Barcelo Bavaro Beach: A Great Vacation spot in Punta Cana ..

We just got back from the Barcelo Bavaro Beach resort. It was a fantastic resort with a great beach, and access to it's big brother (The Palace). This resort is focused on 18+ Adults and I found it to be quite a laid back atmosphere (no kids allowed). The beach is beautiful, but on our last 2 days there was a large amount of seaweed that washed up, making access to the water kind'a yucky. There was a cleanup crew, but this amount of seaweed completely overwhelmed them and if was just left  [... read more]for the guests to navigate through to get to the ocean. I am not sure if this is a common problem, but the hotel needs to find a better way of fixing this in the future. The beach Palm trees seemed to be very sparse in there shade coverage, so look for smaller palms to hid under, as the sun is very strong and you will roast quickly (the constant wind makes it seem cooler than it actually is ..) Our room was great, with a fantastic view of the beach and lawn (get room 5052 if possible, tho it is an upgraded cost) Only issue I had was with the bathroom shower which uses a half glass wall instead of a shower curtain which will leave a large puddle of water on the bathroom floor after a shower. The Food is above average, but does not change from day to day, so get reservations to the other restaurants on the complex. Suggestions: Chex Gourmet (which is on the complex). It was by far the best restaurant we went to ... Bring Dress Pants\Shirts\Shoes, as several restaurants only accept casual-formal dress attire .. (saw 2 couples get refused . lol) (The Restaurant Dinner ticket will state the Dress Attire on it ..) All other restaurants are at the Palace (a 10min walk or 5min train ride) Most of the other restaurants are just partial a-la-cart making you have to get your salad and desert yourself. Other restaurants are actually just cafeterias .. We did not try the French, Spanish or Mexican restaurants, but was told the Mexican was terrible. The Casino and Disco plus all shops, etc are at the Palace .. The Nightlife at the Beach is very basic with only a small stage show which ends at 11pm (suggestion is to go to the Rock-In-Roll group show, which plays all your favorite 60\70\80's music .. it is actually not bad) The biggest shows are at the Palace, which has a huge auditorium and lots of seating .. Tip, you will need to tip your room cleaner (approx $2\day) to get all needed towels swapped out .. we missed doing this twice, and had to get the front desk to have them deliver extra towels ... (I usually give a tip at the end of the stay, but they like it daily) Also, tipping your waiter\bartender, etc seems to be the theme here .. (so much for ALL-INCLUSIVE) SO bring lots of US $1 bills .... There are no water sports at the Beach, you have to go down to the Palace for that ...(not sure if it costs tho ..) If you are doing any excursions, suggest the Saona Island and the ATV's If doing the ATV's, bring fully facial sealed eyewear (think construction safety glasses), as the dust and mud will blind you even with normal sunglasses on .. trust me on this!! Saona Island is a Sailing\Speed boat ride to a beautiful island off the DR. You will get lunch and swim time on the island and at a sandy key in the middle of the ocean. It's lots of fun.. bring suntan lotion, towels, swimsuits, sun hats, etc There will be local guys there wanting to take pictures of you for inflated prices ($100\approx 80 pics), suggest you do not pay more than $80! Don't forget to get together with your Guest Services Rep, as he\she will have good info for you ...

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Decent Place

The resort was advertised to have wi fi available throughout the resort. Wifi was only available in the lobby of the casino from 4pm to 5pm. As a result I was forced to use my cell phone creating a $500 bill. Spoke to guest services and was offered 30 mins of service. Being lied to and insulted is not what I travel for. Will not return or use tripcentral again.

Barcelo Solymar: Great Overall!

The ocean view was amazing, bungalows are awesome, the buffet was awful...food was plain, tasteless, and no variety at all...but if you want to be right in the centre of social life and party...Barcelo Solymar is the place to be! Daily trips to Havana and Cayo Blanco were fantastic!

Palma Real: Fun,fun and more fun!!!!!

This was my very first all inclusive stay. My expectations were low as I had read many bad reviews about the palma real. I was blown away by just about everything. The people real made it for me loved all the staff and other visitors from far and wide. Everyone seemed to be there for the same reason to have a good time and we did!!!!!!!! Thanks for the memorable vacation until next time.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Aweosome resort

One of the beat hotels i have been too. Its soo clean and staff are professional. The food was second to none. The resort has everthing you need from gift shops to spa to dolphins to jet skies to kids water parks

Barcelo Solymar: Resort

We didn't had good experience at the resort. So much to improve. Was an issue with my room. No food for us when we arrived The room was dirty They need to improve customer service Check out is a 12 pm but my flight was 11 pm we were waiting so long to back home.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great place!

We enjoyed everything! The hotel is spotless, staff is very friendly, service is quick, rooms were great and also the food was great. We truly enjoyed our trip at this resort and we would be happy to recommend to other people.

Occidental Punta Cana: Lovely resort

The resort was lovely however did not appreciate the harrasing “time share” salespeople especially after derogatory name calling. Food was great and the hotel is beautifully well kept. The beach wasn’t always clean as lots of seaweed however the pool made up for that. Excursions offered were really good especially La Hacienda which I recommend.

Barcelo Maya Colonial: Fantastic resort

Clean very friendly lots to do lots of variety of where to eat ..........................................................…..........................................................................................…..........................…

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Great Resort!

