Barcelo Dominican Beach - All Inclusive

I stayed here last year . It was my Mother's day get a way with my son. I was so impressed I planned a family summer vacation. This time I was upgraded from a jr. suite to a deluxe suite. The staff was very friendly.

Beautiful- the beach, most of the dominican people, the well kept grounds Average- the buffets and other food, room comfort, mixed drinks Above Average- the servers in the buffets and restaurants they were so kind, and remembered your name and helped with the children.

Not the fanciest hotel but it was clean and well maintained. Entertainment staff was great. Lobby staff could be rude.

This was our first visit to Dominican Republic and after reading the mixed reviews we decided to go to this resort because of the value. If you are looking for a 3 star resort, this one's for you. For a little more money, we probably should have stayed at the Barcelo complex with access to multiple resorts. We booked the honeymoon suite which was worth the extra money. Beach view and a couple of extras although I don't recall the premium alcohol that was advertised. In fact, we think the alcohol was watered down since it was impossible to get even a slight buzz. Most staff were friendly but the guest service person could have been more helpful and enthusiastic. Beach and pool areas were beautiful and clean. Food was average. Buffet good for breakfast and lunch but not dinner. Best meal was at the spanish restaurant. We ate at Bucanero grill which was included with the upgraded room. Food and service was good but our "romantic dinner on the beach" was overshadowed by the wedding party there that continued to smoke and loudly use extremely foul language. My husband and several other people we talked to became ill on the trip. After eating at Wasabi on our second night, he could not stay away from a toilet the rest of our trip. Resort activities were average; one ping pong table; okay shows; tiny casino; fun disco. Don't bother going to bigger casino outside of resort. I got a great hour massage for only $30 on the beach. I wish drinks would have been brought to us at beach and pool areas instead of having to go to the bar. We went on an excursion with Bavaro Runners. Best part of the trip and best authentic meal. Very knowledgeable tour guide. be prepared for a very bumpy ride! Overall we got what we paid for. This is our first time at an all-inlcusive and think we prefer cruises.

The hotel is quite used (leaks, old paint) but clean. There are few sports (just 1 winsurf and 1 catamaran for 800 rooms!)- The proximity of everything is nice and the warm turquoise water and clean white sand beach here. Thanks god! The food is terrible (unripe fruits, meals with no spice at all, even the simpliest food like rice or fish are cheap and not cooked well....) The restaurant foods are a joke (they serve the awfull buffet food and if you don't like it that's it)- The seafood restaurant which is paying served overcooked lobster, what a pitty! There were very few surrounding activities offered. We did the ATV tour, it is a tourist trap. My son's ATV collapse in a turn and his ATV flipped over him. He was lucky to come out with only bruises and cuts. Overall we do not recommend this resort, there are a lot of much better resort. It is worth paying a little more for a better resort.

Overall the resort is great if you get a good deal. It is about 25 minutes away from the hotel (taxi is about $33). We enjoyed the breakfast (especially the delicious pancakes and juice fresh and made in front of you) and dinner restaurants (especially Italian and Spanish). There was also a wonderful cafe open late and good handmade pizza by the beach. The resort is a not small but also not overwhelmingly large. While we were there in mid-May, the beach was not over-crowded. They had a lot of activities going on all day, and a nightly show which wasn't too bad. The resort itself is clean and well-maintained. The bathroom in our standard room was large and nice, although the water pressure was awful. We were missing shampoo and a tv remote, and after we told the front desk both were in our room the next time we came back from the beach. Most of the vacationers seemed to be French. I didn't think the lunch buffet was good, but my fiance didn't mind it. Not too many kids running around, which we liked. The bars only served local alcohol, you have to pay a few dollars extra to get premium liquor.

It was good because we made the best of it and met a lot of nice people. Some of the bartenders loved us because we tipped them at the beginning, but a majority of the staff was rude and disrespectful. They spoke behind our backs in spanish, but we understood perfectly because we are all fluent in italian.

The resort was ok... it was very clean, however it was a bit older for my taste. The pictures really didn't give the best feel of the resort, meaning, it looked better than it actually was. The liquor was good-- I'd advise you to stay away from the ice and learn how to say NO ICE in spanish. The rooms were nice, spacious and fully stocked with bottled water, coke and sprite. I think orbitz should have told us about the $10 tourist Card fee to enter the country of DR, but thats another story. The transfers to the hotel and the airport made me the most angry. From the aiport to the hotel, no problem. They tell you to meet with the Coco tours rep the next day 5 45 in the lobby, no SHOW. He told me to come back the next day 6 pm. NO SHOW... he finally came to the resort, and how was I supposed to know. We were scheduled to leave the hotel at 9 am for the airport, and the car didn;t come until 10! After all of the uncertainty, I thought I was going to be stranded at Barcelo Dominican Beach. All and all it was just OK for the price. I could have went to Occidental and had a better time.

My wife and myself came here to relax in the middle of her pregnancy, and relax we did. Punta Cana is very quiet with not a whole lot to do, so if you are looking for rest and peace and quiet, this is definitly the place. The Service was excellent, and I love the fact that many of them remembered my name. The food on the other hand, Terrible, if I never had to eat in the D.R. it would be way too soon! There was one jerk in the coffee shop, but outside of that really good experience. Not as good as Jamaica by far, but pretty cool destiniation.

IT WASN'T WHAT I EXPECTED AND I PROBABLY WON'T COME TO THIS HOTEL AGAIN. THE FOOD WAS NOT GOOD, IT GAVE ME AND MY WIFE THE RUNS. WE WENT TO THE ITALIAN REST. AND THE FOOD WAS SO SALTY. AND THE ONLY WAY THEY TREAT YOU GOOD IS IF YOU HAVE A FEW DOLLAR BILLS ON THE TABLE. ALSO WHEN WE FIRST GOT TO THE HOTEL WE ASKED FOR 2 BEDS AND THERE WAS ONLY 1 KING SIZE BED AND WE HAVE 2 BOYS I HAD TO CALL THE FRONT DESK AND AFTER A FEW HOURS THEY CAME AT 9PM AND CAME WITH 2 BEDS WITH NO HEAD BOARDS MY KIDS WERE SLEEPING ON THE MATTRESS IT WAS NOT A GREAT EXPIRENCE FOR US. ALSO WE WERE VIP GUEST AND TREATED THIS WAY. THE CLEANING LADY WAS GREAT! MY KIDS LOVED THE POOL BESIDES THAT I WOULD NOT RECOMMED THIS HOTEL TO ANYONE NOT EVEN MY ENIMIES.