Not a good hotel for family

I stayed at this hotel from August 18 to August 26 with my wife and two daughters, and unfortunately, the experience did not match the 4.5-star rating at all. The biggest disappointment was the food. There was very little variety, and many of the dishes were served cold. The selection of fruits and pastries was also very limited and not what I would expect from a hotel in this category. The restaurants were extremely hot because the air conditioning was not working properly. It was honestl [... read more]y very uncomfortable to sit and eat, especially with children. During the first two days, all four of us were badly affected by the heat, which made the beginning of our family vacation very difficult. The pool was another disappointment. The water was very warm, so it was not refreshing at all and did not help with the heat. The room itself was acceptable, but the TV and internet were unreliable and did not work properly. Overall, I expected much better based on the hotel’s rating and reputation. I would not consider this a true 4.5-star experience, and I would personally rate it around 2.5 to 3 stars. I would not recommend this hotel to families with children or to anyone who cares about food quality, comfort, and reliable amenities.

Very average

Overall, I would rate this resort three out of five stars, rather than four point five. While the room itself was decent, the overall experience was disappointing. The food had very little variety, and most meals were served cold. Fruit options were limited and not very good in quality. Housekeeping mostly just, tidied up rather than properly cleaning. The floors and bathroom were often not cleaned well. The Wi-Fi was unreliable and kept disconnecting, and the in-room TV internet rarely worked.  [... read more]One of the biggest issues was the pool. The water was extremely warm, which made it uncomfortable to swim, especially in the heat. Overall, I had much higher expectations, and I don’t think this hotel deserves a 4.5-star rating. I personally wouldn’t stay here again, and I would recommend that anyone who values good food, cleanliness, and reliable amenities consider other options. They only positive experience was the staff. They were very nice and friendly and they try their best to help.

Royal Bávaro — Aug. 26 ? | Our 6th Visit + Current Thoughts

We’ve been to Royal Bávaro six times now, so I thought I’d share my current thoughts on the resort. Overall, it’s still a fun family resort with lots to do, great room options, and the convenience of being oceanfront and all-inclusive. ? PROS • Lots to do: lazy river, FlowRider, shallow wading pool, mini water park, mini putt and playground. • Food available throughout the day: two food trucks, outdoor grill, pizza window and Diamond Club food options. • Great room options: one-bedroom s [... read more]uites and swim-up rooms are available, and the couches convert into pull-out beds — great for families. ? CONS • Rooms are starting to feel rundown: our room had no alarm clock, the shower barely drained, and there was rust on some of the cupboards. • Menus have changed: unfortunately, three of my personal favourite meals have been removed. ? • Dinner reservations: can be frustrating and difficult to get. Diamond Club definitely helps with this. Also very warm inside the restaurants • Nightly entertainment: not a ton happening in the evenings, especially for kids. • Pool maintenance: we noticed quite a few broken/missing pool tiles. We also seen a young boy needing stitches after cutting his toe in the pool, which was concerning. • Tons of seaweed. Obvi that can’t be controlled but there was nothing being done to try and tidy the beach. ? FINAL THOUGHTS After six visits, I’d still say Royal Bávaro is a fun family resort with a lot to offer. That said, I do feel like some areas of the resort are starting to show their age, and there are a few things I’d love to see improved. Would we come back? Probably yes. The overall experience, location, activities and family-friendly setup keep bringing us back. ❤️?

