(Long) report about a great vacation! Gran Bahia in Samana...

Red_Girl

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Mar 5, 2004
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I traveled from Toronto to Occidental Gran Bahia in Samana with Air Transat Vacations. Apparently this is a new travel destination for Air Transat. As far as a review of the tour company, it was exactly what you?d expect. On the down side, the flight was delayed by almost three hours, and the food was terrible (and I mean, REALLY terrible). On the up side, the flight itself was uneventful, and the flight attendants were very nice.

The real fun started after getting off the plane. We had a four hour bus ride to Samana, which was actually very nice. I enjoyed the drive. The hotel is really very impressive. The Rough Guide describes it as one of the true gems of the Carribbean, and they are right. It is a beautiful Victorian style resort, with only about 100 rooms. There is a winding marble staircase in the front lobby, and pretty little wrought iron tables and chairs to sit at and enjoy your morning coffee or afternoon cocktail. The rooms are really nice, with a gorgeous view overlooking the Bay of Samana and Cayo Levantado (Bacardi Island). The hotel is a little rough around the edges, with a little peeling paint here and there, but we loved it. The service was also wonderful ? we were STARVING when we got to the hotel (at 2:30 in the morning), and were surprised to find a plate of sandwiches and fruit waiting for us in our room.

The food was typical resort food, but delicious. The a la carte restaurant was fabulous as well. We had no complaints. The view from the restaurant is stunning. The service was amazing. All of the servers were so friendly, and really considerate. They also have a great pair of guitar players who serenade people during dinner a couple of nights a week. The beach is small, but really pretty. The pool had a great view as well. This entire hotel has a great view, as it is set on a small cliff ? everywhere you look you see water, islands, beach, and mountains. There is a second pool about five minutes away, a short but steep walk up the mountain to a second building with rooms. The view from that pool is spectacular.

This was a great hotel to spend a week at. For all of the negative reviews that I read on Trip Advisor, I was pleasantly surprised. It is not a five star resort, but it is a charming and beautiful spot. I would return in a second.

As for the trip itself, I have to say that I LOVED Samana. What a beautiful area. We spent Saturday at the hotel, lounging on the beach for the day. The water was beautiful, the fresh pina coladas were refreshing, and my first Presidente in six months was ? there is no word to describe it. You all understand. We had the orientation meeting with our Tour Rep, and met three other couples at the time. I warned them not to buy the excursions from Air Transat (typically WAY overpriced), and we ended up spending the rest of the week together.

One thing about this hotel is that it is definitely a little quieter ? a big couples/family resort. All of the entertainment (what little there is ? not their fault, they?re on a tight budget, and we had fun anyway) is over at 11:00. The hotel is pretty isolated ? it?s about 6km from the town of Samana. I suppose we could have taken a taxi into town (no gua-guas at night), but we didn?t get around to it. So I really can?t say anything about the nightlife.

On Sunday, we went to Cayo Levantado for the morning ? the boat transfer is included, but it books up quickly. The beach is beautiful, but there are plenty of vendors. We didn?t go back, only because we were so busy for the rest of the week. In the afternoon, the eight of us took a gua-gua into town to find a tour agency and change some money. Well, I speak enough Spanish to get by, and I was happy to see that although everything else was closed, all of the bancas were open. It was only after asking in about five of them to change money (and having them look at me like I was just weird) that I realized that ?banca? doesn?t mean ?bank? at all. Who knew? Anyway, we found one tour agency open, and after a looooong discussion (with a ton of stilted translation), we arranged to go on a Jeep Safari tour. We paid $65.00 per couple. The hotel reps were asking for $79 per person. Thieves. We stopped off at a nice bar in Samana for some real Presidentes out of the bottle, and headed back to our hotel for dinner and the nightly entertainment.

We lounged for most of Monday, but took a walk along the road towards Las Galeras. We passed through some very poor little towns and some really beautiful countryside.

On Tuesday, we did the Jeep Safari. It was a lot of fun. We saw Playa del Valle, which is a gorgeous beach surrounded by mountains. The surf was really rough, but wow, was it beautiful. We stopped at a ?farm house? for a lesson on different vegetation, and sampled fresh coconut, papaya, coffee, cacao, and pineapple. We had the opportunity to buy souvenirs ? overpriced, but some really nice Brugal bottles filled with honey with a bee floating in each one. We then stopped at a ranch/restaurant for lunch (great Dominican food), and got on our horses to ride a very treacherous (and I mean treacherous ? with all the rain, it was nothing but big rocks and mud, and I thought my skinny a** horse was going to slip and take me down with him ? it worked out all right though) route through the mountains to El Limon, a beautiful waterfall. We spent some time at El Limon and swam in the pool at the foot of the falls. It?s massive ? very Return-to-the-blue-lagoonish. After that, we headed back for home, stopping at the Samana market (very big, very cool) for a little shopping. It was a great day for a good price, and a nice way to see some of the countryside. I am a fan of the Jeep Safari tour. I know it?s touristy, but it?s fun, and great for families, too.

