JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar (Formerly Iberostar Grand Bavaro) - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

15853 reviews

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  Yes, please

  Love this place! I had the best time. The rooms was lovely, the food was AMAZING, the service was phenomenal. Grounds were immaculate. Do yourself a favor and stay here.

  Jul 30, 2025
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  Extraordinary

  Honestly the greatest experience I’ve had in resort in a while. The staff is very attentive to all your needs and want to make your sure your trip is very memorable. Hundred percent coming back to this resort. Ask for Fritzner, he will make your trip 10 times better.

  Jul 28, 2025
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  Exceptionalism at its finest

  Excellent staff service. Fritz the front staff was kind, welcoming, and overall very entertaining. Bruno, the bar staff, service was BEYOND exceptional. I want to personally thank my room attendant, Domingo, for the great service as well and the towel origami. For those whose names I do not remember, thank you from the bottom of my heart for this wonderful hospitality and vacation, can’t wait to see you again!!!

  Jul 28, 2025
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  Above And Beyond!

  Absolutely Fabulous! Special thanks to our butlers Valentin and Junior for catering to our every need. The staff were all amazing, especially Yary, Javiella, Garcia, Smiley, Jenny, Jessica and LeBron. Shout out to Maria in room service for going above and beyond.

  Jul 27, 2025
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  4.5 STARS OUT OF 5!

  I would rate this resort 4.5 stars but Tripadvisor only uses whole number ratings, so my overall rating of this resort is "Very Good". The grounds are quite beautiful and the resort is very clean. The pools were great too and not too crowded since we went in off-peak season. Bar drinks were really good and the food overall was very high quality, especially the Bella Vista buffet, La Perla buffet, Italian, French, and the steakhouse restaurants. PROS: 5 resorts in one - we had access to all the other resorts on the property by booking at JOIA. Although we didn't have time to explore them all, we did take golf cart rides to the casino, gym and the spa. Based on the reviews and what we saw however, JOIA Bavaro is clearly the best of the 5 which is why we chose this one. Staff - extremely friendly and helpful, especially Rafael at the front desk. Wrist bands - they double as your room key and are always on you. They are durable and waterproof. Golf - there is a great golf course right on the property. It costs about $210 total for 18 holes and renting balls, shoes and clubs. My son loved the course. The front desk can book a tee time for you. Cabanas- covered on the sides and the top with oversized chairs inside and a small table. These are usually an extra cost at most resorts but are included here. They are a great option to find shade, just reserve them early in the morning with a bag or towel. Golf carts - you can catch a ride anywhere on any of the 5 resorts. Very helpful since some of the resorts are quite a distance away. Spa hydrotherapy pools, sauna, steam room - this is also included as long as you make a reservation ahead of time. CONS: Although the staff do refill the reusable glass water bottles in your room daily, (the resort is single use plastic-free), if you drink a lot of water I would bring your own water bottle with you. There is a handful of places to fill them, but the other resorts have filtered water filling stations scattered all over. JOIA did not have these, which meant we often had the bartenders fill them for us. Not a dealbreaker, just an observation. All the resort water was filtered and completely fine to drink. The rooms were neat and picked up every day, but the bathroom could have been cleaned more thoroughly. The family we went with said the same thing about their bathroom. -Some of the restaurants don't have bathrooms in them, requiring you to walk a ways to use one. Helpful Tips: -There are employees near the main lobby area whose goal is to get you to listen to a sales pitch about buying a timeshare. We were polite but firm in saying we weren't interested. You will probably encounter them more than once. -Have small bills available for tipping the help (optional) -Download the Iberostar app so that you can keep up with the daily activities and view all the resort details -Just my opinion, I would not pay extra $ for butler service as I don't feel the benefits outweigh the cost -Most of the staff speaks English but if I go again, I will try to learn some more Spanish so I can communicate better with the staff. We would definitely stay at this resort again!

  Jul 26, 2025