Sublime Samana

I booked a 2 bedroom casita with Jacuzzi. Upon entering the room we went to put some groceries in the refrigerator and it was filthy. Housekeeping had just finished cleaning the room but there was a layer of dirt and dust on every shelf of the refrigerator. They cleaned this quickly. When we toured the room I noted that the jacuzzi inside was dirty with sand the faucet was constantly running. We decided to make the most of it and enjoy the evening. The outdoor jacuzzi needed 2 hrs to get filled. We called while at dinner to have this jacuzzi filled and it did not happen We tried to use the jacuzzi inside and when we filled it the water completely drained within minutes. We also found a roach in the kitchen on our first night. I talked to the front desk and the next day we were moved to a new room. This was a bigger room but it was in WORSE condition. The kitchen had a toaster which we used. When I moved the toaster after using it about 10 cockroaches skittered everywhere. I had to kill them and cleaned the countertops. When I wiped the counters I found several dead roaches and roach droppings. The a/c in the living room in this unit did not work at all. Two of the televisions did not turn on because the remotes didn’t work so we had to switch back and forth to get them on. In the morning I found 2 more dead roaches in the living room and one of the bedrooms. That night we attempted again to use the jacuzzi inside this new room. We waited over two hours and the jacuzzi did not fill all the way. There was also weird stains in the tub of the jacuzzi. The room also had a washer and dryer which was great but the dryer didn’t work. The joke in my family became “nothing works” when we talked about anything regarding the hotel room. The food quality was TERRIBLE. the service in the ONLY open restaurant was fantastic but the quality of the food is not on par with a luxury resort. The people working in this area were the highlight of the hotel. There are supposed to be two restaurants and only the beach one was operating. The breakfast food was constantly cold. Almost like it was frozen and did not thaw. We ordered coffee and tea and both those cups were dirty. During lunch on one of the days we ordered a burger and fish tacos. The fish tacos were brown and inedible. The burger was completely raw in the inside. Again it seemed like it had been frozen and didn’t completely thaw. The gym was in very bad shape. One of the treadmills was out of order so I used the only other working tread. While I was using the treadmill it suddenly stopped and turned off. Where all of the free weights were I found several spots with rat droppings. This was one of the worst hotel experiences of my life. I spoke to the customers in the room above us and they had also asked to switch rooms because their water heater was not working.

Sublime Samana Hotel & Residences We love this beautiful unique and still reasonably quiet and peaceful location - visited more than 10 times since 2016 (last time between March 16 and 25 this year). This is a place, where we feel truly "disconnected" from life in a megapolis. Unfortunately, the place has been increasingly plagued by various problems: 1. The quality of food which has been always below standards started to rapidly deteriorate since 2023, forcing us to disrupt our stay this year and dine in the restaurants in Las Terrenas. 2. Poor service level, which has gradually become unacceptable - slow, unresponsive, majority of staff, including restaurant (!) can't speak English. Ironically, most of the staff are very friendly, but unprofessional. 3. All of many villas we have been staying require major renovations (with poor or absent water pressure in the showers, cracking ceilings and walls, etc.). 4. Increasing number of unmanageable children, who create a lot of noise and disruption day and night 5. Given the above, the place is definitely overpriced and is no longer worth our money However, it seems that things might be changing. This year we have witnessed the arrival of new management, who appear to be recognizing the gravity of the situation and... listening to customers (took time to meet me, apologize and acknowledge my verbal report of these issues) and starting to act (small example - my wife left a number of her personal items in the villa and we requested the resort to ship it to us at our expense via FedEx). The whole process took nearly 3 (!) weeks and was very ineffective and frustrating, but the new management demonstrated their determination to improve it Given the above, we are hesitant to return to Sublime Samana (as every year during the last 10 years) in March 2027. While new management seems to be determined (verbally and based on a single example above) to address the problems, their good intentions might be unrealistic, given the local work ethic and culture and absence of professional resources. Shall we give them the benefit of the doubt ?

Really mixed feelings about this resort. It was listed as a small luxury hotel. It is more like vacation condos for families. Rooms are nice. Pools and beach are nice. The food is very good. Unfortunately, only one restaurant was open every day except one. The service was mostly bad. Front staff service was good. They were usually helpful. Service at beach and restaurants was terrible. Only one friendly waiter. Everyone else acted like we were bothering them. Waits for drinks and meals exceptionally long. Our refrigerator was restocked regularly but we never could get anyone to bring fresh towels and washcloths. No one monitoring adult pool.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Sublime Resort in Samaná truly lives up to its name. The location is absolutely stunning, right on a beautiful, peaceful beach that feels untouched and serene. The staff made the experience exceptional from start to finish. Christopher at the restaurant went out of his way to ensure every meal was enjoyable, with consistently delicious food and warm service. Julianni at the front desk was welcoming, professional, and always helpful with any request. Dameris in housekeeping kept our room immaculate and added thoughtful personal touches. Friendly staff, great food, and an unforgettable beachfront setting—this resort is a gem. Highly recommended.

What a disappointment. We have been here many times. The beach is beautiful and we can try hard to ignore the music from the resort next door which is loud during the day. But this is no longer SLH in my view. Primarily because of the food and then because of the service. Staff simply do not understand English and get most things wrong. A few of the seasoned staff can help but few are left. The food used to have local fish, homemade guacamole and great options. Now it’s Americanized and everything has processed yellow cheese on it. Everything! Service in the beach is completely lacking and if you can find a towel or someone to help you before 9am consider yourself lucky. It’s an absolute shame. I give it two stars because of the beach.