Occidental Papagayo: Occidental Papagayo

A few observations: 1. The resort is on the side of a mountain and very challenging to get around. there are 76 steps from the lobby area down to the main pool. Its another 12 min walk to the beach and 30 steps + ramp on a narrow wooden bridge to the beach. It wasn't a problem for me as I am physically active; however, it was very challenging for many of the guests. I suggest that your literature clearly identify to vacationer's regarding the challenges getting around. 2. Beach is good in the  [... read more]morning; however, with tides it disappears by 2pm. this was a disapointment 3. My rm was in building 1200 and 12 min walk to lobby on a very steep walkways. Suggestion negotiate better rm locations for your vacationers. Rm was acceptable and clean. 4. Entertainment was very poor particularly in the Evening. 5. Food was OK, noting special. There was a lack of meat at the buffet and what was provided often looked like what I would call "MYSTREY MEAT" 6. Staff were great generally; however, the check in process was over 1hr and had to wait 3 hr for a rm. 7. The main pool, 76 steps down from lobby had very little sun protection. There were only 4 umbrellas all which were damaged and could not be adjusted by tilting. Because of the lack of shared from 11am to 3pm most guests left the pool area. I had to drag a chair off the pool deck into the shaded wooded area behind the pool deck to find shade. No reason why the restort shouldn't have a mininum of 10+ umbrellas on the pool deck with all of them with tilting.

Barcelo Maya Beach Resort: Amazing Resort

We love everything about the Barcelo. This is why we have gone there 8 times. We booked the Beach and it closed during our time we were expected to be there so they upgraded us to the Palace. Rooms were large and clean. Staff were very friendly and very hard working. LOVE the huge pools. Food was excellent, especially the French and Brazilian restaurants. Weather was great. Would definitely return in a heartbeat.

Occidental Papagayo: Nice place to stay

This is a nice resort the pools and grounds are clean, the food is decent, the rooms are comfortable. The beach is really nice and there’s good snorkeling. The premium package is worth it - it gives you access to the premium bar and room service included. Kattia at the premium bar was the best bartender and made the greatest tasting drinks The à la carte restaurants were very good- the buffet food was alright- not great, not terrible There are ALOT of stairs - we were in room level 8 so for [... read more] us to walk down to the pool there was 112 stairs. There are shuttles but you have to call and they can take a while. It would be really good if they had a shuttle schedule - where it will be there every 15 minutes or something. The check in process is long - and rooms are not ready until 3pm so our flight landed at 7 am and we didn’t have a room until 3. You are able to use the grounds but it’s difficult without a place to change or store your items. It would be good when a group is checking in if they took names and had people sit in the lounge area and called them one at a time to check in- so they aren’t all standing in line for an hour. The bathroom at the pool / Grill restaurant- had 2 stalls - one toilet without a toilet seat and the other stall door doesn’t close- and they weren’t repaired for the whole week we were there. The air conditioner in our room was leaking into the wall and water would pool up on the floor - as well the shower would leak and a large puddle of water would take over the bathroom floor. A little maintenance and the resort could be a 5 star resort The beach is public so there are vendors on the beach who do approach you but are friendly and not pushy or rude - the beach massages by the local vendors are excellent and cost less than the resort spa. The flight home left at 7, which meant catching the airport shuttle at 4am - so you have to spend time on your last day there packing up. Not a fault of the resort but the package would be nicer if the exit flight was a bit later

Barcelo Maya Palace: Another great trip

This is my second time visiting this resort this year. I stayed here in April with my husband and then in October with my 2 daughters ages 20 and 17. Rooms are the exact same whether staying in a room with 1 king bed or 2 double beds. They are wonderful, air conditioner fantastic, balcony with a drying rack very handy. Bathroom is spacious, double sinks, walk in shower with lots of hot water and bathtub and separate toilet for privacy. Stocked mini fridge daily with beer and pop and dai [... read more]ly refills of chips and nuts in room. Beds are comfortable, day bed was made up for one of us and very comfortable. The single pillows were great for the day bed and on king beds however the long pillows provided on double beds had no stuffing inside so definitely ask for a few extra singles. Only a couple charging ports in the double bed room (our king room in April had more outlets) Rooms scattered throughout the resort but only a few minutes from a pool, huge 4' deep never ending pool with a swim up bar. Another quieter pool not too far away with more comfortable cushioned chairs, more of an adult pool with a walk up bar. Dining area is to the one side of the resort, 2 buffets and 2 a la carts. Food was good everywhere. I am a picky eater but could always find something somewhere. Italian restaurant in the mall was my least favourite salad bar and options but the pizza was excellent. I chose Palace over the other Barcelo hotels because the food was better and that was important to me but you could definitely go a cheaper route if you have a wider food pallet and stay at one of the other family resorts. Transfer from the airport took 1hr 20 min but we did need to make 2 stops to drop off other people at their resorts which took up a little time. The shuttle was air conditioned and roomy. We did a half day excursion ATV, Cenote, 3 Zip lines a wonderful Mexican lunch and snorkeling, highly recommend. Cost for all 3 of us was about $320US In April we snorkelled in front of the hotel and saw turtles, this time we saw stingray. It is hit and miss with the seaweed but the hotel staff is out there every day shoveling it up when needed. Lots of coral in front of this hotel, just walk a little bit down the beach for better swimming and white sand. I would definitely visit a third time :)

