Eight of us stayed here to celebrate our friend’s 60th birthday. She emailed ahead several times requesting rooms near each other and that it was her 60th.

We were all in separate blocks and the hotel didn’t acknowledge her 60th, either by a banner on her door or a bottle of bubbles in her room.
We however, did get a banner and bubbles for our anniversary.
We never knew who our butler was.

Our room was on the 3rd floor, too many steps for my husband who has mobility problems. After several requests, we were moved to a different block and 2nd floor, no accessible rooms available.
I left a note in Spanish with tips for our requests for the mini bar. Only 3 times out of 10 did the maid leave anything. I called the concierge several times and only received part of our request , so not a good service here!

We never had any problems getting sun beds but that’s probably because we are early risers.

We used the buffet twice in the evenings and each day for breakfast and lunches. Food was ok but only ever Luke warm. The much anticipated seafood night didn’t impress us unfortunately, there wasn’t any lobster just langoustines…….

The buffet staff did sing to our friend on her birthday and make a fuss, which she loved.

Our favourite restaurant without doubt was Yurta. It was amazing food and served piping hot, although drinks service quite slow.
Limbo was ok but didn’t live up to all the hype on reviews.
Meat just average. Tapenyaki very rushed, even took a plate away whilst the person was still eating!
Even in the speciality restaurants the food only just warm.

We did a bar crawl one afternoon to each of the hotels, that was fun. The buggy’s were a god send for my husband and one of our friends who have mobility issues.

Our group did enjoy some of the evening entertainment but we didn’t venture to any of the other hotels for evening entertainment so can’t comment on those.

We wouldn’t return to Ambar as it didn’t live up to the hype for us.

My Husband and I spent a week at Ambar and everything was amazing! Upon arrival we were quickly checked in and given our room keys (we did do online check in, which may have helped speed up the process, as we did notice a small line in regular check in area). We were immediately introduced to the Concierge, Horam, whom took us to our room and made sure we knew where everything was, explained the AC, room service, app, wifi, etc. Horam later checked in to see if we needed anything and offered to make our dinner reservations for us for the whole week and offered recommendations..he was spot on with everything!!! He asked if we had any specific room requests and we said just Presidente LIGHT beer, which was fully restocked every day of our stay. The room was clean, bed was comfortable and there were several pillows to choose from. Housekeeping came daily and did a great job, always with smiles. The beach was nice and there was always a young man available to bring us a table or move our chairs upon request. The waitstaff on the beach were friendly and kept up with requests. Our favorite restaurants were MEAT and Limbo, don't forget to check out the specialty drinks...Horam reminded us to try The Picaso at Limbo and it didn't disappoint! We tried both buffets for breakfast and lunch and always found good food that we liked. We ordered room service a couple times and couldn't believe how quickly it came (all food was hot and good). We took the buggies to check out the other resorts and buggies were efficient and drivers were very helpful and friendly. We tipped all staff that we encountered, as they were all working hard and happy to help us. I'd encourage tips to all, but even if not, I feel they would have provided the same amazing service. Horam truly made the trip extra special with the daily check-ins, even tracking us down on the beach or lunch to make sure everything was going good and that we were having a good time. He saw I liked mimosas and on two occasions had the fixings set up in our room for us, surronded by rose petals one time! He will be missed and we will request him when we return!!!

This is our second Bahia Principe visit, the first being Mexico (Akumal) two years ago . Overall it was a nice holiday and resort. We stayed for 2 weeks in Ambar,block 69 floor 3.

Rooms:
We arrived with two double beds in our room, even though we advised it was our anniversary before arrival. When we were shown to our room we were advised this would be changed, it never happened. We then queried it again, to be told it would be changed, we were then given another double bed, meaning we now had three beds in our room. We gave up and left it as it is. One of the bed legs broke twice, they were quick to fix it the first time so no issues there but the second time it wasn’t fixed at all after we mentioned it. The last two days of our stay the room stank of sewage, it was coming via the air con and was effecting the rooms across our block. On a positive the rooms were spacious, modern and the cleaner was lovely. It was also my birthday, plus our anniversary, we know from the Mexico resort you usually get a door banner and bottle of bubbly for special occasions upon arrival. When we queried this with guest services we were told they no longer do this, however we saw multiple door banners celebrating special occasions including birthdays and anniversary’s. Whilst it’s not a big thing, we did give plenty of notice and the little extras add that special touch.

