Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo
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Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo is a family-friendly all-inclusive resort in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic with 606 rooms. Amenities include Babysitting, Beach, Buffet Dining, Diving and Family Vacation. Travelers rate it 4.6/5 across 14,987 Google reviews.
Seaweed & sargassum
Samaná gets sargassum, typically worst May through August.See the month-by-month guide →Atmosphere
Restaurants (7)
| Type | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Buffet | Main Restaurant El Limon |
| Italian | Portofino Restaurant |
| Seafood | The Fish Market |
| French | La Terrienne Gourmet Restaurant |
| Mediterranean & Spanish | The Greek Restaurant |
| Brazilian churrascaria | Boavista Beach Restaurant, Boavista Restaurant |
From the resort's own dining pages, checked . Only restaurants the resort lists are shown.
Amenities
Traveler Insights(200 discussions)
Bahia Principe Explore El Portillo, known as Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo until the chain split its Caribbean hotels into family "Explore" and adults-only "Escape" brands, sits in the most scenically extraordinary corner of the Dominican Republic. The Samana peninsula is where the country's green interior mountains meet the Caribbean, and Las Terrenas is genuinely different from Punta Cana: a French and Italian expat community, town restaurants worth walking to, a mountain backdrop, and access to humpback whale watching in season and the El Limon waterfall.
The resort itself is a 606-room, 24-hour all-inclusive spread across low buildings and gardens that open onto one of the widest beaches on this coast. The dining is the part most travelers underestimate: seven restaurants and seven bars, including a Brazilian steakhouse that carves at the table, a French gourmet room, a Greek restaurant and a seafood venue built around local fish, all reservation-only with a semi-formal dress code. Three pools and a children's water park handle the family side. The weak spot is the rooms, which are clean but visibly older, and inconsistent enough that 2026 guests who loved the beach and the staff still flagged tired bathrooms and air conditioning that worked harder than it should.
This one is right for travelers who want the Dominican Republic's least-crowded and most beautiful peninsula, whale watchers planning around the January to March migration into Samana Bay, and families who will actually use the excursions rather than only the loungers. It prices in the mid range for a DR all-inclusive, below the Punta Cana premium brands, and the savings are real given the setting. Travelers who want a brand-new room and resort polish above all else will be happier in Punta Cana or Uvero Alto.
Pros
- +Las Terrenas, on the Samana peninsula, is one of the Dominican Republic's most spectacular and least-visited stretches of coast: green mountains, coconut palms and turquoise water in one frame
- +The resort sits directly on Playa El Portillo, which its own location page calls one of the widest beaches in Las Terrenas, with calm water, soft sand and natural shade from the palms
- +The a la carte lineup is better than the brand's reputation suggests: Boavista is a Brazilian steakhouse carving premium cuts at the table, Portofino does fresh pasta and pizza, The Fish Market is built around local fish and seafood, La Terrienne Gourmet is a French gourmet room, and there is a Greek restaurant too, seven restaurants and seven bars in all
- +A children's water park, three pools and all-ages activity programming are spread through gardens that run down to the beach, so the family side of the resort is genuinely built out rather than an afterthought
- +Samana opens up excursions you cannot get from Punta Cana: humpback whale watching from January to March, El Limon waterfall on horseback, inland safaris and zip-lining, all bookable through the resort
- +The 24-hour all-inclusive plan means food and drink are available around the clock, which matters on a peninsula where the nearest late-night options are a drive away
- +Guests through 2026 keep describing the beach and pools as spotless and free of sargassum, which the southeast-coast resorts cannot reliably promise in summer
- +Las Terrenas has a real French and Italian expat community, which gives the town restaurants and an evening atmosphere worth leaving the resort for
Cons
- −Getting to Las Terrenas is the hardest part of the trip: Samana El Catey (AZS) is 34 km away and has limited international service, so most travelers fly into Punta Cana or Santo Domingo and face a 2.5 to 3.5 hour drive
- −The logistics make this a poor fit for a short trip, which is why it reads as a destination for stays of five nights or more
- −The property shows its age, and room condition is the least consistent thing here. Guests in mid-2026 who praised the staff and the cleaning still described the rooms as old, a July 2026 reviewer reported bathroom odors and air conditioning that struggled to cool, and others in the same months called their room clean and comfortable, so it is luck of the draw rather than category
- −Every a la carte restaurant requires a reservation and carries a semi-formal dress code, so the dinner you want needs booking early in the stay and a collared shirt in the suitcase
- −Las Terrenas has thinner tourist infrastructure than Punta Cana: fewer excursion operators, fewer services and less English spoken
- −The destination is the reason to come, not the resort. If polished all-inclusive execution is what you are buying, Punta Cana delivers it more consistently at the same price
- −Standard rooms cap at two adults and one child, so larger families need a junior suite or connecting rooms and should book those early
Common Questions
Is this the same resort as Bahia Principe Grand El Portillo?
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Is whale watching in Samana worth planning the trip around?
What is the food actually like?
Is there anything for kids?
Is El Limon waterfall worth doing?
Google Rating
Google Reviews
“I had a very wonderful time! The staff were so friendly and welcoming. They were always encouraging residents to participate in fun activities and greeting everyone with a smile. The cooking and cleaning staff were also excellent as the facility was...”
“Diomedes Juan Chef Jose Antonio restaurant fish provided excellent service. Super enthusiastic, always smiling and serving with pleasure. We had one of our family member who is allergic with gluten and they were super happy to accommodate for food al...”
“We absolutely loved our stay at this hotel, and everything was wonderful, but we would like to give special recognition to two amazing staff members. Joander truly made our pool experience unforgettable with his incredible cocktails, warm personality...”
