This was our sixth time to the Dominican Republic and our first to the Samana area. Our good friends Cathie and Gord went with us. Stayed at the GBP El Portillo from Jan 28th to Feb 4th and was an excellent value for the money. The charter flight was like all the others, always feel my vacation starts once I’m off the plane and unwrapping my legs from behind my head. Customs was quick and we were given directions to the bus upon leaving customs. It was only maybe a third full, air conditioned but had no washroom on it, we knew this in advance so no problem. We took the early flight so as other people said the ninety minute ride was great. Lots of different scenery, very tall hills, sea views, passed through El Limon which was interesting, and onto the resort.

Arriving: Got there and went to the front desk. Didn’t take long to check in. Given our wrist bands and told to come back at 2:30. Went for lunch and a few drinks, came back at the time they said and the room was ready. The web site had said check in wasn’t until 3pm so this was fine.

Room: We”d booked Club Golden through Air Transat and got villa #1 room 1106 right on the beach. It was a junior suite, very similar to the one we had at GBP Punta Cana. In our e mail we’d asked for a king bed and close to the water so were very happy. The bathroom had a whirlpool tub, separate shower, toilet behind frosted glass doors and a nice vanity. The closet had the safe ($31US) per week and worked by a six digit code you entered (numbers of your choice) plus the letter A, The closet also had around sixteen wooden clothes hangers (we bring some wire ones also) and storage for both suitcases if you don’t want to leave them on the bench. Along with the king bed was a sofa and a table with two chairs. The dresser had a twenty inch tv on top, four drawers on the left side and the fridge on the right. It’s stocked every day, left a dollar inside each day for the person. The air worked too well according to my wife and had to keep the ceiling fan on low speed. The room darkening curtains worked well and the air stopped when the patio door was opened. The maid kept it spotless and we tipped her every day. You’re given two cards for the room, one unlocks the door, the other goes in the slot to activate the lights and air. Left that card in all the time. Couldn’t find an ice machine at the villa and the room didn’t have an ice bucket.

Restaurants: Overall enjoyed the food, a couple of meals were “different” but that happens. For breakfast we went to both the main buffet Las Dalias and the beach front snack bar Las Olas. The buffet had more selection but we enjoyed the snack bar, eating looking over the ocean. For lunch you had the same two choices, found that most of the time we went to the buffet, but a few times they had a BBQ set up at Las Olas. At the buffet carving station they had ham, lamb, beef etc on different days along with salads, soups, fruits, desserts etc. Thought it was a good selection at lunch for this size of resort. For dinner you had the buffet, and four ala cartes. The theme nights at the buffet were Monday- Spanish, Tuesday-Italian, Wednesday-Carribean, Thursday-Mexican, Friday- Dominican, Saturday- Gala and Sunday was an American theme. The Gala night had prime rib, duck, rabbit, pork tenderloin, smoked salmon, chocolate truffles etc. Would recommend that you don’t book an ala carte on Gala night, The new ala carte, the Italian is up at Pueblo Principe. We had dinner at the Oriental which was a pleasant surprise. We had the spring rolls and sushi, followed by the Duck ala Orange and then the fried ice cream. Liked the food, quality and service. Very nice. We tried El Pescador (seafood) a couple of days later. I had the seafood cocktail followed by the lobster and sea bass kabobs, while my wife had a pineapple starter followed by the steak and shrimp. The steak was cut up into small pieces and reminded her of stewing beef. This was a disappointment for her. For dessert we both had the Creme Brulee, I liked my meal very much. Again nice service. The gourmet restaurant La Orquidea we went to twice as we were given four ala care meals with the Royal Golden package. On the first visit my wife had the Lobster appetizer, the lamb and the sugar dessert while I had the smoked salmon, five peppercorn beef and the pecan pie. I would like to thank everyone from the restaurant who helped roll me out of there at the end of my meal. I loved it. The second visit was as good as the first, this time I had the lamb, the same as my wife. We thought the white wine was good. All the ala cartes we went to had the same hours, 6:30 pm- 9:30 pm. And we did see people turned away for not wearing long pants. The dress code is in the info book in your room plus a sign outside the ala cartes. We never had stomach problems once while we were here. As with any resort there are things which can irritate you. With us it was it was how the buffet was run regarding seating. When we entered the buffet on the majority of occasions the table wasn’t set and it was done in stages. One person would remove the used plates etc and put on a new table cloth and the next would give you the cutlery. Then a third person would bring glasses and if you were lucky they would get you water and wine, but sometimes you had to wait for someone else. Napkins were also hard to get. Every time someone came to your table you would ask for the items you needed, but it didn’t always work. Everything came together eventually but you have to be patient. The wait staff was working very hard, and were pleasant and we were very friendly to them. This didn’t affect our tipping these great people. For breakfast and lunch we just went with the flow but dinner was different. When we were at the GBP in Punta Cana they would ask how many in the party and would escort you to a table which was already set. This would have solved this problem here. The best way to describe this is it’s like an itch you couldn’t scratch. Hopefully the management can make changes in the future, it would also make it easier for the hard working people there,

