More about Barcelo Dominican Beach
What a Beach !!!
by MoeB52 about Barcelo Beach Village
If you want a great beach ....go to Punta Cana . Neil and I just came back a few weeks ago and I have to say it is one of the nicest beaches I have been to ...and I use to live in The USVI !! The place we stayed at was ok ....no 4 or 5 star ..but the room was fine and the air worked !! The place was an all enclusive ..so ..ok the food was basic , the drinks a tad watered down but with that beach who cares .. If you go and are from the US bone up on your German , French and Spanish ..Most of the folks there are from Europe and English is not the first language .. Actually we had a fantastic time ..We met nice people from all over the world .. We would go again ..any time .. If you want a room near the beach ...ask for a room in the 4000"s . It might take a while but with a tip you just might get lucky .
Punta Cana's Best Resort
by deeprivergirl about Catalonia Bavaro
I had the BEST time of my life at the Catalonia Bavaro Resort in Punta Cana!
I couldn't tell you one thing that was bad about it. The food was amazing, the beach was outstanding, the rooms were so clean and comfortable. The workers were very friendly and helpful!
I would suggest if you are looking for a holiday you pick this resort!
You will be glad you did and you will remember it for the rest of your life.
We met people on the resort that were coming back for their 4th time. We are going back again this year for our 2nd time!
AMAZING HOLIDAY....!!!!!!!
Had a great time
by A TripAdvisor Member
i just returned from the ocean bavaro. we loved it! had a great time, once we found english speaking visitors! there are a lot of europeans there, so we had to look around a bit. it's mostly french and spanish, but the staff know all languages. the food was good, rooms were nice, good service, nice beach. what more to say? i would go back for sure.
the a la carte restaurants were really nice. also a show every night. i think it would be a great spot for families, there's quite a lot of activities going on during the day. check it out!
Loved it!! Great for my kids!!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Having read the reviews done by other travelers, I was nervous about my visit to Ocean Bavaro with my children. I was very pleasantly surprised upon our arrival! Clean, beautiful, great activities for my kids ages 14, 15, 16. I have stayed in numerous high quality resorts on other islands, and this ranks among them! No, they don't speak much English, but your on an island visiting their country! Have patience! Regarding everyone complaining about having the runs, well, so did my wife and I. However, I do admit that we ate out half a dozen times in little run down off the beat restaurants. I also got the runs on Bonaire! Big deal. The lack of English speaking tourists was common wherever we went, and we traveled quite a bit during our stay. It is not just a situation at Ocean Bavaro. The island seems to really cater to the French and German. The excursions offered by our agent seemed rather expensive. We inquired about going out on our own, and was advised against it. We wanted to take a water taxi out to snorkle, and the agent said we shouldn't. We ended up walking to some of the local shops and met a few local people that really took care of us. Instead of spending $400 to take a "snorkeling excursion" to the park and have a guide show us the coral, we had "Ramone" give us a lift in his water taxi out to the reef, let us snorkle for three hours, brought us "cuda libre", all for $75.00 for five people. There are deals to be had outside the resort excursions. My recommendation, Ocean Bavaro is a great, family oriented place. Lot of food all the time. The people are gracious, service good. Be patient. You're not visiting a bed and breakfast in the states! Just look for deals on outside trips from the local people outside the resort.
What are they talking about?
by TripAdvisor Member Renzetti
I read these reviews before my departure a week ago and frankly was apprehensive, as in: "What have I got myself into?". My main purpose in posting this is to clear up some of the BS that has been posted below.
