Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

15791 reviews

• 

  Do NOT BOOK HERE!

  Horrible trip! Room was flooded from the minute we got there. They advised they couldnt get us a room because they were booked. They assured us it would get fixed. We had dinner came back and the room looked good. Woke up at 6am to get ready for our day and once again the room was flooded. They fixed it 4 times before they finally got us into a new room on the 3rd day. Only reason they moved us is because my 4 year old son slipped and fell. I went to the front desk and the manager kept saying she understood and offered a $50 voucher for the inconvenience. Do NOT BOOK HERE! Worst vacation of my EHOLE ENTIRE LIFE! Got back to the states and tried to get some money back since i didnt enjoy my vacation at all and they said they cant do anything! Look at the pictures for yourself.

  Jul 14, 2025
• 

  Honest objective unbiased review.

  We visited as a family of 6 and stayed for 14 days in the standard rooms. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews and wanted to provide people with a very honest review. The rooms - they are what you expect, they are ok. If you expect brand new, modern, amazing air conditioning and luxury then you will be disappointed. But there is nothing wrong with them at all. Everything worked fine. The air conditioning is ok, it hovered around 22-23C and was enough to get a good nights sleep and escape the heat. Cleaning times were a bit erratic, one day not cleaned at all. Sometimes the mini bar not restocked. But trust me that’s just being picky. The rooms are fine without blowing you away. Had one issue with toilet not flushing, called reception and was fixed immediately. Same with the other room, same issue but fixed immediately. The air conditioning in the girls room did however have a not pleasant smell a lot of the time. The service - Seen lots of reviews where there were a lot of moans, not sure why. The vast majority of hotel staff from bars, restaurants, entertainment, maintenance and maids, were friendly, helpful and happy at all times. I found reception on arrival a bit disappointing, nothing was really explained and after a long flight and being tired I would have expected a better induction as to where things were and what was going on. One of the rooms was also not ready and the two rooms were quite some distance apart despite being requested in advance when booking. The next day we had been directed to Michael a concierge and to his credit a very helpful and friendly guy who told us everything and sent us maps and details for everything we needed. The Restaurants - It should be noted we did not do the A La Carte Restaurants. Not for any bad reasons we just preferred the buffet style. The buffet was very good, plenty of selection and choice, the staff are brilliant in there and really helpful. The food is of good quality, exactly in line with what you expect at an all inclusive. But with plenty of freshly made options, there is something for everyone. I have nothing at all bad to say about the food. We all enjoyed our meals and nobody got ill or anything remotely like that. It’s kept clean and well maintained at all times. There is also plenty of options during the day from the bars and there are snacks. My only criticism would be the pizza snack bar is just a bit pointless, the wait is t worth it, especially when the person in front of you takes everything that’s just been cooked. The snack options were a bit limited tbh. Bars - Bars are excellent, wide range of drinks, staff superb and table service on the main piano bar was something I had not expected and was great. The selection of free drinks was way beyond what I had expected and was a really positive. Entertainment - It’s ok, it’s hard to be really objective here, we didn’t really engage with the entertainment much but those that didn’t oppressed to enjoy the evening entertainment and the daytime stuff around the pool and beach. Pools - Excellent, clean, well maintained. Gets busy as you would expect and as with every hotel is mainly spoiled only by other guests getting up at 6am to take the best and shaded beds. Not a problem for us as our room was next to the pool and had no desire to sit on sunbeds all day. The Beach - Brilliant. Loved it. That’s why we came and weren’t disappointed. Yes the area has sargassum sea weed, but it only effected going in the sea on one day. Other than that we are in 2 or 3 times a day. Crystal clear waters and you could Literally walk way out to sea in shallow water. Superbly well kept and maintained. The Sargassum does. Smell sometimes but do not let that put you off, it’s a superb beach. The bar is great, loads to do. A pleasant surprise was the free kayaking and paddle boarding with other excursions free or at a small cost from the on beach centre. The on beach sellers are there of course, they aren’t too bad, they are well martialed by security and are friendly enough. They appear to have been vetted too. The excursions - we had some issues before we arrived with pre booked trips being cancelled but that’s not the hotels fault. The excursions are plenty and mainly decent but these are not hotel related so won’t go into detail. My biggest gripe is fairly minor but was annoying. On certain days they had stalls set up by reception and near the pool. These were external vendors selling the usual tourist gifts and we did buy stuff. But they are very very very pushy, you expect some being sold to, but this was another level and I’m very surprised the hotel have them in. You could visibly see them annoying guests. They would wait for people by the buffet and target you, you dreaded going up there to eat on those days. We actually wanted to browse and look but you just couldn’t, they were so intense. All in all a brilliant holiday. Good food, amazing beach, great pool and superb bars. That’s what you come for. The hotel grounds are exceptionally well maintained with loads of chill out areas and things to do. It looks every bit like the brochure photos, you cannot ever complain with the general upkeep and hotel presentation. The rooms do the job, being average/good should not put you off coming here, they are no worse than any other places I’ve been of equivalent type. Would we recommend Yes Would we come back Yes

