Service definitely needs improvement

Just returned from Punta Cana and while the resort and beach are nice and the food is decent (don't bother with the steak restaurant) the service leaves a lot to be desired. I've been down south over 20 times and I have never encountered such a lack of service or effort on the part of staff (mainly at the buffet and restaurants). I should add though that the bellman, front desk and maids were fine. The restaurant staff often made it feel like they were doing you a favour if you asked for some [... read more]thing. There seems to be an assembly like atmosphere......get the job done and go on to the next task. Perhaps the staff are overworked and not happy but whatever the reason, management should seriously pay attention to this problem. At almost every meal, we'd have to ask at least 2 people for our drinks. At one meal, we were led to a table that had food spilled on the floor. In addition, a waitress spilled a considerable amount of water nearby and at no time throughout the meal did anyone make an effort to clean any of the food or water. At the Italian restaurant, instead of a greeting the first thing the waiter said to us in a brusque manner was 'are you ready to order'? We chose this resort primarily for the golf course which was excellent but the lack of service will ensure we will not return.

Beautiful Resort

Beautiful resort, amazing food, service was wonderful expensive shopping, fair service from sunquest rep, alcohol wasn't the best.. very cheap, casino wasn't fair.. switched dealers and burned 5 cards everytime we were winning a few hands, Overall it would be a 3.5 star resort!!!!

Awesome resort!

Room was clean comfortable,quiet surroundings,spacious. Food was excellent in both buffets and restaurants. Enjoyed the Japanese restaurant so much with its great entertainment and good food that we went back a second time. Great service throughout the resort, very clean.

Excellent Service!

This resort is beautiful! It is a very large resort and we didn't have a chance to see all of it but what we saw, we enjoyed. First, I must commend this resort for the service. It was quick and efficient. There were a couple of things that needed to be fixed when we arrived, not a big deal though. When we called the front desk, someone was at our door within five minutes. That was fantastic! The resort has a large variety of restaurants, which is good if you are staying longer than one week and  [... read more]are tired of the buffet. Our favorite restaurants were hands down the French and Mexican restaurants. We heard from some that it is sometimes hard to get reservations for the a la cartes. However, if you upgrade to Club Premium, you are pretty much guaranteed a spot. I suggest you reserve your A la cartes as soon as you arrive. The pools are nice but crowded. It was sometimes hard to find a chair around the pools. Guests wake up early to reserve a chair and then leave to do other things. How selfish and inconsiderate! I did not like that because the rest of us who wanted to stay by the pool could not find a seat. Not the resort's fault. On the beach, there are no parasols but lots of palm trees, which give some shade. The pool area, however, has a lot of shade! The beach does not have bar service, which we actually liked because we could relax without being bothered. The activities were clearly posted every day and they were fun. We highly recommend an upgrade to the Club Premium because it gives you access to all activities for free, such as the water park, which costs money without the upgrade. Also, if you are adults and you want to relax in a quieter area once in a while, the club premium gives you access to the adults only section (Barceló Bavaro Beach). If we go back, we will get the upgrade again. It was worth the extra cost. It is a great family resort. There are a lot of kids and lots for them to do. Again, if you upgrade, they have access to everything for free and unlimited. If I could make one suggestion, it would be to have the shows a little earlier. They start at 10pm and by that time, we were exhausted from the sun and travel. We were not able to make a single show in the 10 days we were there even though we honestly tried. To the guests, please tip the staff! They work hard to give us an enjoyable vacation and they deserve it. Just because it is all inclusive and your meals and drinks don't cost anything while you are there, it doesn't mean you don't tip. I was disappointed to see so little people were tipping. Thank you for an awesome vacation!

Very good resort

The hotel and grounds are immaculate, the beach is glorious. Hotel and grounds are very large and fortunately have excellent transport around the hotel. Lots to do for kids. Only complaint the bathroom looked a little tired.

Incredible resort

Food excellent. ..grounds immaculate..beach clean and gorgeous..staff friendly and accommodating! ! We spent a week at resort and loved it. Food plentiful and delicious..staff friendly and accommodating. .The hotel is absolutely beautiful and clean.

Beautiful resort

We stayed in the family suite and it was beautiful. The grounds were immaculate and the staff were really friendly. We tried several of the restaurants and enjoyed our meals at every one. We would love to go back for another visit!

Medeioker

Poor service at restaurants and bar service even with tipping. We booked restaurants 2 weeks before arrival from recommendations from an on line review and not our travel agent. There weren't any reservations available upon arrival. $1000us resort credit totally misleading, it is a coupon for 10% or 25% off some services and shops. Free golf is also rediculous. $70US per person for mandatory cart. We took 4 sets of golf clubs with us and just the two adults did one round. It would have cost us $ [... read more]400 cancaian for our family to do a free round of golf. A lot of activities for the kids were not included and cost extra, bowling, water park. Front desk at checkin did not give us any info on resort activities, water, ect and the AT rep did not do this in his orientation, we were there a couple of days before finding the activities center. There 24 hours before we were told the tap water wasn't safe. No menus for specialty drinks at bars and the wine is absolute trash! White wine at one of the bars was actually cloudy and poured from a plastic jug. Even purchasing a bottle at the resturant would have cost $60 can. For a $12 bottle. Have to be at pool before 7 am to get a beach chair. For a trip that cost $10,000!!! I expected more!!!