This hotel is clean, spectacularly beautiful, and (imo) decently maintained. My room was spotless, the shower was hot, the A/C worked fine, the maid was courteous, the grounds and the beach were immaculate. The variety, quantity, and quality of the food offered on the buffet was excellent. Although personally I would like to see some spicier items on offer, this is a Dominican Republic problem, not an Ocean Bavaro problem. These folks like bland food,period. On a negative note, there should be a toaster available in the main dining hall every morning, not just when someone thinks about trotting it out (there is one in the secondary dining room - this is a merger of two hotels). The beaches are beautiful and well-maintained. and are probably among the nicest in the D.R., certainly compared to the Puerta Plata complex. OK, lets talk about your fellow guests: Yep, there's a lot of "Francais-de-France" (as opposed to "Francais-de-Quebec" - a totally different person, not necessarily with the same points of view. Yeah, you may consider them rude, but this is a cultiral thing and how does this become the establishment's fault? Is the fact that you find your fellow guests might have different values than yourself something we need to read about? If I had to find a major fault, it would be the gift shop. It's pricy, when there are marked prices they are in US dollars. This hotel is not in the United States, and at least 90% of the clientele is not from the USA. A rip-off, as there is a supermarket a five-minute walk from the hotel with a mixed trade of locals and tourists that treats all their customers equally, prices are marked and are in pesos. I made the mistake of trying to buy an after-dinner cigar here one evening. The clerk attempted to sell me a cigar for US$25.
Even after I explained that all I wanted was an after-meal smoke, the reply was "Well, how much will you offer?". No prices were marked on any of their cigars. Solved the problem by visiting the supermarket and not buying so much as a newspaper from the gift shop. With this noteable exception, this place is a four-star facility with three-star pricing. I'd be happy to spend another spur-of-the-moment holiday there.
All ok but...
by A TripAdvisor Member
The hotel was very clean. The lunch was good too.. But all services wasn't fast. You will have to discuss Severely to have what you want(Like a Safe). This hotel needs to have more activities in the days. At christmas, it's boring. We slept at 11PM...
Don't go here! Horrible! Stay away from this one!
by A TripAdvisor Member
Horrible, Horrible. It was so bad I will never go back to Punta Cana. I spent the first two days at the service desk trying to get a safe, they advertise one in every room. The other couple that went with us, never did get their's. All they kept saying was "come back". When you went back you were told to "come back again". I finally got mad and they moved me to another room. Still having to go back twice for a safe. The bathroom shower shot across the floor, did not drain and the toilet worked once out of every 3 flushes. This was bad, being as 3 out of 4 of us got sick on the food. I spent the last 4 days throwing up and with violet cramps and the ****! I now call it Punta Cana Pukes and Poops. Food was horrible. This is the worse place I ever went in my life. Very few spoke English and communication was almost impossible. The beach was never cleaned of the seaweed. Due to the high volume of boats and recreation trips by the beach, it was always full of floating seaweed. Lots of seawood. Ruined the view and the water. Do not go to Manti Park! You wait for 2 hours to swim with the dolphins in a small, small, pool. It is not fit for any animal to live like that. It is a dump as well as the hotel. Don't waste your time, money at this hotel. CHOOSE SOME PLACE ELSE TO VACATION, NOT HERE!
Don't Waste Your Money
by A TripAdvisor Member
Well were do I start. This hotel not a resort was not at all what I expected. First off my travel agent told me of course they understand and speak English. You could count on your hand how many could understand you. At least at the front desk they should have had decent people. We were also told we would have a queen or king bed, I guess they do not exist. We never had towels. On a daily basis we had to call them to replace the towels. ANd then you only got 2. THe buffets stunk. If you want to eat at a restaurant get there early as they fill up, not enough spaces. Sure you can drink all you want but try to get the bartendars to understand what you want. I have been sick since I got back two weeks now. The only nice thing I can say good about this resort is that I thought the beach was awesome. THe price is affordable but trust me spend a little more and stay somewheres else.
You get what you pay for!
by A TripAdvisor Member
4 stars? I don't think so. Check in was a nightmare on day of arrival.
Many were given rooms with only one bed when it was a family. Heard lots of horror stories when we finally found other English-speaking guests---of which there were few. Very rude Europeans mobbing the place. They were overbooked-- met a family who were sent up the beach to another hotel for 2 nights as they had no room for them. Lots of people had plumbing problems--brown water in tub, toilets didn't flush, etc. Families with teenagers requesting 2 rooms-- one family had 2 rooms, but they were in completely different buildings. My hair dryer broke during use. Took almost 2 days to get it fixed and only after asking 3 times and getting loud! I got very sick there for about 30 hours-- stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, chills, headache. Stomach trouble lasted for 9 days. My teenager got sick t day we got home and was sick for 6 days!
