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The Melting Pot - Tacoma
Online Reservations
My husband and I had a great time at the Tacoma Meltinh Pot. We went with the thought we would go to dinner and a movie and instead spent several hours at the resturaunt having a great time enjoying our meal and conversation.
I love the melting pot. I am a returning customer and it was my fiances first time. He enjoyed himself. We both had a great time and will return. The only negative I would have from the trip is the prices the four course meal are a little on the high side. Nathan was our server and he was awesome! I will for sure request him again next time..
I have dined here before and each time has been great. This is restaurant can be fun, romantic, for special occasions all at once. great place to dine.
We brought our kids out to try something different. They really enjoyed the experience. One thing we would've changed was the time between courses. At one point, there was about a 15 minute window from the time we had our plates cleared till the next course was brought to the table. The broth was at a full boil for some time. Other than that, very friendly server who catered to our kids and great food. We will definitely be returning.
This was my second visit and I've come the conclusion that the best things are the drinks, cheese fondues, the salads and the desert fondues. I'm not entirely impressed with the meats being basically boiled. But to each their own!! Besides that the service has always been very friendly and never rushed as this is always at least a 2 hour dining experience. That being said please leave your small children home!!! Not just for others but for your enjoyment also.
Had a great time server was excellent. Had a fun time
The service in the bar was great. The service once we were seated was much less stellar. I think our server had too many tables or something. He seemed to disappear for a while. The food and ambience was great with the exception of the couple in the booth next to us who were groping each other.
My girlfriend and I love eating here for a date night. Cannot go as often as we'd like, but well worth the atmosphere and food.
The Melting Pot was SO VERY accommodating to us! We were running incredibly late and they were able to push our reservation back another 15 minutes.. Then we got stuck in Tacoma Dome traffic which made us late altogether by 45 minutes. I was so worried that they were going to cancel our reservation but I called and they said no worries at all. They were incredibly nice! Food was amazing. Hostess was very sweet. Our waitress was Lauren, she knew her stuff and did a great job. We will certainly come back again for our next special occasion. Or if we just want to dip stuff in chocolate!
We decided to use our recently purchased Living Social voucher on a Sunny late October Sunday. The parking is super easy in downtown Tacoma. Our server was very attentive and helped us make decisions to navigate the courses. We decided to add the cheese fondue to our meal. They make it right in front of you. Bubbling cheese with garlic, wine and kirsch aromatically fills the air. We enjoyed every last bite. The salads were fresh and tasty, nearly unnecesary, with all the food. The main entree, cooked in broth was delicious. My daughter enjoyed the fun hands on dining. Dont plan on a quick meal here, we were dining and enjoying ourselves for over 2 hours! finally the chocolate coarse. Over the top indulgence. We couldnt finish it all.
Everything was fantastic, especially our server! I want to say his name was Rashard, but I might be fudging that a bit. We are very happy with our experience.
Great food and the service was wonderful. The manager came by several times and spoke to us. It was a very friendly place and I will go back again
Melting Pot is always a great choice for great food and the opportunity to have great conversation.
We always have an excellent and enjoyable dinning experience .
This place was great. We have been here before and tonight was no different. As always, the food was delicious and the staff was wonderful! The manager came around to make sure everything was to our liking and of course it was! Great place for a romantic dinner if you ask me
Great service! Took my daughter for her bday and had a great meal with excellent service
I made a reservation for a Friday night with one of my good friends. It was her first time at the Melting Pot! The food, service, and all around experience was a great reflection of the Melting Pot in Tacoma. Sam was serving us and she was great. We didn't feel rushed, which was very relaxing for a Friday night. Thank you Sam!
Got this off of Living Social for $45 (got a $5 off coup.) and I'll go glad I bought this for my honey and I! Beyond mind blowing dessert (we had white chocolate, marshmallow fluff, with oreo bits on fire!) and I'm pretty sure we both walked away in a warm happy bliss. My only "hangup" was we asked for a romantic booth, which we got... However, with my 5 foot frame and his 6'2 frame we kept bumping knees which made it a little crowded but not a bad thing for some whom are a little smaller. All around, I would without a doubt go again and would love to take the kids sometime as well!
My husband and I went out with a couple of our friends for SRW even though we didn't take advantage of it. We eat here often and while the food is always good, it usually stops at good. Originally our reservations were for 5, but one of our party didn't make it. Unfortunately this meant that I didn't get the table with 2 burners as I requested, so when it came time for meat the pot was quite crowded and there was more need for the "rescue spoon". Even considering this I still gave the visit 5 stars entirely due to our server. I dine out a LOT and I've never had a server as engaging as our was. She just made the entire experience exceptional and next time we go I'll be sure to ask for a table in her section. Even if it's only one burner!
I made resevations over the internet and once I made it to the restaurant the host was waiting to seat us. This was really impresive. My date was really impressed as was I. Dominic offered us a tour as it was our first time there. He explained everything with clarity and a smile. He offered to check our jackets from the table and when he offered the wine list and was able to quote the wine of the day I felt he wasn't offended when we declined. As we were offered additional options of drinks and when asked his opinion on the menu he was honest and forth coming on what he liked and what was popular. We enjoyed a 4 course meal on his reccomendation and WOW peased and full. Outstanding establishment and a return is a must!!
With the food steadily arriving, in wonderful variety, and perfect portions, it is a fantastic way to unwind, visit and enjoy a meal together. Fun and deliscious.
Great food ( for the most part, Chicken gets rubbery in the boiling pot ). Great place for a special night out. Pricey so only good for rare occasions.
Choosing the food items here can be complicated and one is not always certain that the choices are going to work. That is because the choices are so different from what one usually finds in a restaurant. We did enjoy the leisurely pace and our choices worked well.
When I booked my reservation, it was to celebrate my wife's birthday. I ended up changing my reservation three times and they were incredibly accommodating. We arrived early but they were kind enough to get us right in. Our waiter, Michael, was very knowledgeable and friendly. He ensured that we got the best value and best Melting Pot experience. We were blown away by the whole dinner and wonderful service! My wife and I dine out frequently but it has been a long time since we have had this great of a dinner experience. The employees really care about their guests and they were all very friendly and cordial. Truly, from Michael our waiter to the dinner to the total experience, this place earns an easy 5-Stars! Thank you Melting Pot Tacoma!
My husband and I both have commented several times what a nice evening out it was at the Melting Pot. We had made reservations for 5:45pm and were seated promptly. We had a good server who showed us how to order from the menu, as we had not dined there before. We chose a 4-course meal and were really pleased with it. I like how there's time for plenty of conversation while eating and we didn't feel rushed. All the food was very good. I may have preferred a different cheese than what I ordered, but that wasn't the restaurant's fault. It got a little busy towards the end of our meal and our server seemed a bit rushed, but he coped with it well and communicated with us periodically to keep us from feeling ignored. Thank you!
After having a bad experience nearly 20 years ago we decided to give it another try. What we found was a totally different experience (I guess after 20 years things will change). The food was wonderful, our server was extremely attentive and explained things to perfection. The atmosphere was very nice and provided a hint of romance. The overall experience was great. My only critique would be that the price is a little steep for what you get as you are paying more for the experience than the food. Overall I would recommend giving them a try.
Everything was well delivered, very satisfied for it being our first time to the restaurant.
My wife and I celebrated our 29th anniversary at the Melting Pot on November 3rd. Our dinner was outstanding along with the service. We had a great time and will definitely return. Sincerely, 29andcounting
Limited sitting in waiting area. Short wait even though we had reservations, thus the no seating problem. Excellent wait staff. Polite and helpfull. Wish the meats were seasoned more. Boiling the meat and items in flavored water did not do it for us. We would rather have marinated or seasoned meat, cooked in oil. Excellent desert fondue. This would be a great first date venue. You have to agree to parts of the meal, stimulating conversation.
Came for our anniversary and loved every minute of the two hour experience. Portions are spot on and you can enjoy a slow meal with friends orloved ones
It was the first time for my girlfriend and she loved the place. Meals look small, but by fourth meal...dessert you're very full.
Love the fondue's! Great service and food. Love that eating takes hours!!
The entire staff helped to make our second anniversary a very special evening. Our table was dressed with rose petals,a dozen roses, and a chilled bottle of sparkling cider. Todd was our server and did an amazing job with suggestions and the perfect amount of check ups to keep the drinks full, but just enough alone time also. The manager Phil also provided some excellent conversation with us, too congratulate us, and make the night special with his fine customer service skills. Todd brought out the desserts with the special message that I left for my Lover written in chocolate. It was like one surprise after another, after another. Needless to say she was very happy with the evening.
really enjoyed the entire experience, from giving car to valet to getting back in car. every one was very welcoming and went out of their way to ensure we had a great time, have been to many 4 and 5 star restaurants and rank the service, food, and atmosphere up there with them all. have already recommended the melting pot to many of my friends.
The service was very good,and the variety of choices was outstanding,and I would highly recommend that in the desserts You would add carmel to the classic. It was an outstanding experience, thanks.
We absolutely love The Melting Pot and try to go at least once a year. The only thing that bothered us this time was our servers nails, they were polished and super chipped. While we don't care how people paint their nails, we did wonder if there was a possibility that the chipped polish could get into our food. Our thought process was when exactly was the chipping happening, in our fondue? Other than that quirk it was delicious, our server was a delight too!
Good service with a flavorful menu. It was a good night out get away with with the wife.
On November 11th , I had a wonderful first time experience at the Tacoma Melting Pot. From the moment I and a group of friends walked in it was great. The hostess was very friendly and accomondating. Sara , our waitress, was so much fun and personable. She talked about what things she thought we would like and of course we went with it and was not disappointed. Philamond(I may not have the spelling correct), was so friendly and very attentive, as well as the manager , who's name I have forgotten. It was such a customer friendly place and such a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I can't wait to visit again. I'd reccomend this great place to anyone.