On Wednesday, we went whale watching in Samana with Kim Beddall. She runs a great tour, respectful of the (unofficial) regulations, and very educational. We saw a mother and her calf, and observed them for quite a while. They didn?t do any acrobatics, but I?ve never seen whales before, so even just seeing them surface for air was exhilarating. They are massive, incredible creatures. Absolutely beautiful. The whale watching trip was $50 per person. I would say it?s worth it ? the cheaper tours take you out in small boats. Not only would the waves be tough for some people to stomach in a small boat, it would have been tough to see anything at all. We even had a few seasick people on our BIG boat. (FYI for those not staying in Puerto Plata: We had brought down a bunch of supplies for the Dominican Dream organization, and were able to leave them with Kim in Samana.)

Thursday - *sigh* - was our last day, and I really really wanted to go to see Playa Rincon. At this point, six of us were left, and we decided to go to Playa Rincon and Las Galeras for the day. The taxi price from our hotel was RD $2500 for the day, and we didn?t want to pay that much. We decided to take a gua-gua to Las Galeras, walk around for a bit, and then find a taxi from there. Anyway, the taxi driver at our hotel agreed to take us to Las Galeras for the price of a gua-gua, and then on the way offered to do the whole route for $1800 ? about $11 USD each. So we agreed. I don?t know if we got ripped off or not, but they were certainly telling the truth when they said it was too dangerous to take a motoconcho to Playa Rincon. The road is terrible, even in a taxi. Anyway, the beach was the most beautiful beach that I have ever seen. The water is crystal clear turquoise, white sandy beach, nice waves (but not overpowering). It is a little bay that is surrounded by mountains and lined by a palm tree forest. Truly like something to see out of a movie. I can?t tell you, I had one mega-huge smile on my face when I bought a cerveza at a hut on the beach and settled down on my towel with a book. We had lunch at one of the beach restaurants. I went up and asked if they had a menu ? the guy laughed and brought me around the back to show me the coolers ? ?that?s your menu!? There were coolers filled with lobster, fresh fish, octopus, shrimp, and the most MASSIVE king crab that I have ever seen in my life. Anyway, the lobster was overpriced - $20 per person for a 1 lb lobster. I picked a big, smiling, blue fish for my dinner. They dipped him in some marinade and threw him whole on the grill. He was served with tostones, salad, and french fries. I think that it was the best fish meal of my life. Tender, juicy, fresh, and enjoyed right on the beach. Before leaving, we drove to the other end of the beach to Rio Frio, a fresh water river that pours into the ocean. It's a pretty spot to rinse off. What was really neat though, was that there are mangrove trees in the river. I had read so much about mangrove trees, but didn't have the chance to go to Los Haitises to see the mangrove swamps, but I didn't need to after all. (Next time.) What a wonderful afternoon.

After the weather turned a little cloudy (it was overcast off and on all week, but as you can see, our vacation was wonderful all the same ? we didn?t care at all), we continued on to Las Galeras. I don?t have much to say about the town ? it?s small, pleasant, and very very touristy. It?s on its way to being similar to Cabarete, I think. The big resort, Casa Marina Bay, is there. We went to check it out. It looks nice, but big. Other than the beautiful beach, I don?t think that I would have preferred it over Gran Bahia.

Well, that more or less ends the vacation! We were able to relax on the beach for most of Friday, before our bus arrived to take us back. We had our first really hot, Caribbean day on Friday ? I got a little sunburn for the first time all week. But hey! It was a fabulous trip.

Just a little note to end the story ? we got to the airport, and there was a woman there with an absolutely gorgeous little Rottweiler puppy. I really love dogs, and couldn?t resist petting the pup. I started talking to her (in my weak Spanish) and she was very friendly. I asked her where she lived, and she said ?Santiago?. In a flash, AZB?s words rushed through my mind about how classy Santiagueras won?t talk to sleazy tourists, and I thought AAH! and almost ran away. She was kind, though, and actually complimented me on Spanish. I guess that after such a great trip, it couldn?t have ended any other way.

P.S. An excellent virtual tour of the hotel is available on the website - www.occidental-hoteles.com. It gives a great idea of what it looks like.
 
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boss170

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Feb 26, 2004
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Nice post!

I had seen this resort on the net and was wondering how it was, now I know. I had spent some time in Las Terrenas and enjoyed that area very much, All the beaches are safe and beautiful. Thanks for the info.
 

Red_Girl

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Mar 5, 2004
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Thank you! I'll try to get around to posting a couple of pics in the Media Gallery before too long...