Barcelo Maya Tropical: Great time and Amazing Resort

Great Vacation at Barceló Maya Palace! We had a fantastic vacation at Barceló Maya Palace! The resort is beautiful, with well-maintained grounds, amazing pools, and a great overall atmosphere. It was the perfect place to relax, enjoy the sunshine, and spend time with friends. The staff were excellent throughout our stay! Everyone was friendly, welcoming, and worked hard to make our experience enjoyable. We really appreciated the variety of dining options, especially the access to the à  [... read more]la carte restaurants. The French and Japanese restaurants were definitely our favourites and highlights of the trip! The only real disappointment was the amount of seaweed, which unfortunately made the beach pretty much unusable during our stay. Of course, this is completely out of the resort's control, and we certainly wouldn't hold it against them. Like any large resort, there are always a few little things that could be improved, but nothing that took away from our overall experience. Overall, we had a wonderful vacation, made some great memories, and would definitely consider returning. Highly recommend Barceló Maya Palace!

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: NOT Great....

our room smelled of sewage even after they claimed they fixed the toilet there is ZERO service if you don't speak spanish you are ignored buffet food is mediocre ... the specialty resturants were good but again NO SERVICE the pools are great the weather good no rain but very very humid

Occidental Tamarindo: Great experience

Some workers were very nice and attentive some others not so much , we like the food was testy , activities were ok , the club not so much it had a weird smell, beach is not the greatest but you can walk to tamarindo overall we are likely to go back

Barcelo Maya Riviera: Disappointed

We had stayed last fall at the Barcelo Maya Riviera for my 60th birthday and our daughter and son-in-law’s honeymoon. We were so impressed that my wife and I decided to return this year to celebrate her 60th birthday with our sons. Upon arrival we checked all 4 of us into 2 separate rooms and I informed the front reception personnel that one of our sons had a severe peanut allergy and to keep them out of their room which they noted, and also asked them if they could send something up to our ro [... read more]om for my wife’s birthday celebration to which they said “they’d try.” Last year they sent to both our room and our daughter’s, a special dessert and a bottle of bubbly for our separate occasions. It made it special and memorable. This time, even after a few days staying there, they kept restocking peanuts in our son’s room even after talking to a supervisor at the front desk about how serious of an issue this was to his health. I felt like it wasn’t taken seriously and even though I was told the manager would be notified, there was zero follow up and more peanuts stocked daily. My wife also never got any special treats in our room for her birthday. Between our 2 rooms we had to call and make daily reminders to refill the fridge with water in order to brush our teeth, restock towels that weren’t during daily cleaning as well as restocking Kleenex, body wash and soap, all which were included in the price of our room and became a real annoyance. Only one night of our 7 day stay did we get a knock on our door with staff asking if we needed refills on anything. On our arrival day, we booked all the restaurants for the week both at our resort and 4 others that we could choose from. We were surprised that many restaurants were completely closed on certain days, so we were limited in choices of where to eat as well as day and time and had to pick some times as late as 9:45 which wasn’t ideal. We found that the later seatings we were very rushed with food coming out cold, and lights starting to be turned off in the restaurants while we were hurried to finish our meal. This happened at the Santa Fe (American Steak House) restaurant, The Rodizio (Brazilian Steak House) and the La Comedie (French restaurant), on our 3rd visit (due to limited choices and times), where the power kept surging and we actually couldn’t leave, because the doors wouldn’t open for a bit. There was a convention happening at our resort late in the week and when we tried to take the bus for our dinner reservation at The Palace, convention participants dominated getting multiple buses so that hotel guests were denied boarding and told to get off. My wife and one son were taken by a golf cart that seated 2, but with the driver there were 3, and my wife had to hold onto our one son so he wouldn’t fall out. It was a disaster. Upon return I voiced my frustration with the front desk supervisor who didn’t seem too concerned about not having transportation available to guests staying at the resort. The accumulation of deficiencies made what should have been a relaxing and enjoyable holiday into one in which we were glad to return home. This was not the vacation that we had anticipated it to be and we really hope that they make some serious improvements, especially with them knowing about the severe peanut allergy and yet still stocking peanuts everyday into our son’s room. That could have been fatal.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Great resort all inclusive