For my business' Holiday party I took the staff to a fun night at the Melting Pot in Tacoma. This was the PERFECT location for it. We were able to have a fun interactive evening allowing everyone to socialize and enjoy good food. The ambience lends to this kind of occassion. The food is good and fun and utilizing their form of a Pre Fix menu (the bundled meals) sets everything up for ease of choices and service. However...the night was made GREAT by the outstanding Waiter that we had, Rashad. We will ask for him by name from now on. He is knowledgeable, attentive and has a GREAT sense of humor. As any good waiter, he read the table, figured out our needs and attended to them. I warned the manager that I am going to steal him away!
I love this restaurant for a relaxed get together with friends. Our service and explanation of the dining choices was executed and delivered flawlessly. This is a $$$ establishment and having a server who assisted us in our choices was appreciated. Service was not rushed and our group spend 2 1/2 hours just catching up and enjoying the food. Since my last visit, the appearance and upkeep has improved, with a replacement of the carpet completed. Outside lighting on the signage could use an upgrade as it took part of our party a couple trips around the block to find this restaurant. Out of towners may have a difficult time navigating with the current signage, especially in this area.
My husband and I made our reservation in advance for our "date night". Something we try to do on a regular basis. The food was great but I think our server Dominic made our experience amazing. He was friendly, helpful and always checking to make sure we were ok. When we return, I will definitely ask for Dominic again.
This was our first time experiencing The Melting Pot and both my husband and myself really enjoyed the experience. The food was amazing. The "experience" was so fun. The only two complaints are the server seemed a little overwhelmed with too many tables and the table next to us was a little loud. Other than that- we give it two thumbs up.
I would not go there without some sort of coupon. Way out of my price range, especially since you do not get to take leftovers home :(
Melting pot is a fun & surprisingly filling date night. We went on a double date there last weekend and thoroughly enjoyed the experience & the food. We had a "Living Social" deal for 4. Next time, I'd probably be happy to do a cheese course & dessert! Those were absolutely the favorites. In the past we did the oil/tempura version and that was great too. I'd recommend Melting Pot as a fun night out for both the experience & the food.
The Melting Pot is where we go for our anniversary. It's above our regular dining out price range, so we reserve going for special occasions. It is a unique dining experience that you should try at least once! Great food, great service.
Everything was perfect as per usual for the Melting Pot and as per what we have come to expect there. I had to ding them on the ambience one less than perfect because the table behind us had a huge lady sitting there that reeked of BO. We didn't know it was her and not the booth we were in until she went to leave and walked by our table but it was definitely her. I know it's not something they can control per se, but my wife was pretty grossed out during the first half of our meal at the smell. Brought down the romance level a notch. Other than that, everything really was fantastic. We showed up about 40 minutes early and had a drink in the bar and then we were seated ten minutes early.
It was a lovely evening and a great meal. The server was wonderful and the food was fabulous!
We ate at the Melting Pot Tacoma for the first time using a Living Social coupon. The entire experience was amazing. From the second we arrived, we were treated as special guests. The wait staff was amazing, very attentive and helpful suggestions. The manager was also great - he checked on us several times and was very friendly. We enjoyed the Melting Pot experience more than any other dining experience EVER.
The restaurant has great ambience, & a friendly helpful staff. A great place for special occasions. Don't visit if you're in a hurry or on a budget. You can choose a la carte or a 4 course meal; we selected the 4 course. The food was tasty. The appetizer was filling; bread dunked into delicious bubbling cheese. The salad was very good. The main course meats were very good, but seemingly small; if this were served in a 'traditional' restaurant, the plate would've looked half empty. We cooked each piece for 2 mins & had different vegetables to toss into the broth, so it was filling enough. There were several chocolate dessert choices. We selected Bananas Foster, which I do not recommend. Too sugary, not chocolately & too much cinnamon.
We go to the Melting Pot every year for my birthday - starting doing this in 2006. We have never been disappointed! The service, food and atmosphere are consistent from year to year. I also mentioned to my husband that even though they changed up how you can order, they basically still have the "Big Night Out" and the price hasn't really changed at all. We have a Passport Dining card that gives us 20% our whole dinner. Since I have a December birthday, my husband likes to really do it up right!


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Item #: 164649
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Item #: 173574
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Reviewed by: MindyCharles
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Location: Florida
Title: Icky
Date: Sep 29, 2013
Kids will love them parents might not. I don't know if this stuff will stain any furniture
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Reviewed by: stsunny22
Date: Feb 08, 2013
only bad thing is that it stains hands and things that can be dis-colored.
Reviewed by: whozwatts
Title: Goo-tastic!!
Date: Jun 20, 2011
This product is awesome!!! It is so gooey and wet, slimmy and fun! My daughter just LOVES this stuff. it is fun for all ages too. FYI play with on a placemat to contain the ooze but fun, fun fun!
Reviewed by: CaseyC
Location: Boston
Title: Black goo/goop
Date: Jun 17, 2011
My daughter received a bucket of this from her friend's birthday party last year. She is 5 1/2 and asked me to order her some more. She loves playing with it, making pancakes out of it, etc. She plays with it in our upholstred chair, and it doesn't seem to stain. I would totally buy it again!
Reviewed by: greeneggs1
Title: fun Product
Date: Apr 17, 2011
My 8 year old daughter and my 6 year old son loved the goo. I had them pour it on a deep plate and they played with it for a good half hour. they still play with it from time to time. Just make sure to not spill it on a fabric or carpet. It is hard to clean on those surfaces. Keep it in the kitchen limits where it is easy to wipe if spills. Make sure to supervise them while playing.
Reviewed by: satisifedcustomer
Title: Awesome birthday favours for boys
Date: Feb 19, 2011
Any little boy would love to have this in his loot bag!! Very cool, never seen anything like this on any other site.
Reviewed by: MomPam
Location: Hyden KY
Title: So cool!
Date: Jan 26, 2011
Awesome toy for the gift bags. My 7-year-old loved these and so did his friends. Great item for a Monster Jam party.
Reviewed by: JeanLW
Location: Michigan
Title: JeanLW
Date: Jul 13, 2009
I put the barrels of slime in a plastic bag w/other party items and sat them on a shelf. The barrels came open and leaked all over. Ruined several items.
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Adult Eczema - Pollen & Dust Mites Allergy
I just wanted to pass this information on. I suddenly began to have episodes of eczema about four years ago. I had never experienced it before in my life, and I am 71. We moved to the Knoxville, Tennessee, area when I retired in 2003. My dermatologist has always claimed that the eczema was not due to allergies, but I recently took some allergy tests and found I was allergic to pollens (trees and grasses) and dust mites. Doctors started giving me allergy shots about two months ago, and not only have my allergies disappeared, my eczema has also disappeared! I am itch-free for the first time in four years.
Jim Uphoff
Loudon, Tennessee


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Wagner, Richard
Richard Wagner 1813-1883
German dramatist, composer, and essayist.
The following entry presents criticism on Wagner from 1984 through 1999. For further information on Wagner's life and career, see NCLC, Volume 9.
Recognized as an outstanding nineteenth-century composer, Wagner also distinguished himself as a dramatist and theoretician whose works profoundly influenced modern literature. Wagner's many operas and innovative dramatic theories, as well as his powerful personality, have consistently elicited substantial commentary. Der Ring des Nibelungen (1853; The Ring of the Nibelung), his most widely acclaimed work, embodies many of his theories, including the use of cyclic structure, leitmotiv, and myth. Wagner's conception of Greek tragedy and interpretation of the pessimistic and materialistic philosophies of Arthur Schopenhauer and Ludwig Feuerbach also inform his operas. Like the ancient Greek dramatists, Wagner combined myths, symbols, and various art forms to express human and social aspirations. His primary goals were to create a Gesamtkunstwerk, or unity of the arts, through a synthesis of music, poetry, and dance, and to portray the ideal human being.
Biographical Information
Wagner was born in Leipzig, Germany. His father died when Wagner was six months old, and a year later his mother married the actor and artist Ludwig Geier, whose theatrical background influenced the young boy. Wagner was schooled in the liberal arts at the Dresden Kreuzschule, where he displayed a keen appreciation for Greek drama and, by the age of fourteen, had already attempted to write a classical tragedy. In 1828, Wagner began an independent study of harmony and composition. Three years later, he entered Leipzig University as a music student. By his early twenties, Wagner had already earned a reputation as an eccentric and egocentric musician. His marriage to the German actress Christiane Planer in 1836 was the first of a series of tumultuous affairs and liaisons that would deeply affect his art and life, and it was at this time also that Wagner's extravagance resulted in unmanageable debts that would continue to plague him. He had begun composing operas while a student, and in 1837 traveled to Paris, hoping to attract financial backing for future operas with a successful staging of Rienzi (published in 1842). Unable to find a producer, and as a result of his careless spending, Wagner was imprisoned briefly before moving to the Parisian suburb of Meudon. There he wrote Der fliegende Holländer (1843; The Flying Dutchman), the first opera for which he composed both the libretto and music. Between 1848 and 1853 Wagner served as the court choir director in Dresden, and during this period he wrote many of his most significant theoretical works on dramatic art and music. During Wagner's last creative period, in which he produced such operas as The Ring of the Nibelung, Tristan und Isolde (1865; Tristan and Isolde), and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868; The Mastersingers of Nuremberg), his theoretical interests began to encompass political as well as aesthetic concerns. He saw himself as a hero who would redeem the materialistic and base through art. Attracted to socialism as a means of reform, he befriended the Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin. During the 1849 Dresden uprising, Wagner was in the center of revolutionary activity that later prompted his escape to Switzerland. There he began writing the dramatic poem that gradually evolved into the work that most fully embodied his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, his masterpiece, The Ring of the Nibelung. Wagner's poetic texts for the Ring operas were published collectively in 1853, however, he did not complete the accompanying music until much later. In 1862, Wagner was pardoned for his revolutionary political activities and returned to Saxony. He found a sympathetic patron in King Ludwig II of Bavaria, who offered to subsidize his artistic efforts. Wagner then settled in Munich and concentrated on writing and composing. Estranged from his wife since his exile, Wagner embarked on a liaison with Cosima von Bülow, daughter of the pianist and composer Franz Liszt and wife of Hans von Bülow. They lived together openly for some time, and eventually married after the death of Wagner's first wife in 1866 and Cosima's subsequent divorce. In 1872, with the patronage of Ludwig II, Wagner supervised the construction of the innovative Bayreuth Festspielhaus, in which opera boxes were eliminated, musicians were relegated to an orchestra pit, and the best available stage machinery was installed. The premiere of the Ring cycle in 1876 inaugurated the first Bayreuth Festival, and by 1883, with the first production of Parsifal, a tradition of yearly performances had been established. Shortly after Parsifal ended its original run, Wagner, declaring it his last work, traveled to Venice, where he died of a heart attack.