Not a 5 star luxury resort

When you book this resort, there is the option of paying for an upgrade (Diamond Club). It is over $1,000 per person in additional fees. We didn't take this option. You also have the choice to book your own room, for an extra fee of $260 US minimum. We didn't take that option either. You are also asked if you want to upgrade to DC when you check in. We declined, and the room we were given was possibly the worst one in the resort. It was in the furthest building from the beach. The musty smell [... read more] was overwhelming, tv was broken. The bathtub had rust. The view was of the wall of the Majestic Mirage next door (which is absolutely amazing, BTW). There were no extra locks on the door, even the peephole cover was broken. Our first impression was not great. When the hotel is not at full capacity and this is the room you get, it is very disappointing, and you cannot help but think it was because you didn't pay extra. We called the front desk. They sent up a dehumidifier. We stayed one night but couldn't stay there any longer. They did switch our room the next day, and it was much better, though a little outdated. The room is cleaned every day. The fridge is restocked every other day. The first few days you are there, there are people constantly after you to buy spa treatments or go to a meeting and learn about the Prime membership. It's pretty annoying. Not only do you have vendors on the beach, but you have hotel staff after you as well. My husband and I love the beach, and one of the things we love is the Bali beds. One of the reasons I booked this hotel was because of them. It doesn't say anywhere on the website that these are for DC only, but apparently, they are. We were told by a security guard that it was DC even though 75% of them were empty. Another time, I had an issue making a reservation. We went to see someone, only to be told they usually only help their members. Everything seems to be extra. You want lobster, it's extra, you want a really good steak, it's extra, you want rose wine, it's extra. We were at the Majestic Mirage a few years ago, where we could have had lobster every night, we had crab, shrimp, paella for lunch every day. At the Royalton, it was hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza (to be fair, the restaurant on the beach was closed for repair). We felt like second-class citizens, those who don't pay extra, go and stay in your little corner and don't ask for more. There were some positives. The grounds are immaculate, the food was okay; however, the ZEN à la carte was amazing. The entertainment was good. For the most part, we didn't have any issues making restaurant reservations through the app. Most of the staff looked like they did not want to be there; there were some that were very helpful. Fernando at the beach was great, and so was Raudi at the sports bar! One other note, this part of the beach has a lot of seaweed (we were there for 2 weeks, and only the last 2 days were seaweed-free). We had to walk to another part of the beach to find an area where there was none. If you are thinking of going to this resort, don’t; it's just not worth the money.

Disappointing

Check-in was horrible. Waited 3 hours for our room as it was not ready. Our room needed updating, stains on bed sheets, bath tub was rusted and worn out. Ceiling fan covered in dust and mold. Buffet food was okay but the actual building needed upgrading. For example the walls and trim needed to be painted and the trim at least replaced as it was not attached to the wall most staff were friendly but some did not look like they wanted to be there. Overall it was very disappointing and we would not [... read more] return.

Terrible service

The grounds were well maintained and spacious. The service was one of the worst I had ever had for an all inclusive. Going for dinner, to just get a drink we would have to hunt down a waiter for it. Even once we had found one, our drinks would never come until mid dinner. Our rooms - we came in on the first night with no AC. They wouldn't switch rooms for us until they could fix it. Once they couldn't fix it, they said they would switch the rooms but we can have it until 5pm this was at  [... read more]10am when we reported it. We had to carry our baby around the resort until 5pm couldn't give them a nap. I would never book a Royalton resort again.

Not worth the money

I was very disappointed in the cleanliness of the room. Service was very slow and the staff weren’t very friendly or helpful. We had to ask numerous times for towels, robes and never got everything we asked for. The foam machine broke down and never happened at all. Wave runner was broke and despite being told it was being fixed we never saw anyone fixing it. The Italian restaurant served us raw food and ran out of dessert twice. The food at the buffet was horrible and the selection for the kid [... read more]s menu was limited. We booked this resort because we were happy with the Royalton in St.Lucia but we were very disappointed with this one. We would not book again.

Great resort!

Beautiful grounds. Clean rooms. Good food. Unfortunately service at the front desk was poor. Slow and disinterested staff. No beach or room towels on 2 days. No explanation given. Beach and pool beds were hard to find but it was a busy time of the year.