The location was great as it was very close to the beach, lots of activities on the beach (snorkelling, kayaking etc...), and close by the city. The food was decent, however the food at the buffets was not clean since there were flies in it and birds eating it as well. The rooms were not too bad, though they do need renovation (ceiling in the bathroom was falling down), and there were cock roaches in the hallway which entered the rooms. Overall, we still enjoyed our time in Varadero!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great vacation

We had an excellent time at The Barcelo Bavaro Palace resort. My expectations were more than met. The resort was very clean and well maintained. Rooms were very spacious, clean and comfortable (we were in a "family room"). Buffets and a la carte restaurants were all very good, lots of choices for everyone. The service was also very good. We had no problems at all and have no complaints. Pool was great, Beach was clean and beautiful! Hope to go back sometime soon. Thank you Krista for suggest [... read more]ing this resort. :)

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Up and Coming Resort

Occidental Arenas Blancas was a family friendly resort that had everything for everyone. The pools were fantastic & so was their service. But, the rooms could’ve been cleaner & better maintained. They would sometimes forget to put clean towels, or would refold the ones that were already used. It depended on who cleaned the rooms too. The buffets had a variety of food and the two restaurants that we went to (Spanish & Italian) were professional and tasty. The buffet near the beachfront, La Cari [... read more]be, had a nice lunch, but the birds were always eating the food. I think they should put covers and stuff on their food so that birds don’t eat it or sit around in it. Otherwise, I really believe that Arenas Blancas is an up and coming resort that can live up to its neighbour Barcelo Solymar.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Amazing beach

Amazing beach, overall clean resort, great buffet food, amazing cocktails, great service, wheelchair accessible rooms and grounds. On the downside, the sand unfortunately was full of plastic straws and caps and they allow photos with exotic animals that are obviously abused (the handlers were hitting the money on the nose to stay put and the parrots had their wings clipped).

Occidental Arenas Blancas: Very decent resort!

This hotel had the most beautiful beach, only a few short minutes away from the resort, clear blue waters and soft sand. The beach made everything that seemed bad at first, okay. The food was decent, not bad but not the greatest, enough to keep me going. The main selection of food was buffet style with various varieties, I would recommend taking your own condiments and spices. The restaurants were very nice, with live music in some cases and I would recommend booking reservations on the day of a [... read more]rrival. The hotel was relatively clean and the outside looking amazing however some areas were leaking and it could use some renovations. The service was good and all the workers were very kind and promptly helped when needed.

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Beautiful resort!

Food was incredible, the pool bar was super fun and the staff was amazing! Lots of wild life walking around which I thought was really cool, we got to see some monkeys and iguanas :) the beach was also very beautiful. My favourite part was the catamaran/snorkeling excursion! Would definitely recommend that. I would love to go back to this resort!

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Barcelo Maya

Was very nice resort well kept. Very large in size and always had an open chair to sit near pool or beach. Liked the design of main lobby with mall and great style of sports bar. The night club on resort for adults was lots of fun and had good amount of people .

Occidental Punta Cana: Royal level at Occendental: Fabulous

I was there from May 17th to May 24 2018. My stay was just perfect: the room (they gave me a suite), the dining room, the food, the service, the private beach: everything was perfect. The only turndown, at that time there were algue in the water, but we could swim anyway. I recommand Royal level, but I would not go to the regular resort, because the buffet is not at my taste. I noticed that at that time of the year there were plenty of free chairs on the regular section of the beach.

Barcelo Solymar: Not what I was use to

Stayed at Solymar May 2017 and November 2017 both stays were great... so we decided to go back May 17 2018. Reno’s to the buffet area are almost completed, the main pool was closed for two days cause it needed to be cleaned since it was green when we got there... the pool bar at the main pool was closed for three days. We had no hot water for two days even after complaining on the 4 day we had no running water. The 24 hr snack bar is now at the Mariachi restaurant at the Arenas blancas and th [... read more]e service was bad. The worst part is the workers are always asking for tips when you have to serve yourself. I don’t think they understand that a tip is given based on the service. The al le cartes were all good especially the seafood one. I had already booked a trip back in June and I’m now dreading it after my this trip.one night my friend was followed to her room by a man as there was no security walking the grounds, we caught up to her and ask him what he was doing and he took off, we later reported the incident to reception. When spending over 1k on a Cuba trip, would be nice to be looked at by the staff... I found that the Cuban’s that we’re staying at the resort were treating better which is fine I’d only like to be served in the same manner.

Barcelo Maya Caribe: Everything you need plus more

Barcelo has everything you could want in a resort. You almost don't even need to leave the grounds. They have beautiful pools and beaches of course but additionally Barcelo has a bowling alley, gym, spa, mini golf course, mall and a haunted house. Hence, if by chance it rains there is still plenty to keep one occupied. Every staff member I interacted with was helpful and accommodating. Great place to spend a week or two!!

Palma Real: Terrible no service resort

No service....no food left....handicap access locked up so couldnt use it. Had to buy beer because no one would serve me wgen cuban week was on. Sick mother with disability...couldnt leace room...wouldnt allow her to gave food outside of restaurant. Very angry over entire trip.