Major Works
Scholars generally divide Wagner's operas into three categories: early, Romantic, and mature. The use of a librettist and the traditional Italian operatic style characterize such early works as Die Feen (composed in 1834; The Fairies), Das Liebesverbot; oder, Die Novize von Palermo (1836) and Rienzi. A somewhat later opera, The Flying Dutchman is recognized as a transitional piece between the early and Romantic phases, and is the first for which Wagner incorporated the mythic sources that became a hallmark of his Romantic and mature works. Due to their poetic themes, sensual appeal, and dynamic dramatic construction, Tannhäuser (1845; Tanhauser) and Lohengrin (1850) are considered Wagner's most Romantic operas. Tanhauser recounts the medieval legend of a knight's love for a beautiful woman, while Lohengrin portrays the saga of a mysterious lover whose identity must be hidden from the beloved. The most fecund phase of Wagner's theoretical writing also belongs to his Romantic period, with his principal aesthetic theories appearing in three works: Die Kunst und die Revolution (1849; Art and Revolution), Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft (1850; The Artwork of the Future) and Oper und Drama (1852; Opera and Drama). In Art and Revolution, Wagner maintained that all art is a revelatory expression of communal joy, and asserted that it should be accessible to everyone. He considered classical Greek tragedy the most perfect art form; like the Greeks, he wished to inspire an intense emotional response that would be enhanced by the union of drama and music. In The Artwork of the Future, Wagner developed his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk. He contended that the artist should strive, through a synthesis of artistic forms, to represent perfected human nature, and he explained that the "music-drama," as he called his operas, was the most effective vehicle. In Opera and Drama, Wagner elaborated on his conception of music-drama. Since he found mythology continually relevant and universal in its ability to move an audience, he theorized that it was the most suitable source for dramatic themes. These themes were enhanced through the use of leitmotivs, melodic phrases associated with recurring ideas, characters, and verbal patterns, which could be combined, juxtaposed, and developed to provide structural unity and psychological nuances. The works of Wagner's creative maturity are crowned by The Ring of the Nibelung, which comprises four operas: Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Written in reverse order beginning with Götterdämmerung and ending with Rheingold, the Ring cycle is primarily based on the Scandinavian Edda, a collection of ancient myth and legends, and the Volsunga Saga, a medieval Icelandic epic. Wagner's rendition of these tales depicts a struggle among gods, giants, men, and dwarfs, and is imbued with epic elements: characters of heroic proportions, the evocation of legendary action of national and historical importance, and supernatural forces. Another work of Wagner's late period, Tristan and Isolde is derived from the Arthurian legend of Tristan de Leonis, and displays Wagner's theme of redemption as well as the influence of Schopenhauer's philosophy of the denial of the will. Differing from the majority of Wagner's works in its depiction of history rather than myth, the comic opera The Mastersingers of Nuremberg nevertheless reflects the same dramatic principles. It features the figure of Hans Sachs who, critics note, resembles Wagner in his espousal of revolutionary musical ideas. The hero of Wagner's final opera, Parsifal evolves from the Arthurian Grail-seeker found in a version of the legend written by the thirteenth-century German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach. The work itself is considered one of Wagner's most prophetic, and links themes of love and death.
Critical Reception
Wagner's operas and aesthetic theories have consistently inspired great critical controversy. During his lifetime, Wagner was simultaneously rejected as a modernist whose operas and aesthetics were incomprehensible and untenable and hailed as a prophetic dramatist and composer whose works would revolutionize modern art. Several periodicals were founded exclusively to discuss his works, and by the early twentieth century, more than ten thousand books and articles had been written about him. Wagner's popularity steadily increased until World War I, when anti-German sentiment prevented the performance of his works outside his native land. In the 1930s and 1940s, Adolf Hitler's friendship with Wagner's daughter Eva and the use of his works as propaganda for the Nazi movement contributed significantly to the decline of the composer's international reputation. Criticism of this period noticeably reflects commentators' repugnance for Wagner's nationalism and anti-Semitism. While these subjects continue to elicit commentary, most modern literary scholars largely deem the parallels between Wagner and the Nazi movement extraliterary and focus instead on the works' dramatic qualities and philosophical sources. Through the end of the twentieth century, Wagner has been recognized as a foremost nineteenth-century dramatist and composer whose works have influenced myriad artists and artistic traditions, musical and literary.
Principal Works
Das Liebesverbot; oder, Die Novize von Palermo (opera) 1836
Rienzi (opera) 1842
Der fliegende Holländer [The Flying Dutchman] (opera) 1843
Tannhäuser [Tanhauser] (opera) 1845
Die Kunst und die Revolution [Art and Revolution] (essay) 1849
Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft [The Artwork of the Future] (essays) 1850
Lohengrin (opera) 1850
Oper und Drama [Opera and Drama] 2 vols. (essays) 1852
*Der Ring des Nibelungen [The Ring of the Nibelung] (librettos) 1853
Tristan und Isolde [Tristan and Isolde] (opera) 1865
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg [The Mastersingers of Nuremberg] (opera) 1868
Das Rheingold (opera) 1869
Die Walküre (opera) 1870
Götterdämmerung [The Twilight of the Gods] (opera) 1876
Siegfried (opera) 1876
Parsifal (opera) 1882
Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen 10 vols. (essays, letters, poetry) 1887-1888
†Die Feen [The Fairies] (opera) 1888
Richard Wagner's Prose Works. 8 vols. (essays) 1893-99
(The entire section is 165 words.)
SOURCE: Frye, Northrop. "The World as Music and Idea in Wagner's Parsifal." Carleton Germanic Papers 12 (1984): 37-49.
[In the following essay, Frye surveys the literary and mythological sources of Wagner's opera Parsifal, and associates the work's theme and music with the concepts of Arthur Schopenhauer's philosophy.]
On the subject of Wagner I have to speak as a pure outsider. I am interested in Wagner as a creative figure with an immense cultural influence, but I have never been to Bayreuth: I have seen very few Wagner operas, and the whole spectacular side of Wagner, the spears that freeze over the heads of the virtuous, the swans and doves and dragons and other ambulatory fauna, has always been of minor interest to me. In fact I have reservations about the genre itself. I once saw a work of Monteverdi in which the singers performed offstage while the action on the stage—an episode from Tasso—was mimed, and I have never quite lost the feeling that that was the direction in which opera should have developed.
Considering the time and place of my youth, it was inevitable that there should be a long interval between my first music lessons and my first opera (which was Lohengrin). Hence my early musical experiences crystallized around the great keyboard composers, who produced the music I feel I really possess. Then I went through a period, during the Second...
(The entire section is 6533 words.)
SOURCE: Large, David C., and William Weber. Introduction to Wagnerism in European Culture and Politics, edited by David C. Large and William Weber, pp. 15-27. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1984.
[In the following excerpted introduction, Large and Weber consider the extensive influence of Wagner's music and thought in the social, political, and intellectual movements known collectively as 'Wagnerism.']
The name of a great artist may earn immortality, but such a name is not often adopted to form the title of a social movement. Much of what was extraordinary about the support for Richard Wagner can be seen most simply in the widespread use of the English terms Wagnerism and Wagnerian, the French wagnérisme and wagnérien, and the German Wagnerismus and Wagnerianer, to cite but three of the languages in which such words were coined. His name became affixed to magazines as well—La revue wagnérienne in Paris, Cronaca wagneriana in Bologna, and The Meister in London—and to organizations—the Wagner-Verein in many German and Austrian cities, the Wagner Society in London, and the Associazione Universale Ricardo Wagner in Bologna. Why did Wagner's name mean so much to so many people, and what is the significance of their enthusiasm for "the Master?"
Wagner did not stimulate admirers alone—he stimulated a...
(The entire section is 5943 words.)
SOURCE: O'Sullivan, Thomas D. "The Perfect Wagnerite: Shaw's Reading of the Ring." English Literature in Transition (1880-1920) 30, no. 1 (1987): 39-47.
[In the following essay, O'Sullivan critiques George Bernard Shaw's interpretation of Wagner's Ring as a political allegory.]
George Bernard Shaw's The Perfect Wagnerite1 is generally recognized as a lucid, witty, and informative introduction to Richard Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen. Shaw's allegorical exegesis of the Ring has often been characterized as unbalanced, however, because of its heavy emphasis on political economy. Robert Donington, for example, describes The Perfect Wagnerite as "a one-sided study which does full justice to the economic issues but to very little else."2 John DiGaetani, admitting that Shaw's "view of the Ring … is very well defended and still valid," says that "he does, however, ignore other possible interpretations of the tetralogy."3 And Paul A. Hummert characterizes The Perfect Wagnerite as "Das Kapital tempered by Shaw's Fabianism and set to the tune of Wagner's cycle The Ring of the Nibelung."4 Although Shaw's interpretation does have defects—particularly with respect to the significance of the character of Siegfried and the validity of the love theme—I would suggest that...
(The entire section is 3887 words.)
SOURCE: Rather, L. J. "On the Quality of Wagner's Poetry and Prose." In Reading Wagner: A Study in the History of Ideas, pp. 32-58. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1990.