Lovely resort

Overall, the resort was lovely. The lazy river was definitely a highlight, especially as the main pool close to the beach is small and seemed to be primarily filled with people who wanted access to the swim up bar. The beach was gorgeous, plenty of sun chairs and plenty of shade. Food and service were hit or miss. Buffet was mediocre at best - the best options were fresh made omelettes/eggs and grilled sandwiches. Of the a la carte restaurants, our best experiences were at Rio (Brazilian)  [... read more]and Zen (Japanese teppanyaki). We went to Rio on my husband's birthday - they accommodated and earlier seating, food was delicious (salad bar was nice to have) and the staff made a big show out of celebrating my husband's birthday with a whole cake and song and dance! We had high expectations of Hunter steakhouse and unfortunately we were very disappointed. Despite having a reservation, we waited an hour to be seated. Everyone received their appetizer but me - I finally received it after asking 3 times. And service was extremely slow. Our room was excellent - totally worth the upgrade to the 1-BR suite with our two teenage boys - plenty of room for the 4 of us, 2 full bathrooms and an incredible view! Overall, we had a wonderful time but would likely return to one of the other two resorts we have been to in DR over this one.

Great time!

Great restaurants, buffet could have used more selection and servers. Resort was beautiful, amazing evening entertainment, lots of poolside chairs to choose from, a larger resort but never felt busy or crowded. There were people on the resort trying to sell upgrades, packages, excursions than we were used to. After they knew we weren’t interested, they would leave us alone.

Decent Resort

Average resort. The good parts are that there is alot of things to do....lazy river, splash pad, mini golf, flowrider surf simulator, multiple pools. Rooms are average at best. They are showing some wear and tear and generally not as clean as we would like. Floors were definitely not mopped every day.. hair in the sink.... hair and dust balls in the corners. They have very old wooden doors which have a gap between the doors and jams. Lets light in and you hear every sound in the ha [... read more]llways... Biggest complaint would be the food....breakfast and lunch choices were great, but dinner was terrible. Tried all of the a la cartes and we really only thought Grazie was good....the rest were below average... always cold and always overcooked. The reservation system on the app is a disaster. If you could get a reservation sometimes the restaurant would have it...sometimes they would not. I also question the reservation system which would say all the restaurants were booked but we would walk by and half the tables would be empty and we ask if we could get a table and they would say no. Average beach area.....lots of chairs but the water area is not very big. I would sum up this resort as dissappointing.

Disappointing Stay

We stayed at Royalton Bavaro from February 8–15 with a group of 10 (four rooms). Unfortunately, this experience fell far below expectations for a resort of this level. Prior to arrival and again at check-in, we requested that our rooms be in the same building. We were assured this would be accommodated by the front desk employee, but upon arrival to rooms we were split between Buildings 16, 17, and 18. We were not instructed to download the Royalton app and were not explained how to get to ou [... read more]r rooms and were not offered an intro to the resort(as this is usually done at check in or at the room when bags are dropped off). The rooms were visibly dirty. There was mold in the bathrooms and stains on bedding, along with a strong mildew smell. One room’s air conditioning produced a sewage odor when turned on(building 17), and another had a broken mini-fridge that took five days to repair. Housekeeping was inconsistent — toilets were not cleaned daily, bedding was never changed during our seven-night stay, and surfaces were not properly wiped down. We often cleaned areas ourselves. Dining was inconsistent and, at times, unacceptable. The Steakhouse was excellent. The Zen restaurant was enjoyable, but food was just ok. The Italian restaurant experience was abysmal, half our group left without eating. Service was terrible - drink orders took 30min. Food items did not all arrive and food took over 90 minutes to be delivered. The main buffet had an unpleasant odor, chairs were sticky or had food debris on them, and disorganized service — we frequently waited for cutlery and water after already having food at the table. More concerning were the food safety practices observed at the beach/pool buffet, including cross-contamination between raw and cooked items. On one occasion, a staff member handled raw chicken and then fresh tomatoes without changing gloves. During our stay, 6 of the 10 people in our group became ill. Four were violently ill and confined to their rooms for approximately two days. This significantly impacted our vacation and raised serious concerns about sanitation and food handling. There were positives: the beach is beautiful and the seaweed was minimal, and the café was excellent — great pastries, sandwiches, coffee, quick service, and consistently reliable options. The daily/nightly entertainment was excellent and shows were great. The pools and lazy river were extremely cold, to the point where we only used the lazy river once despite it being one of the reasons we booked. Morning beach walks also revealed leftover glassware, beer cans, and debris from the day before in and around all the beach loungers. Lastly, if bringing Dominican pesos for tipping, bring small bills. Throughout the week, the lobby, casino, and gift shop were unable to provide change, which made tipping difficult. Overall, this stay did not reflect the quality expected at this price point. While there were a few highlights, the cleanliness, food safety concerns, and multiple illnesses made this a very disappointing experience.

