Currently staying at the Grand Bahia Principe La Romana, but luckily only 4 days of a two week stay to go before I can leave. This hotel is a nowhere near 5 star (as advertised, or maybe self assigned) and would struggle to be graded 2 star in the real world. You will encounter a complete lack of service and disinterested staff, where everything you request is met with a look of disdain and annoyance, however you are more likely to be completely ignored. Every weekend the hotel is filled to the gunnels with locals from Santa Domingo, exercising their Groupon type deal and thus taking over the entire resort like a pack of ill-mannered, loud, belligerent locust consuming everything in there path at your expense. You will not get seated in the Buffet, if you do, you will have to listen to an arrogant argument yelled in Spanish, and endure the same Dominican hit music played loudly on a mobile phone - repeatedly.

Whilst I have never in my near 50 years had much of a reason to complain (and the fact that I am English, grin n bear it, stiff upper lip and all that!), I am compelled to write this, so that others may not suffer as I and my family have. We were first forced to complain about the noise created by the locust swarm, then the fact we couldn't be fed in the buffet restaurant for the first weekend. I complained both to the hotel and the TUI rep who were next to useless, and did nothing. The following week we were forced to complain again for not being able to have breakfast after being ejected from an assigned table, standing there like utter melons holding our food with nowhere to eat it! Perhaps squatted on the floor using our fingers for the food and cupped hands for our required coffee, but at the last moment we remembered that we were not in fact part of the locust swarm and should just b e better to give up on the idea on morning sustenance.

Finally, a meeting with the hotel and TUI to resolve our concerns which were agreed to be valid and below the standard expected and indeed paid for. The solution was to offer compensation by way of upgrade to the exclusive hotel next door, as long as I signed a waiver to state that that I would not pursue the issue further. Of course I declined as I fully intend to take legal recourse against both the hotel and TUI upon my return to the UK.

Well seeing as it now my life long mission to spread the word of how appalling this Hotel is, it would be a very cold day in the lowest of hell like cesspools before another penny of my hard earned cash is given to the chain of establishments who clearly care not a jot about their guests once they have your money.

Shame on you - Grand Bahia Principe La Romana.