[In the following essay, Rather chronicles Wagner's development as a prose writer and as a poet (particularly in regard to his Ring librettos). Rather concludes by noting Wagner's theories on the decline of language.]
Wagner's writings, including the nine volumes of collected works published during his lifetime, together with his voluminous correspondence and huge autobiography, constitute a formidable bulk of material, much of it still available only in German. William Ashton Ellis's Richard Wagner's Prose Works, an eight-volume edition of Wagner's essays, short stories, and posthumous writings, appeared in the 1890s; it has been reprinted as recently as 1972.1 Wagner's ten-volume collected works in German (volume ten appeared in 1883, after his death), the Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen, have been reprinted often enough, most recently in 1976.2 Neither of these two collections includes Wagner's "The Work and Mission of My Life," a long essay, published in two parts, in the North American Review in 1879.3 Wagner's autobiography, Mein Leben, was privately printed and circulated among his friends in the 1870s. It was not made public until 1911,...
(The entire section is 10935 words.)
SOURCE: Lee, M. Owen. Wagner's 'Ring': Turning the Sky Round, pp. 47-79. New York: Summit Books, 1990.
[In the following excerpt, Lee probes the mythic, musical, and psychological elements of Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Siegfried.]
DIE WALKüRE
act i: In a forest storm, Wotan's mortal son, Siegmund, finds shelter, not knowing that he has come to the house of the very enemy he has been fleeing from, Hunding. He is befriended by Hunding's wife, the gentle Sieglinde, but he keeps his name from her. Hunding, according to primitive rites of hospitality, will shelter the fugitive for the night, then fight him in the morning. Siegmund is weaponless, and calls on his father, whom he knew only as a mortal named Wälse, for the sword he once promised to send in an hour of need. While Hunding sleeps, Sieglinde comes to Siegmund and points out a sword that a mysterious stranger had once thrust into a great ash tree. As Siegmund and Sieglinde fall in love, they realize, from twinship of face and voice, and from common parenthood under Wälse, that they are long-lost brother and sister. Sieglinde confers on Siegmund his rightful name. He pulls the foredestined sword from the ash tree, names it Nothung (need), claims his sister as his bride, and escapes with her.
act ii: Wotan, who began his plan...
(The entire section is 8770 words.)
SOURCE: Poster, Mark. "What Does Wotan Want?: Ambivalent Feminism in Wagner's Ring." New German Critique 53 (spring 1991): 131-48.
[In the following essay, Poster addresses several sociopolitical interpretations of the Ring and argues that the work should also be viewed in terms of its representation of gender.]
In the four operas of the Ring cycle, Wagner presents a world in crisis and undergoing change but a coherent, rule-governed world nonetheless. Using as his raw material the medieval saga of the Nibelungenlied,1 Wagner works up a presentation of a world in which the central character, Wotan, ruler of this world, attempts to carry out a plan and is unsuccessful in doing so. Such a bare representation of the drama of the Ring is highly misleading because everything about Wotan is problematic: his statement of his plan, his will to carry out the statement, his action in relation to the statement, and his relationships to the other characters concerning the statement. In this essay I want to suggest that in the character of Wotan, Wagner's work explores the limits of the modern, patriarchal subject, and begins to move toward what has emerged as a feminist position. And if this is the case, the criticism of Wagner's work by his friend and later enemy, Friedrich Nietzsche, loses some of its force and needs to be reexamined.
In this...
(The entire section is 7592 words.)
SOURCE: Corse, Sandra. "The Voice of Authority in Wagner's Ring." In New Studies in Richard Wagner's 'The Ring of the Nibelung,' edited by Herbert Richardson, pp. 19-38. Lewiston, N.Y.: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1991.
[In the following essay, Corse demonstrates "how the voice of authority or power is created and subverted in the Ring," especially through the technique of quotation.]
The Ring cycle is a mass of quotations. The most obvious, of course, are the musical quotations, the series of musical reminiscences or leitmotifs. Almost as important, however, are the many instances in the text when characters quote, directly or indirectly, other characters, or when they retell the events of the story. These quotations and embedded narratives, of course, often serve the direct dramatic aim of keeping the audience abreast of the complications of the plot. As such, they are necessary and seem redundant only in retrospect—most audience members probably need these reminders and repetitions in order to help them understand the activities and motives of the gods and heroes. But for Wagner, a simple purpose rarely suffices. The embedded narratives are not only helpful as mnemonic devices, but also contribute to Wagner's purpose of creating something of the religious and moral efficacy of Greek tragedy; these embedded narratives serve, as John Daverio has recently pointed...
(The entire section is 7482 words.)
SOURCE: Daverio, John. "Wagner's Ring as 'Universal Poetry.'" In New Studies in Richard Wagner's 'The Ring of the Nibelung,' edited by Herbert Richardson, pp. 39-53. Lewiston, N.Y.: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1991.
[In the following essay, Daverio discusses the unifying structure and technique of the Ring operas.]
The text which serves as the point of departure for this essay is the 116th of the fragments published in the Athenäum (1798), a short-lived but highly influential journal founded by Friedrich Schlegel and his brother August Wilhelm. Although Friedrich Schlegel's name does not surface too often in discussions of music, he is considered by most literary historians to be the intellectual father of German Romanticism, and in Fragment 116 he presents a microcosmic account of the new Romantic programme. There he imagines a "progressive, Universal Poetry" that would "reunite all of the separate genres of literature," "bring poetry together with philosophy and rhetoric," and finally "mix and fuse poetry and prose, spontaneous creativity and studied criticism."1 I have already suggested elsewhere that Schlegel's prescriptions represent a remarkable literary analogue for the realization of similar goals in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen;2 here I would like to focus on Schlegel's statements relative to the form that...
(The entire section is 5381 words.)
SOURCE: Koheil, Ruth, and Herbert Richardson. "Why Brünnhilde is the True Hero of the Ring Cycle: An Analysis of Her Psychological Development." In New Studies in Richard Wagner's 'The Ring of the Nibelung,' edited by Herbert Richardson, pp. 177-89. Lewiston, N.Y.: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1991.
[In the following essay, Koheil and Richardson present a reading of the Ring as "mythological psychology," viewing Brünnhilde as the central protagonist of the operas as she undergoes the process of ego development and sacrifice.]
The source of The Ring is myth. This means that although both humans and gods are characters in the drama, the purposes of the gods govern the action. The human characters—Siegmund, Siegfried, Sieglinde, Gutrune, Gunther, etc.—act as instruments of the will of the gods. Failure to maintain this understanding of the opera-cycle as myth leads to a misinterpretation of its meaning.
For comparison's sake, consider another author-created myth: the Aeneid. In Virgil's story, the journey of the human hero, Aeneus, is governed by the will of the gods. His rescue from the burning city of Troy, his destiny to found Rome, his shipwreck and disastrous affair with Dido, his battle against Turnus, and his marriage to Lavinia, are all willed by the gods. Aeneus is a human hero, vested with all human virtues and desires, but he is still an...
(The entire section is 4274 words.)
SOURCE: Morris-Keitel, Peter, Alexa Larson-Thorisch, and Audrius Dundzila. "Transgression and Affirmation: Gender Roles, Moral Codes, and Utopian Vision in Richard Wagner's Operas." In Re-Reading Wagner, edited by Reinhold Grimm and Jost Hermand, pp. 61-77. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993.
[In the following essay, Morris-Keitel, Larson-Thorisch, and Dundzila offer a feminist examination of gender in Wagner's operas, concentrating on the traditionally bourgeois-capitalist gender roles of Wagner's characters.]
"Our existing opera is a culinary opera. It was a means of pleasure long before it turned into merchandise."1 Bertolt Brecht's remarks concerning opera, here in regard to his Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (1929), seem to repeat the obvious: namely, that opera is as much an experience as a pleasure. As such, opera is a source of sensual gratification, which is not only a result of its form but also of its content. At the same time, Brecht maintained that the character of opera as merchandise prevented the formation of any critical stance with respect to its content. This situation may only be altered through the introduction of innovations at the base of which is the intention to provoke.
Similar suggestions for change, which led Brecht to his theory of epic theater, had been proposed earlier by Wagner. After...
(The entire section is 8039 words.)
SOURCE: Nattiez, Jean-Jacques. "The Theoretical Essays of 1849 to 1851." In Wagner Androgyne: A Study in Interpretation, translated by Stewart Spencer, pp. 12-42. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1993.
[In the following essay, Nattiez defines Wagner's mythologized theory of the splintering and reunification of western art.]
Hardly had Wagner completed the full score of Lohengrin on 28 April 1848 when a whole new series of ideas began to clamor for his attention—The Nibelung Legend, the prose draft of "Siegfrieds Tod," an article on the Wibelungs, the prose draft of Wieland der Schmied, the essays. … [T]heoretical reflections and plans for dramatic works went hand in hand at this crucial moment in the life of a man whose mind was teeming with a thousand simultaneous projects, as he glimpsed the creative opportunities for the whole of the rest of his life even if, for the present, he lacked the maturity needed to bring them to fruition. In fact, the Ring was not completed until 1874. Even the music was not started until 1 November 1853, by which date Wagner had already written a long series of essays, to the chief among which we must now turn our attention: Art and Revolution (1849), The Art-Work of the Future (1849), "Judaism in Music" (1850), Opera and Drama (1851), and "A Communication to My Friends" (1851).
(The entire section is 14684 words.)
SOURCE: Ziolkowski, Theodore. "Wagner's Parsifal between Mystery and Mummery; or, Race, Class, and Gender in Bayreuth." In The Return of Thematic Criticism, edited by Werner Sollors, pp. 261-86. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1993.
[In the following essay, Ziolkowski provides background to Wagner's opera Parsifal and makes a thematic analysis of its libretto, while noting the "racist, sexist, and elitist" assumptions of the text.]
