Barcelo Dominican Beach Hotel

I was at the ocean bavaro from jan3/04-jan 10/04.I was a little leery due to other reviews.it didn't start too well as check-in took an hour so 'come on beer' while i waited.Our room was in block 5 which was recommended by another reviewer.Thank you!The room was right by the beach.the room was very nice with a balcony,satellite tv,fridge stocked daily and a fair sized bathroom.The grounds are gorgeous, beautifully landscaped[complete with roaming flamingoes]. It has 2 big pools,one with a swim-up bar. The beach and ocean are beautiful. There is some seaweed in the ocean but it's no big deal.The food was fine. We ate at the reservations-needed restaurants as well as the buffets. We preferred the buffets as you could get in and get out. Being a typical Canadian; i like my beer.Unfortunately, it was draft beer{not bottled} so by the 5th day there my stomach was killing me. I switched to bottled corona which was $2U.S. each.As i said, i'm not a draft drinker so i didn't care. English is not widely spoken there so communication can be a slight problem. The staff is all over the place and well managed. The music is all spanish so if u like north american music,take some. I had 2 massages by the beach which was 20US for 1 hour{cheap}. I probably tipped about 100US over the week which the staff really appreciated. I know some cheap prick will say that wasn't necessary but that's how u get served while others are still waiting. My girlfriend went to the shows at night and said they were very good. I was usually pretty drunk by then so i would go to the room. I am writing this off of the top of my head so i'm sure i'm leaving things out. The weather was sunny and hot. Overall, i was quite impressed and i would go back to the same place.

My boyfriend and I were at this hotel from december 21st to december 26th 2003. I thought the hotel was very clean and the room very nice. The beach is great and the staff very friendly although they didn't speak basic english. The down side to this hotel is the food. We are not fussy people at all and eat just about anything but 3 days after our arrival half the hotel was sick so something must have been wrong. The other 2 things which I didn't like were the price of the excursions which were very expensive although very good. We did the outback jungle safari and we recommend it to everyone. The other problem was that our hotel was also a vera club which means that certain restaurants and the entertainment for italians and spoken in italian only. If you did not have a blue bracelet, you were treated like ****. All in all we enjoyed the place but there wasn't much to do or visit outside the hotel. We will not be returning.

We just got back from the Ocean Bavaro and we have nothing but rave reviews for this hotel. The food was simply amazing, the staff almost overly helpful and the grounds were to die for. The food was clearly maked in the buffet and the wine lists were more than complete. At one point we had a problem with our safe and we also had some water dripping from the bathroom ceiling (not a good sign). For both problems we had help at our door within ten minutes. By the way, the water from the ceiling was just some excess condensation from the A/C. The hotel was booked solid but the lineup at the main desk was never more than two people long (they seem to have at least three people behing the counter 24/7). Check-in was a breeze. Yes you do have to get up early to reserve a place by the pool but if you are one for the beach there are always chairs available. By the way, for those of you who have read the reviews mentioning loud music at the beach; there is over 300 meters of beach available to this resort and only ONE place where they play music. There are helicopter flyovers on the beach every 45 minutes but who cares!? They are gone in less than 10 seconds. The boats DO NOT come to close to the swimming area (which is CLEARLY marked) and not once for a week did a see any boat passing the swimming area markers. All in all, this was an unforgetable trip and I would recommend this resort to everyone.

A groug of us travelled last minute at a discounted price, it was such a price that I was certainly concerned about what we were getting into. The staff were friendly, rooms were clean and well appointed and aside from construction outside our window, it couldn't have been better. The resort has some of the best beach in Bavaro, it is deep, with good shade (but not too much) and very clean. The food was good (aside from lunch) - the buffet was good, although selection was limited, tonnes of fruit and fantastic breads. Lunch was poor, with only a handful of leftover dinner dishes - so we stuck to a liquid lunch of Presidente! The a la carte restraunts were fantastic and the Spanish and Brazilian were the best! Swimming Pools were large and clean and many an afternoon was spent at the pool bar. Having travelled to many a Caribbean all-inclusive, this would be one of the best as of yet!

