We were at the Caribe during the first week of March, 2007. My husband and I traveled with another couple, all of us in our early 30's. This was our second time to the DR (previously stayed at a Barcelo in La Romana) and our friends' first time (they stayed at a Barcelo in Cuba).

We booked our trip on Expedia, through Air Transat Vacations. We highly recommend Air Transat over Signature Vacations. Much better flight this time and way better service from the vacation rep. The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Punta Cana just as the sun was setting. It was a quick 20 minute bus ride to the resort on a comfortable air-conditioned bus. Check-in was a breeze as we had bought the Prestige Club package which gives you VIP check-in.

Our rooms were on the second floor and although we hadn't requested rooms near each other, we were just 2 doors down from our friends. Our room was large and clean. There were 2 double beds in our room, but we just rearranged the furniture a bit and pushed the beds together. Our friends actually had a king-size bed in their room. The pillows were great, no need for your own. Although we had brought our own after having an unfortunate pillow adventure last time we were in the DR. The bathroom was plain, but clean. There was always plenty of hot water and clean towels. Our room fridge was restocked daily. The room safe was easy to operate and came in very handy.

The main reason for choosing the Caribe was the beach, and we were not disappointed. Miles and miles of soft, white sand. There was never any trouble getting a lounger under what became 'our' tree. The resort is at the end of the beach and several times we walked down the undeveloped beach to go snorkelling. I highly recommend this as there are hardly any people there so you basically have the beach & ocean to yourself. We took a walk down to some of the other resorts one day and discovered that the Barcelo is one of only a few resorts to rake their beach. We felt pretty smug having the most pristine beach along that stretch.

The water was amazing. Not too cool, not too warm...just perfect. It was crystal clear with no seaweed. We spent hours snorkelling and saw lots of amazing underwater creatures right there off our beach. We brought our own snorkelling gear along, but you could borrow equipment from the resort for no extra charge. Between the 4 of us, we tried every water activity that was offered: kayaking, windsurfing, peddle boats. We even paid the little bit extra to take a catamaran out. There was no end of fun in the water!

The food was great. I am by no means an adventurous eater and have a sometimes sensitive stomach (unlike my 3 travelling buddies!) but I was never at a loss for something good to eat and never got sick. The Prestige Club allowed us to eat at most of the a la cartes on the Barcelo property without ever making a reservation. We loved this feature! We rarely had to wait in any line-ups and always got a nice table. I think the Steakhouse was our favorite restaurant of the week with the Mexican coming in a close second. Although the Italian and La Uva were great too. Let's just put it this way: we never ate dinner at our buffet and went to each restaurant at least twice. We even ate most of our lunches at the restaurants because we just couldn't get enough of them. Breakfasts were had at our buffet though and were amazing. No shortage of selection.

The grounds were postcard perfect. The staff was constantly cleaning and raking and making sure everything was just so. Speaking of staff, they were great. Always friendly and accomodating in spite of the fact that the only Spanish word we knew was 'Hola'! We left a tip for our maid every other day and got great service.

There were internet kiosks available at each hotel lobby. The cost was minimal and we pretty much got a computer anytime we wanted one.

A couple of helpful hints:
1. Bring an insulated cup for your beverages. Our friends thought we were kinda' crazy to do this, but boy were they glad they listened to us. There was never any trouble getting your cup filled up with the beverage of your choice.

2. Bring some of your own snacks. I brought a couple cans of Pringles and a couple of large chocolate bars. The snacks at the resort are overpriced and there was no way I could go an entire week without my chocolate fix. :)

3. The Caribe is perfect for just about anyone unless you're young, single and want to party. We discovered that the Beach Hotel was brimming over with young people and was THE place to party. So if that's your scene, I recommend the Beach. The Palace hotel was pretty lifeless. It's very nice, but too quiet. We talked to a few people who had been upgraded to the Palace from the Caribe and they kept coming back to the Caribe to hang out. But if you're looking for quiet elegance, the Palace is for you. The Golf hotel was away from the beach and crowds and was all about, well golfing. They did have a small slice of beach, but it wasn't great. The Casino hotel had absolutely no beach but had plenty of nightlife.

4. Take the train. There are a couple of great little trains that take you from one hotel to another. They stop at your hotel about every 15 minutes and you can just jump on and go for a ride. We did this a few times, especially in the evenings, just for our own amusement. You meet all kinds of interesting people on there.