What a Terrible Hotel
by A TripAdvisor Member
What a #@*# of hotel. Horrible, horrible conditions.It was so bad I will never recommend this hotel in Punta Cana. In this respect, we got two rooms in front of a construction site (workers arrived at 06h00 in the morning and stopped working after 23h00 in the evening). Furthermore, the rooms were marked by rot on the ceilings. Needless to point out that the air was marked by a bad enclosed smell. By the way, we noticed a lot of people changing on a continuous way their rooms! My wife and myself, we spent a lot of our time at the service desk trying to get another room, respectively that the workers at the building site outside should stop working after 23h00 in the evening. The service was poor and unfriendly - it was extremely difficult finding someone to help you with anything -all they kept saying was "come back tomorrow". CHOOSE SOME PLACE ELSE TO VACATION, NOT HERE!
Forum Posts
ocean bavaro spa beach resort
by keith123
hiya
We are going to this hotel in september and i was wondering if anyone has stayed there and what its like.
Is the all inclusive 24 hours
Thanks for you help
ocean bavaro spa hotel punta cana
by Edd12340
Hi
We are going to this hotel on the 25th september and just want to ask a few questions please.
What is the weather like at this time of year, and if anyone has stayed there is the all inclusive 24/7 or is there a time limit.
What is the entertainment like, food, service
Thanks
Tracey
Re: ocean bavaro spa hotel punta cana
by marielexoteria
I haven't been to just that hotel, but to other AI (all-inclusive) hotels. The kitchen and the discos/bars usually close late at night, other than that you're getting the 3 meals plus morning or afternoon snacks (snacks depending on the hotel). The animation team programs activities like bingo, karaoke, night shows, etc.
Enjoy!
Need advice regarding what's hip in the Dominican Republic...l
by EverySpyaPrince
Q: My girlfriend and I are considering traveling to the Dominican Republic for a badly needed vacation. The dates we are considering are roughly the last week of September through approximately October 12. But with the Hurricanes that have recently passed and some still lingering we are not sure that the Caribbean is such a good idea at the moment.
What is the weather like during that period? We really want to avoid going anywhere that will be raining or overcast, so if it is still the Hurricane season than it is probably not the right destination for us. PLEASE ADVICE!!!
Also, we are considering staying at an all-inclusive resort so as not have to worry about going out to eat and drink. In the past we have both experienced top notch all-inclusive resorts with quality accommodations, service, amenities and restaurants/bars that serve gourmet food and top-shelf liquor. As well as bargain basement resorts which today we are not interested in. We are hoping that someone can recommend a top-notch resort.
During the day she likes to chill by the pool or on the beach and I like to participate in water sports. At night we like to go out for dinner and than hangout at a bar/lounge or go dancing also want some suggestion about happening night spots.
Thanks Misha
Re: Need advice regarding what's hip in the Dominican Republic...l
by CatInEurope
Hi Misha!
Not sure what area you were looking at in DR but my girlfriend and i stayed in PUNTA CANA at the end of March 2004. We stayed at the OCEAN BAVARO BEACH RESORT AND SPA - a 4*. It was fabulous! (ask for block 5 though!)
As for the weather - we had a lot of rain when compared to other carribean trips we've been on...I think the island generally gets a lot of rain - to escape the hurricane season i would hold off until November.
If you want a DELUXE resort try the Barcelo Palace - a 5* ...
good luck.
Oh. For a great club and dancing - you must visit Mangu and actually the resort it is in - The Grand Flamingo by accidental - looked gorgeous as well. Pretty much the only club in that area...
cheers.
cat
Re: Re: Need advice regarding what's hip in the Dominican Republic...l
by EverySpyaPrince
Thank you,
Misha
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