Overall it was a great resort, the rooms were beautiful with a great balcony. The staff were nice and friendly However there was no kettle to make tea and we had to pay for hot water which was a bit absurd.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Excellent Resort

The people, the food and the resort were excellent The workers are so nice, the grounds and golf course were beautiful Had a wonderful time It was our third time there We will be going again next year The hotel is run very well

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Great time

The hotel was great. We really enjoyed ourselves. The service, food, pool was great. The staff was always there eager to help. The room was nice a clean but a bit too cold. The beach was nice but a lot sargassum. The maintenance staff worked tirelessly to clean it up. I would recommend the BARCELO BEACH.

Barcelo Bavaro Palace: Room for improvement

The good: installations look good and are maintained clean. It is a large complex with two hotels (Palace and Beach), the Beach being adults only if you want a different vibe even if you stay at the Palace. There is a lot to do: disco, bowling, golf, bars, restaurants, f1 simulator, etc, but some of them are not included. The bad: the food at the buffet was bad, sometimes overcooked, sometimes tasted as it was spoiled to the point I didn’t eat it, including some of the juices they offered [... read more]. Food variety was also very weak, a lot of sausages in different preparation, if they ran out of something, they didn’t replenished or it would take forever to do so, so there were long lines for things like beef to grab some before it was gone. Chicken was always very dry and overcooked, Regarding the a la carte restaurants, they were ok, way better than the buffet, but nothing extraordinary. We went to the Italian one night and there was a roach in our seat, very bad start. I know in places with this type of weather is hard to keep insects out, but the roach at the Italian restaurant was not the only one, we spotted some more, including one in our room. We have stayed in two other hotels in Punta Cana before, no roaches at all in any of them. Some of the staff at the buffet feel like they hate being working there and that feeling is reflected in their poor service. Activities were not very good compared to other hotels. Night shows were not very impressive either. Unfortunately, the beach was full of sargassum so we couldn’t enjoy it as we wanted. Also, the smell from the sargassum can be very strong at times. I know the hotel has not much control on this other than cleaning as much as they can, but it was disappointing to find a beach that cannot be used.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Fantastic Place!

Clean, great entertainment and shows. Staff is very friendly. Loved it! Would go back. My kids loved it as well. There was a great coffee shop and boardwalk to wonder around on. A bit big but its ok

Barcelo Maya Palace: Amazing Resort

Great staff, food ,service was excellent. I recommend you get a premium room no wait times to check in excellent location, nice rooms great beaches, also use Air Transat best airline to book, Maya Palace is the best choice or Tropical

Occidental at Xcaret Destination: Great Resort, Highly recommend!

Had a wonderful time with the family, the kids loved the pool, kids club and the wildlife. We also got the unlimited Xcaret pass (get the pass when booking!), the park is so close, within easy walking distance.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Beautiful resort!

We really enjoyed our stay at the Barcelo Bavaro Beach resort in Punta Cana. However, we were very disappointed as many other tourists in this resort to see the extreme sargassum situation on the beach, which made the beach unusable. The smell of seaweed from the beach caused a strong unpleasant smell in the pool areas. I believe when booking this area with a travel agent, the travel agent should be able to warn the consumer of this extreme situation. We are beach people and this put a damper on [... read more] our vacation. We could not even walk along the beach. We chose this particular resort because of the calmness of the ocean. I know this cannot be remedied due to nature and extreme climate changes on the Atlantic Ocean side, however, to pay full price for a resort and not have the use of the beach proved to be very disappointing for us, as well as many other tourists on this property. I had done much reading and research and I was aware of this situation however upon arrival I was astonished to see the amount of sargassum which even the best of crew members were unable to keep up with. We enjoyed the fact that we were able to use the facilities of the Bavaro Palace it's sister property. However, in comparison the Animacion team and the shows differed immensely! We found the Barcelo Beach side was just too quiet with many activities cancelled without notice on their activities schedule and no vacation vibes music played throughout the resort. There was only one show on the beach side that we enjoyed. We found that we were always taking the train to the Barcelo Palace side to use the gym, the hydroptherapy spa, they included two free visits and the massive pools. The Animacion team made a valiant effort and the shows were of high caliber on this side as well. We did have a decent room with a King bed and much to our surprise we had an ocean view. The variety, presentation, and abundance of food was highly noticably, however even though they had advertised a gluten free station at their buffets, there were no such stations and I had a gluten free card, it was hard for them to accomodate my needs and, I am lucky that I do understand and speak Spanish since at this resort most of the employees do not speak English. They were more than happy to accomodate my eating needs at three of the a la carte restaurants that we ate at. Overall, the cleaninness and the abundance of pools and a la carte restaurants and buffets were plenty when were allowed to use both resorts.