5. Check out the flea market, just down the beach from the Palace hotel. There are lots of vendors there and you can find just about every kind of souvenir. Prices aren't great, but they are way better than what you'll pay on the resort. Plus, it's just fun to interact with the locals.

Hello Debbie, we went to this resort in April (Apr.14-21, 07 ) and there were a lot of teenagers from Spain. They went to a disco at 11:00 pm and came back at 6:00 in the morning, screaming and disturbing many vacationers. Some complained but very little has changed after that. We heard them but did not complain. They were not loud for long.

This hotel is 25 years old, painted last year, which Dominican people consider a renovation (not us). Rooms are outdated, comforters do not smell very well, which maybe due to humidity. Bathroom was not to our standard. In our opinion it needed a complete renovation not just painting. We were very surprised that it was rated 4*, we would rate it 3 to 31/2 max.

The beach was great, water marvelous, food very good. We ate everything and we did not get sick at all. We would rate this 4*.

Service was not that great in bars or a buffet. Many times we felt ignored. Knowing Spanish is certainly a bonus. Waitresses mostly brought water to us and after that they did not pay attention to us. We found one waitress who came to us and asked if we would like beer or wine at dinner time, or more coffee in the morning. We tipped her right away and looked for her every time we ate at a buffet. At first we tipped people but if they did not pay attention to us the next time we stopped. We only tipped people that provided good service to us. Spanish speaking people were served promptly every time. The reason for this could be that these people work long hours. However, we have seen people in Mexico working as hard but despite that their service was outstanding.

We tipped our made every day, leaving her money as well as chocolate bars or souvenirs. She changed our sheets daily. She left us a small bag of potatoes chips every day. Our small fridge was stocked almost daily. I brought souvenirs from Canada and chocolate bars, I gave those away before we left.

Entertainment was okay, twice a day, either at the beach or pool and then at night. However nightly entertainment started at 10:00p.m, too late for us but we sticked around and watched it nightly. The best one was the Tropicalissimo at the Casino..

For those people that want to buy alcohol before they leave, I recommend they buy it at the airport's 2nd floor. Prices there are very good and you do not have to bargain with them as you do at the market which is on the beach close to the Bacelo Bavaro Palace.

We stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe From April 26th to May 3rd 2007. After reading lots of bad reviews I was nervous about going, but as usual, some people just cant be pleased with anything. This resort was fine. We have been to a few different resorts, and although this one is on the bottom of the list, it still was not bad. So I wouldn’t exactly recommend it, but if you have booked it, you wont be disapointed. Its not as bad as people make it seem that’s for sure!

People need to remember that your vacation is what you make of it. The weather was beautiful the whole time we were there, we enjoyed being in the sun under the palm trees rather then at home in the cold! I mean how can you complain about that? Too many people just go to these places and expect to be waited on hand and foot.

The people that worked there were friendly. The resort was clean. The resturants were not too bad, but we honestly preferred eating at the buffet, it was delisious!

After reading some of the reviews about this hotel, We started to get a little worried about going there. After being there we have to say that it was a great choice. We are a young couple both 29 years old and live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Between us we speak English, French, and Spanish which really helps out.

We arrived at the hotel early Sunday afternoon and were shuffled off to a separate area across the lobby from the reception. Here was the check-in for the Prestige Club. It was quick, we were given our bracelets for the hotel and a quick explanation of what to expect. The rooms were not ready at our check-in time but were told that they should be ready after 3pm. They told use that the rooms were still being cleaned from the check-outs as the hotel was full. We left our luggage there with one of the bellhops and went off to explore the property and get something to eat.

When our room was ready, the bellhop took us up to it. It was on the 3rd floor with a garden view (#6375). The room was great as far as we were concerned. Clean and cool. Before anything, the bellhop went in and check the lights, bar fridge, TV, patio door, and even the phone to make sure everything was good. Then he showed us how to use the safe, after we had to put our own number code on it. Air conditioning and hot water both worked great. Included in the room was a hair dryer, iron, and ironing board. As a welcome gift there was a nice platter of fresh fruit. The maid service was great as well, she left us some bags of chips each day. Never heard much noise from any of the other rooms, only sounds came from the hallway. Plenty of clean towels each day as well as our beach towels. Beach towels needed to be exchange by the pool for clean ones anytime.

At check-in, I had asked about getting an ocean view room and was told that they didn't have any at that time, but might later in the week. On Thursday we changed rooms (#7132). This room was at the far corner of the hotel, right near the beach bar which closed at 5pm. Made for a very quiet part of the hotel in the evening. Here we had a ground floor room, hot water was fine and the air conditioner worked good too. Only issue here was the mosquitoes in the room, figured it was from the previous occupants leaving patio open at night. Wasn't the greatest view of the ocean as there was a couple of huts in the way, but was convenient as the beach was just steps away from it.

