Barcelo Bavaro Grand Resort

Much better then expected!!!! Best customer service EVER....dont listen to all the hype in the media....had a wonderful time with my wife...you have a Superstar in REYFI!!!. Great personality, kept everyone entertained,lots of energy and great sense of humor!!! And whole staff was friendly, humble and super respectful....Great people working at Barcelo Beach!!!!! Read less

Just returned from 5 nights at the Barcelo Bavaro Beach (adults only side). I went with 5 other adults, 2 couples and 2 single guys. Overall great food, beach and pool but a few things we weren't crazy about. Food: We ate each morning at Caribe, it was great. Plenty of healthy options AND yummy splurge options. Omelette bar was really nice, and my husband enjoyed the crepe station. Solid fruit selection there as well. We tried lunch once at Caribe and it was great, again plenty of fresh yummy stuff to choose from. One day we tried the lunch spot at the golf course and everyone liked what they had. La chez and La comedie were both great, Chateaubriand at both were incredible. Service was slow at La comedie but they gave us 25% off (we weren't premium so it was $30 a person to eat there), that was really nice and unexpected. The theme/setting at La comedie is a little creepy though, LOTS of puppets haha... food made up for it. La brisa for dinner was also amazing as well as the Japanese restaurant (extra $15 per person) but you get so much good food, it was worth it. Drinks: This was a big let down. The alcohol they use is whatever is below the bottom shelf stuff we have in the US. If you wanted something drinkable you had to pay extra. Drinks on the excursions we did were significantly better. It was also strange that my dad ordered Jack Daniels at one bar and got it no problem and with no charge, then we came back a different day and they rudely told him they don't have that. The only beer included is presidente OR you could pay $6 for one bottle of Corona... not a fan of all inclusive not being all inclusive especially when there is only one beer option available (husband said it tasted like dirty pennies). They do have two mini coors in the room fridge. Safe bet is champagne or others in my group like the mojitos. We did find a yummy rum coffee at the cigar bar on the palace side and the guys in our group enjoyed the mamajuana shots. Honestly, we probably didn't drink our moneys worth because we couldn't find much we liked. Resort: The resort is GORGEOUS and huge. Everything was very very clean. The restrooms around the resort were constantly being cleaned and were super nice and updated. Food areas were clean and again very pretty. The rooms however could use some love. The tile floors were clean, but you couldn't tell by just looking at it, they were a little rough. The walls were thin, so you could hear alot of what was happening on either side of you. The bed however was wonderful, very comfortable. We did ask to upgrade to premium at check-in but the person checking us in said "we can maybe talk about that" then gave us our room key and brought the bellhop over. We did have a lovely view from our room though. Pool/beach: AMAZING. We loved the beach, it was quiet and relaxing. The sand was soft and white. They did their best to keep the seaweed cleaned. I recommend doing the beach in the morning, because the seaweed does build up by the afternoon. Pool was clean, quiet, beautiful and relaxing. They do have the entertainment group out every once in a while to do some fun stuff otherwise its quiet. People do bring their own music because the pool doesn't have any music going so be prepared to listen to a cluster of different things. It would be nice if there was a beach bar or waitstaff on the beach. They did have someone come around the pool and take orders but only at certain times of the day, we couldn't really pin point when, because it changed each day. There is no swim up bar at the adults side, so that is something to note. If you aren't a fan of crowds/kids/babies in diapers in the water... don't go to the family side pool. We stopped over there to check out the swimup bar and didn't even take our shoes off before turning around and leaving. It was nearly shoulder to shoulder, there were babies in regular diapers in the pool and the swim up bar was all kids. Staff: This was another let down. Minus a handful of people, no one seemed happy. We heard this same thing from several people we befriended at the pool so we were glad it wasn't just us but I don't think I saw more than a few staff smile. Our group in whole probably spent $400 or more tipping through out the trip, hoping that would help but it never did. Alexandria who was serving at the pool, and our server at La Brisa at night (last name was Kelly) were both fantastic, that was about it. Everyone at the lobby bar seemed annoyed whenever we ordered (and tipped), the staff at the pool bar were even worse. Overall we felt like the staff had a chip on their shoulder and really did not want to be there or for any of us to be there, I understand a job is a job but we've been to Jamaica and Mexico and have never ever had customer service like this. I noticed interactions with other guests were the exact same and it wasn't any different at the Palace (family side). The DR was beautiful and we felt safe the entire time. Our resort was gorgeous and the beach was a dream at the adults side. Sadly, the drinks and service were probably enough to keep us from coming back. Read less