Great vacation

We had a great vacation at this resort. There is something for eveyone. My husband loved the golf and the jacuzzi on the balcony. I enjoyed the one minute walk to the beach. It is a big resort but nothing is too far. Especially if you take the train. Lots of cute babies but there is also an adult section( The Beach) that is quieter and everything is close together but you can use all of the amenities in the Palace. The weather was perfect and if we have to complain about anything would say the f [... read more]ood was so-so. But the a la cartes were very good at La Brisa and Hoya. I aslo wish there were some places for snacks along the beach or pools so we didn't have to always go to the buffet or Sportsbar. All in all we had a wonderful time and I may visit this resort again!

Can't wait to return

This property offered absolutely everything, the service was better than excellent, food and everyday selection was amazing for the Caribbean, the beach was clean and spacious, the selection of children's water parks, trains, kids club was endless, so very pleased, can't wait to return next year, I will be telling all my friends with children that this property is a must!! The adult only side of the property looked just as great, likely a bit quieter! ;)

Worth Revisiting

This is a huge resort with lots to do for everyone. Clean, friendly staff, good service, modern and a beautiful golf course. The food was good. No complaints. This was our second time and I would go back again.

Such a great resort

The resort was amazing! Didn't even have to do any excursions the resort had enough! Great people, food, disco. Only thing that could improve is the ocean (too much seaweed!) I will be going back that's for sure! Thanks

Awesome Resort

Great recreational areas pools and kids club, excellent food and service. Awesome beach... Nice people, good shopping. Close to the airport just 20 min. High recomended for sure we are going to come back!!! Love the Resort

Nice first time in Punta Cana

Resort met our expectations. Staff was nice and quick to answer. Food was good, lots of choices at every meals but got bored a bit at the end. Beach and pools were awesome. Waiters at the Bambu Bar were the best !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing this was my secan time at a resorts, I recommend to everyon tô vezitei

Everything is amazing at the resort Hotel Romes Restaurant and the all areas is the best I ever see we we'll vezit again soon .All my family enjoy the vacation and pretend to traveling again on day to Punta Cana.

Amazing time at a beautiful resort

Overall the resort was beyond fantastic. There was a lot of walking from the rooms to the restaurants and buffets but there was covered paths everywhere so you could stay cool and out of the sun if you so desired. A little disappointed that there was not free wifi, but that said, it was nice to put home completely behind us for a week. Also, if you go to this resort, make sure you make reservations right away at the various restaurants. We waited a day and had a really hard time getting into [... read more] places at a reasonable time for a family with kids.

Great rrsort

Grounds were very well kept and the rooms were clean, the food was very good as well.The servers were very polite and helpful.i would recommend this resort for families with younger kids as they had great pools to accommodate them.Overall we had a great time and enjoyed ourselves at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace great Resort

Actually no complains. Resort was fantastic. Dinners were great. Buffet were unbelievable. Grounds were well kept Nice beach for walking and swimming. Friendly staff. Wonderful emergency with great friendly doctors. Wonderful lifeguards and security. I really would recommend Barcelo Bavaro Palace

Like going home

This is not our first stay at the Barcelo Palace in Punta Cana. We go there because we need to rest and relax . The rooms are always clean, food always wonderful and the staff are lovely. Next year we will be going back but for longer. We love our Dominican Palace, it's like going home