As for the grounds, they are absolutely beautiful and very well kept. There is crew of gardeners that work very hard at this everyday cleaning and grooming everything. They pick up the broken branches and coconuts from the trees in the morning. Even on the beach they would rake up the seaweed washed up by the water and pick up the garbage left behind from the sunbathers first thing in the morning and occasionally throughout the day. Even as the day ends, they go around and collect all the beach chairs around the beach and put them together for the next day. Around the hotel, the cleaning staff would be out first thing in the morning washing and sweeping the walkways and common areas. They would even wash the area around the pool each morning.

The beach was very beautiful. Soft white sand that didn't burn the feet even when the sun was out all day. The water was very warm and calm. The barrier reef would break the big waves and only small waves would come in. Took a kayak out to the reef to snorkel. Wasn't the greatest though, lots of sand and sediment on everything probably from the boats running around. Still saw some different and colorful fish hiding around, as well as eels, rays, and some schools of fish. Water is pretty shallow out there. Even around the beach, we snorkeled in the grassy areas and came across some small rays, starfish, flying fish, even a couple of blowfish. Just don't go out past the rope around the beach as there is a lot of boat traffic there. The pool was beautiful too, never went in it though.

The food was good, have had better though. They tell you that you there are 8 restaurants included, four others at an extra cost. Four of them are the buffets in the hotels. Of the other four, one is called "La Uva" which is part of the "Golf Hotel". The served some seafood like shrimp and fish as well as chicken and pizzas. The only thing is it was only open from 1-5pm. The other three were a-la-carte. At our hotel was "Los Pinos" an Italian restaurant. Next door at "The Beach" hotel was "Mexico Lindo", a try at Mexican cuisine, and "The Bavaro Steak House". We ate breakfast at the buffet most days, this was very good at our hotel. Tried the buffet at the Casino hotel, but wasn't as good or as big as ours. You couldn't make any reservations at any restaurants, you just showed up and waited to be seated. If you wanted to get an early meal you needed to show up before opening to avoid waiting in line, only downside to this. La Uva was nice as you were right on the beach. The tables and chairs are on the sand and there is a large grass hut for cover. Only thing about going here was that people would put there stuff at the tables to reserve them about half hour to an hour before it opened. We ate here for lunch most of the time when we were at the resort. We ate at Los Pinos only once, the pasta was pretty much the same as what you can get at the buffet. Found the portions a little small. Mexico Lindo was not bad. Not quite authentic Mexican as they try to tell you though. Again the portions on what you order from the menu are a little small, but there was a small salad bar and buffet there too. Of the three, the Steak House was my favorite. The beef was pretty good but you never knew quite how your steak would be cooked. Ordered medium the first time and it came right, but the next time we went, it came more rare than medium. If you don't like red meat order well done. Otherwise it was quite good.

Never really spent much time at the bars as neither of us drink alcohol. We enjoyed the Coco Loco, and Pina Coladas without rum. Some bartenders didn't add rum unless you asked, whereas others would put it unless you asked them not to. It is nice idea if you tip the bartenders as they work so hard and long and many people don't give anything, plus it helps your service the next time you go to get a drink. There was three bars to choose from. The bar by the lobby was only open in the evening. Then the beach bar was only open during the day and closed at around 5pm. So most traffic was at the pool side bar, this was open from morning to night.

Spanish is the language of choice around there. Many speak some English, but a few do speak good English. There were many Spanish guests, as well as many French, Italian, Russian, oriental. We did meet quite a few English tourist. The staff there were very friendly and found them very helpful. Kind of a shame that they work such long and hard hours for so little money. We would see the same server at breakfast and again late in the evening at supper, maybe at a different restaurant though. We tipped many of the staff for the hard work they did for us. This is a large resort and if you expect to waited on hand and foot, this is not the place for you as there just isn't enough staff for the number of guest that are there, nor would we expect there to be.

We wouldn't recommend doing any shopping at the resort as it is very pricey, for example, a water camera cost US$30 at the hotel (same one only CAN$10 at Walmart here). There was a beach market about a half hour walk along the beach. Here you could get jewelry, cigars, liquor, arts and crafts, clothing, and all kinds of other souvenirs. It is just off the Barcelo property next to the Palace hotel. You can get some decent prices here if you can bargain with the vendors. Most speak good English. Many of the vender's sell similar stuff so you can bargain between them.