Bars and Drinks. Enough bars, all a short walk from where you are. Liked the lobby bar drinks the best. It was open from 10am-11pm. A bar menu is available. Some nights they had a waiter with a cart in the lobby bar area going from table to table with a certain drink he’d make for you. One night it was Caesars, the next was Rum Sours. At the buffet entrance they had a fancy drink every night depending on the theme and also champagne some nights. Service at the tables was never a long wait but you can go to the bar and get the drinks yourself if you want. Coffee was also available here from 10am on.Other bars were at the pool 10am-6pm, the beach 10am-6pm , at Las Olas snack bar during the day and at the theater 8pm-11pm. Never made it to the Pueblo Principe late at night, getting too old. Overall we thought the drinks were excellent, and Presidente beer was on tap.

Beach and Pool. Nice golden sand beach, cleaned every day with a reef off shore. You could walk in either direction with a few villas on the beach. Very beautiful, a few vendors but not pushy. No problems with safety, walked during the afternoon, no jewelry on and just a small camera. The water had coral in certain parts with lots of small fish. This resort had the most people snorkeling I”d ever seen. The best swimming area was in front of Las Olas, also had a water sports hut at this end. It offered snorkel gear, sea kayaks, etc. Motorized (banana boat) activities had an extra cost. Lots of different small fish, fed them bread or bananas. The pool was beside the beach with two different depths, the deepest was around five feet. The towel hut was here also. There was also a jacuzzi beside the pool, both these areas were very popular.

The towel game. The resort was full when we were there and some people were putting out towels at 7am. We would go for breakfast, then go to the beach and get a spot. This would be around 9- 9:30 am and always got something. We did see people laying on their towels past the water sports hut a few different days and also there were a couple of comments concerning a lack of chairs in the Gold Club comments book concerning a lack of loungers. If you want around the pool get there quite early.

Activities. There were beach aerobics, volleyball, dance lessons etc. There was never any pressure to participate. Very friendly staff. There were also a group of sky divers there during our stay, it was something which was very entertaining. A small airport was close by which they used.

Grounds. They kept this place spotless, always someone cleaning. They even power washed the pathways daily.

Tours. The tour room is around a corner from the check in desk at the front lobby. We booked the half day whale watching tour through the Air Transat rep. We left at 8:30 am and were back by 2pm. The ride from the resort to Samana was around 40 - 45 minutes. We got on a boat which seated six people per row, around fifteen rows deep. It was quite large and was a good size because it was cloudy and the water was choppy. Ended up wearing rain coats and got soaked .We took gravol before leaving, this helped as some people got sick. Ended up seeing around 6-8 whale sightings. The amount you see depends on which side of the boat your on. The other side didn’t see as many. Plus when a whale is seen every one stands up. They broke water but never had one going up into the air and it happened so quick. Never got any photos of the whales but some great photos of open water and the back of peoples heads. This was a tour we’re glad we took. How many times do you get to see whales? If you go take a towel from your room, take gravol before leaving and wear a swim suit under your clothes. Out of all the tours we’ve taken in the Dr this will be the one that stands out.

Washrooms. Public washrooms at Las Olas, the theater, by the buffet restaurant and at the main lobby.

Gold Club. Booked our ala cartes here. Our friends didn’t have the Golden rooms but we booked for all four of us with no problem. The club had three computers for the internet, the one on the right had an English keyboard. The other two didn’t have the @ symbol, you had to hit a couple of keys to get it. There was a comment book here and also a book with menus for the different ala cartes. Found this helpful. Also had different liquors here but never had any. Very helpful people.

Tip. Couldn’t find an ice machine at the villa and no ice bucket in the room. Met a man who was on his second trip here, he brought a thermos for ice to take back to his room. Sounded like a good idea.

Summary. Very nice resort, enjoyed everything about it. Great value for the money. To see a new part of the DR that isn’t as built up and with different scenery made for a relaxing. vacation. Glad we went.