Sublime Samana

Loved the environment, the service, the people, the climate. Loved everything!!!would recommend this hotel to people who wants to go to relax and have a nice time. Sublime Samana is one of the best places you can go in that part of the Dominican Republic.

This is a hidden gem in paradise. The place is settled in a pristine beach far away from noisy drunk school spring breakers, perfect to relax and reset in touch with lush nature, beauty and harmony. All in good balance. The hotel is clean, very well maintained, the villas or rooms are spacious, beautifully decorated and and furnished to accommodate a family for a short or long period of time. I appreciate a hotel with good quality mattress and pillows and crispy ironed percal cotton sheets, fluffy towels, Kitchen is fully equipped, in case you decide to prepare yourself a morning expresso or whatever. If you're traveling with kids this is a very good place to stay because they have activities and a pool reserved for families and if you are traveling as couple you'll have another pool to relax with no kids splashing or playing, not that it matters to me because we are beach people, but I noticed that for some people it makes a difference. The staff is local people, very sweet and kind, attentive, but if you don't speak Spanish just have a little extra patience and request the help of the ones that do. We had a few mishaps at the restaurants The management Mr Stephano was on top to make proper adjustments. I look forward to going back, taking my family and friends for a longer stay, enjoying walks by the ocean and scheduling myself afternoon treatments at their SPA - one of the BEST I have been, clean, experienced and professional therapists and perfect setting for facials or body therapies. The hotel also have a fully equipped gym, white towels at site and water bottles at hand, perfect for a rainy morning or afternoon workout. We also had an amazing experience visiting local restaurants and beaches with a private driver the hotel scheduled for us and I highly recommend him, his name is Eddy, took us to two beautiful and amazing restaurants in town were we had amazing seafood dishes, our favorite was El Lugar for drinks and amazing dishes for dinner and we also had a great experience at Porto by Mosquito. Overall Sublime Samana delivers what promises - a beautiful time to relax and reset.

We stayed in the 2 bedroom with Jacuzzi. The Jacuzzi had faulty wiring so we were shocked/electrocuted when we went in it. Luckily I only put my hand in. If I was submerged I could have sustained life threatening injuries. I informed staff but they did not take it seriously.

I cant say enough about this place and its people. Best time of our lives. Wedding Anniversary 23 celebration - just the 2 of us! Clelisia really made my every wish come true!! Together we prepared every detail as I wanted to surprise my hubby and it was better than expected. Grateful!! Super romantic, great food, amazing beach, location is secluded quiet. Just what I wished for. 15 mins away from main Las Terrenas area

For a solo getaway in a remote location (it took me 4 hours in a hugely expensive hotel shuttle ($780 for a round trip) from Punta Cana) this was (WTF?) expensive but wonderful! (Fly to other airports which have cheaper transfers!) The location is indeed sublime, the scenery was stunning, and the private beach and gorgeous surroundings were pretty quiet and without a throng of busy tourists, so I felt relaxed and at peace my whole time here, which is exactly what I was looking for. As it's not all-inclusive (a good thing!) it might not attract the young large groups and families - although it would be perfect for weddings which I see they do host - so it was particularly tranquil during my stay. The room/1 bed apartment was huge, a beautiful double bedroom with living room, kitchen and long balcony, and good facilities in the bathroom/walk-in shower. There was free drinking water handed out every night to the room - so that problem, mentioned by a previous reviewer has been addressed. I took long, ambling walks along the stunning beach and noted the all-inclusive hotel next door on the right which had the 'pumped up music' blaring out, the loud salsa classes/competitions and the cramped-in sunbeds jostling for the best position in a smaller beach section, but it didn't detract from the peace at Sublime Samana unless you were right by it on the beach. Our beach section was large and with plenty of space to hide away with good sunbathing facilities: cushions, towels, umbrellas, bar and restaurant service. More of the good things: an arranged excursion hiking to the El Limon waterfall was hot, sticky and brilliant fun - and only $50 for the morning, which included a tour guide, and personal chaperone on the hike (others went by horseback: I don't recommend this tho, it looked precarious!). We DID experience the usual tourist trap of being guided through the locally stocked 'gift shops' full of 'souvenirs' - but it didn't detract and there were interesting items to buy. The beach restaurant was a gorgeous place to hang out, for breakfast or watching the sunset, or lunch, or cocktails - I basically spent most of my time on the beach nipping in and out of it. HOWEVER, sometime breakfast was randomly served in the restaurant away from the beach which was a huge let down. It makes no sense to eat in a hot, small, indoor restaurant when you have a gorgeous open air ocean-side restaurant right there on the beach - eating in that indoor restaurant you could be in any hotel, in any part of the world - but on the beach - you're transported to a place of beauty - and it's a perfect start to any day. The pools are great - one is reserved for adults only - and hardly used because they're perhaps on the small side. The cocktails are fantastic - strong and a good selection - I enjoyed most of them, often :-). Although my passion fruit martini was originally served with olives? Weird. The spa has a good range of services - again expensive - and I had three amazing massages - particularly the craniofacial with feet massage after the hike, and the hot stone massage for my tight, stressed back when I first arrived. I found the service generally a little patchy but otherwise good. Some staff members are better than others. Those at the beach bar/restaurant were always accommodating, friendly and good at their job (although you could tell other staff members were being trained up). The not-so good things: sadly the food SEVERELY lets this place down. When I arrived, I had the lobster ravioli which was a hard, thick, stodgy stinking thing, drowned in a overbearing porcini mushroom sauce, which ruined the delicate lobster (if it was lobster) (and who pairs strong mushroom with lobster, ever?) - please could someone take note that all you need to serve for this usually delicious dish, is very thinly rolled pasta (like at least a quarter of thickness to what I got) and a light brush of butter - perhaps some herbs and black pepper - no sauce at all, or at least way away on the side. And maybe smaller, more delicate ravioli parcels - - it's a gorgeous dish utterly ruined. I nearly cried! The tuna cerviche was unsophisticated - thick lumps of tuna with skin still on, too salty seaweed and too large a portion. Smaller cuts of fish please! The chorizo hotdog was not chorizo. The fries were limp and soggy. The orange juice was not fresh and full of bright chemicals. The decaf coffee was not worth drinking. The vegetarian cerviche was just a bowl of shredded veg including something rough and inedible like wood shavings. The shrimp cocktail had about 6 large, woolly and chewy old prawns (clearly from frozen not fresh) and a lacklustre rose marie sauce. Their own salsa/guac was okay - but not brilliant. The breads were stale as another reviewer mentioned - but the breakfast generally were okay with some fresh croissants and nice jams. The huevos racheros were tasty but I bet are not what fans of the dish would be satisfied with. The burratina was good - and I chose what to have with it (avocado, tomato and lettuce) and they made it up off menu (perhaps this was the way forward). They also did their eggs well - ie runny and creamy. The white fish cerviche was okay - but average. The salmon poke bowl, again, huge lumps, and over stuffed with soggy rice, and unsophisticated/indelicate/stodgy. SO - don't come here for culinary delicacies - and order off menu or through the Komida app for sushi! I recommend a beach sushi bar/fresh juice bar and evening cocktail bar to be installed - with small tapas - and a complete redo of a better menu - with more choice and less frozen stuff - and a chef who only has to google how to prepare and present things in a more delicious and sophisticated way. I volunteer to write the menu for you and to show you how to cook! But generally I loved being here, food aside (and I did make use of the Komida delivery app - glad I read about it!) and had a wonderful, relaxing, beautiful solo time in a gorgeous resort with that fantastic beach and location. Sort your food and menu out (please)!