This is taken directly from my Trip Advisor review. Please let me know if you have any questions!!

My fiance & I (late 20s) stayed at the GBP Cayacoa from Feb.2 - Feb.9, 2008...& we had an amazing time!!! Even though this was my first Carribean vacation & my fiance's first in a few years, many experienced travellers we talked to said the hotel was incredible & the resort itself was one of the best they had been to!!

I am warning you in advance - this is going to be a long one!!

Hotel:
It was beautiful!! Immaculately clean & decorated beautifully!! Definitely better/equivalent to any Sheraton or Delta I have stayed at!! Our rooms were plenty spacious with a king bed, desk/vanity, nightstands & a solid wood door dividing the entry with closets & the bathroom. This was great since our room was on the main stretch to the lobby bar & reception - but after we closed the door we barely heard a peep from the hallways!! One thing I think I should mention is there are a lot of steps - especially if you are staying in the golden suites (I think they are offered through transat holidays, but I'm not sure). In any case, if you have trouble with stairs, make sure you are located in the main building! We went down to the small beach & to the seafood a la carte & it was tiring coming up all those stairs - but well worth it!

Hotel from "Bridge to Nowhere"

Our room (excuse the mess!)

Food:
The buffet was incredible!! Always a good selection & needless to say we never went hungry!! The a la cartes were a different story - we were very unimpressed. The food at the Italian restuarant was not good at all - I had the chicken parmesan & it was like ordering KFC! And the service was not very good either. The gourmet restaurant had slightly better food, but the service was worse than the italian. The seafood place had the best food - but the service was still terrible. We cannot comment on the Snack Bar (which was 24hr) since we never went because I never wanted to miss the buffet!!! :)

Beach/Pool:
Both were very nice. We spent about equal time at both. We generally spent the early afternoon at the pool since the animation team was on break at this time. We found them rather loud - so when they were at the pool, we were at the beach!! We really enjoyed the small beach which is located down ALL THOSE STEPS by the snack bar & golden suites. But it is well worth the walk. There is a wharf there & a wooden platform which loungers. Oh, I should probably mention that we are not early risers so were often not at the pool or beach until noon & we never had a problem getting a lounger.

Main Beach

Small Beach

The Pool

The City:
We took the golf cart shuttle down to the Pueblo (shops built by Bahia in Samana) two days. We ventured off the Bahia property both times & never once felt worried about our safety (except maybe a couple times crossing the road in front of the crazy drivers!!!) The cruise ship was in our first day, which was nice because this meant that the markets were open! We ended up getting some great deals on a few paintings - 50% their first asking price!! I was really good at bargaining!! And sometimes all you have to do is walk away & they will give you the price you were looking for!! About buying paintings - keep in mind they can be removed from their wooden frames & rolled for easy transport!

The Pueblo

Excursions:
We booked all of our excursions with our Signature Vacations rep & would not have done it any other way. Almost everyone we talked to went on the whale watching trip - but growing up in Newfoundland, we both saw plenty of those!! So, we opted for the trip to Playa Rincon & the Catamaran trip. Both were really great!!! They say that Rincon is considered the 4th most beautiful beach in the world, although I could not find that anywhere on the internet!! Don't get me wrong, it was definitely beautiful & the lobster dinner they served us was great!! Even the 1hr bus ride there was ok since it was an open bus & we got to see alot the Samana Peninsula & the ocean! All in all it was great day, but not really worth the $90pp that we paid! The catamaran is another story!! It was one of the best days of our lives - although our wedding day is yet to come!!!! We both love being on the water so this was heaven. The weather was slightly uncooperative in the morning, but it was ok...it didn't downpour - just misty. And by the afternoon is was scorching hot again! For most of the morning we just sailed around the bay out around Bacardi Island. Then we stopped just off Bacardi island for some snorkeling - which I had never done before!!! It was not great snorkeling so I was told but this could have been due to the rain earlier that day. And we also did not stay there that long - I'm guessing because only 4 of the 10 of us actually went. But I was more impressed that I actually did it (I'm a water wimp!! I love being on it, but not really in it!!) After snorkeling we stopped at the public beach on Bacardi Island (aka Cayo Leventado) - we stayed for about an hour there. Then we were off to this hut on the coast where they served us lunch - sooooo, good!!! Then we headed back to the city. The ride back to the city was so fun. There was a huge swell on the bay which lead to alot of splashing into the boat!!! The crew were doing this on purpose I'm sure!!! Overall, it was a great day & well worth the $85pp we paid - we would/will do it again!!

Catamaran

Hut we stopped at for lunch

Bus to Playa Rincon

Playa Rincon

Lunch at Playa Rincon

Entertainment:
We can't really say anything about this - except my previous comment about them being a bit loud at the pool area. We were in bed every evening...getting plenty of sleep for the next days events!! I know they had a disco that started about 10 or 11 & you could also take the shuttle down to the Pueblo & visit the casino. But like I said we really can't comment on this.

Wedding Location:
We took this opportunity to meet with the wedding coordinator since we are planning a destination wedding for 2009. We were not really impressed for two major reasons. #1 - the price was really high & they would not include one of our a la cartes for the reception so the $1600 (2007 prices) wedding package only included 10 people & they wanted $10pp after that & since we are having 40-60 people attend we thought it was a bit much to pay an extra $500 for a reception dinner at an all inclusive!! #2 - they do not holD many weddings & I do not want to be the guinea pig bride!!! So, we are now back to the drawing board!!

Wedding Gazebo (sorry its so dark!)

Besides the wedding plans falling through it was a amazing vacation!!! I would go back there in a heartbeat. If you are looking for a nice relaxing vacation without the constant party then this is the place for you!!

Sorry this is so winded, but I know if you are like me then you like to know everything possible!!! If you have any questions about this resort, please feel free to contact me!!