Barcelo Punta Cana - All Inclusive

Beach -- Outstanding! We walked in both directions and the beach at BPC is much nicer than at any other hotel. Powder white sand, though if you look close, there is quite a bit of red/pink in it. Really pretty. This is what we go for, so we were in no way disappointed here. There were always some waves, some days larger than others. We had a good time in the water. Hotel -- Needs ALOT of love. From a distance it is a very nice looking hotel. Unfortunately, it is desperately in need of updating and repair. --Our room was just ok, but others in our group had rooms that were bad bad bad. Others had rooms that were updated and nicer. I could go on and on, but no need, the rooms/bathrooms need help. --Lobby and lobby bar areas were a bit run-down and again, need updating and love. --Pools and pool areas were nice. Again, upating and repairs are needed. --Staff overall was friendly and helpful. Some more than others. We tipped quite a bit and didn't have any really negative experiences with anyone. A few stood out from the others on the friendly side, were conversational, and seemed genuinely interested in providing a good experience for us. Food -- having been to many other all inclusives, BPC food was actually better than many of the others. -- Buffet. Different themes each night, much like other hotels do. We could always find something that satisfied us. -- Restaurants -- We ate at the Japanese restaurant which was good, and at the Italian, which was also pretty good. -- They also have a small buffet by the beach bar, which is where we usually ate breakfast and lunch. Someone is running a grill there throughout the day...eggs/omelets made to order in the morning, and burgers/hotdogs during the day. -- The Tex-Mex restaurant is also open for lunch (no reservations needed), and that was also very good. Sandwiches, salad bar, or entrees. Several people we were with had the soup a couple different days, and really liked it. Drinks -- disappointed. Nothing was really very good, or even consistent from one bar to the next. I liked the Presidente cervesa. Had a couple of good Bloody Mary's from the bar near the Tex/Mex, but also had one that was "chunky" from the beach bar. Had to dump that one. Overall, just nothing really tasty or special. The red wine in the Italian restaurant was decent I thought. Smoking -- If you don't smoke, and it bothers you when other people do, do not go to this hotel. Lobby, lobby bars, even on the beach, there were so many people smoking all the time that we could not enjoy the open air in public areas. None of the other Americans we met smoked, but it seemed like pretty much everyone else did. Really really annoying. Overall: I try to look for the positive, but there are too many not so nice things about this hotel so I would not recommend it to friends. If you are looking for a lower end facility on a nice beach, this BPC may be for you, but in general it attracts a lower class of people. We have stayed at the Barcelo Palace on Riviera Maya Mexico, and loved it, so we decided to give this one a shot, despite some less than stellar reviews, and to save some money. Won't do that again.

Staff is wonderful and works hard to please. Rooms clean. Great beds. Food amazing. Wait staff kind, attentive and pleasant despite how busy they always seem to be. Activities were great but could be posted better..there were several activities unknown to us that we would have enjoyed. Pool, jacuzzi and gym close at 7pm...later would have been nice. Overall wonderful and WILL go back again. Beach clean. No hagglers selling wares while laying out is a great plus!