Barcelo Bavaro Beach: Barcelo Bavaro Beach - A Fantastic Adult-Only Escape with Exceptional Service

Dates: August 13–20, 2026 Resort: Barceló Bávaro Beach (Adults Only) Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4.5/5) We recently returned from a fantastic week-long stay at Barceló Bávaro Beach. If you are looking for a beautifully maintained property with great entertainment and a relaxed atmosphere, this is a wonderful choice. Here is a detailed breakdown of our experience. ? Premium Swim-Up Room (Room 3021) * Daily Use: Having direct water access from our terrace was a game-changer. We used the swim [... read more]-up pool every single day. * Meticulous Care: The ground staff cleaned the pool area every morning and checked the pH levels throughout the day to ensure perfect water quality. * Room Service: Prompt, attentive, and consistently great quality. ?️ Dining & Gastronomy * La Brisa: Outstanding experience. The food was delicious and the service was absolutely excellent. * The Buffet: While smaller than standard mega-resort buffets, the food preparation and flavour were vastly superior to most other resorts we have visited. * The Main Downside (Palace Side A la Cartes): To attend the specialized à la carte restaurants, you must travel to the family-friendly side of the resort (Barceló Bávaro Palace). This area is incredibly chaotic and "stupid busy." * The Commute: You have to take a small train ride over to a massive plaza, which you then have to navigate through just to find your restaurant. We found this overwhelming and a complete distraction from the tranquil, chill vibe we enjoyed on the adults-only side. ? Outstanding Service & Concierge * Mister Amazing (Felix Ozuna): Our concierge, Felix, truly went above and beyond to turn our holiday into a special event. * Highly Responsive: He was always available on WhatsApp to answer questions or help out (though, of course, the man rightfully deserves his time off with his family!). * VIP Perk: Felix provided us with a complimentary excursion to Don Lucas, which was a massive highlight. ? Don Lucas Excursion Insights If you get the chance to go, do not hesitate. This excursion offers a fascinating, in-depth look at traditional Dominican products: * Cigars: You get to see the meticulous process of manual cigar rolling and learn about the different tobacco blends. * Coffee & Chocolate: They provide immersive educational breakdowns on how local cacao and coffee beans are harvested, roasted, and processed. * Tastings: You can sample and purchase authentic, high-quality Dominican goods directly from the source. ? Property & Entertainment * Grounds: The entire property is pristine, lush, and exceptionally well-maintained. * Nightly Shows: The entertainment team puts on fantastic, high-energy productions every evening that are well worth watching. ? Final Verdict Barceló Bávaro Beach delivers a top-tier adult-only experience, largely driven by stellar staff like Felix and excellent food quality. Just prepare yourself for the stark contrast in energy levels if you decide to cross over to the Palace side for dinner!

Occidental Papagayo: Hidden Gem

We recently stayed at the Occidental Papagayo for a week and everything about it was great!! This hotel and it's grounds are absolutely stunning. The buildings built into the cliffs makes it very unique. We were in building 6 and had incredible views of the ocean, the mountains and volcanoes. The staff were always smiling and very friendly and helpful. The food at the snack bar, the a la cartes and specifically the breakfast buffet was great. The beach was nice, a little rocky but good. Very  [... read more]warm and fun at high tide. We would absolutely not hesitate to return in a heartbeat. We had 3 amazing tours with Frank the Tank tours that were incredible from start to finish, absolutely flawless. A truly amazing and unforgettable week

Barcelo Maya Colonial: an awesome resort

The grounds, gardens, pool area are beautiful. The beach has plenty of trees and beds. We were lucky that during our stay the sea grass was not unmanageable. However be aware that this area at times gets lots of sea grass washed on the shores. The resort made a lot of effort to clean it up. The buffet was average but you can always find something that you will enjoy. The a-la-car restaurants were very good. The hotel staff was very kind and helpful. Our room as large, nicely furnished an [... read more]d kept clean.

Occidental Costa Cancun: Great resort !!

Small so easy to get around - I loved that I’m not a fan of giant resorts. Buffet was great, had Italian à la carte and it was very good. Pool is great but typical loud - beach is very small and shallow would be great with small children - no real ability to swim it’s a tiny cordoned off area - but we walked quite far down the beach to number of other resorts, and they were very weedy. Great service other than check-in, which is always painfully slow for some reason at these places. A real b [... read more]enefit is that it is right beside the fairy dock so you can take a ferry so easily to Isla Mujeres and have a fabulous beach day there. If you’re a pool person, it’s a great resort seemed very easy to get chairs, etc. if you’re a beach person you really need to just go over to the island. It’s ok for a day or with small children but really limited