Food:
The Buffett was probably one of the best for breakfast we have used. Lots of choice, fresh fruit, bread, omelettes, pastries etc. Lunch was average, very much the same each day. We didn’t use it for dinner. We did see a cockroach come out under the meat plate in the buffet on lunch service one day which was concerning, luckily the meat is covered. We did have two instances where the fresh chicken from the grill was raw, the first time we asked for the chef to cook it longer, but when coming back to the table it was raw when we cut into it. We advised the waiter and they brought over another supervisor and they both looked aimlessly at the plate thinking the chicken was pork and it was fine. Their reply was “enjoy”. We left it at that as it wasn’t worth the hassle. The la a carte restaurants were hit and miss. The best for us were Limbo, Meat and Yurta . Amazing food and service. We visited these 2/3 times each. Would highly recommend. We used room service once, great if you fancy breakfast on your balcony one morning. The sports bar was also great if you fancy a little snack whilst watching some sport. Overall lots of variety with food across all resorts,we were happy and well fed. Best burger goes to the sports bar in Esmerelda. The drinks were good in Ambar, lots of choice when it comes to sprits, cocktails, soft drinks, can’t go wrong with drinks.

Pools:
If you want a peaceful relaxing pool ,Ambar is not the place for that . A lot of the time I felt like I was in Ushuaia Ibizia. Very loud at times, with some guests just not respecting noise levels with their shouting and twerking on the swim up bar. The pool staff were attentive with drinks, the bar staff weren’t that friendly in my opinion. It’s great you can use the other pools across the other resorts as there are some quieter areas (The Grand) if you want to get away from the loud music/guests. Don’t get me wrong the music and atmosphere can be good and I love a party, however everyday can be a little too much. The pools across all the resorts are well maintained and clean. We didn’t have any problems getting sun-beds.

Entertainment:
We found the evening entertainment at Esmerelda better, the Matum show was great,very impressed. The entertainment at Ambar was okay, some talented sax players and musicians, but they could possibly make use of the pool for entertainment/shows like other resorts do. Sadly due to rain a few these were changed, which is no one’s fault. The entertainment team in the day were average, could have more interactive activities in the day, as the Bahia Principe song comes out then its wine tasting or something which only a small group of guests can part take. A-bit anti climatic. More aqua sports and group games like the assault course are needed I think. The day entertainment team barely said hello to us, they just bypassed us pretty much everyday which was a shame, until the last day of our holiday when they are asking people for reviews. I think we had two “hellos” in the two weeks we stayed. However they do give 10/10 when it comes to energy. It was the winter season so possibly the summer may offer more. I understand things get adapted in the quieter months.

Beach:
Great beach, lovely smooth sand, close to the resort, beautiful sunrises. Prepared to get eaten alive by bugs, definitely bring insect repellent. The water is lovely, however it can get very rough. You can walk the length of the beach passing other resorts which is great for a morning walk.

Grounds:
The grounds in Ambar are clean and well maintained, however there are cats everywhere. We don’t mind the odd few but there does seem to be a breeding issue as there are adult cats and kittens in every direction, even cats mating in the moonlight when we are walking back to our rooms. They didn’t bother me personally but I know other guests were frustrated.

Overall I’d give 7/10 (3 stars) for the whole stay. Ambar is a good resort with lots to offer, however I wasn’t blown away like its sister resort (Akumal) in Mexico which holds the luxury title too. A few things which need attention, some outside of their control. Would I say luxury, probably no, Grand yes. We do plan on visiting other Bahia Principe resorts, however I’d possibly stay in Esmerelda if we return to Punta Cana.