Very nice resort but cold pools!

This resort is a solid 4 star. Grounds are beautiful! At night it is stunning. Lobby is beautiful and fun with great entertainment every night. Food is decent. Trying to book a restaurants is very annoying - we opted for the buffet most nights. Rooms are pretty and well appointed but could use some work. Musty smell but luckily we had a dehumidifier in the room that helped. Staff was hit and miss. We didn’t find them eager. Waiters at the pool and lobby would come by once in a w [... read more]hile but never consistent even though we tipped well. This is NOT a resort you will be dotted on. All the pools are cold so be prepared for that. The lazy river was the coldest. Super Fun for kids - fun kids pool with slides etc. One pool is loud and rowdy (Infinity pool) and the Royalton pool is more quiet but still fun. Overall we liked it and would go back.

10 days at Royalton

This is a difficult review. Our first room was clean, but smelled awful. Not tropical damp, mildew and mold. The second room was much better. The food ranged from okay to good. Some staff were very nice. Some staff were not happy to be there. I imagine it's not a great place to work. The beach was lovely as was the lazy river. Though it was cold. (The lazy river that is). Bartenders were fast and friendly. We were able to make all the reservations we needed without being diamond cl [... read more]ub, and i had been concerned about that. I would have had a much better stay if I had never spent a night in building 18. We traveled with family that were on a different floor in 18, and had the same issue.

Overbooked-left without a room

Our stay at the Royalton Bávaro was disappointing to say the least. Beware of overbooking and being without a room. We travelled with 3 other families. Upon arrival 3 of the families didn’t have rooms available to check into. After 4 hours of waiting at the front desk, we were finally provided a room but not the swim out room we paid for. Our friends unfortunately were unable To get a room that night and were forced to stay in our room. We asked for blankets to accommodate the 4 additional peop [... read more]le in the room and didn’t get them until 1am. The hospitality at the resort wasn’t there. Would never stay at another Royalton again. Beware of this resort. We are not the only ones who were without proper accommodation upon arrival. From our discussions with other travellers it was an issue for the last two weeks at least.

Royalton Bavaro Punta Cana ** Amazing Resort

The grounds and the hotel is beautiful. Very well kept. The people from check in- to the vibeteam to everyone works there are very friendly and very welcoming. I love the DR, its my favorite place to visit. My husband and I got married i the DR 3 years ago at a different resort which we enjoyed as well but out of all the resorts i have visited in the DR, Jamaica and Cuba, this is my favorite resort so far. My hubby and I plan to visit again next years. We loved the food, loved the lazy river and [... read more] just loved everything about this resort. The shows were amazing as well. The only thing I wish is they had more things to do at night for the adults and also the people on the beach trying to sell things, they are very pushy. I know they are trying to make money but we are also there to enjoy a nice vacation.

Royalton Bavaro is an excellent stay

I loved it. Beautiful grounds, beach they had phenomenal shows each night. The food is good especially Zen Japanese. I absolutely love the lazy river as well. Loved the staff they are so helpful and friendly. Rosa our concierge. Franklin and Julio our bartenders. Reggie and Julio the excursion people were awesome. The shows were so good and they had one each night.

Royalton bravaro punta cana

Recently stayed at this location , found the staff to be very friendly and helpful.it is a big resort so be prepared to walk there are lots of pit stops along the way bars pools and foodie is a older resort so it has some issues but minor food bar and entertainment are excellent service !

Royalton bravaro punta cana

Recently stayed at this location , found the staff to be very friendly and helpful.it is a big resort so be prepared to walk there are lots of pit stops along the way bars pools and foodie is a older resort so it has some issues but minor food bar and entertainment are excellent service !

Great resort

Great resort, good food Was overcharged at check in for a room upgrade that was already paid prior to check in. Went to front desk was told would be looked into. No response. Have now disputed the charge with my bank.