Barcelo Bavaro Palace Deluxe - All Inclusive

Beach was awesome, room was good as well. Food was great. The buffet staff wasn't so great. Night life is very boring.

The person that checked us in was absolutely rude.The facility and rooms are beautiful, very upscale. The Beach, pools, scenery all very nice.There was confusion between staff as to what is open and what is not. The shows posted were not always the shows shown. The quality of the food was a little sketchy. The beach and sailboats, pool areas and bars were lovely. After the 4th day all 6 in our party of adults came down with an intestinal illness, which we still have after our vacation. Diagnosis from M.D. Norwalk virus. We understand this is a result of poor sanitation practices and personal hygeine in the restaurants.We did not get the room we contracted for through [...].

This was our first experience at an all-inclusive. We've been on many cruises, and wanted to experience a similar, but more laid-back option. We had heard amazing things about this location from a friend that traveled here 4 years ago. We were worried about some of the comments left here, but decided to give it a shot anyway. We assumed that most of the complainers were whiners, and for the most part, they were. This place is not nearly as bad as some of the folks have reported, nor is it perfect. Its just hard to put my finger on what went wrong. Here's my best opinion: 1. Resort facilities: The hotel location, grounds, landscaping, restaurants, rooms, beach, pools layout, etc were simply stunning. I was surprised and impressed with the thoughtful design, cleanliness and modern amenities that this resort offered. Just gorgeous. Everyday I tried to take a different path to where I was going, and noticed a new piece of art, or design element that I hadn't noticed before. The restaurant designs were really incredible. Each restaurant offered a unique, bold, yet tasteful style. The Italian restaurant was so unexpected and cool. I enjoyed the theme-ing of each. Even the buffet area was really neat to look at. Pay attention to the art at this place, especially the lobby, just beautiful stuff. We had no issues at check-in or checkout. Not sure what that was about. 2. Rooms: Our room was comfortable, clean, and modern. Very cool design. Every room as a hot tub on the balcony, which is obviously a plus. Mini bar included soda, beer, chips, coffee, peanuts, and trail mix (sometimes). The bathroom and shower were really cool, but offered ZERO privacy. Not bad for a couple, but for a family, that would be a big issue for me. Also, we were there on a hot and humid week, and the room rarely offered much in terms of relief. It was always "cool" but never "cold." On the very hot walks back from a dinner in long pants (after baking in the sun all day), 'cool' just didn't cut it. 3. Service - Unfortunately, its just not the best. I really can't imagine how awful it must be to work at a place like this. Guests (especially American ones, of which I am) are rude, pushy, demanding, and gross. And most don't leave a tip. But, even when I am extraordinarily kind, speak Spanish, and do leave extra tips, I still felt a bit invisible, and as if I were putting someone out. This wasn't across the board, we met MANY wonderful people working at the resort who were delightful, (the guy in the rum and coffee bar is not to be missed) - but overall there really was a feeling that everyone working there was just miserable. I don't blame them, my guess its a combination of the hotel and the guests. BTW - their uniforms and appearance were all beautiful, so I just don't know where the disconnect is. (ONE NOTE: One really cool aspect of the resort is that there are many nationalities present. I heard French, Russian, Italian, among others. The most common language I heard was Spanish, which seems natural, given that I was visiting a Spanish speaking country. I really get annoyed when people complain that no one speaks English. Its important to note that you are traveling as a GUEST in a country that is not the United States. The predominant language in the DR is Spanish. Deal with it. If you are not going to be able to handle this reality, then please stay home and go to Epcot.) 4. Food - Again, another miss. I found food that I enjoyed, but nothing was spectacular. Breakfast was my favorite, but don't expect coffee with it. I tried my first two days to get it with success, but after the 3rd day, I just didn't have the strength. Also, unfortunately I did get food poisoning on the 2nd to last day of our 7-day trip. I highly recommend packing Pepto-Bismol with you. They don't sell it in the store. 5. Drinks - I had a hard time finding a bartender who would make 'real drink' (with the exception of Francis in the Mexican restaurant). They are served in sm...

My fiance and I went for 6 days and loved it! The food was good, drinks were good, room was nice, the pool was the nicest I've ever been in (especially because of the swim-up bar). The only negative was the language barrier- since neither of us spoke any spanish, we got a lot of eye-rolls from the staff and had a hard time communicating. Also, make sure to book your reservations at the a la carte restaurants at the beginning of the week because they were booked ahead of time! (Definitely try the Japanese restaurant)Despite these couple drawbacks, it was definitely worth the money, we had so much fun!