Lacking in many areas

If you are looking for a cheaper resort and not picky about food or service, you might be OK. here is the good and the bad... PROS clean rooms beautiful beach and pool areas great outdoor activities and staff excellent massage and spa lots to do CONS 1/ We were told we could not make dinner reservations before we arrived. After checking in, we went straight to the concierge only to find out that we couldn't get in to most of the restaurants, as they were fully booked. Well, unless of  [... read more]course you wanted a 10:45pm reservation!! 2/ We tried to show up at the Italian restaurant one night just to see if there were any tables available or any no shows. The hostess just kept walking by us and didn't acknowledge us at all. There were a few empty tables. 3/ Staff at all the restaurants and buffet were not interested in serving anyone! It took 30 min for us to get coffee one morning at breakfast in the buffet area after asking several times. And this was the case everyday for breakfast and lunch. no napkins or cutlery, waited for water fill ups etc. Many of the staff did not speak English and even though we had someone in our group who spoke Spanish, they ignored us. 4/ Food was mostly cold; not just in the buffet but also the nice restaurants we were able to get into and not just once, but EVERYTIME. The quality of the food was OK, not great! You would think at the specialty restaurants, it would be better but it wasn't. 5/ When you check in, they give you a coupon for 25% off services such as early check out, spa etc. We made massage appointments but then went to have our coupon applied, we were told the 25% was included in the price. Uh NO! there was nothing on the coupon or the spa menu that stated this. False advertising for sure. 6/ The nightly entertainment was bad. I mean really bad. The sound system was awful and you couldn't really hear the singers; maybe a good thing as they were out of tune. The dance numbers were not well choreographed and dancers were out of sync. There was one woman’s dance number that was AMAZING, but that was all. It was not entertaining! Overall, like I mentioned above, if food and service are not important, you will be OK here. This resort is marketed as a 4 star, so that is what we are expecting. (and yes I realize 4 star in Dominican is not like the 4 star we have at home) I would say it is a 3 at best.

Walt Disney world of resorts!!

Challenging golf course and groomed well but manageable for any player. Rooms were impeccable and beds were comfortable. Restaurant choice was unparalleled. Casino was fun. Staff were friendly. Beach was super. We might never go anywhere else. Highly recommended.

Awesome resort!

I loved the rooms, cleanliness, swimming pool was big enough, beach was beautiful, only thing it lacked was there was no time schedule of activities throughout the resort. Live entertainment every evening at 10pm in the auditorium we're awesome. I would go back to this resort again.

What is there to like?

Apart from the great location, super golf course, amazing service, great food, fabulous pool, spectacular beach, superb Casino, excellent tennis courts, beautiful room, great choice of restaurants, top notch bar service, beautiful girls, super activities, sparkling cleanliness, unbelievable weather and amazing ocean view what is there to like?

Barcelo Bavaro Palace - better last year

We enjoyed this resort last year and decided to return again only to discover that several things had gone downhill since then. Our first criteria when going down south is a great beach and this one definitely has it. There was never a problem getting chairs at the beach and the Barcelo chain keeps the beach natural with lots of shade from palm trees as opposed to man made palapas. The beach itself goes on for miles and although there was a bit of seaweed at this time of year they are constantly [... read more] cleaning it up daily. The grounds are beautiful and very well kept. We stayed in a junior suite in the 4000 block which is very convenient to the beach and main buffet. The rooms are nice and large with a hot tub on the balcony which we didn't use. The cheaper rooms are quite a distance from everything but would probably be convenient if you were a golfer. I would recommend a room that is not on the ground floor to avoid any insect or humidity issues. The main difference we found from last year was that the service level was lacking. The hotel was less crowded but the service was very slow or non-existent in some cases, particularly at the buffets. This was by no means a fault of the staff who work very hard but the fact that they seemed to be very understaffed this year. Compared to the Barcelo Palace in the Mayan Riviera (we were there 2 years ago) it was like night and day with regards to the level of service . We were able to get a la carte dinners every night which was a bonus, normally I believe you are only allowed 4 per week. The favorite in our opinion was Las Brisas in the adults only section and La Fuente (Spanish). The steak and seafood were ok, Italian not very good but the worst part of the latter three was the ambiance. I can accept the "cafeteria" look in the buffet but not sure why it would be the same in the a la carte restaurants. No one feels special eating dinner in sheet lighting. The food at the buffets is especially good at breakfast, pastries and breads are to die for. I wish I could remember the man's name at the omelette station - he was awesome. We are not huge liquor drinkers although enjoyed some wonderful cocktails at the Carey bar but were greatly disappointed with the house wines in the a la cartes. We are by no means wine snobs but both the red and white house wines were basically not drinkable. It looked to us like most people were ordering bottles of wine in the restaurants, probably costing at least $60.00 a bottle. I feel that for the price we paid for a 5 star resort we should be able to have a decent house wine. Again, this was much worse than last year. Compared to last year the wifi was terrible. We paid $45.00 US for the week, reported twice that it wasn't working. My husband tried to send an email once that took over 2 hours. If you have to rely on the internet I would not recommend going here. Upon checkout we discussed this with the reception who said that he would contact us but I am doubting that we will ever hear back from them. Last year we found the clientele to be mostly Spanish which is understandable since this is a Spanish chain. No problem with that. This year the resort was overrun with Russians who I imagine believe they are superior to everyone else based on how rude they were. The bartenders are so busy and work so hard that they cannot be expected to keep track of who is next in line for a drink - that should be up to the patrons. I cannot count the number of times that a Russian shoved himself in front of me to order a drink. I read a number of reviews that had the same complaint. If the resort is offering some sort of discount that is attracting Russians they may want to re-think that strategy. Overall we had a nice vacation but based on some of the things we experienced this year it is unlikely that we would return unless some of these issues are addressed.

