants with a wide variety of cuisines, we liked the performance that the chefs put on in the Japanese restaurant, and they cook delicious! But most of all I liked the main restaurant, we recovered so much after the trip)) But it's worth it!
The beach is amazing, although sometimes it brought algae, but they were removed. There are a lot of people and sometimes you need to look for sunbeds, but you can always find
We enjoyed our stay very much and will be back as soon as possible!
Clean and beautiful area, huge! Free mini buses (very cool) drive around the territory. Nice rooms with a mini bar that was updated daily. Clean room, very friendly and helpful staff. Delicious and varied food.
We found only one huge minus. When booking with the tour operator, we wanted a better room and closer to the sea Grant, with a golden bracelet, which, according to the tour operator, provided additional VIP privileges... Naturally, it was more expensive . . To be settled in this, our additionally paid room at the reception had to pay extra $ 50 . He categorically did not want to settle us there without additional payment . . Naturally, I had to pay, but there were no privileges other than slippers and a bathrobe in the room. Therefore, do not pay extra, take a regular room, since there is no difference either in the room or in the bar, there is no gold bracelet anywhere!
Our room was club golden, we never regretted it. Firstly, these are rooms that are as close as possible to the ocean, and secondly, round-the-clock free room service, since my wife and I love to eat and drink wine at night, it was very important for us) Thirdly, these rooms , it seems like the newest ones, at least everything worked for us, the furniture was of a normal appearance, the only thing was that the plasma did not hang, but we came to the Dominican Republic for something else.
There are a lot of restaurants and bars on the territory of the hotel! For all the time of rest, everyone did not bypass, but I do not advise. I liked the grill restaurant and Italian, they also took a lobster show, no show, the lobster is delicious. Most often, we were too lazy to go to a la carte and simply visited the general one, everything is there !!!! ! And sushi, and meat, fish, chicken, seafood, sweet, salty, sour, sweet, in general, I was more than satisfied with the choice.
Very good animation, although I do not care. Here, however, I liked it. From morning to evening is not boring.
Gorgeous alcohol, high-quality and delicious cocktails!
In general, friends, I advise everyone to visit this heavenly place!
The composition of the family - 2 adults and 2 children - 6.5 and 1.8 years.
Departure from Kyiv was delayed by 40 minutes, but we were even on the spot an hour earlier than the arrival time.
Group transfer and at the hotel reception we were around 11 am - settled at 17-00 pm - the last!
So, it all started with the reception)
Background:
The hotel territory consists of 5 hotels - Gran Bahia Principe Ambar, Gran Bahia Principe Esmeralda, Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro and Gran Bahia Principe Punta Cana Gran and Bahia Principe Premer - the hotel is stretched inland, so the hotel is located as if one after another - that is, first luxury Barn and Esmeralda, then mirrored Bavaro and Punta Cana and the last Premier.
In November, booked on the advice of the operator (not Manzana) Bahia Principe Premer as a children's hotel, which has a "children's" package in the rooms in the form of bathrobes for children, milk in the minibar and small similar items for children.
