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Dominican Republic Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews Reviews
Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort
03/05/2004
Reviewers Rating:  Fair
We booked with the Barcelo chain because we had a great experience in the Mayan Riviera in Mexico. It was a brand new Hotel & the food, rooms & staff were great. I would go back to the Barcelo Maya again in a minute. It was a 4 star rated resort.
I read a few reviews before we left for the Dominican & had our travel agent request a room in the 4000 building. Upon arriving at the resort we checked in & mentioned that our travel agent requested a room in the 4000 building. The person checking us in didn't seem to care & put us in the 1000 building. This building is the furthest away from everything at the resort. Because it is an all-inclusive resort, you tend to eat & drink a bit more than usual. I think all the walking we did helped us to not gain any weight on our holiday (haha?). In that respect we didn't mind being in the 1000 building. It was also very close to the tennis courts, which we used often. The rooms are very outdated for a 4 star resort. They need to spend alot of money on renovations to maintain that rating. We were not very impressed with the quality of the food either. Again, for a 4 star resort the food should have been better. We ate alot of the pizza, which was pretty good. The buffet restaraunts are better than the a'la'carte ones. The Mexican buffet is the best one. Ask to have "Jorge" as your waiter. He is very attentive, speaks good English & is one of the only waiters worth tipping. The resort is about 19 yrs. old & doesn't look much like the pictures you see in the travel magazines. In the future I will ask how old the resort is before I book it. A hotel that is new - 5 years old is all I will ever book again when spending the amount of money that we did (lots!) There were little tiny bugs in our bathroom when we checked in. We phoned the front desk & they had someone come out & spray them. We didn't see them again for the remainder of our 2 week vacation. We ate at one of the Palace restaraunts on the last night we were there. It was very good. We also checked out the rooms there & they were much nicer also.
I wouldn't rate the Palace as a 5 star, but it could be a 4 star. The Beach & Caribe are 3 star at best. If you plan on going to this resort I wouldn't go unless you book at the Palace. If the prices were lower & they rated the Beach resort properly, I might consider going back. The beaches & the water are awesome though. We liked them alot better than in Mexico. The water is warm & clear & you can walk out into the Ocean for about 100 yards without the water going over your head. Once we got over the old rooms & we found the few decent places to eat, we really enjoyed our stay. The weather was great. We never left the resort as we were told it could be dangerous unless you were in a tour group.
The golf course is OK but not what were used to playing in Canada. The calamri at La Uva & the seafood restaraunt is excellent. We overheard alot of people complaning about the quality of the resort & some of them were moved to the Palace for Free - $ 50 upgrade. When we inquired about this we were told that there was no room at the Palace. I guess you have to be loud & obnoxiuos to get your way in the Dominican. We had a very fun & relaxing vacation due to changing our initial attitudes upon arrival. That being said, I will not go back & would suggest to anyone wanting to go to the Dominican to book into a brand new resort which has a minimun 5 star rating. They don't rate them the same here as they do in Mexico.
Kevin Kurucz
Barcelo Bavaro Beach Resort
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• On the sunny northeast coast of the breathtaking Dominican Republic, stroll the fine white sands of Bavaro Beach in front of this all-inclusive resort, which offers a fantastic location plus food, drinks, and fun.• Snorkel, kayak, and splash through the inviting Caribbean Sea—the nearby coral reef keeps waters warm and calm. An adult and children’s pool are available, as are merengue lessons, aerobics, and a fitness center. • If lounging on a palm tree-studded beach with a mojito at hand isn’t your idea of a perfect vacation, try scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, midnight tennis, or dancing the night away in one of the discos on site.
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