Barcelo Bavaro Palace - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

32203 reviews

• 

  Beautiful beach, broken experience — my 3rd stay was the breaking point.

  Rating: 3/10 (only because the location is excellent and the beach/pools genuinely deliver) What worked • Beach & pools: This is the resort’s saving grace. The water, the sand, the pool areas — all very enjoyable. • Grounds/location: Punta Cana does its job here. The setting is naturally gorgeous. What didn’t • The resort is sliding backwards: This was my third trip, and it’s gotten worse each time. This stay hit the bottom. • Food (especially for Premium): The food was terrible overall and absolutely not worth paying extra for the Premium package. • Unpleasant smells: Our room had a strong, unpleasant odor — damp/musty at times, and at other moments it felt sewage-like. I can’t say what it was, but it was bad enough to affect comfort. I also noticed a similar smell in the sports bar, which made it hard to enjoy being there. • Premium “reservations” felt misleading: Premium is supposed to make dinner reservations easier. We were told restaurants were “sold out,” then showed up and saw open tables. That doesn’t feel like sold out — it feels like a system that’s not being managed honestly or well. • Service decline: Service felt worse year after year, and this time it was impossible to ignore. • Review pressure (not okay): Multiple employees pressured guests to unlock their phones and leave 5-star / 10/10 reviews on the spot. When I said I’d do it later, the reaction wasn’t “no problem” — it was annoyance and “why not?” That’s not hospitality. After checkout, the resort kept sending repeated reminders pushing for 10/10. It came across as desperate and uncomfortable. One mini-story that sums it up (birthday disappointment) We planned my spouse’s birthday three weeks in advance. The result: • The cake arrived two days late • The champagne never showed • Dinner at the Mexican restaurant was cold and poor quality — and we live in Texas, so we know what good Mexican food tastes like. This was not it. Bottom line / recommendation This resort still has a beautiful beach and pools, but everything else feels like it’s being held together with marketing, upsells, and review requests instead of real quality. Quotable warning: • “The beach is five stars — the experience around it is not.” • “If staff have to ask you for a 10/10 review while you’re still standing there, that tells you a lot.” I won’t return. Who should book: If you only care about the beach/pool and can tolerate mediocre food/service, you might be okay. Who shouldn’t: If you’re paying for Premium, expecting smooth reservations, strong service, or celebrating a special occasion — I’d look elsewhere.

  Dec 23, 2025
• 

  Disappointing!!

  Barceló Bávaro Palace is visually impressive with a beautiful beach and large grounds, but the overall experience was disappointing. Service throughout the resort was slow and inconsistent, and staff often seemed overwhelmed. The food quality was below expectations — buffets were crowded and repetitive, and several à la carte restaurants offered bland, lukewarm meals with long wait times. Despite the size and amenities, the resort feels overcrowded and impersonal, more like a mass-market property than a premium one. With better service and food quality, it could be much better, but as it stands, it did not meet expectations.

  Dec 22, 2025
• 

  4th time, premium package.

  REVIEW FOR DEC 7TH TO 21ST 2025. Most of this trip was fantastic but there are some real areas that they need improvement. Being our 4th time there we know what to expect. We upgrade to premium which gives free room service , excellent, unlimited Alacarte dining choices, spa access, cleaner pool and saunas, ice cold bath, hot pool etc. Breakfast choices that are much much much quieter with better service. Also a private lounge for premium guests to help you. Consider this upgrade, not a lot more but worth it in our opinion. PROBLEMS. Premium lounge. The premium lounge is always busy, new guests are arriving and it is painfully slow. You can expect to stand in line for half an hour to get change (which we are getting to tip THEIR employees). So if you are getting change get your wallets stuff with ones to save your precious vacation time. Check in and out is very slow with mostly 2 attendants for five or six+ families in line and each takes 10-15 minutes. Rooms. Rooms are clean for the most part and if you put $5 on the bed instead of the $1 you've put down since 1996 you will get better service. BUT our room had closet doors that took a weighter lifter to move, a safe that didnt work and a coffee maker that leaked water all over the place. They fixed the safe promptly, replaced the coffee maker and we lived with the door (I am a weight lifter, lol). We were ocean front premium suite guests for 2 weeks so you think that might matter..... nope. Golf We golfed 8 times, the Pete Dye course is well designed but we have seen the fairway conditions deteriorating over the past 4 years and the prices go up every year for the priviledge of getting to drive a cart that maybe has no brakes (3 times), no tread on the tires (almost always) wonky stearing, no suspension and sometimes the cart will jerk stop when you hit the accelerater. This is a bonus fun ride. The course is fun and has several really memorable holes. The staff is good and tips help again but the tee sheet is a crap shoot . One day we had a tee time of 10:40 along with 4 other foursomes. Smile be patient, you are in the Caribbean golfing. Check out Ofcourse you want to be prepared for the get away day and we were. The day before I went to the front entrance spoke directly with the supervisor who had two entrance and baggage handlers that actually took notes. Pick up our bags at 9 am put into the prearranged taxi for 930am. They ACTUALLY TOOK NOTES. 9am came and went no bell hop, 2 more calls to the desk, we ended up with me hiking 2 golf bags while to bell hop took the other two bag to a cart 1/4 mile away that didnt start for 5 minutes. When we got to the front this bell hop took our bags off, got the taxi and loaded the taxi while three other bellhops stood by and watched???? Entry and exit needs to be smooth and seamless. Pool Bar Pool bars are fun but every day we watched this massive blue pool slowly turn green by days end as the dozens of vacationers spent endless hours perched at the bar. Piscinas is Spanish for pool. Use other options, other pools or the Caribbean. Beach The beach is amazing, you dont need to rush out at the crack of dawn to drop your pool bag to reserve a lounger, there are literally thousands along the more then 1 KM stretch. Gorgeous. Gym Woefully under stocked. 2 benchs, short stack of dumbells 10 to 50lbs in 5 lb increments, less then 12 stations on machines. Put 10 people in there and nothing moves. If you can work out sfternoon or evenings youll have a easier go. We dont drink but trying to get a Canadian Dry Soda water is harder to get then a keg of beer. Even with all this this is probably the best all inclusive, excellent value place to visit.

  Dec 22, 2025
• 

  Awesome

  We have been coming to this resort since 2006. This was the first resort we stayed at. We tried a couple of other resorts, but nothing compares to this one. Food is great, specialty restaurants are fantastic, Grounds are just beautiful. Staff is friendly. Beach is fantastic. NO WAVES due to barrier reef.

  Dec 22, 2025
• 

  Good vacation

  Excellent beach, almost no waves. Quiet environment. There is a lot of activities. Excellent services.

  Dec 21, 2025