I only book at 4-5 star hotel. Take trips 3xs/yr. Thought this was a 4 star but far from it. while checking in to the hotel staff was not friendly. Did not even recognize me for over 30 min. I walked into my room and noticed dirty tub, and 2 beds when I specifically asked for a king bed. They told me to come back in the morning to get my new room b/c none was available at the time. When I went to the desk that next morning they told me they had no info with my request so had to wait another day. When I looked at t their list, I noticed 2 pages of room request due to issues. So the whole 4 day vacation we were stuck in this room. Then the t.v. and remote was broken so no t.v. for us, curtains would not close so sun would shine in very early in the morning. Tub was filthy and would not drain during my showers. Toilet kept getting clogged. No towels, so requested 4 big towels and after 3 times calling, and going down once to the desk, I received my towels after 3 hours. Talked to a couple with same issues on towel and room. My room was cleaned once out of the whole stay. Mosquitoes everywhere, I had literally gotten attacked by them and my legs were swollen. Counted 15 mosquito bites in 30 minutes of stepping out during the night. Ended up buying a small can of "off spray" for $17. The whole hotel needs to be renovated, stains on walls, chipped paint, chipped tiles everywhere. There were spills everywhere and staff would not clean or pick up trash, smelled like WD-40 in the small elevator and found 3 mosquitoes just in the elevator. Room smelled horrible. Birds in the dining area. Food was okay. Buffet tasted better than the restaurants. Activities were boring in the hotel. Casino was a joke, had only 3 tables and like 6 slot machine. When I sat down to attempt to play blackjack, the table were dirty, stained, looked like a hand me down. They didn't even use new deck of cards each time. Ended up taking a taxi to Hard Rock Hotel and had a blast. Absolutely stunning. Everyone was beautiful and so nice. Completely different experience. Highlight of my trip. Wanted to change hotel but couldn't b/c would lose money with Barcelo with no refund policy. Learned from this experience. Never settle and be thrifty on a hotel for a vacation. Thought hotel was a 4 star but far from it. Would say 2 star hotel. Vacation you are supposed to have great memories and a great experience. Will only book at a 5 star. Only positive thing with this hotel was the beach and outside area was beautiful. Liked the architecture.

The first room was dirty and dingy. The glass enclosure in the shower was cracked. There was hair wrapped around the shower head. There was a leak in the ceiling. The bathroom floor was wet and dirty. The bed was hard and very springy. The sliding door to go outside was broken and the security latch did not work. The room was very dark and dreary. There was hair in the bed that was not from us because we had not slept yet. The electrical panel had no cover over it. The desk seemed like they were used to the complaints and did try to accommodate us with the room and moved us to a better room that was cleaner and did appear to have housekeeping actually clean the room. However, the ceiling still leaked from the spaces in between the ceiling panels and from the lights. The fridge is supposed to be stocked with water, soda, juice and presidente. But the first room didn't have any of that and the second room was refilled every other day. The employees are very friendly especially the staff that help organize the entertainment. However most of the employee's English is very limited. It is very helpful to speak / understand at least the basic amount of Spanish if you're going here. It is better to make any special restaurant reservations first thing in the morning or all of the reservations will be filled.

My family's experience at this hotel was horrible from the moment we arrived until the moment we left. Upon arrival at around 3 o'clock we waited forever for check-in to find out our room was not yet ready. Check in does begin at 3! They sent us to get something to eat. An hour and a half later we finally get our key to head to our room. Took another hour to get our luggage which sat in the lobby the whole time until we went back down to see what the delay was. More problems upon arriving at our room. When booking the vacation we requested a king size bed and we were given a double bed room. The wouldn't change our room because supposedly all rooms were occupied. I had asked for a crib because we were traveling with our month old baby. The dirty and broken crib was placed outside the room. A wooden bar was missing where a baby could've had their head lodged and the upper bar was broken with nails sticking out, not supporting it up at all. The bare mattress was filthy with small pieces of what seemed to be cement or sheet rock which my baby could have injested. We called the front desk and asked to have the crib taken away and requested a fold up bed. The woman at the front desk gave us a run around and told us we had to call a different number. After hearing our frustration she said she would send up the fold up bed in 10 minutes. In the mean time we left the room and returned back to the same crib which they nailed back together, cleaned up, and covered with a sheet.Our room was also not very clean. After my older son took off his shoes and jumped on the bed we saw foreign hair he picked up on his feet from the floor on the already stained white sheets. The food was terrible. My wife ended up with a stomach virus on our last night there. It was close to impossible to get dinner reservations at their restaurants. They would only start taking reservations the day of and everyday we went at 9am which is when they started making them every restaruant was already full so we were forced to eat at the buffet whose food was far from good. Let me not forget the nasty drinks, Presidentes was the only way to go. We had to shower with cold water pretty much every day. NO HOT Water...seriously! The only good thing was the kiddle water park our older son enjoyed and the beach which was beautiful but very rough. Personnel at this hotel was not helpful or accommodating. We also got left by the shuttle bus who was supposed to drive us over to the shopping area because the bell boy up front failed to point it out to us after we waited for over 30 minutes. Entertainment at the hotel was poor and we found ourselves bored often. We felt very disappointed with our stay and the hotel certainly didn't meet our expectations. We wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone and would certainly not return to it ever again.