Wonderful place to chill!!

Had a gloriously relaxing time at the Barcelo Bavaro Princess Deluxe. The pools were large. Lots of chairs with sun or shade around the pool and tons at the beach. People reserved but there were also chairs that could be found and moved. The beach was amazing. You could walk for miles. The water was blue and calm. Food was great. We reserved at the restaurants online and there were no problems. Rib eye steak was delicious at the steakhouse. Loved the guacamole and salsa at the Mexican restaurant [... read more]. We always found delicious food at the buffet. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Service was slow but it didn't bother us because we were on vacation!!! We had a very relaxing chill time and would definitely go back.

Beautiful location

We returned from Barcelo Bavaro on Feb 6th. We have travelled to all inclusive properties many times over the last 12 years with our children and this resort and beach is one of the nicest we've been too. The rooms are very comfortable, the beach is absolutely beautiful and the food is tastey. Barcelo is a very large resort but we stayed in the Junior Deluxe Suites and found everything easy to walk to.

Very clean and enough to do.

Hotel is spread out,would like to know where your room is going to be.ground floor or higher.Rooms are clean and toilet and showers excellent.Meals in special location are great.Buffet lot of food.No free wi-fi in loby is nuisance.

Golf Paradise

Very modern and clean. Lots to do for children and adults. Good food and service. Golfing is good but $70 per person for the golf cart. Everything was well thought out when built. Shows are even entertaining. No complaints. Would certainly return here.

Exceptional value and top class resort

Iliana did a tremendous job setting up this booking - the resort was fantastic - two storey rooms ( we had deluxe) were perfect for the sets of golfers in pairs in our group, the resort was large and never crowded, the food and restaurants were anything that you would like (including the buffet - reccomend the snapper or tuna and perfectly acceptable wine lists with nice variety), the beer was always ice cold, the Pete Dye course was a delight and the golf attendants were top notch, the weather  [... read more]was perfect with the typical Carribean shower at two o'clock, the beach, ocean view and pool were top class, the casino was great fun, not too big, no smoking downstairs but had upstairs for the cigar lovers, (and we won) and most of all the staff were very friendly and attentive and never stopped smiling. We are thinking of going back there already - we didn't do 1/2 of the activities available ( we were there for golf) Don't think twice about this one! At the price we paid it was a steal.

Amazing Place...would go back in a heart beat

Beautiful Place having everything you could ever need. Most amazing beach with lots of beach chairs and pool chairs. many a la cartes to choose from. Steak house was great. The golf course was beautiful and was included although the carts are pricey...par for the course in the islands. Super close the airport was an added benefit.

Awesome Family Vacation!

Stayed at the resort from December 13-20, 2015. Check in was quick and easy, and our rooms were perfect! (5232, 5233). Quite happy with positioning as far as resort location, and view! The service was awesome... Found the staff friendly and accommodating. Food was good.. I really did feel that there was always something you could find that was good... Lunch seemed like the best selection to me? The best a la carte in our opinion was the Steak house.. we went 3 times! We also tried Italian and Me [... read more]xican.. I would give it Fair... but we spoke to others who totally loved it! Vincente, our server in the Steak house was exceptional! We did find it a little challenging to find chairs where we wanted them, but we managed :) Rooms were clean, and our fridge was always well stocked. I would definitely recommend this resort. The only thing is if you are looking for a small resort, this is not for you...this resort is huge! It never felt too busy or crowded...but it is definitely large!

Looooved this resort!!

The hotel is so convenient to the airport!! 10 minute drive! The lobby is beautiful! The Junior Suite was amazing! Every room has a jacuzzi on the balcony! Will return for sure! Great for everyone! 5**

Fabulous Resort

Barcelo Bavaro Palace Delux in Punta Cana, DR, is an amazing resort. It had the right mix of daytime entertainment , amazing beach, many restaurants and all were really good. Best food ever in at a resort in the Caribbean I have ever experienced. The Staff were friendly, helpful and fun . Good shopping on site . Pool Bar staff and Daytime staff, whether it be yoga, beach volleyball , water polo or poolside dancing exercise are fun and great people to be around. The beach is spectacular. We had O [... read more]cean front with jacuzzi on patio . The rooms were clean , modern and nicely appointed nice beds and great for a good night sleep. We will be definitely returning.

Amazing amenities - terrible service

I have been to Punta Cana before and I love the resort. The grounds are beautiful, the rooms are lovely and contemporary, the pools are great, food was fantastic! BUT the Service...not good. I found the staff with the definite exception of a few, we're pretty miserable overall. Until they knew we were the Tipping kind. We genuinely wanted to tip those that were attentive. But many could care less if you had been looked after.

Amazing hotel and resort

Amazing facilities at this resort. Excellent beach and pool area. Excellent dining experience. Lots to eat and drink. Amazing friendly staff all around. Thumbs up to this resort. I would reccomend this hotel to all my family and friends.

Great resort

The junior suite was exactly as seen on their web site; very clean and perfect. There was a private Jacuzzi on the balcony for romantic evening sipping champagne in good company. All the a la carte restaurant were very good, especially the french restaurant La Comedie. there is a surcharge of $20.00 per person but it is really worth it for the excellent cuisine, ambiance and polished service. It has a very clean beach, no algae and no vendor. All in all a very nice resort offering real good valu [... read more]e.