Barcelo Bavaro Beach

Maya Smith

Honestly, DO NOT STAY HERE unless you’re on a very tight budget. The money you’ll save by coming here is NOT worth the expense of a very comfortable and relaxing vacation. There were so many cons of this resort that I had to start making a list so I’d remember. I’ll spare you by only naming the most notable ones. But I’ll be fair and give the pros too. Pros: Affordable, staff is friendly, nice pool, food is overall good, there’s really great live entertainment and shows, room is spacious, five restaurants came with the basic all inclusive package, and the guest services and cleaning crews are prompt with requests. Above all, the food and entertainment stood out for us. The nightly shows at the Palace were super fun and well put together. And the food at the restaurants available to us with our package, although VERY hit or miss, had a lot of hits! Now, on the cons. A lot of things are not included!!! For example, room service is not included and many of the activities the website advertises are not included. You also often find yourself hungry and with nowhere to find a snack, because there is no food at the pool or at most of the bars. There’s one place in the Palace (a short train ride away, though you have to wait 10-15 mins for the train) that’s open 24 hours and has a buffet of bar-like food. Otherwise, you have to go to one of the other buffets during their hours. Further, the train from bavaro beach (adults only) to bavaro palace is very infrequent and the system itself hard to understand, especially since trains go in different directions to different parts of the larger resort without any sort of signage. We got lost and missed dinner reservations. Now, on to the room. There is no shower curtain for some reason, so be prepared to have water all of the floor constantly. More importantly, the bathrooms are moldy, most notably around the handles and corners. There were also old blood stains on many of our towels, which is DISGUSTING. Further, they clearly don’t change the sheets everyday like they are supposed to/say they do. I know this because my bonnet left a mark on a pillow case one night, and it was the exact same pillow case when I got in the bed the next day. Amazingly, what ACTUALLY broke the camel’s back for us was when dozens of water BUGS crawled in under our door after a rather heavy rain. It was disgusting!!! In conclusion, don’t stay at Bavaro Beach. You’ll have better luck at the Palace if you’re willing to deal with kids or have kids. Otherwise, STAY AWAY!!!

Steffen Kluepfel

Overall a nice place. Reduced one star because rooms are quite dated and could use an update. Check in took very long which is annoying when you arrive after a long journey. Food was good at the buffet restaurant. I would not recommend the restaurants which are included in the package. The restaurants where you pay a bit extra are definitely better. All service staff was very friendly and attentive. Everything was very clean.

james lowe

My wife and I had a lovely stay at this resort. The weather has been amazing, even though the weather apps kept predicting rain — when it did rain, it only lasted about 10 minutes at most. The room could use an upgrade; while it’s spacious, it feels a bit dated. That said, the facilities here are fantastic. There’s loads to do — definitely enough to keep you busy for two weeks. The staff have been amazing and very helpful throughout our stay. A special mention to Steve, the marketing manager — he stopped us on our first day to introduce himself, get to know us, and share useful info about the resort and things we shouldn’t miss. He even offered better discounts than others we’d seen, so be sure to find him and have a chat. His English is excellent, too

Chelsea Indie (ⓟⓘⓩⓩⓐ ⓟⓡⓘⓝⓒⓔⓢⓢ)

i was a little disappointed by the buffet food, but some of the options were still nice! i just wish the food was hotter. i enjoyed eating at kyoto and santa fe. the entertainment team is so lively! i enjoyed dancing with chocolate and another woman (i didn’t get her name, she was slim with wavy hair), and i loved watching the other dark skin woman (mayi) on the entertainment team dance! i stayed a week by myself and the staff was so welcoming and entertaining! Maria S. from el caribe buffet was so friendly, i enjoyed talking with her. i will definitely try to book again! after reading some of the previous reviews: i was lucky i didn’t have no issues with my room

Carlos Martinez Aldana

Mediocre at best! Ruined our honeymoon. I never bothered in writing good or bad reviews. I just don't go back to places where I have bad experiences, but this was the worst experience in a hotel/resort. I thought the negative reviews here were people who were either picky or hard to please. But no, this hotel is the worst I've stayed in my entire life. I'm writing this the night before we are checking out. Once we checked in and received our room and we walked in, the floor was wet as if someone dumped a bucket of water. The toilet was full of piss stains and pubic hairs, the bed sheets stain and bed was not very well made. They changed us to a different room, there was a water leak and people working on the room above us waking us up around 6am we call the reception to fix our problems waiting 2 times for over an hour and half and no one showed up until we went in person. To "compensate" us, they offer a fruit basket or one dinner at a restaurant. You need to make a reservation, which just feels like a spit on the face. This hotel completely ruined our honeymoon, something that no amount of friut baskets and free dinners will make up for the experience of ruining ones in a lifetime event. I can keep going, but you understand now. this is a 3-star hotel at best, and that's being generous. I would never stay here again, and I would not recommend this place to anyone.