As for entertainment, they had activities throughout the day for people to do. Each evening they had an early interactive show for the children. Then later in the evening they would have shows for the adults. We never really made it out for the shows, usually too tired by that point. We did go to the Tropicalissimo show that they had at the Casino hotel. This was a Las Vegas style cabaret show. It was very good, only most of it is in Spanish. There also is a dance club on the resort, never went as it only opened at 11pm. Aside from going to the casino, there also is a baseball diamond, soccer field, convention center, and work out gym on the resort.

As far as excursions, we only went on a couple. One was the Marinarium. This was a half day trip out to a shark pen. On the boat, the staff was very entertaining. They took us out to the reef to snorkel, here they broke everyone into two groups, beginners and experienced. The beginners went to the shark pen first while the rest of us got to swim around the reef for while. They then went back to the boat while we went in the shark pen. They had three large nurse sharks and four large manta rays in the pen from what we saw. Afterwards they opened the bar on the boat and served sandwiches. They then cruised along the coast stopping near the Barcelo resort to allow some swimming and relaxing in the shallow waters, they even served drinks from floating platforms. After this we went back to the resort.

Next day we went on a newer excursion to the Animal Adventure Park. Here we paid extra to spend the day with the trainers and animals. As it is new, they haven't got everything open and running yet. They put on a show with the sea lions and even get a group of guests into the pool to interact with one. People would hold a hoop in the air while in the pool and the sea lion would jump through it. Later there was a bird show were they had parrots and other birds do tricks like riding little bikes and sorting through different shapes, very entertaining. They also had a little monkey that you could get your picture taken with. As the bird show ended, they brought out a beautiful white tiger that people could get their photo with. This part we got to feed the tiger his bottle and chicken while pictures were being taken. They also brought out a python to get pictures taken with. After all this they would take you out to their shark pen. Here you got to swim around with the sharks and got your picture taken with one of them on your lap. The pen was walking distance out in shallow waters. Most tours here are only for half days, but since we were there for the full day, we got to participate in much of the shows and activities in the afternoon. This is highly recommended trip if you like animals. We really enjoyed our day here.

My sister & I went to Punta Cana Feb.22 -- Mar. 1 of this year. (We are in our mid forties) This was our first time travelling south. We stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe Resort. The beach & pool area was clean, kept clear of garbage. Drinks were awesome. We met a lot of great people. Next time I will be better prepared ---- taking some Spanish lessons. We didn't have any problems understanding or being understood, but I would have met more people if I had even a bit of Spanish language knowledge.

We had a blast. Food was great, weather was fantastic. The room was clean -- had no problems or concerns with plumbing or stocking of refrigerator.

Bavaro Runners Safari Adventure excursion was well worth the money ....... I highly recommend this outing. Our guide was Luis --- a wealth of knowledge.

The entertainment was fun, especially when the audience participates. Nolitors / Air Transat Reps were accessible -- arranged a shopping trip to a reputable jeweller for purchasing hand made jewellery, cigars & rum.

We cannot wait to go back to the Dominican Republic. We had to come home & face an ice storm but we didn't mind it so much because of the fantastic week we had.

For people that post poor reviews, your vacation is what you make of it. It is up to you to have a good time or not.

First, my wife and I are in our mid 40’s and have been traveling in February for the past 10 years.

I will let you know that my wife and I had a great time at the Barcelo Caribe. With some of the reviews written I know this is hard to believe.

I will start with the problems we encountered. The rooms were not the largest rooms I have stayed in. ( big deal ) There was lots of room to change and sleep. The bathroom was clean and always had towels. Also the tiles were a little hot around the pool. ( boo hoo ) We also had a problem with our iron not working, we had a new one in minutes. Sorry that’s about it for problems.

The rest of the vacation when great. The food was good, not great but good. We ate at the Steakhouse, ( get there early) the Italian and the Buffet most of the time ( there is a grill in the back corner ). The booze was also very good and there was plenty of it. The pool area is nice and kept very clean. The beach is very nice however it would be even better if people put their garbage in the many garbage boxes provided. Whenever we needed something done or just needed to ask a question the lady at guest services or the front desk staff was always willing to help.