Over charged

although we experencied a great time. We were overcharged. My partner has been to the Barcelo twice before (her parents have been there 13 times and are traveling back for the 14th in February). This made it easy to decide where to spend our vacation. When we talked to the agent - we specifically asked for a certain area of the resort due to being their previously. He booked our room and ensured us all was fine. We called several days prior to leaving to double check all was good. Left a messag [... read more]e and did not receive a call back. Upon arrival we found that we were located in a completely different area of the resort (not even close to where we requested). The front desk at the resort was not heplful, we had to call tripcentral to get it sorted out. We called our agent, not there, talked to a "generic" person, who informed us they were unable to do anything about it at that time. Out of frustration we paid the extra funds to get the location we origionally requested. To this date, nothing has been done to rectify the matter. Besides that the experice was outstanding.

Luxury Resort

It was a huge resort, very clean and well maintained. The food was very good and there was a variety selection of food. The beach however was not wide enough and there was seaweed every where. The night life was good, the disco was fun, but daily entertainment was not good at all!!! There was hardly any fun activities happening during the day. I personally prefer a smaller resort and more fun travellers and entertainers. The majority of the guests were Russians who were very cold and unfriendly! [... read more] In total it was a real luxurious restort but not a fun one.

Gorgeous resort, staff just okay

The resort grounds are beautiful and our room was nice and tidy. There are many pools and the different kids pools are awesome and great fun for everyone. Don't let the all inclusive fool you though. The internet isn't included and the pirate ship with wave pool is additonal. It's not expensive per day, just not included. The a la carts aren't the greatest. The Japanese place was good though! We had the best luck in the buffets. For lunch the steakhouse buffet on the second floor is the best [... read more]. The beach is gorgeous!! We spent a lot of time there. Since the resort is so big the service lacks for sure. They don't remember you because of so many people so they don't rush to serve you. Smaller resorts are better if service is you must have. The daycare was great. Our kids had a great time there. The night entertainment is pretty good. They put on big productions nightly. The start off early with a kids dance where they end with balloon animals.

Nice resort, unbeatable beach

this was our second time to the Barceló Bavaro Palace in 1 year and it did not disappoint. Resort is fairly big, but is well situated, so nothing is too far. they have a cute train going around the resort, which my kids loved. the grounds are extremely well maintained, but for me the beach is the biggest draw. wide, powdery sand, and tons of free chairs at all times. The Japanese restaurant is a must, the rest of the la carte ones are just ok. I have been to many different 4+ resorts all  [... read more]over the Caribbean and would say this one is best all around. my only negative comment would be the air transat tour guide was very pushy on trying to sell us tours, and failed to do the one thing we needed from him which is to tell us the bus pick up time on way back. So 2 groups were given the wrong time and missed our bus as a result, but thankfully another transat bus came and ended up taking us to the airport. So I'd say air transat can work on improving the transfer to/from airport, too much time wasted on both ends for what is a 15 min ride.