Barcelo Bavaro Beach - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

16667 reviews

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  Especiallly Disappointing

  When a resort like Barceló Bávaro Beach starts feeling like it’s gone downhill, it can be especially disappointing if you remember it being much better in the past. My husband and I visited from September 26th through October 6th. It was our 11th visit to this resort (and our 28th to the Dominican Republic). We traveled with two other couples, one had visited 3 times and it was the first time for the other. We were all Premium Level with swim-up rooms. Unlike my previous review from September 2024, this experience was a disappointment. After this trip we have decided it will be our last to our former favorite resort due to the rapid deterioration in the overall experience we had as compared to our previous visits, most recently in May, 2026. We feel that when the negatives outweigh the positives, it is time to move on. The trip was not all bad, so I will mention notable positives: • At the Caribe buffet, we were given excellent service by Maria Salas, Maria Encanacion, and Cynthia (didn’t get last name). • At Strikers Sports Bar, we were given excellent service by the bartenders Eduar Romero, Jose Linares, and Caesar (didn’t get last name). They actually remembered us from previous visits and remembered our favorite drinks. We never had to wait for drinks, even when we only wanted water. • Everything in our rooms was functional and the air conditioner worked extremely well. The maid service and mini-bar service was excellent every day. • On previous trips we had been assigned a butler. This time, although we had to request butler service, Felix did a very good job. One couple had no hot water in their room and it was fixed very quickly. Felix also did a wonderful job of decorating the rooms of two people in our group who had birthdays during the trip. There were balloons, ribbons, flowers and towel art on the bed, and birthday cakes! • All three couples enjoyed La Dolce Vita the most of any of the restaurants, largely due to our server, Rony, who did an outstanding job and made recommendations. • We also ate at the Hoyo 19 restaurant for the first time and those of us who had the beef tenderloin, absolutely loved it. Be careful about the way you order it cooked, however, as those who ordered medium rare or medium received beef that was very rare. • The rock band show at the Beach on Wednesday night was excellent. • There is no drink service on the beach and only one server around the pool, who did not come by very often. Here are the negatives that led to our decision not to return: • the infrastructure at the Beach is quite worn and does not appear to be getting an update. • All three couples arrived and checked in at approximately 3 pm. Two couples were given rooms right away. My husband and I were not given our room until 9 pm due to a late checkout being approved for the previous guests. We were given a temporary room, but it was very inconvenient. Why could the departing guests not be given the temporary room as their bags should have been already packed anyway? • The food in the majority of the a la carte restaurants at the Palace was served cold or lukewarm at best. This was especially true in La Comedie, where none of us received hot meals. We had booked the special La Cava (wine cellar) private dinner to celebrate two birthdays and found it to be quite disappointing. Our server could not understand us and had to get someone else to come in to answer our questions. We realized that the extra charge for this experience was not worth it because the two bottles of wine that we received would have cost us less had we ordered them in the restaurant and the food was from the restaurant’s regular menu. There was nothing special about it. • The air conditioning in the a la carte restaurants does not work well and we found them to be quite hot inside. • The air conditioning at Strikers was not working properly and it was extremely hot and uncomfortable inside. • The bar at the Hoyo 19 was out of beer and the bartenders did not know how to make even the most basic drinks. • On a couple of days during our trip, our butler, Felix, sent chocolate covered strawberries or fruit trays to the rooms. My husband and I did not receive them, but the other two couples did. I can understand on the first day when we did not get into our room until 9 pm, but there was no excuse for the other two days. Felix checked with us to see if we had received them and we did receive them the day after the others. • The most disturbing thing about our trip was that the attitudes of most of the employees has changed dramatically. Always in the past, the majority of the employees were warm, friendly, and welcoming to all guests, with many being multi-lingual (we were told this was a requirement for jobs that necessitated interaction with guests). This time very few of the employees would attempt to speak any language other than Spanish and ignored or were rude to guests who spoke other languages. One example is an experience with the activities staff. I had attended a larimar workshop on a previous trip and wanted to ensure the other two women in our group could attend. I checked the activity board located by the towel window to determine the day and time. I knew from previous experience that advance registration was required for this activity and it was limited to 20 participants. I began asking two days prior to the event and no one could or would give me any information. I asked members of the activity staff and employees in the Premium Lounge. Finally, a Premium Lounge employee spoke to one of the activity staff and informed me that sign-ups would be on the day of the event with any of the activity staff. On that day, I spoke with a member of the activity staff, who knew nothing about the workshop. He took our names and said he would register us. Thirty minutes before the activity was to begin, the three of us went to the location of the workshop. Another activity staff member was there and had the list. We were not on it, but there was still space available, so we signed up as participant numbers 3, 4, and 5. Your number indicated the order in which you would be called to make your necklace. Numbers 1 and 2 were called. Then the activity staff member began calling people who were much lower on the list, skipping us completely. I told him what our numbers were and he basically ignored me. Please note, all of those he called were Spanish speakers. Finally, after being skipped over multiple times, I spoke to the guy again. He told me the people he was calling had to check out at 11 am (it was 11:30 by this time) and that he would get to us eventually. We did get to make our necklaces finally, but we saw the people he took in front of us walking around the resort and at the pool much later in the day. As a result of our negative experiences, feeling unwelcome at this resort as English speakers, and the obvious cost cutting measures we observed, we have made the decision to eliminate Barcelo from our future trips. We have never been made to feel so unwelcome at Barcelo or any other Dominican Republic resort.

  Oct 16, 2026
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  Nasty Cockroaches inside our room, Nasty smell, nothing worked week, terrible managing service.

  I am still here! What a nightmare. They charged me for Premium service which is about the double of the regular rate! The room had multiple cockroaches 🪳 that you could also see walking on the halls. First day nothing work, the Tv was pitch black and the refrigerator was warm… I called to complain and find a solution but they transferred my call to multiple people, it was midnight and no one came to fix anything… we have to wait for the following day. Second day AC did not work, it was making a weird loud noise so we couldn’t sleep, next day Cockroaches inside our room, in the closet, under the bed, under the coach …, managers like Lisauris Martinez and Austrian did not care/help!! We want to leave! I am definitely leaving tomorrow and we DONT recommend this trashy place! Beach was nasty too! Like stinky nasty.

  Oct 14, 2026
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  Not worth saying at

  The rooms are very old and need updating. The food selection was subpar. The adults section did not have any adult activities. The casino and night club are both located at the Palace resort.

  Oct 14, 2026
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  Barcelo Adults Premium Stay

  Stayed in the Adults section but was able to use the Palace as well. Felt like you're in a mall instead of resort

  Oct 13, 2026
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  Very poor

  It is not worth the money. Very poorly maintained and very dated. This resort needs a serious renovation.

  Oct 13, 2026