We also used the casino, which was nice and never really busy. We also played golf; the course had a nice layout but was not very well maintained. They let you book tee times 24 hours in advance. I think the number was 1835. My wife and I also took a cab the La Cana golf course near the airport ( cab $30 ). This was beautiful and worth the $ to play. ( $125 twilight @ 1pm and $150 in the morning ) Our friends took the Bavaro Runners trip and really enjoyed it. We took the bus into L’Torpedo the Cigar and Jewelry shop. The cigars were very nice and they had lots of other items in the store. The trip is about 1.5 – 2 hours total.

Remember your vacation is what you make of it so don’t let the little things bother you. Do as we do, put those little problems in the “C” basket. Also a couple $ goes a long ways in the service you get.

Barceló Bavaro Caribe: Prestige Club

My wife and I stayed at the Barceló Caribe at the end of January 2007. The complex is very nice, the food good, and the pools and beach awesome. The added perks included with the Prestige club was also very nice, including front row seats at the Tropicalismo Show (lots of thongs and ass shaking. Show is free, drinks are $) and the rum and fruit basket welcome in the room. There was also golf included for free (needed to rent a cart though) but we didn’t use it. Service is a little slow (they seemed short staffed) so if you like to be waited on hand and feet immediately don’t count on it. There was no need to reserve seating at any of the restaurants so that definitely compensated as you could just walk in for dinner at any of the fancy restaurants when you felt like it. Being able to ride the train or take a 5-min. walk to the other restaurants in the complex was also nice way to spend the evening. You never know what you’ll find. The buffets are all different each night, and one night we walked to the Golf buffet to find they were serving lobster! The only snacks you’ll find between 3 and 6pm is take out pizza. Our maid left us chips everyday for tipping her. This is not a new luxury resort but we very much enjoyed it. Activities:

Scuba Diving:
There is a dive centre on the beach run by Scuba Caribe. I think they run most of the dive centers along the beach. We booked a 10 dive package for $500 US. There are a dozen dive sites all in front of the resort and all 15m or less making it great for beginners and recreational divers. The reefs however are not all that lush and were not as full of life as we would have liked. There have been many years of abuse, and too many watercraft have caused a lot of damage. There is a shipwreck further down the beach that they dive every Tuesday. Because of the 20 min boat ride they make it a 2-tank dive and dive also on a reef nearby. We used our last 2 tanks to go on a full day excursion to Catalina Island with Scuba Caribe. The trip cost $90US/pp, which includes snorkeling. Diving is $90US/pp extra for 2 dives. The diving and the reef is awesome and we highly recommend it over the diving at the resort. If you only do 2 dives do these! The first dive is on a wall and the second at 10m in what they call the “aquarium” and that’s a perfect description! Each dive is also about 50 min. The day also includes a BBQ lunch on the beach with all the drinks and a couple of hours to lounge on beach chairs. Here’s a link to pictures of the dive sites: http://www.taucher.net/photos/land.html?kategorie=Dominikanische+Republik

Check in: we checked in on a Thursday late afternoon and we were the only ones checking in. it was very fast. A Cheap Caribbean counselor was there and he provided us very good advice on what to expect for our stay.

Rooms: this is a developing third world country and not everything will be perfect. Our first room did not have hot water or satellite TV. They moved us 2 days later and solved those problems. In the new room the air conditioner was a little loud and leaked but a towel on the ceramic floor kept it dry enough. We were content in our second room. Expect some minor room problems. Rooms are very clean but if you can’t handle some inconveniences don’t go to this resort.

Grounds: beautiful. Not even the pickiest tourists could complain about the grounds.

Food: we thought the food was good. The buffets give you a chance to eat some local foods as well as national foods. All the food was over cooked by our standards but the resort wants to make sure that the food is safe. Don’t expect to eat your meat rare or medium rare. The restaurants were good. We would eat dinner by 7:00 so there would not be a line. If you like to eat at 8:30 expect up to an hours wait. Pizza carryout was good.

Bars: not an important part of our trip but they were visited frequently. If you like extra alcohol in your drinks tip the servers a couple dollars otherwise the drinks are weak. The coco loco was our favorite choice. We thought the bars were very nice.

Beach: no beach ever needs to be nicer than this. The water every day was 82 to 86 degrees, clear water, calm and just perfect. The grass beds in the swim areas were great for snorkeling even within 30 ft of shore. We paddled out everyday with the sea kayaks to the shark pens and tied up to the fences and snorkeled from there. It was outstanding. Don’t just look around the shark pens but move away especially towards the shore near the white floating markers. Excellent coral reefs and you will most likely be alone. The water depth out there is 3 to 5 feet deep. Perfect. We took an underwater digital camera and shot over a 100 photos per day on the reefs. Many different types of fish and sea life. It is about 15 minutes to paddle out to this area and is not difficult. If you sign up for snorkeling excursions they will take you to the same areas we went to with our kayak. Make a small anchor and you can visit lots of reefs. Even along the shoreline we found starfish in the grass beds with different species. Best snorkeling we have ever done from a beach by far.