HOTEL ROOM WAS NOT CLEAN(PHONE SMELLED LIKE DIRTY STAGNANT WATER-SEEMED LIKE THEY USE THE SAME RAG TO WIPE EVERYTHING). I SHOWERED 3 1/2 OUT OF 4 NIGHTS WITHOUT HOT WATER BECAUSE IT DID NOT WORK AND SHOWER HEAD WAS BROKEN. THE SERVICE MEN AT THE FRONT OF THE HOTEL NEVER BROUGHT OUR LUGGAGE UP AND MY ROOM WAS NOT READY WHEN I CHECKED IN AT 3PM. THE FOOD WAS DISGUSTING AND MY DAD AND SISTER IN LAW GOT SICK OFF THE FOOD. THE ROOM WHERE MY BROTHER STAYED HAD A CRIB READY FOR MY NEPHEW WITH A DIRTY MATTRESS AND A NAIL STICKING OUT OF IT. THE HOTEL SUPPOSE TO BE ALL INCLUSIVE AND THERE WAS NO LIQUEUR OR BEER IN THE REFRIGERATOR AND THE FRIDGE DID NOT COOL THE ITEMS INSIDE.

This hotel has a great location with a great beach. Food is what you would expect at such a low cost. The restaurants are a lot better than the buffet. You get to book 2 reservations over your 5 to 7 night stay. They have 7 restaurants you can choose from including a Japanese hibachi style restaurant. Rooms were not bad and ours was clean. Had an ocean and pool view. The hotel is pretty big so the rooms most likely vary in design. Anyone who complains expecting a 4 to 5 star hotel for paying such low cost are delusional. If you are looking for a great beach with decent food with an average to above average hotel room will be satisfied with this hotel.

If you want somewhere to go to have a wonderful vacation this is it. Most rooms have an incredible view of the pools or ocean. The staff is there to help you with everything you need. They get to know you during your stay and you are always greeted with a smile. While most of the staff speak many langauges there were sometimes language barriers. However if you are patient you will always get the help you need. Basic Spanish helps but you can get around with out it. The beach is unlike any other with amazing sand. We ate at all the restaurants and there was good food in all of them. Including the ala cart places you could eat whenever you where hungry. My friends got married and the location for the wedding was beautiful and everything the hotel did to make it special. It was perfect. I have read some pretty rotten reviews on this hotel and I don't understand them at all. I can't tell you how many people were there on a return trips. For the price of this hotel I don't think you can get any better. I would stay again there in a hearbeat. If you have very specific tastes or very high standards then pay more and stay in a 5 star resort. I have traveled all over and think think for the value this was a great place to stay!! BEST VACATION EVER!

The view from my room looking at the ocean was great but the water was very rough it was not great for swimming especially for kids the pools were very good there was even a little water park for kids but most of the staff was not warm and friendly except the two hostess at the buffet restaurant and two of the servers the rest of them look in your eyes and walk pass you without saying hello service at the bars was very slow they chat and look at you without acknowledging your presence front desk was not very knowledgeable about anything we had no hot water for three days when we call all they said was ok also they have no rules about smoking i was having breakfast with my kids one morning when a couple sat beside us and started to smoke in the dining room i was very surprised that no one said anything the food was not the best always salty most of the time. entertainment at night was so so too much mosquito and smokers

Check in was at 3pm and I got a room at 5pm. Location and amenities are great! The beach is awesome! There is no complaint there! Its really clean, white sand and nice waves! Pools are great too! Food is really good at the buffet, its changes every night. Lots of staff but it takes for ever to get something to drink! Most of the time I just got up and got it my selft For the other restaurants you need to make a reservation the same day. You need to wake up at 9am and go to the front desk. Around 9:30 or 9:45 everything is booked. Most Staff has alot to learn, they dont speak alot of english and their "costumer service" isnt that great But overall it was nice! We had a good time!