  Jul 14, 2025
• 

  Poor Service, Not Worth the Price – UK Guests Be Warned

  I stayed at Catalonia Bávaro Beach Golf & Casino Resort and sadly, it was one of the most disappointing holidays I’ve had — especially after paying for the “Privileged” upgrade, which turned out to be pointless. Check-in was a mess. We waited nearly an hour in the heat for someone to take our luggage. Another family with a small baby was also left waiting with no help in sight. Service throughout the resort was shockingly poor. Almost no one speaks English, and once they hear you’re from the UK, they barely make any effort — unless you’re Spanish-speaking or dressed in luxury brands. Even then, they assume you’ll tip them just for existing. We did tip, but service stayed the same: cold, uninterested, and often rude. You get zero attention, no smile, nothing. Rodeo Steakhouse was the worst. We were completely ignored while others were treated like VIPs. We ended up walking out without anyone even noticing. At the buffet, I asked four different servers for a glass of water — never got one. They were too busy laughing and chatting with each other. The “Privileged” upgrade is not worth it. The “exclusive” beach, bar, and other perks were used by everyone. There was nothing special or different for us. Just a higher price. Other issues: • Shops inside the resort charge 3x normal prices. • Pool was chaotic — children jumping in without control, making it hard to relax. • Casino? Complete waste of time and money. Only good thing? The beach is nice, and the highlight of the stay was honestly the friendly goose walking around the resort. If you go, make sure you say hi to him — he had more personality than most staff. Honestly, we wouldn’t come back and wouldn’t recommend this place to other UK travellers. The attitude towards English-speaking guests was disappointing, and tipping made no difference. There’s a serious need for improvement in service, staff training, and guest equality.

  Jul 14, 2025
• 

  Do better. Such promise but then failed to impress

  This hotel showed such promise. Saturday night in day 1 buffet was incredible choices but realised this was not the norm. Queues to get seated. Food choice lacking and staff for water etc really grumpy. Had to ask several times just for water. There was one guy in the buffet by pool who was awesome. Would have tipped more if staff actually made an effort The steakhouse a la carte was banging but Spanish was a let down and we were so rushed. Japanese and Italian were OK. Bar staff at pool were lovely. Beach was nice but couldn’t swim in sea due to sheer volume of seaweed on beach. Never any issues getting a sunbed Market stalls were nice but pushy salesmen on them and not cheap. Evening entertainment was non existent so we were in bed early.

  Jul 12, 2025
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  Don’t listen to reviews. Beautiful hotel. Food amazing. You won’t be disappointed.

  Just back from the most lovely week staying at this stunning hotel . Please don’t be put off with the reviews. I was debating changing it last minute but my god I’m glad we didn’t!! Grounds are stunning. Good out of this world. All 4 specialty restaurants were lovely. Staff very friendly. We had a card and box of chocolates for our 30th wedding anniversary. Lovely touch. I emailed before hand to ask if we could have a terrace and close to amenities and they obliged. Honestly couldn’t fault anything. The only downside was the sea weed but the stars on the beach cleared it every day and you could find spots to walk through without getting the sea weed. But tbh although disappointed as wasn’t Caribbean Sea as I know it it didn’t put us off. Can say with all honesty we will return in the future. Thank you to all for an amazing stay.

  Jul 11, 2025