But we couldn’t find any reviews about this particular hotel in the Gran Bahia Principe network... A month before departure, we still found a review that said that the hotel is located on the network, but it is the most extreme to the road, that is, 20 minutes to the ocean on foot, yes, trains often go, but we considered that it was not a very convenient option for us with a stroller and turned to the tour operator with a request to replace the Bahia Principe Premer hotel with the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro hotel, which is located in close proximity to the ocean and walk to it 5 -7 minutes) The tour operator, having requested free places and charged us with an additional payment of about $ 900, rebooked the hotel for us. -200 dollars and they were moved to the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro hotel) - the advantage is proximity to the beach, the main restaurant and the rooms themselves are newer - four-poster bed, plasma and good new plumbing)
The voucher clearly indicates the name of the Gran Bahia Principe Bavaro hotel and the name of the Family suit room, but at the reception we were immediately put on Premiere bracelets (even before check-in - to visit restaurants) with which we were not allowed into the main restaurant... we suspected something was wrong and went to sort it out... Bottom line - we were told that we did buy the Premier - and that the inscription on the Bavaro voucher does not mean anything and there is simply no category of Family Suit rooms in Bavaro. Rather, there are, but they are called Superior suit - that is, we have an error in the voucher - which was made by the operator and therefore we are accommodated in the Premier... there were 20 of us from Ukraine... at the reception they did not want to hear anything about our surcharges or about what the name of the hotel is still written on the voucher... the guide of the host Terramar - Elena - behaved strangely - she did not take any part in the negotiations at all - at all! Having barely called her, she nevertheless arrived - she announced that she had written a letter to Kyiv and was waiting for what they would say, she did not even try to talk to the hotel staff. Let me remind you that it was Christmas - a day off and the time difference... it was already late in the evening in Kyiv, that is, she knew perfectly well that no one would decide anything in Kyiv now and only she could provide us with at least some assistance in the negotiations, but no - she just told us about it, turned around and left without even trying to help (((
As a result, we were settled in the Premier at 17-00, the last and only of all with 2 children after a 12-hour flight... By the way, there were no children's "packages" in Premier) no milk, no bathrobes - nothing!
After spending a lot of money and time in the next 2 days on negotiations with Kiev operators, after 2 nights we were moved to the right hotel…
After 2 days, the younger girl was poisoned, they ate only the maximum children's food... they called the number in the insurance and ended up in the Travel Professional Group company... why? It’s not clear - after all, they called the insurance company... after long songs and melodies, they dictated the insurance number to us... they called back the European Travel Insurance insurance company - they reported our coordinates and called the doctor for the child 1.8, stating that we had poisoning and the child had vomiting and diarrhea... they said that in 5 minutes they will call back and inform you when the doctor will arrive... After 2 hours (!!! ) without waiting for the call, we called back again... again a new operator - 2 hours to clarify the data and again - “in 5 minutes we will call back and say when the doctor arrives”... And ALL! Not a call... we are experienced parents - we managed it ourselves - and we have medicines at the ready, but the fact itself - how is it possible - after all, a small child needs a doctor! We made 3 calls for 5-7 minutes, spending a lot of money on empty talk - we never saw a doctor, we never got a call (((
The next day I got poisoned... the next day the eldest daughter...
We told our guide about such poisonings - she reacted calmly, said that everyone here was poisoned and almost every 3 of her tourists were poisoned here (((
These are our operators and insurances... the impressions about the quality of service are simply terrible (
Summary about the country
I really liked the Dominican Republic as a country (oddly enough)
Green and bright, very comfortable weather - in our period it rained every day, but in the morning for 5 minutes, the wind near the ocean is sometimes strong, but very warm - it is very comfortable to lie down and for children - it does not soar, there are waves, often with small algae - they are really immediately removed from the beach, but they remain in the ocean) in principle, there is no discomfort) the ocean is warm)
There are always sunbeds on the beach - despite the fact that the hotel was full, you can always find a sunbed, naturally you need to take it at 7 hours under an umbrella, but this is also not a problem)
Kitchen…very monotonous and relatively small assortment. There is nothing to feed the children - at all - in the evening even mashed potatoes cannot be found (Everything is breaded and in a bunch of sauces (
Animation is average - it is, but not a theater)) who wants to always find something to do)
Very weak children's animation - there is practically no children's disco - this is one dull animator and 5 children - although there are hundreds of them in the hotel.
No peacocks and other animals walked around the territory.
Russians and Ukrainians are often ignored, and at the reception and at the bar, first of all, Europeans and Americans will be served - this is very offending...
So the hotel is a solid 3-4 with a stretch - and all because of the staff - the territory itself, the beach and the rooms are basically good, but the staff, the kitchen spoil everything (
Well, our operators distinguished themselves... we will definitely return to the Dominican Republic to a decent hotel, but without our operators.