This hotel was a nightmare from the very beginning until the very end. Upon arriving it took us about 5 hours to check in. The service was horrible. The employees are rude and unaccommodating. They insisted their supervisor would be out within minutes to help serve us better. It took 5 hours to meet this mystery supervisor who was less than enthusiastic to help and looked extremely annoyed and uninterested. My friend has recently hurt her back so we needed to downgrade from a family room because their elevators were out of service and it was 4 flights of stairs to climb and they turned it into a unnecessary situation. The gentleman helping us would walk away from us while we were speaking to him because he did not want to listen anymore. [...] After 5 hours, they finally managed to give us a closer room on ground level. The rooms are dirty, they smell like mildew and are filled with mosquitos (on our last day we found a crab in the room). Room service is horrible. I ordered chips for the mini bar and had to call them about 6 times in a span of 4 hours before they finally brought them up and every time I called the gentleman on the phone would say, "oh they haven't brought them yet!" Anything you ask for, you will not receive. That includes robes, towels, food, etc. As for the food in the hotel, it's not good. It's edible, but it's not good. Once again, customer service is at an all time low. Nobody cares. I've never met such rude people. The beach and pools at the resort are beautiful. The excursions were well organized and a lot of fun. But 2 out of 10 isn't exactly my ideal vacation. The day we checked out we brought our own luggage to reception because we didn't want to miss our flight given that they don't answer requests. Lastly, while checking in the gentleman who would walk away from us constantly while we were speaking to him made a comment that stuck: "please don't write a bad review for us [...]." I'm not the one to write any reviews or give feedback, however this was the most horrible experience- and I can speak for all 4 of us on the trip- in our lives that I felt if I didn't write a review for those planning a trip or considering the Barcelo I would be doing something wrong. If I am ever to return to the Dominican Republic it will surely NOT be to the Barcelo.

We mostly spent time at the beach. I would definitely suggest booking restaurants for all the nights that you are there ahead of time. We enjoyed the Steakhouse, French, and Japanese restaurants the most. I would not say that the service was the most attentive and I would not call the place overly luxurious. However, it did what it does quite well: provide a place to stay and relax while taking care of everything. I would suggest this place for a casual all-inclusive vacation. The beach itself: sand, quality of water, shade, warm water, beauty of the beach, was truly exceptional.

The trip to celebrate all of my children's graduations was tainted when I discovered a well-planned scam by the hotel employees. We checked in as four adults as I have a 23 year old college grad and 18 year old twin graduates from high school. I received TWO room keys when I checked-in, instead of the designated four I was required to receive by the front desk employee. I booked excursions within the hotel from the traveler's agency. The second to last day, we left the hotel for six and a half hours and during that time, someone with a key that was registered and recorded on the hotel room door's digital memory as one of my keys, was used to enter my room. Cash was stolen. Of course, I thought it could have been the maid, until further investigations outlined the truth. The security men told me that it was not possible someone else entered my room because the door record shows at 1:40 pm one of the four of us used our key. However, I showed them a credit card receipt for payment at the excursion two minutes before that time for the four of us and the excursion was a 25 minute drive from the Barcelo. Also, I have a disc depicting pictures of the four of us at the excursion and a receipt for those pictures at 6:05 pm, just before we got back on the bus to return to the Barcelo. Upon check-out, I just happened to ask the desk clerk how many keys does the hotel give out for a room with four adults and that employee told me FOUR. Needless to say, I was extremely upset at that point. Two desk managers would not answer my questions, give me a receipt for when I checked in with that employee's identification and basically hid in their back office. This experience destroyed all positives about the accommodations. The hotel and grounds were very nice. The food was so-so. The entree's we received at the seafood restaurant were awful. Most of the hotel employees were rude, and I learned from experience, have a well-planned scam amongst them.

Hotel was awesome. Upgraded to the ocean front room and more than worth it. Premium treatment all the way!!! Easy check in and friendly service. Only bad experience was the terrible set of clubs they give u if u rent from the golf Shop. Course was great but if u are going to play... Bring your own clubs! Buffett food ok... But restaurants were good, Japanese is by far the best. Zip lining is awesome. Look up the tropical storm excursion online or ask your rep about it at the hotel. Best excursion offered. Strong drinks great weather friendly service... As good as it gets

This is a lovely place to be! Everyone was so nice and helpful. Love the Japanese Resturant in the hotel. My husband was beyond surprised and he loved it. We will definitely go back. Check my site for pictures: www.jadore-fashion.com

Fantastic!