In the century since its premiere Wagner's Parsifal (1882) has been venerated by its admirers as a semireligious mystery and vilified by its detractors as ideological mummery. The trend toward sacralization was initiated by the Master himself, who was not content to designate his final opus with the term he coined to characterize the Ring—Bühnenfestspiel (stage festival). To single out Parsifal he created the neologism Bühnenweihfestspiel—in which the interpolated syllable was meant to suggest the sacral nature of what he called "the mystically meaningful lovefeast of my Grail knights."1 To preserve its consecrational purity Wagner specified in 1880 that Parsifal should never be profaned by being performed merely "for the amusement of the public" outside the hallowed precincts of Bayreuth. "How can an action in which the most sublime mysteries of the Christian faith are...
(The entire section is 9028 words.)
SOURCE: Lindenberger, Herbert. "Wagner's Ring as Nineteenth-Century Artifact." Comparative Drama 28, no. 3 (fall 1994): 285-310.
[In the following essay, Lindenberger identifies the Ring as "embedded in the world of its time," while acknowledging the importance of its poetic experimentalism and epic mode of narration.]
Suppose that Wagner had died in 1853, exactly thirty years before his actual death. At this point he would have left behind at least three operas that count for us as major works, The Flying Dutchman, Tannhäuser, and Lohengrin. Most important for the ideas I hope to develop in this paper, he would also have left behind the libretto for another set of operas, namely the Ring. Early in 1853 he had had fifty copies of this libretto printed privately for friends. Had he died at the time it would surely have been necessary for some propagandist to enter the scene and call attention to the importance of Richard Wagner as a cultural phenomenon. After all, throughout the thirty years of which we have just deprived him, Wagner, among other activities, himself assumed the role of propagandist for his own works—and, one might add, with the most considerable success.
If, let us say, someone other than Wagner had convinced the world of the worth of Wagner's completed operas,1 scholars would no doubt have made a big thing...
(The entire section is 11754 words.)
SOURCE: Weiner, Marc A. "Introduction: Wagner and the Body." In Richard Wagner and the Anti-Semitic Imagination, pp. 1-33. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.
[In the following excerpt, Weiner scrutinizes the racial implications of Wagner's depiction of the body in his operas.]
There is no anti-Semite who does not basically want to imitate his mental image of a Jew, which is composed of mimetic cyphers.
—Horkheimer and Adorno, Dialectic of Enlightenment
Gleaming or dripping eyes, a resonant or screeching voice, the bodily aromas of youthful love or the stench of sulfur and flatulence, the steady tread of a muscle-bound warrior or the lopsided, hobbling gait of a diminutive, hairy, goatlike creature whose skin is ashen or deathly pale—these are images of the body through which Richard Wagner metaphorically expressed his theories concerning the failings of nineteenth-century Europe and his vision of a superior and future Germany. For Wagner the body is the site in which the ideological becomes visible; it is both metaphor and physical reality, a vehicle for communicating abstract aesthetic and social concepts and, at the same time, a physiological manifestation of the purported veracity of the issues with which it is associated. But while the ideas with which Wagner identified the body in his essays and music...
(The entire section is 11225 words.)
SOURCE: Steinberg, Michael P. "Music Drama and the End of History." New German Critique 69 (fall 1996): 163-80.
[In the following essay, Steinberg appraises Parsifal as a cultural and ideological text concerned with the crisis of modernity and the redemption of humanity.]
This essay is about Parsifal. It is about Amfortas's wound, the efforts to close it, and the meaning of the claim that it has finally been closed. That closure involves also the closure of music drama, the redemption of Wagnerian form now raised to the level of pure ideology. The essay's three-part argument involves the identification of three claims of cultural resolution and their internal contradictions. These claims I will call the end of music, the end of desire, and the end of history.
On the way to Parsifal and Monsalvat, I want to rest for a moment in that scariest of precinematic hotel lobbies: the Hall of the Gibichungs. I want to identify in Act II of Twilight of the Gods a moment of rupture in the ideology of music drama. The reimposition of that ideology will be the task of Parsifal.
Siegfried has forgotten Brünnhilde and has abducted her to be Gunther's bride. Brünnhilde exposes his treachery, and Siegfried is reduced to a state of utter unmusicality. Loaded down with leitmotivs, he attempts...
(The entire section is 7256 words.)
SOURCE: Zegans, Leonard S. "Richard Wagner's Cosmology: Self-Deception, Self-Realization, and the Destruction of Nature." In The Threat to the Cosmic Order: Psychological, Social, and Health Implications of Richard Wagner's 'Ring of the Nibelung,' edited by Peter Ostwald and Leonard S. Zegans, pp. 1-9. Madison, Conn.: International Universities Press, Inc., 1997.
[In the following essay, Zegans explores the essentially Romantic cosmology of Wagner's Ring, which he argues emphasizes the struggle between human will and the natural order.]
Audiences arrive at a performance of The Ring with a special sense of anticipation. Most attend not only to hear some gripping dramatic scenes or to pass judgment over a new, heralded tenor, but to place themselves under the spell of a brilliant story-teller and musical enchanter. The child in us is still enthralled by the idea of dragons, giants, and helmeted women carrying the bodies of heroes slung across their horses. Yet as adults we discover that there is a drama taking place not only upon the stage but within our own minds. Wagner is a shaman who evokes in us images usually sheltered from our awareness, but released by his fusion of music and drama. We are the ultimate instrument of Wagner's talent. He conjures from within us memories and images from our own unconscious hopes, fears, and emotions; he stretches our imagination, sending us from...
(The entire section is 3388 words.)
SOURCE: R. Kilbourn, J. A. "Redemption Revalued in Tristan und Isolde: Schopenhauer, Wagner, Nietzsche." University of Toronto Quarterly 67, no. 4 (fall 1998): 781-88.
[In the following essay, Kilbourn discusses the theme of redemption via the "conjunction of love and death" in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde.]
This discussion of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde shares with the previous three chapters the recognition of Wagner's propensity to invert and even subvert his materials: formally, logically, musically, and ideologically. And yet, in a seeming contradiction, the ultimate movement of Tristan is one of completion and resolution, in terms of the redemption Wagner sought to embody in the crucial conjunction of love and death. My aim is to address this apparent formal and thematic disjunction (on the basis of Wagner's professed intentions, rather than any specific production), through a close look at the opera's final tableau, Isolde's Verklärung, or 'transfiguration' (Bailey, 41-43). In this final scene, the aesthetic and musical problem of the representation of death and its redemptive potential is inseparable from Wagner's peculiar relation to the philosophical assumptions underpinning this prototypically 'modern' work. This reading of the closing scene will turn on the irony of its being informed by one of the key moments in the Synoptic Gospels: the spectacle...
(The entire section is 3800 words.)
SOURCE: Hutcheon, Linda, and Michael Hutcheon. "'Alles was ist, endet': Living with the Knowledge of Death in Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen." University of Toronto Quarterly 67, no. 4 (fall 1998): 789-811.
[In the following essay, Hutcheon and Hutcheon interpret Wagner's theme of redemption in the Ring in terms of a modern, psychological acceptance of death.]
Richard Wagner's best-known work, Der Ring des Nibelungen, is famous for many reasons: its music, its Germanic mythic allegory, its sheer length.1 Called a stage-festival play for three days and a preliminary evening, the Ring 'cycle' (as it is known) runs at least fifteen hours. In other words, it is a major investment of time and energy for audiences. But it is also an engrossing story of the struggle for a golden ring—and therefore for power—among giants, humans, Nibelung dwarfs, and the Teutonic gods. It contains several infamous love stories: that of the siblings Siegmund and Sieglinde, and also that of their offspring, Siegfried, and Brünnhilde, the Valkyrie (who happens to be his aunt). There are many stories in the Ring2 and, it goes without saying, there are many possible critical approaches to it.
When critics tell the story of the Ring—and, whatever their theoretical inclinations and disciplinary...
(The entire section is 10542 words.)
SOURCE: McGlathery, John M. "Parsifal." In Wagner's Operas and Desire, pp. 235-67. New York: Peter Lang, 1998.
[In the following excerpt, McGlathery formulates a detailed explication of Wagner's final opera Parsifal with an emphasis on the work's representation of Parsifal's "triumph over desire."]
In his last opera, Wagner returns to the realm of magic and miracle. This time—more plainly than in Tannhäuser and Lohengrin—it is the world of Christian myth and legend. Parsifal indeed presents us with a community of knights of the Holy Grail, and is to that extent, at least, a drama of piety. Miracles, moreover, take place before our very eyes, so that as with the supernatural in Wagner's other operas, we must either accept the miracles at face value or attribute to them a symbolic role. Ultimately, the question in the present case is whether we have a glorification and recommendation of the Christian faith, or rather a depiction of piety as answering specific emotional and spiritual needs of the characters. Is Parsifal about the truth of belief or about the need to believe? From our analysis of the preceding operas, it would mark a radical departure, to say the least, if Wagner abandoned a secular depiction of interplay between spirituality and eroticism to write a drama supporting the Christian faith.
Parsifal is of course not...
(The entire section is 16515 words.)
SOURCE: Tietz, John. "Conclusion: What Does the Ring Mean?" In Redemption or Annihilation? Love versus Power in Wagner's 'Ring,' pp. 141-63. New York: Peter Lang, 1999.
[In the following excerpt, Tietz sees in Wagner's operatic cycle a thematic "tension between power and love in society," an emphasis on conflict, and a depiction of the ultimate dissolution of the world.]
With its great length, The Ring generates such tremendous momentum that it takes quite a while to conclude. There are in fact two long stretches of music in the final version of The Ring, but it could not plausibly have ended with Siegfried's funeral, except anticlimactically. For then Siegfried's death would be, as Mann suggests, a merely sentimental remembrance of heroism destroyed with little connection to the larger dramatic and philosophical context that emerges during the drama.
After her extraordinary adventures, Brünnhilde at last says that she understands what has happened to her in the long journey from her subservient role in her father's kingdom to the side of her lover, a lover she helped to destroy during her long journey towards self-consciousness. What does she comprehend? What we understand emerges in the music at the point of her cryptic realization: "Alles, alles / alles weiss ich." Has she "studied...
