Barcelo Bavaro Palace - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

32397 reviews

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  Entertainment

  Entertainment is very nice. Great job by all the staff. Very involved and so much fun! Always high energy and amazing dance moves. Highly recommend!

  Jan 20, 2026
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  Would definitely return!

  We loved everything about our trip. The only thing that we would do different is USE THE SAFE!!! Unfortunately, one of the cleaners that you have working for you is a thief. They stole a credit card and tried to use it,

  Jan 20, 2026
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  Barcelo Bavaro Palace Mediocre at Best

  If you are looking for a true 5-star experience with friendly staff, great food, fresh air, clean safe pools, crystal blue beach, and a clean and nice room – you should keep looking, this is not the resort for you. This resort is not going to tick the boxes you are looking for. We booked it in October and as such, for the price we paid, we expected it to be at least a 4 star, if not 4.5. It was definitely a far cry from that. Also, beware of the posts with positive reviews. The entertainment staff were constantly going around to the groups that had the saved chairs (see below) around the pool and one part of the beach. They would ask for a review and stand there while it was done. These were the people who were obviously drinking in the sun for most of the day and saving all the chairs. They were very strategic with who they asked if you watched the process. I am unsure if anything was being offered in exchange for the review. I was only asked once to do this and refused. 1. Food and drinks The food at the resort was mediocre at best. The buffet had many items that should have been kept on ice, but they were left at room temperature (eg cheese, egg salad, tuna salad, etc). Often items were out (e.g. French toast and pancakes) and the only special stations were omelets each morning. The regular food service was limited to the buffets and a Sports Bar, which was dining in a sports cave in the dark with no windows. There were no beach food restaurants or anywhere else to grab snacks. The coffee shop was also a cigar shop – wasn’t open until 4pm daily, no minors allowed and stunk like smoke. There were no special areas like we’ve seen in other resorts like ice cream shops for example either. As well, if you dine at the outside area of the patio at the main buffet, they have a high pitch sound to keep birds away that was extremely annoying. Food in the sports bar was ok depending on the day. For the specialty restaurants there was a huge lack of reservations availability. On our first day we went to a customer service station, and it took quite a while to book meals. We were there for 8 days, and we couldn’t get into some restaurants during the stay and others we could only get in on our last couple nights and as late as 10:30pm. However, looking at the restaurants nightly there appeared to be space and talking with other guests, people were being accommodated only after offering to pay cash to bribe for the reservations. La Fuenta and Kyoto were the best restaurants we tried. Santa Fe, Coral, and Dolce Vita were disappointing. Overall, the drinks were syrupy and inconsistent. There was nothing special about any of the bars or any special drinks of the day or garnishes to make anything stand out. 2. Beach and pools I’ll start by saying that the sand was beautiful. The water in the swimming area, however, was not clear and was full of seaweed. One of the major issues was that there were nowhere near enough chairs at the beach and pool. Every day people were looking for chairs. We only had enough for our family one day and other days we were lucky to get at least some to share. Pool chairs were saved by 730am. We tried not to be the ones saving if we didn’t need them right then, but one day we tried to save around 8am not even ideal spots just because our son had injured himself and was on crutches, so he couldn’t move around much - we needed somewhere for him to sit. When we went back after breakfast we found someone had removed our things. Another day we were lucky to find a 3rd chair part way through the day (for our party of 5) and had a man angry with us and tell us we should give it to him and his wife because they couldn’t find any. Tons of tiles were flaking off at the pool. Some were broken creating very sharp edges for toes to be cut on. In general, smoking is allowed everywhere at the resort. This was very prevalent in places like the lobby areas, beach, and pools. Someone with an allergy or asthma may have a very hard time. 3. Rooms It was nice to have a family suite with 2 bedrooms. The doors, however, are louvered though, including the bathroom, so semi-private. The bathtub on the balcony was also a nice feature that we used a lot. We were on the third floor so there was some privacy, other than the evenings when the people in adjacent suites used their pool or balcony as well, and then it was quite noisy as the neighbors were extremely loud and yelled at their kids constantly. Bathroom: The bathroom stank like urine and sewer almost the entire time. The cleaner that we had for most of the trip told us it was the humidity and it was just the sewer system around there. On the 2nd last day we had a different cleaner who seemed to be able to clean it so that it didn’t stink for one day at least. The shower sprayed water all over the bathroom floor, every time you showered. Many days the room wasn’t fully cleaned, including the bathroom and towels were not restocked, including a bathmat. There was no functioning ventilation/exhaust in the bathrooms. One sink drain was consistently clogged the entire trip. There was significant staining and mold markings in the bathrooms. Bedroom: Beds felt like a sheet of plywood - extremely hard and uncomfortable. There was a lot of sand under the beds - when was the last time it was cleaned? Fan in the master bedroom squeaked like crazy. Sheets were not changed for entire stay (we did not ask for them to be left on the beds or anything else). The mini bar lacked any options other than beer, Coke, water and was not restocked regularly during the stay. We had to go to the bars daily for bottles of water to take to our room. Overall, the rooms are dated and need significant face lifts. 4. Staff At most resorts you see significant interaction between staff and guests. People are friendly and happy to see you and over the week you develop a relationship seeing them daily. This was not the case at this resort. While some of the staff became more friendly as the week went on, some of the staff was stand-offish and it was clear that they weren’t happy to see you or make your stay better. This was especially evident in the buffet restaurants. It was extremely rare to be asked if we wanted coffee or waters and nobody regularly came around in general despite a large number of staff in the restaurant. There was also very limited English spoken with most staff, but usually they tried to figure out what you were trying to say. However, there were several times when the kids would return after asking a staff for something with no success and our limited Spanish wasn’t always completely useful. 5. Resort Bathrooms We wouldn't think that this needed a section of its own however, it does. There were way too few bathrooms in general and to get to a bathroom from a beach spot or even the pool it was a walk. Also, there were nowhere near enough stalls (3 stalls). The beach bathroom, at least the female one, had a constant line up. As did the restaurant between the two buffet restaurants. As well, there were always toilets out of order. There were staff that would remain in the bathroom with a broomstick and their role was to go and "plunge" after the people and then tell the next person in line it was ok to use. And repeat.

  Jan 20, 2026
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  Family trip

  Great trip beautiful weather. Wish the beach water was clearer. Also the staff needs to learn English.

  Jan 19, 2026
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  Amazing Day Pass Experience!

  A few friends and I had gotten a day pass for this resort, and it was the best decision we've made by far! First off, the location of this resort is beautiful, the beach is huge, and there was plenty of space for my friends and I to lounge around. The staff was also very welcoming and friendly. When we went to the swim-up bar/pool area, the bartenders greeted us with warm smiles. The food was also fantastic. We all went to a beachside restaurant for lunch, then ended the day having dinner at a buffet. There were so many options for food and dessert. Overall, I would definitely come back here for spring or summer break!

  Jan 18, 2026