Having read early reviews of hotel i too was somewhat concerned! It was however a pleasant surprise and we had a great time. Our room was in block 5 nr the beach overlooking the sea - a good one to request as has great view! The room was fine with all things working as they should. The maids however were selective on how many drinks you got each day in the fridge- sometimes 1 sometimes 6! It was clean and well maintained and no faults there. There was a little noise with the new blocks being built but should imagine theyll be finished in the next few weeks. The resturants were all above average but having spent 2 weeks there they were a little boring after a while! But saying that theres always something for everyone and you wont go hungry! As for the stomach situation everyone i spoke to including myself and my partner had an element of dihhorrea for the entire time. It wasnt an overwhelming issue but it depending how well you cope with it. My partner did vomit one nite after eating fish but some people ate fish every nite and were fine so again it could happen anywhere. The staff were in general great. The resturant staff were always attentive and helpful as were the bar staff. The evening entertainment was really quite good. The dancers are too good for hotel entertainment and were a pleasure to watch. Apparently the hotel had a number of complaints concerning lack of staff and have since taken on an extra 300 staff and it does show. There is always someone to help you in any way they can. We also used the gym a lot and the guy who runs it is very helpful and the equipment is above average. The spa staff are sweet but watch out for the massages - they have some odd technique of pulling your toes - not relaxing!!! Overall we had a great and even tropical storm odette and 30 inches of rain in 24hrs didnt hinder our enjoyment! Id recommend you go with an open mind. Many people whod visited a number of hotels in the area said it was by far the best and i get the feeling its greatly improved in recent months. The staff are good, the trips are good, the resturants are good - the illness could happen anywhere! And the beach is one of the best ive ever seen - and thats including thai, indonesian and fijian beaches so thats saying something! Just enjoy it and soak up the sun!

I visited Punta Cana from December 12th to 19. Staying at Ocean Bavaro Beach Resort made the experience at truly remarkable one. The animation was terrific. The beach....well....WOW! A tropical storm had just passed and seaweed would make its way to the beaches but the hotels staff would be hard at work taking those weeds off the beach. The staff is extremely friendly and the landscaping is nothing short of spectacular. The food was good and the specialty restaurants great. If one decides to go down there I would strongly suggest the Saona Catamaran expedition. this expedition will take you to a natural pool, in the middle of the carribean ocean. then you will head off to saona island in the carribean were you will stay at a beautiful beach with plenty of seashells in the water. the waves are great and the water a never been seen blue.

Was there from 11/07/03-11/14/03. It was awsome...n I WILL be going back! ROOM: Pretty nice...A/C worked perfectly, TV n fridge weren't working but one of the staff came n fixed it right away. I didn't have any problem with the room through out the whole vacation. But there are many little aunts around the sink in the bathroom. FOOD: Main buffet is good but very repetative. Italian restaurant was not that great but Brazilian restaurant was awsome! Snack bars r awsome! I ate most of meals at the snack bar~PIZZA!!Very good! BEACH/POOL: Can't describe it in words...absolutely amazing! It rained almost everyday while I was there but dat still didn't ruin my vacation. Swimming in the ocean when it rained was so fun. Kayak was also fun~The pool was pretty nice. Wasn't too crowded but the pool closes at 7 or 8 so...dat I didn't like. BAR/DRINKS: Only went to the lobby bar once n it wasn't too good. Only went to the beach bar once n the staff was extremely blah~not rude...but maybe he was tired or sumthin~?!Swim up bar was awsome~Fun music..Fun staff!"BANANA MAMA" STAFF: Loved them!!!I'm so bad with names but met 2 lovely girls(1 braided my hair n the other worked at the Brazilian restaurant-Hope you liked my make-up!haha) Never got the chance to really get to know the animacion team but they were very nice n entertaining~!(Miss you Walter my temp.BF haha) Neways...Don't wanna make this too long~If you goto Bavaro go on Bavaro Runners day tour~!I had SOOO much fun!Miss everything about Punta Cana so much n this CHINO will b goin back for sure!!

