An all inclusive for $55 a night - a little review

MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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I've just come back from a couple of nights at the HM Alma de Bayahibe hotel and thought I'd give some feedback. The headline number is that we paid US$ 110 per night for two people, all inclusive. Which I think is the lowest I have ever paid.

I will prefix my comments by saying that I've been travelling quite a lot recently in Europe, and have stayed in some very top-end hotels in the last few weeks, one of which cost way over US$ 1,000 a night - which was the the one we complained about most because there just wasn't anything there that was worth that much, and it really spoilt the trip. So for our two nights in Bayahibe I saw this deal and thought "let's try it, it's going to be terrible for that price, but it will be an experience and at least I won't feel ripped off like I did at the expensive one". I also add that I have worked most of my life in hospitality and until recently have run a hotel in the capital.

Overall I thought Alma de Bayahibe was excellent value and I'd recommend it. On the plus side, it has very comfortable rooms, nice size, fully air-conditioned. Super hot water in the shower, strong Wifi (no extra charge). Spotlessly clean. The food is pretty much the same as other AI's I've stayed in, there was a food-truck which did really nice burgers and excellent chicken, a snack-bar open until 3am, and the buffet restaurant with the usual range. Obviously the buffet food was reasonably basic, but at this price point you wouldn't expect anything else. The drinks were limited in terms of brand but for rum they had a Bacardi gold and a cheap Brugal and there was a lot of whisky being drunk. There were two A La Carte restaurants included which you had to book, they looked super romantic but we didn't try them. There was entertainment every night which we actually enjoyed - a group on one night, then on the second day a violinist beside the pool at sunset and then a silent disco in the evening.

The hotel is located right next to the sea and has four pools which are beautiful. These never seemed to get crowded and didn't have the usual crowd of noisy drunks that you find in other AI's. There isn't a beach (the sea is rocky there) but there is a platform that you can jump into the sea from if you want to swim in the sea, and a free shuttle bus to and from the beach every 30 mins.

The hotel is adult-only which was a plus as there weren't any noisy kids. It's not very big by AI standards - I think 250/300 bedrooms, everything is walkable so there are none of those annoying trains. Guests were a mix of mainly Europeans, I would say the majority were Brits, mixed with a few French, Italians and Colombians.

The staff were trying very hard. There is a lot of refurb work going on which was presenting a lot of challenges - when we arrived they said our room wasn't ready yet, and I subsequently found out they meant it wasn't physically guest-ready, still being refurbed. Some of the others in our group had to change rooms three times on the first day to get the bed configuration they wanted and because A/C wasn't working, I got the impression that the front-desk staff were seriously struggling to move people around to where they had space.

The best place to book is on the HM Hotels website which I've added a link to below as they are offering lower rates than the other sites. I would probably avoid weekends if you can as I imagine it may get full of a noisier crowd then.


I finish by saying I have no connection with this hotel and no skin in the game. If you're looking for amazing value and are prepared to stay without expecting Ritz Carlton standards, then it's well worth a visit.
 

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keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
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Nice review, sounds like it was a decent experience for the price. Was this resort called something else previously, Whala Bayahibe?
 

jd426

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Blue Collar Town in New Jersey
Excellent Review .. and you are in the Business so you would know what is a Value and what is now ..
Sounds like this AI gave you more Pleasant Memories than the Expensive Hotel in Europe which disappointed you.

Based on your Review I would not even hesitate to Book a Vacation .. It sounds like they are really trying to get it together.
Spotless Rooms and Free Wifi you say... that is a great deal
The Free Shuttle to the beach every 30 Mins is a nice touch ..
 
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MiamiDRGuy

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May 19, 2013
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Interesting review. Based on that photo, it looks like we are in Greece lol. From what I see on google map, the resort seem a small resort.

Screenshot 2024-06-30 152040.jpg
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
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I can't believe I had to google "Silent Disco" Who knew?

So everyone is dancing but if you don't have earphones you don't hear anything?

Do the room buildings have elevators?
 

MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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Nice review, sounds like it was a decent experience for the price. Was this resort called something else previously, Whala Bayahibe?

Yes it was. From the gossip I heard, it was bought last August and the rooms were in far more of a bad state than they thought, so the refurb is painful and taking longer than expected. I think we had one of the newly refurbed rooms. There is clearly a lot of refurb activity taking place, but it wasn't noisy or annoying, you just saw a lot of workmen buzzing around.
 
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keepcoming

Moderator - Living & General Stuff
May 25, 2011
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I like the Bayahibe area. It could draw a good amount of people especially since they do not have as bad of a seaweed/sargassum issue as Punta Cana.
 

MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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Excellent Review .. and you are in the Business so you would know what is a Value and what is now ..
Sounds like this AI gave you more Pleasant Memories than the Expensive Hotel in Europe which disappointed you.

Based on your Review I would not even hesitate to Book a Vacation .. It sounds like they are really trying to get it together.
Spotless Rooms and Free Wifi you say... that is a great deal
The Free Shuttle to the beach every 30 Mins is a nice touch ..

