If you want to see why I gave it a 1 star just skip to the end ;)

Believe everything you read on here - Good and bad. There are so many reviews that I thought I'd write about the awesome things you can do while staying here to avoid repeating the same info others have provided.

The best thing about the Grand Samana is that it is the only all inclusive hotel located on the gorgeous beach of Las Galeras. For this reason I would recommend it as a perfect home base while exploring OUTSIDE of the resort.

Since you will be spending money to venture outside of the resort it's very important to get a great deal. We paid $860 Canadian per person (including flight, transfer to hotel, exit cost of $20 and taxes). Also bring money with you, do not expect the hotel to make change for you and the bank machine on site was broken during our stay. If you have US $$ they will claim not to have the correct change. We actually found using DR $ to be easier.

Here are some things we really loved while visiting Las Galeras:
-ATV tour to Rhincon beach (with razor tours) and swimming there while sipping on pina coladas served in pineapples.
-Most scenic/magical restaurant we've ever been to was El Cabito (the owner actually picked us up from the hotel himself)
-Disco at the hotel was well attended and worth staying up for
-Guests at the hotel were very friendly
-The French tour company "Look" kept things interesting on the beach, my bf played beach volleyball organized by them although we were there with Air Canada Tours, they also attend the disco
-Breakfast was awesome with made to order omelettes
-Buy a bottle of rum from the local store since everything on the resort is VERY diluted.
-Most fun nearby restaurant was L'Adventura de John, great pizza too
-Most romantic restaurant - Le Tainos
-Photos on the beach (taken by resort staff) were well worth the $$$

We also heard people raving about the whale watching tour (but not for those who get seasick easily) and the zip line tour.

Skip this hotel if:
-You prefer to lounge by the pool rather than beach (the reason to go here is the untouched beach, the pool is pretty small)
-You want to stay at the resort the entire time
-You require the hotel staff to help you with anything


*Reason for the bad review - I was initially going to give this place a 3 (well 3.5) but as the week wore on I became increasingly appalled by the behaviour of the front desk staff and management. At first I wrote it off as it being more laid back than North America but there were a few times that we simply could not get any help from the resort staff for basic things... Such as towels in our room, help finding a bank since their machine was broken, placing all call to a nearby restaurant (they put us on hold until we called back), calling a taxi (again, we were waiting right in front of them in the lobby for the taxi and they didn't bother to call, booking a romantic dinner on the beach provided by the hotel (we paid $100 for this and literally begged them to book it for us since I'm pretty sure the person we were dealing with was drunk), all beach and pool bathrooms were clogged and I was told by a staff member I had to get mad at the front desk to get them to fix it since they wouldn't listen to him etc...

We weren't really too upset by all this until we realized how everyone else in the entire town was so incredibly friendly and helpful and that it was NOT a cultural issue but was a hotel issue. The worst incident was when we were in a rush to a dinner off the resort but had taken our all inclusive bracelets off for the photo shoot provided by the hotel (which we spent $250 for) and the manager firmly directed the front desk staff (in spanish thinking we wouldn't understand??) not to give us any help or information until we got them from our room - we were asking to call a taxi NOT for any service provided as part of the all inclusive, we also provided our ID's and room numbers.*

I enjoyed the holiday there and would definitely go back. The resort was kept very clean the beach was great and no problems with my room It never seemed real crowded which I really liked ,room was quite spacious and the floors are all tile, my room had a flat screen tv, bar fridge, office desk and chair, back patio with 2 patio chairs and coffee table with sea view and two double beds, the staff is welcoming and very friendly when you smile at them and say thanks/merci/gracias. The beach is beautiful, white sand and clear water. The weather was amazing as well, The food is really good. There is always something you will find to eat. they had a good selection, the pool was perfect if you want to go with children wasn't to deep, shows at night was really nice, i enjoyed each night show by the way the show team were really friendly, how to forget to Julio (guest service) if he is always able to help and give a solution if you have any problem, I would really like to go there again, i spent a wonderful time there.

Please, take my advice. The resort is listed as wheelchair accessible, but is not. Rough pats, no ramps, real suffering for the disabled person and the caregiver.
The sea water very dirty. Flooding toilet paper, plastic bottles and foam cups.

And the most important – never, never buy anything from the merchants that will bother you!!! The so called silver or corral jewelries are fake and they do not cost even a dollar. This is the first Caribbean country that we felt stupid and cheated.
Even the CD with Caribbean music we bought for $10 has only one song – the rest empty disc. Do not go there. This is the worst vacation ever. My family goes on vacation at least 3 times a year, so we know what is good, what not.

I’m not sure what I can add to all of the posts below as they have all been accurate in one way or another. The grounds and especially the beach at this resort are really what you want to go to in the winter if your coming from a colder climate. There are fantastic views at the beach. The accommodations are varied and although we only saw the older ones from the outside they appeared to be okay. My wife and I and the other couple we travelled with stayed in Buildings 7 & 8 which are the newer units. The staff were very friendly and usually gave a “hola” with a smile. One of the highlights of the week was the nightly entertainment. Some of the best shows and dancers we’ve seen. It becomes just dancing after a few days but still enjoyable. Another highlight for us was walking to the right on the beach for about ½ an hour to the end where there is a cliff exposed. Here you can take some incredible photos of the water, rocks and scenery. One of the lowlights and this has been mentioned quite a few times is the catering to the French French. You get used to it once you realize that you are a separate entity there. The robotic maneuverings of the Lookea animation kids who seem programmed to ONLY look for the right coloured braclet (that being of the French) and not acknowledging anyone else is quite annoying but like I said you get used to it. We probably would never go back to this resort as a result of this though, we don’t like that segregation. At one point we counted an activity with 12 French people and 9 Lookea animation staff. The rest of us had like 3 or 4 other animation staff for the rest of the resort.
We took the ATV trip to Rincon Beach and booked it through Sunwing rep Anis who was very friendly and helpful. The adventure went smoothly and on the return trip we stopped at a house and small farm to see how the Dominicans live by the day. We were schooled in banana and coffee growing which was very interesting. We sampled banana, vanilla, coffee and cocoa and were able to purchase anything we wanted while paying later at the resort.
One tip when leaving is to remember your TV remote and towels to take to check out. If not they will make you walk all the way back to retrieve them. This brings me to another problem. There is not alot of communication amongst the staff to staff or to the visitors. They seem to expect you to know everything about the resort without being told. Another tip would be to bring your own beach towel or if you want to exchange your towels DONT hand them in if they don’t have any at that time. I made this mistake and went for a whole day without getting our beach towels. I tried 5 times in the day to exchange them. Also we went down here expecting to take out bicycles like we usually do wherever we go. There are none even thought they are advertised.
Listen if you can get by the French segregation and some of the minor issues I mentioned this resort is very nice and priced reasonably. The food is good and there is lots to do even if it is in a remote location.