(The entire section is 11260 words.)
Further Reading
Katz, Jacob. The Darker Side of Genius: Richard Wagner's Anti-Semitism. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1986, 158 p.
Documents Wagner's anti-Semitic views, while acknowledging that "very little in the artistic work of Wagner can be related to his attitude toward Jews and Judaism."
Sabor, Rudolph. The Real Wagner. London: André Deutsch, 1987, 312 p.
Assesses Wagner's life and personality through the use of wife Cosima's diaries, first available in 1976.
Williams, Simon. Richard Wagner and Festival Theatre. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1994, 181 p.
Critical biography oriented toward Wagner's career as a theatrical artist.
Aberbach, Alan David. The Ideas of Richard Wagner: An Examination and Analysis of His Major Aesthetic, Political, Economic, Social, and Religious Thoughts. Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 1984, 385 p.
Considers the development of Wagner's ideas as manifestations of significant themes in nineteenth-century European culture.
———. Richard Wagner: A Mystic in the Making. Wakefield, N.H.: Longwood Academic, 1991, 231 p.
Studies Wagner's religious and spiritual thought.
(The entire section is 1328 words.)
Source: Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism, ©2003 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.


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Avgifter för extragäster och extrasängar kan tillkomma.
Statligt utfärdat foto-ID och kreditkort eller kontantdeposition krävs vid incheckning för avgiftsbelagd service.
Möjligheten att tillmötesgå speciella önskemål beror på tillgänglighet vid incheckning och dessa kan innebära ytterligare avgifter. Speciella önskemål kan inte garanteras.
Denna resort är all inclusive. Det innebär att mat och dryck ingår i rumspriset (vissa begränsingar kan gälla).
Dricks och skatter
Dricks och skatter ingår.
Mat och dryck
**Det kan hända att de här bekvämligheterna endast är tillgängliga i vissa rum eller enheter. Extra avgifter kan tillkomma för vissa bekvämligheter.
Bahia Spa har 13 behandlingsrum, inklusive rum för par. Massage kan fås på stranden eller i spat; andra tjänster inkluderar ansiktsbehandlingar, kroppsskrubb och kroppsbehandlingar. En mängd behandlingar erbjuds, som till exempel aromaterapi.
Privat strand och gym finns på denna resort. 3 utomhuspooler finns på området, liksom barnpool. Här finns även bubbelpool, bastu och ångbastu.
Fritidsaktiviteterna nedan finns antingen tillgängliga på plats eller i närheten. Avgifter kan tillkomma.
Följande avgifter och depositioner debiteras av hotellet vid incheckning eller utcheckning.
Det är möjligt att listan ovan inte är fullständig, likaså att avgifter och depositioner inte inkluderar skatt, och observera att dessa kan komma att ändras.
Please note: A section of the onsite private beach is clothing optional.
Avgifter för extragäster och extrasängar kan tillkomma.
Statligt utfärdat foto-ID och kreditkort eller kontantdeposition krävs vid incheckning för avgiftsbelagd service.
Möjligheten att tillmötesgå speciella önskemål beror på tillgänglighet vid incheckning och dessa kan innebära ytterligare avgifter. Speciella önskemål kan inte garanteras.
Not the best experience...Problems with our reservation..approximately 3 hrs to get our room. Our reservarion was lost in the system..it was truly inconvenient with 2 small children that became very restless. Poor room service. They never come when you call for something...They also seem to have problems with their laundry. It took forever to get towels […] sometimes. It was 4 of us in ONE bed...they whole week they promised to bring an extra bed. Waited for it the entire week we were there... Food was good, and the hotel is very clean and nice. Very poor service. MerVerifierad gästrecension
"good vacation hotel okay but customer service poor"
overall we had a great vacation but we had a problem with housekeeping with cleaning our room. good service is only available when you tip. the timeshare people were alittle too much. employees were not very plesant.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Great view and great food!"
We had booked two double beds and when we got there we were told we were "upgraded" to the Golden Club. Turns out the upgrade was they had no rooms left with two double beds and we ended up with a king bed. Not ideal for two single girls, but we made it work. The view from the room was great and we got 30 minutes of free internet a day. Not much else […] included in the upgrade. They could have just been honest from the start. The food was amazing at all of the restaurants. The pools are really nice and there is plenty of beach if you want to swim in the ocean. Resort is very quiet for sleeping. Housekeeping did not leave us towels the first two days and they really need to pay more attention when they clean the rooms. They don't do a great job of that. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Does not carter for locals"
If you are not a part of the privilege club do not attend this hotel. This hotel has a privilege club that cost $25,000. There are several restaurants, room service, and a big pool with a bar in the middle, but you are not allowed to use them if you are not apart of their privilege club. 3/4 of their services are only for the privilege club. My experience: […] my husband lives in Jamaica and I live in Florida, when we went to check-in the security guard stopped us at the gate and told us our names were not on his list. 20 minutes later he allowed us to go to the front desk to find out what was happening. First we could not find a parking spot, we were told that the front area was for the managers. When we went to the desk they told us they did not have a reservation under our name, this was very embarrassing. We got our computer, and I checked my email, and showed it to them. The receptionist checked again and still said our name was not there; he then entered my last name as my first name and found it. He later apologized and one of the managers spoke with us. We had to park our car in the garage that smelled like a sewage. When the employees realized we were from Jamaica there was a difference in their approach. Overall I truly believe, that this hotel is not for local Jamaicans. If you are not apart of their privilege club you are not offered most of their services. No one show you around, and tell where you cannot go; most of the services are for members of the privilege club MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"We had a great stay"
The Bahia exceeded our expectations. IT was beautiful. The beach was perfect, our rooms were nice. Great cold AC. The restaurants were great too. The staff was friendly and fun. We had a great week.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Very Disappointed"
The hotel looks nice on the outside. The rooms are a nice size, but overall our seven days stay was very disappointing. It started when we got out room key. The keys wouldn't open the door. My husband went to the front desk they took the keys from him, and said they would send someone up. After waiting 30 min to get into our room. I went back to the […] front desk to see what was hold up. Finally a maintenance person showed up. Banged on the door, not using a key or any type of tool, then the door opened. After getting in the room there were no towels in the bathroom. Called front desk again. After 3 more calls, and waiting almost three hours someone showed up with two sets of hand towels, two sets of bath towels, but no wash cloth. After two days we finally got two wash cloths. The room had extra pull out bed from the previous guests. I had to call to get it removed. Couldn't tell if the bed linen was fresh or left from the previous guest. The food was horrible, and always cold. The lines at the buffet restaurant was always long for no apparent reason. Lots of empty table but the guests weren't being seated. They would run out of food one hour or so before closing. So if you did not eat early, there was no food left for you to eat. Entertainment was the worst I've ever seen. You pay per night for the use of the safe in your room. Workers and staff were unfriendly. Outdated and broken workout equipment in a very small gym. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice hotel but terrible staff service"
Experience of the trip to Jamaica outside the hotel was fantastic: the scenery, the hospitality etcVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
This place has almost everything to provide and make ur stay comfy. Great buffet food ala carte wasn't that impress of the sushi place. Non stop drinks cool staff nice rooms. Nice place for familyVerifierad gästrecension
"Looks can be deceiving...."
My girlfriend and I arrived to the resort and immediately said "Paradise". Checked in with no problems, go to the room with a nice view of the pool and beautiful palm trees. Walked around the resort and knew we were going to love it. We had to call to get what we were suppose to already have, washcloths. The tub had leakage and every time we showered, […] that also leaked. So you can imagine how many towels were used. We wanted to use the safe to store all of our valuables, we found out there was a daily charge of 6 dollars (I thought safes were free to use in hotels). The hotel staff always took long to come to the room. The room overall was very comfy, we would lay in the bed and would fall asleep in minutes. The buffet staff was so helpful and the food in the buffet was delicious. There was also a place to eat on the resort called "Sand Bar" the jerk chicken was amazing along with the music being played by the live band. The pool was a nice setting, never had to worry about anyone being on top of you because it was large enough to occupy everyone. The bartenders were nice, just felt there should have been more rum than just Appleton Rum being served. The restaurants on the resort that you have to make reservations for, were all mediocre. All the staff around the resort would automatically greet you and were very nice. The fact that they allowed people to constantly harass you while on the resort to buy time share was absurd. Enjoyed walks on the beach and the beautiful views. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Week in Jamaica"
Me and my wife went to Jamaica to see family and relax on a late honeymoon.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Very nice hotel to spend vacation"
We took our kids and we all enjoyed our stay at the Gran Bahia in Jamaica... The food was was excellent... We ate a variety of food... The room spaciousVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice resort with a big pool and large beach area!"
