Let's Never Leave Bahia Principe Bavaro Resort

I arrived at the Punta Cana airport only five days after Hurricane Maria virtually destroyed Puerto Rico.

The first evidence I saw was during the 20-minute ride from the airport to the Bahia Principe Bavaro Resort. I started to notice some areas where there were mangled, gnarled and tangled trees and brush, signs of the hurricane's ravaging.

Knowing how devastating the hurricane was for Puerto Rico, I was astonished how little damage I actually saw in Dominican Republic.

I was happily surprised that there were so few signs of the storm. Yet, you could occasionally see the horrifying intensity of the violence Irma and Maria brought with them. The Dominicans—and particularly the management of Bahia Principe—prepared well and were fortunate in the course Maria ended up following, which spared their island from the storms' worst effects.

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There were a few signs of damage on the hotel complex’s extensive grounds. Here and there was a palm branch that had been ripped off by the storm. I saw one uprooted palm on its side. But most of its litter had been cleaned up in the five days since the hurricane.

Resort Geography

These are some of the most immaculately manicured grounds you are likely to see.

In the mornings, a small army of workers is out there with various tools, working on the lawn, sculpting it with great precision. Some of them use string trimmers—lightweight, handheld, long and precise tools for trimming grass in areas where a mower could not reach.

The place is massive: There are seven different resorts in the complex.

The map they give you when you check in is similar to a city map for a small village. It reminded me of a Roman city, with two main boulevards running from end to end, connecting to many smaller pathways between. The pathways are small, scaled for pedestrians; The only vehicles running on them are little electric vehicles like golf carts with rows of seating.

There are more than 4,000 guest rooms here, so it’s not all that small a village. The whole estate stretches one kilometer inland from the beach, ingeniously maximizing the value of the premium beach property. The complex employs more than 5,000 people, so it is a welcome part of the Dominican Republic's economy.

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The seven resorts within the complex are designed for different kinds of travelers. Fantasia and Esmeralda, are for families with children and are luxury properties. The main difference is that Esmeralda is on the beach while Fantasia is not.

To qualify unquestioningly as child-friendly hotels, there are monumental Disney-like castles in a wide center courtyard filled with sprawling swimming pools, walkways and intricately designed gardens. Defining the perimeter of the courtyard are two three-story rows of buildings that house the guest rooms.

The two family hotels cater to children and young adults both by design and in the facilities offered. Two others, Ambar Blue and Ambar Green, are strictly for adults.

Blue overlooks the beach, and Green is on the garden side.

Those four hotels make up the perimeter of the complex. In the middle are two more: The Bavaro and the Punta Cana, which are essentially identical and are sold as moderately priced, not luxury. They are also closest to the hotel entrance.

Then there is one more, the Turquesa, which is the first one you see when you drive into the grounds even before you get to the main entrance. Turquesa is the farthest from the beach but compensates by having a water park.

When you first check-in and are shown a map, it seems like quite a geography challenge just finding your way around. But you quickly orient yourself and figure out where you need to go and how to get there.

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World City

With so many different all-inclusive hotels in the complex, guests are identified by colored bracelets that designate which part of the complex they have access to.

Your bracelet is like your badge of royalty, indicating that you can have anything you want by just asking for it—at least in the areas you have access to. There is a multitude of restaurants in each of the hotels, and even more shops offering a variety of products, from Dominican-grown chocolate to clothes to souvenirs.

At the breakfast buffet, the various dishes are labeled with little cards mounted on stands that list the name of the food item in six different languages: Spanish, English, French, German, Italian and Russian.

It is in itself a selling point for the hotel to have the experience of being around people from so many different countries. (The country that provides the largest constituency of guests is Canada.)

Staying in the Luxury Bahia Principe Fantasia, one of the complex’s family hotels, had the additional benefit of the live entertainment of kids from various countries bouncing around carefree in their little fantasy worlds, (as kids do). Of course, there was the occasional howling child, but such eruptions were few and quickly quelled. If your tolerance for such things is low, there is always one of the adults-only properties in the complex.

The Bahia Principe Bavaro Resort is a good place, and I was sad to have to leave.

I think the real elite are the employees. They get to stay here.

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