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Dominican Republic Hotel, Resort & Villa Reviews Reviews
Bavaro Princess - Punta Cana 04/06/2005
Reviewers Rating:  Excellent
A group of 15 – 9 Adults and 6 children had the pleasure of staying at the Bavaro Princess. We all took anti-malaria pills. No one in the group got sick. Two – three complained that their stomachs were feeling a bit off for a day or so, but hard to say if was the fact that you are eating and drinking a lot of things we are not accustomed to e.g. lots of fruity and syrupy drinks etc… Over the last few years we have stayed at Royal Solaris in Cancun, Occidental Allegro in Punta Cana, Barcelo Maya, Paradissus Varadero and Tryp Peninsula Varadero. Based on my experience, I would not hesitate to recommend this resort.
We traveled with Sunquest/Skyservice a direct flight from Ottawa. Flight was on time and there were no issues. Not much leg room, pretty much standard on a charter flight.
The bus ride from airport to hotel was okay. No drinks or washroom, so best to take care of this before getting on the bus. We stopped at two other resorts before arriving at our hotel. Bus ride was approx. 40 minutes.
Check-in – AMAZING. We arrived at the hotel at 1 p.m. and most our rooms were ready, even though check-in is not until 3 p.m. We had paid our trip early in order to qualify for the free VIP upgrade. When we picked up our tickets at the travel agency, nothing was mentioned on our hotel voucher about the VIP. I asked the travel agent to get some type of confirmation in writing, as I did not feel like arguing at the hotel that we had paid early etc… Travel agent/Sunquest was unable to provide any confirmation. We were pleasantly surprised at check-in that all of us had been upgraded to VIP. Furthermore, I had sent an email before leaving asking that our group of 15 – staying in 5 rooms, would be located in the same building and close to the beach. All five rooms were reserved in building 6, close to the pool and beach.
Rooms – spacious, exactly as per brochure. All rooms have a lovely terrace not a balcony. Very spacious and comfortably seats 4 adults and a few kids!
Food – The main buffet was excellent, lots of choices for both breakfast and dinner. Not sure how anyone can complain. For lunch we mostly ate at the beach restaurant (McPrincess and El Gaucho). Gets a little repetitive, but we were not willing to take time away from the beach to travel to main lobby for lunch. My parents did, and said the lunch buffet was excellent with lots of choices. A la carte – tried Le Licey Gourmet – nice but not worth paying for if you don’t have VIP. El Gaucho turns into the Argentinean Steak House for dinner and it was excellent. Bella Pasta, my parents are Italian, so we are a bit picky when it comes to Italian food. The food was good, but not great. My parents ate at the Seafood Restaurant – El Pescador and were not overly impressed. Tried Chopin for buffet breakfast, smaller and fewer choices, but a lovely setting. Did not try the Japanese. So in a nutshell, if you are staying for a week, and don’t want buffet every night, I would suggest making a reservation at El Gaucho and Bella Pasta to break it up a little. And, keep in mind that the buffet is excellent and has great choices. By the way, I emailed the hotel the week before departure, and made all my restaurant reservations in advance. The second day we were there, I went to guest services, with my email in hand and my contact name “Armando”. The first guy I spoke to gave me a bit of hard time, but the other woman simply told him to contact Armando. Armando confirmed by phone that all was arranged, and in fact when the first guy flipped to the reservation pages for those particular days, my name was already on the list for my group of 15. He then filled out the restaurant vouchers and I was on my way.
Beach and Pool – Beautiful, lots of chairs and palapas, but as usual, get there early to reserve prime spots. The beach in Punta Cana is one of the prettiest I have seen. You can not walk the entire beach, it is several kilometers.
Water Activities – Kids went banana boating – $US7 each, and had lots of fun. Two of the kids went parasailing, they had a “special deal” the week we were there – yeah right – anyhow the cost was $65 US for both of them. They really enjoyed the experience.
Kids Club – I did not send my 3 year old to the kid’s club, but I did go and look at it. There were 4 kids when I went, and they were doing some crafts. Did not appear to be a great kids club. They were very nice, and did say I could stay with my child and make use of the facilities, balls, swing set, slide etc…
Misc. The resort is very large, but once you figure out the layout, you get used to it. Our building which I mentioned was close to the pool/beach, was one of the farthest points to the main lobby, and it was a 10 minute walk. Very pleasant since you eat so much and the grounds are so beautiful to look at. The trains run often, but a peak times i.e. lunch, dinner, they were often full. Zoo – true calling it a zoo is a little of an exaggeration, but I can tell you my 3 year old son, loved it. There were parrots, iguanas and various other birds. As well, near the main buffet restaurant there were geese, ducks, chickens, peacocks and flamingoes walking around. These animals were a hit, and the kids loved to feed them after breakfast.
VIP Upgrade – Our rooms were in a great location, but I think the location we received was mainly due to my email. The rum is a small bottle, you get three cigars and the 20 minute massage is wonderful. My older son and his friends made use of the 1 hr free internet, and were happy to IMS a few friends back home – note: for 15 minutes of internet use the cost is only $2.00 US. However, in my opinion I do not think the VIP is worth paying for.
Enjoy your trip!
Jenny
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