Stayed in Don Pablo section and it was worth every penny. Always found lounge chairs and cabanas available by the pool and beach areas. Received good service, enjoyed great food and drinks and most importantly relaxed!Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Beautiful Landscape, Good Food"
My wife and I were part of a group of 4, who had 3 separate rooms. We switched rooms once so that's a total of being exposed to 4 different rooms. The grounds of this property is beautiful. If you do not plan on being in your room at all, and never need to call Housekeeping, then this is an okay place to stay. Housekeeping is totally non-responsive […] and the rooms all feel muggy. The bathrooms are in need of some TLC and for whatever reasons, housekeeping has decided not to place hand towels, nor soap, in any of the rooms. Good luck with calling housekeeping to get some replaced. The guest service downstairs is great and very welcoming. We met several great employees who did their best to make us feel welcome. However, the discomfort of the rooms are not worth us going back. MerVerifierad gästrecension
"Nice Hotel Horrible Rude Staff"
The resort was beautiful. Close proximity to the beach. Good Food. The entertainment was awesome by far the best part of the part of the resort!! The resort had live musicians. I am from Chicago therefore I am use to rude people but the staff at this resort was the worst customer service experience that I have ever encountered. The concierge are even […] worse. The staff at the buffets will ignore you unless you put money on the table which is the easiest and fastest way to get a drink or a simple spoon. A traveler will have to be a platinum or gold member in order to be truly appreciated or receive good customer service. The WiFi at this resort was horrible. I have been to Negril, Jamaica and stayed with the locals in a rundown hotel and they treated me like royalty. I will definitely not be coming back to Grand Bahia Principe (Montego Bay, Jamaica)!! I will not recommend it to my friends. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"great stay"
no big waves.safe for the kids. some staff need to smile esp at the bar area.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"ok hotel, nice view and beautiful beach and pool"
i like it but nothing fantasy, food was good front desk was nice but cant say the same about personal in buffet, even thought i tip every time i went to buffet i have to be calling for water juice etc, and i noticed 80 percent of person didn't tip at all. i been in numerous country as all-inclusive but nothing like the treatment you get in Dominican […] republic they are the best at customer service without question. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"plesantly suprised in paradise"
We stayed from 7/21 - 7/26. After reading some of the reviews from recent travelers I was a little worried that I may have made a poor decision, however, I was pleasantly suprised. The check in/out process was fast and smooth and we received adjoining rooms without even requesting them. The rooms were in fairly good condition and my daughter loved the […] designs the housekeepers left on her bed. We had a clean room and fresh towels daily, no problems. The resort is spread out, but the grounds are beautiful so I didn't mind walking as I enjoyed the view. The pool and the beach were clean. I do recommend getting your towels and getting out early as people do try and reserve their spot in the shade. I found all the staff and the Jamaican people to be friendly and helpful. There are a few locals that work the beach but they are well controlled by the life guards and hotel security. They made people watching interesting and were not pushy or bothersome at all. Many reviewers fussed about tipping as it is an all inclusive resort. When you see how hard the staff work to ensure you have a good stay, you will want to tip them. To me many of them have earned it, so bring along some ones. I do recommend booking your al a carte dinner as soon as you can. It was disappointing to learn that the only times left were at 9pm. We booked two excursions online (or you can do it at resort) and had a great time. It's beautiful country and we really enjoyed our stay. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice hotel but horrible customer service"
The hotel is beautiful. The housekeeping staff is horrible. We had to constantly complain to the manager about not being left with towels, washcloths and soap. Upon arrival you get harassed about purchasing their VIP club aka timeshare, which is annoying. You don't get to enjoy your meals without getting harassed to clear your plates. It was overall […] a horrible experience and I will not be returning their or any of their chain of resorts MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Excellent Hotel"
We travel alot, I have been to 3 Bahia Principes and this is the best resort we have visited so far. We highly recomend this resort. We had a Don Pablo Collection room. Fantastic food and service. 9 out of 10Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Great Natural Beauty"
My wife and 6 and 8 yo were there for 2 weeks. Love the staff and cleanliness of the room. However, because there are more that 1000 rooms the staff take make very realistic the Jamaican phrase "soon come". They took a big while to exchange a malfunctioning radio alarm clock. Besides that, the food is what to expect in any all inclusive. The Japanese […] and Spanish restaurants are top notch in quality and ambiance. We used the Kids Club a lot, the kids kept asking going back. Nightly shows were impressive as well as the infraestructure of the place. The resort opened fairly recently in 2007. Give it a try! MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice location, close to attractions"
The front desk staff was nice, but some of the other staff need a little more customer service skills training.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Very clean grounds staff could be more helpful,"
No first aid kits once the niurses were off duty could be a bit more leinent when it come to making local phone calls, especially been a gold member.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Loved it"
It was a great experience, we had the all inclusive package, which was the best, And thanks to Expedia for the VIP package. The only thing I did not like was that as soon as you walk in the hotel, there were sales agents there trying to say you won a free gift and they set you up too meet with a sales rep that tries to sell you shares. I told them i […] was not interested and they caught attitude. so avoid the sales rep....But all in all great vacation with 3 fancy restaurant dinners. I would go again MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Horrible experience"
Upon arriving at the hotel we were told they were over booked and wouldn't be getting all the rooms we had paid for until it was available. They offered us 100 dollars which doesn't even cover the cost of accommodation that we had paid for. The hotel staff was slack about getting back to us and it was always our responsibility to find them when we had […] an issue when it was their problem! The pool staff was great and the music was great. It's sad to say that this hotel and location is beautiful but the staff made this a terrible experience for a once a year vacation. If you are a hot natured person thee air condition does not work in the hotel and the bed feels like you are sleeping on a rock. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice hotel..."
The hotel condition is excellent, food is above average, the only problem I encountered was the staff, it looks like they are expecting tips for everything and if you do not give it to them, they will ask for it.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"So much fun"
We stayed in June for 8 nights with another couple and had a blast. It was very clean, well taken care of, entertainment staff was so fun. I'm usually not a huge fan of that stuff but the staff was so fun. Best staff of any all incl. That I've been to by far. We all actually played some games. Beautiful view of pool and ocean. Great food! A lot of different […] bars to hang out at. Relaxing/quiet in parts and good music/fun in others parts. Good drinks too. Therewere some kids but not many. Mostly adults/couples. The beach was really nice to. We took kayaks out and went snorkeling. I've been snorkeling a lot so not that easily impressed but it was pretty good. Not awesome but definitely worth going out there. We all had so much fun! MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"grand bahia, jamaica...get your groove back!"
the staff was awesome. the bartenders were so friendly and helpful, they always made us exotic new drinks to try. we dove(SCUBA) 4 times and the staff @ the diveshop was also exceptional. the jerk shack was great, better than the jerk we got @ a local shack. all the food was good, ESPECIALLY @ don pablos. the only complaint was the rocky beach. it would […] have been nice not to have to wear shoes @ the beach. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Worth the price"
Stayed from Jul 13 -16, 2013. Checking in was easy - staff were friendly. Food was good - plenty variety. Breakfast menu doesn't change so if you're staying for a long period you might get bored. Lunch and dinner buffet was always a large selection to choose from, desserts were good as well - lots to choose from. We tried one restaurant - the grill […] - this was okay but we ended up back at the buffet after. Bars had a wide selection of local rums but we're not big drinkers so we can't comment too much. Pool was nice, but we're not pool people either, so we spent most of our time at the beach. The beach is a large area - if you're early you got plenty choices of shaded beach chairs. Water was nice, clear and not too cold - but there were small pieces of sea grass floating around - it wasn't enough to be an issue for us. The beach and the grounds are always well maintained - we always saw someone cleaning. The only real issue was that the a/c in our room was not working properly and despite several calls to the front desk we spent the first night without a/c as they failed to address the problem . However, when we went to the front desk the next day and complained they made no issue to change our room and everything was fine after that. In general, unlike some of the reviews we read about poor service, the staff at the hotel was friendly and helpful with or without tips. We enjoyed our stay and would stay again. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"the resort is huge but need more entertainment"
we arrived early but the room was not ready but that was understanding but we did spend time on the beach and poolVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Would return again!!!"
I loved this resort!! Teh view was great and the location was excellent.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice Hotel, Beautiful beach, large swimming pool"
Our vacation was seven days out there.This is an excellent place to stay. Rooms are comfortable, spacious. Food was very good. A lot of variety, well presented and nice restaurants. The staff make a lot of efforts to please you as customer. Security on site does work. A lot of people work trying to give you peace of mind while there. If I have the opportunity […] i will come back. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice hotel"
I was very please with my stay at this hotel. The only major problem i had was them trying ti give me a lower grade room from what i had reserved.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Beautiful beach, staff hit or miss."
Pros: Beach beautiful. Pool large and clean. Food very good. Room very large. Cons: Staff/service very hit or miss. Very hard to get reservations for ala carte restaurants yet each night they were half empty. If you wanted a pool/beach towel you needed to get it prior to 8:30 am.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Nice beach/pool. Disappointing service overall"
We liked the resort beach and pool. Even the room was okay but the service wasn't very good. We had a lot of problems with the power going out. There were people that got stuck in the elevator for about 15 minutes. The staff in the morning buffet weren't too friendly. I can't say that all the staff weren't nice because there were some nice staff but […] overall it wasn't good. We've stayed at Bahia in Mexico before and the service was outstanding. The service at thu resort fell below the mark. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Old World charm with modern facilities"
The Gran Bahia offered more than I expected for my moderate package price. Once you enter the grand lobby, you forget about everything else and slip into vacation mode. My junior suite was comfortable and always clean. The large marble tiled bathroom was more than adequate for my needs. When I had a problem with the safe in my room, the maintenance […] staff were quick to respond. The grounds of the hotel are vast, so be prepared for a long walk to the beach. I had hoped for good snorkeling off the beach, but when that wasn't to be found, I happily bobbed in the waves with my fellow travelers. The extensive swimming pool with the swim-up bar was delightful and a necessity in the early afternoon heat. The entertainment staff were charming and had many planned activities for those who wished to participate. If you want a good workout, try the jazzercise program in the pool. It is a fantastic workout for people of all ability levels. I ate most of my meals in the Orchid Room which provides buffet service. It's a noisy place and waitstaff actually run through the aisles. There was a wide variety of foods nightly; I'd recommend the pasta bar where they prepare your dinner to your specifications. And forget about dessert- the charming array of cakes and pies and parfaits was lovely and impossible to resist. I had a great stay at this hotel and hope to return again. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Relaxing escape"
My boyfriend and I went here to get away from work and school and had an amazing time. The hotel was beautiful, the rooms were awesome, and CLEAN. Most of the staff were super friendly and willing to help. The night time entertainment was good for the most part, but we ended up eating so much that we fell asleep early some of the nights. I would definitely […] recommend upgrading to club golden, you get ocean views, top floors, robe and slippers, room service 24 hours, and a lounge with free wifi. There was also a luxury and a diamond club which are above golden, but there really were no extra perks to those. I believe the only difference is that with luxury you get a sectioned off part of the beach that is in the shade. I'd rather be in the sun anyway but we never had a problem finding seats that had shade and sun. Food was very good and we always found something to eat (we are extremely picky). After 7 days we got kind of sick of eating the same kind of food, but that is only because we are so picky. The beach in front of the gazebo kind of sucked, it was fake sand and lots of rocks, we stuck to the one on the side which could be a far walk for some people, but the water is clear and the beach is sandy. The only other negative was the air conditioning in our room, we advised them the 2nd day that it was not working and they promised to fix it every day, they didn't. On our last night they offered to switch our room. Overall we had a great relaxing vacation and loved it MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
I recommend this hotel. To coin a phrase " You get what you pay for ". I stayed at the Grand Bahi Priciple from June 16 - 25 2013 9 days. THE CHECK IN : I arrived 4 hours prior to check in time which is 3pm. The hotel does accommodate early arrivals. My room assigned however not ready till 3pm However we were able to change cloths in the club house […] and check our bags with the bell men.We started exploring the facilities right away. Including having lunch and walking on the beach. THE BEACH : The beach was nice, the Sea is crystal clear and warm/ refreshing. An adult is able to walk 40ft. out from the shore and my 6yr old could safely walk out 15 - 20 ft. The Sand on the shore is shallow in lots of areas However soft. THE RESTAURANTS: The restaurant staff are very prideful and professional. In Jamaica you get all the FANCY FAN FARE of a 5 * So much attention to detail even at the buffets. However the food was boring. My favorite was the Italian. The Brazilian has nothing to do with Brazil. The Japanese gives you 1 boring sushi roll and the rest is like a Mongolian grill. Forget about the steakhouse all together ( not worth putting on paints ) THE ROOMS: Good for 3 people only. Jacuzzi tubs, Balconies, and cleanliness all OK. Building 17 and 18 4th floor or higher are the best THE POOL: Large but only OK. THE BARS: No problem Man. MY COMPLAINT: is the hotel is to focused on selling memberships AKA time shares. They need to realize that guest work hard for a vacation. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Very beautiful resort and well kept!"