I've realised that my satisfaction with a hotel or restaurant is completely linked to value for money. The more I pay, the higher I set the bar. So the risk-free strategy for me is to go for cheap-and-cheerful, and to be honest we all said this place was amazing for the price. I know there has been a lot of discussion on here recently about places which are US$ 800 a night, and I just wonder how much more you would have got for paying 8 times the price. Obviously slightly better food, more premium drinks, a beachfront location. But 8 times the price is a big difference for those factors when a place like this is ticking all the basics boxes. And I just wonder how much better the service standards would really be in a place that was 8 times more expensive. We didn't have to line up once. They cleaned the room and changed the towels every day. They changed my pool towel on request. There were staff buzzing around taking drinks orders. The activities guys actively asked if we'd like to play volleyball, they were leading all the dancing.
 

MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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I can't believe I had to google "Silent Disco" Who knew?

So everyone is dancing but if you don't have earphones you don't hear anything?

Do the room buildings have elevators?

Yes, there are elevators and there are guys who will help with the luggage (we practically had to fight them not to take the bags from us).

Silent discos are great, they do them a lot on cruise ships and obviously in hotels. You have three channels, red green and blue, each playing a completely different type of music. So for example you had dembow on the red, meringue and bachata on the blue and 80's / 90's dance music on the green. Mainly dance anthems, quite often songs with line dances associated with them. You can flip the switch on the headphones to change channel and the headphones light up a different color based on what channel you're on. It's great for hotels and cruise ships as it's a big party but very little noise so nothing to disturb other guests.
 
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MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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Interesting review. Based on that photo, it looks like we are in Greece lol. From what I see on google map, the resort seem a small resort.

View attachment 9316

Yes it's small, but that works. Nothing too crowded and you can walk everywhere. it's great for a few days, I would be bored out of my mind if I stayed a whole week there but for a few days R&R it works well.
 

MiamiDRGuy

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May 19, 2013
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Yes it's small, but that works. Nothing too crowded and you can walk everywhere. it's great for a few days, I would be bored out of my mind if I stayed a whole week there but for a few days R&R it works well.

Clever move. Small resort, the better and amazing profits is there.
 

MariaRubia

Well-known member
Jun 25, 2019
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Did it have running water?

Yes of course, hot and cold. That was the point I was making, you pay peanuts but the place was decent. The Hilton all-inclusive was $450 per person per night for the same dates, and I am struggling to see what they could do to justify charging 9 times more.
 
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chicagoan14

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Apr 2, 2019
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Ah this is the name for the old Whala. Last time i went they mentioned they'd close and go to adults only.

It wasn't the best hotel i've stayed at, but it has one of the best pool/ocean views i've seen at almost any resort i've ever been to. Plus, you can dive right into the ocean from two places which I enjoy. Would be happy to go and check it out with their new endeavor. I've gotten it super cheap on hotwire and booking a few times.
 

El Hijo de Manolo

It's outrageous, egregious, preposterous!
Dec 10, 2021
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Yes of course, hot and cold. That was the point I was making, you pay peanuts but the place was decent. The Hilton all-inclusive was $450 per person per night for the same dates, and I am struggling to see what they could do to justify charging 9 times more.
Idk but you can't expect that 55 to last long, it's not sustainable.
 

bob saunders

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SUMMER PRICES. We just took school staff plus their children (36 adults, 17 children) to the Gran Ventana for three nights, 4 days for 12000 pesos per room. pretty full and only on Saturday night was it a little loud. beach and water were terrific, food quite good, service excellent and the rooms very large and clean. All the kids with us were well behaved. lots of Europeans, mainly Dutch and German.
 
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jd426

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Dec 12, 2009
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Idk but you can't expect that 55 to last long, it's not sustainable.

Who says it has to be Sustainable .. long term?
I detect a comprehension Level issue here .
They are doing Construction.. they are renovating .. Its in the Repot .. did you read it ?
Prices will and do go up, when their next Phase is complete or at the Point when they are at full capacity .
its common sense actually
And clear as a Bell to SEVERAL PEOPLE have pointed out that exact same scenario >>> from their Real World Experience at OTHER Resorts<< ..

Arrows and Caps intentional ..
 
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SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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Who says it has to be Sustainable .. long term?
I detect a comprehension Level issue here .
They are doing Construction.. they are renovating .. Its in the Repot .. did you read it ?
Prices will and do go up, when their next Phase is complete or at the Point when they are at full capacity .
its common sense actually
And clear as a Bell to SEVERAL PEOPLE have pointed out that exact same scenario >>> from their Real World Experience at OTHER Resorts<< ..

Arrows and Caps intentional ..
That price of $110 for a double is around a lot in PC. You just have to look for it. Try Whala right on the beach in Los Corales. Within walking distance of a dozen good restaurants. Price goes up and djown there all the time. September will also have a lot of 120 doubles................