From the time we arrived the locals were friendly and helpful. We were given a cool towel and non-alcoholic cocktail on arrival (not what you get in Europe!). We were shown to our room by our rep (Claire) who was extremely helpful the whole holiday. We had upgraded for a small amount extra and it was well worth it. We had a jacuzzi in the room, massive bed, mini bar refilled daily, towelling robes provided and fresh fruit or biscuit/cakes each day. We did have a problem with the jacuzzi which was fixed with 30 minutes - you couldn't ask for better. We took advantage of lots of trips. We swam with the sharks and rays. We took the helicopter flight over the bay. We hired a speed boat and snorkelled off the reef (the guides are exceptional). We visited Saona Island, which is beautiful beyond belief. And we went to Manati Park and swam with dolphins. All these trips were made easier by the rep and the helpful people who run them. I would go back tomorrow. The food was plentiful and enough choice for any taste bud. The beach was, as you would expect, tropical and clean. The large pool and pool bar were being repaired when we were there and opened on the last day but it didn't stop any enjoyment. The entertainment was non-stop. I would advise if you don't like dancing then don't go because you won't get away from from it. Even the 'rockery' in the gardens play music!! We went in the middle of September (for two weeks) and watching the evening entertainment was ridiculously hot - take some cool clothes - the evenings are as warm as the days if not more!! The locals have a lot of respect for you and it shows. Highly recommended.

I have just gotten back from the Ocean Bavaro resort. The grounds are very beautiful but the rooms are average. There is a big problem with staff who understand english, not many do. There is a separate "area" for a tour group from Italy called "Veraclub", and certain amenities are only for them which we did not find out about until we got there. Tons of people from France. Barely any english speaking tourists. Also, their food is not clearly labelled. I have a severe life-threatening seafood allergy and had to have my husband "smell" most of the dishes first. One night happened to be seafood night and I could not risk eating in their buffet restaurant. We requested to eat in one of their "a la carte" restaurants and were told no, we needed a reservation. After a few choice word with the manager he got us into the Italian restaurant. Other than that the pool was nice and the nightly shows were pretty good.

Where do I start? This was the most amazing trip I have been on ever. I went from Oct 13 - 19. From getting off the airplane and landing onto paradise was just pure heaven!!!! When we first arrived at the hotel, within seconds the hotel have us a wet towel to cool down along with a very tasty tropical drink. After we got our bands put on, we headed our for lunch....The Food was awesome! I really liked how everyday they had a theme for the day,and food...Ex. Dominican Night, french Night, Mexican Night...It was also nice that the Los Panos Hapy Club, and performers did amazing preformances each night to entertain the guests. And, the preformances were AMAZING!!! You would pay BIG BUCKS somewhere else to see that. They were like Broadway preformers, yet so friendly as they all interacted with the guests after the shows. EVERYONE who worked there was so friendly. not one person didn't say hello, which made me feel so welcome there! We also went to Manati park, and that was a pretty nice outing. Swimming with the dolphins was so cool! The only thing was, it went by too fast! I wish we had a longer time with them! The performers at the park as well performed execeptionally well! Also, onw night they had a beach party at night! Wow...that was a beautiful sight! The beach was just how you would dream it to be! Just like those magazines! The rooms, were very big, clean, and the maid was so nice...Carlita was her name! For, all the members at the club animacion, and all the bartenders, and everyone that worke there made such an excellent impression on us! Oh...and the flee market...make sure you bargain HARD! Once you stay strong...you'll get things there very cheap! Bottles of booze for as low as 2.00 US!!!! Anyways, to finish my story....whenever I am going away on vacation..now..it will ALWAYS be Punta Cana Ocean Bavaro!!!!!! THIS WAS MY BEST VACATION EVER!!!!