From the time we arrived until our departure we were waited on and the staff never exhibited dis-pleasure in assisting you. This resort is beautiful and the property is well kept. The beaches are beautiful and the staff amazing. The entertainment at night is very good. This resort is beautiful and the pictures online do not do it justice. The marble […] floors in the lobby and surrounding areas are beautiful..the landscape is as beautiful as a picture post card. The rooms are very nice as well... MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Great Vacation in a beautiful resort!"
The Grand Bahia Principe Jamaica is a beautiful resort that is reasonably priced. I was originally hesitant to book this resort because of some of the negative reviews that I had read but I took my chances and I'm so glad I did. The resort itself is big and very beautiful. My room was very clean with king size bed and house keeping is very on point […] to ensure your room is clean for the entire stay. The staff at the hotel was very nice. I felt like everyone was there to ensure I was okay and having a good time. My biggest suggestion would be this - LEAVE A TIP!!!! Don't be cheap to the bartenders and waiters. Trust me, I tipped the staff each time and I never had to wait for a drink or service. I was treated like a vip. The food at the resort was great...if your not scared to try new things. If all you want are hot dogs and boring food then you'll be disappointed. You have to try the Jerk Chicken, Curry Chicken, Curry Goat etc. The buffet switches up its menu everyday so you wont have to eat the same thing everyday. Now on to the pool, it is so nice! I spent almost all my time there . The swim up bar is always popping and the drinks are great. The staff at the pool are always there for you to have a good time. The music was always blasting some great tunes! My only two complains would be 1) the rocky beach area, it looks nice until you step on a big rock in the water.Ouch! 2) The nightlife is non existent!! After 11pm, there is nothing to do. The "Night Club" is terribleeeee MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Loved it all"
We stayed at the Grand Bahia from May 20-27th and it was excellent. The pool, room and staff were wonderful. The buffet food was actually pretty good, and the jerk chicken was the best! When we go back to Jamaica, we will be staying at the Grand Bahia again.Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Very nice resort, beautiful surroundings."
The Grand Bahia Principe Jamaica is a very beautiful resort. I had some reservations going here due to other reviews I had read, but was very happy to find that most of the complaints I had read just weren't true. My husband and I stayed here with our 18 and 20 year old sons. We all had a great time. The staff was so friendly, always smiling and going […] out of their way to make you happy. The beaches were very nice. The one for snorkeling, which is located in front of the hotel, was a bit rocky, but the snorkeling was very good. We even saw a sting ray one morning. Bring water shoes for this beach, and also your own snorkel and mask. The swimming beach, which was located at the far end of the resort, was very nice. The water was so clear and warm. Never had a hard time finding beach chairs. We walked to the far end of this beach, and it was never crowded. The food was good, but as I had read in other reviews, it does get old by the end of the week because it is mostly the same food every day. The Japanese restaurant was exceptional! We were lucky enough to be seated at the hibachi grill, which was very fun and entertaining. Rooms are very nice. We had 2 rooms, 1 with a king size bed for my husband and myself, the other across the hall with 2 double beds for our boys. Both rooms were kept very clean, and were always cleaned early in the day. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"this hotel is amazing and paradise"
what i enjoy the most of this hotel was how nice Jamaican people are.....i loved all there a la carta reservaction dinner. great service great weather and good food i really enjoy my stay. the pool and the beach were very nice and very cleanVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"First Time in Jamaica"
For what I had previously read about this place, my excitement level began to decline. Now I learned to experience things before listening to others. Everyone was extremely friendly to us and the resort itself was beautiful. As for the food it is fine, the times we went to the restaurants it was good. For what we paid it was way more than expected. […] We will gladly come back and stay in the Grand Bahia. As for the beach there is two areas. The beach area on the far side has no need for water shoes and the area behind the pool area, yes, you would want them because of the rocks. Overall I enjoyed the experience, caught a show every night and relaxed. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Hotel of many tricks"
I travel a lot and this was my first time being told that because I'm not a gold member that I was not allowed room service , Internet usage, and could only have dinner for two nights, but I was there for four nights . I will never go back because it was unfair.Some of the staff were friendly , and some were not. We were told in order to get room service […] we had to upgrade and pay an additional twenty-five dollars a night . Ridiculous MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"May go back...April 25th-30th, 2013"
For some reason it wasn't as welcoming as the other places I've been to although the staff was very nice. The beginning was horrible for me. My husband and I stayed from a Thursday to Tuesday. It was a beautiful resort. Beach breath taking. The food was so,so It got better as the days went on. The bad part was there was no clocks in the room, so thank […] god my husband had his watch. I like to look up to glance at the time. The pillows have no fluff to them at all, it feels like a sheet folded in a pillow case. The shower was the best from anywhere else I've been good pressure, but bring your own wash cloths they only give you one each person. I read the reviews about not having beach towels so I brought our own but we still were able to get some with no problem. As far as the pool wake up early for a good spot! you have to put your towels down with some type of shirt or something to hold your spot. make sure you get a spot with a big umbrella. Jerk chicken is served from 12pm-3pm everyday and it can be a long line at times but moves fast. breakfast sucks! Drinks are great. We were only able to eat at 2 restaurants because we only stayed 5days, 3 for 7days which no one explained but it wasn't that bad. Everywhere else I went you could eat at any of the restaurants any day so we weren't able to try them all. Men: make sure you have long pants for some of the restaurants. Make sure you have "off" because the mosquitos will get you. otherwise it wasn't a bad vacay. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"nice hotel, beautiful surroundings...food was okay"
we enjoyed our stay here... nice clean resort, beautiful and clean- crew always working to keep it that way, but don't expect too much front desk service here- or any extra attention- you are kind of on your own. the food was okay- large selection that my kids enjoyed, but the special resturants were nothing special and the food was bland and not too […] tasty for only getting three night of our 8 to have the opportunity to eat there:( below my biggest issue is the inability to escape the smoking!!! even at the pool you couldn't find a seat without having smoke or the ashes near you! yuck!!!! how about a smoke free area by the pool for those that don't? also the pool bar... no snacks? no fresh fruit in the drinks? just out of one of those preixed drink machines? we are in Jamaica, yes? MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Just an average okay place"
did not like the hotel atmosphere...we could have been anywhere including our hometown...floors of long dark halls that all looked alike...the rooms were very old and the furniture dated...the buffet food was just okay....Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"On the fence..."
This way my first time at a All-Inclusive resort so I don't have anything to compare to. The view from our room was outstanding! There were a few little issues that were annoying. The alarm clock and safe didn't work, we were Club Golden but received better service from the front desk for things we needed like pillows, sheets for the pull out and our […] mini bar restocked. The beach and pool areas were great. The bar drinks were awesome. Friendly staff, good shopping area. The food was good not great but good, however the scrambled eggs were soup and not pleasant to even look at in the morning.. yuck!. Good thing for lots of other choices! The hotel needs to provide better information about resort activities like snorkling and kayaking. We didn't know til it was too late you could only do these things during certain hours so we never got to snorkle. Overall we enjoyed our stay but may look into a different resort next time. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Ryan and JANETTE"
Great hotel,however the jacuzzi did not work for the entire stay,mildrew on the shower wall cracks. The previlede club was a turn off..did not like their scam .Verifierad gästrecension från Expedia
"Awesome hotel!!!!!!!!!!"
The Grand Bahia is the perfect resort. It is huge but easy to get around so you can go to different areas and do different things and not feel like you are stuck in the same place all of the time. The food was excellent. I would highly recommend Don Pablo and the Japanese restaraunt for other meals. They were fantastic. The best part of our trip was […] the staff at the Grand Bahia. Especially the entertainment staff. Jerome at the pool bar was great and ALWAYS took care of us. Kevin and Rohan were so much fun and they made our trip absolutely wonderful. James at the Piscus snack bar was our very favorite server. He was so nice and we just loved seeing him every time we went over there which was most days. Snorkeling was excellent and we saw some amazing fish. I would definitely go back to this same resort if I find myself back in Jamaica, which I hope I do. We feel it was the absolute best place that we could have been. MerVerifierad gästrecension från Expedia
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