Pool: very nice. The water went from warm to very warm almost hot. There are different depths so some days we would hang out in the deeper areas to stay in cooler water (cooler water was very warm).

Guests: Spanish is the spoken language and themes. The first 3 days we did not find another English speaking family. After that maybe 10 % of the people were English speaking. Fair number of European visitors. We do not speak any language other than English and we got by ok. A couple of friendly frustrating moments but it was fine.

Staff: we found them all to be friendly and helpful. The Dominican people seemed happy and friendly and always were pleasant even when there was a language barrier. Most workers work 10 days in a row (many 10 hour days) and then off 5 days. So in a month they work 20 days and are paid $200 per month. Although it is an all inclusive resort (if you don’t want to spend even $5 extra you don’t have to. This is truly all inclusive.) We tipped everybody two to five dollars a day. A few more dollars from us goes a long ways to helping the staff. If you find a couple staff members that seem a little less friendly it’s a great chance that they are on their 10th straight day of work and had to deal with some whiny tourist who was probably rude.

Shopping: nearly none. If you think you want it take it with you. If you buy it there you will pay prices that you will remember for a very long time. Sun block lotion was $30 per bottle and snack foods are equally expensive.

Overall: this place is terrific. We highly recommend it although we will not be back for a few years. The Spanish theme was a little to much for us but we did spend 10 excellent days. Our next trip here will only be for a week unless we learn how to conquer the language barrier.

My wife and I recently returned from a week at the Barcelo Bavaro complex in Punta Cana. We stayed in the Caribe section. We originally wanted the Palace hotel but were unable to get in there. After having read many reviews prior to our trip, I really was concerned as to what to expect, too many ups and downs in the reviews posted. We were not disappointed!!! Of the five hotels in the complex I would rate the Caribe as the second best of the lot. It was right on the beautiful white sandy beach with many palm trees for shade and we had fantastic sunshine every day except for one. The only disappointment on the beach was the lack of Palapa's (those grass umbrellas), but we were able to stake out a spot all week next to a small palm and had plenty of shade only having to move to the other side of the tree after lunch.

The rooms were nothing spectacular. Have had roomier accommodations at lesser resorts, but as we only needed it for sleeping at night, it was fine. The rooms were well maintained although some guests were having problems with their safe and mini fridge. Ours was fine. I was actually impressed with the fact that we did not have to leave a deposit for the safe as they had combination locks which you set yourself.

With 5 different hotels within the complex, we had numerous options for dining. We basically ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet every day at the Caribe, but could eat ant any one of the other hotels in the complex if we wanted to. However we explored all of the a la carte restaurants at night. We went to the steak house twice (Monique really loved the beef tenderloin), the Italian three times (I had the lasagna each time) and the Mexican once. As I am not a fish eater, we did not venture over to the seafood restaurant. I found this was the practice for most people as the buffet always seamed to be rather empty of people at night.

As we are not night owls, we did not stay up for the shows but from what I heard, there was nothing really spectacular and they were basically the same as we had seen at other resorts. So if you've seen one you've seen them all in a sense. The main show at the Casino was more of a Las Vegas style with dancing girls.

We have been going down to the Caribbean for the last 7 years (5 of which were to the Dominican). I am still not tired of going to this country.

This was also the first time in all those years that I actually brought my golf clubs. Each year I say I will bring them and never do. The fact that golf was included in the package at the resort made it a no brainer. For you golfers out there, buy a hard case for your clubs. the airlines really knock them around as well as the tour bus drivers when they stuff the luggage into the bus. The golf course on the complex was excellent. Better maintained than I expected. You must make your golf reservations at the customer service desk in the lobby and when you come down with your clubs in the AM, the bellhop calls the club house and they send a cart over to pick you up. (the only charge relating to the golf is you must rent a golf cart. $30 US per person.) Also bring extra balls. You do not want to go into the bush to look for a wayward ball.

I guess the question you would like answered is would we go back there again. The answer is yes, but not right away. We enjoy visiting different resorts each time. Down the road in a few years, we will probably start to return to some of our more favorite places.

As always, when you are looking to pick a resort to go to, use the reviews only as a guide. We find that there is some truth in all of them good and bad but the only way to be sure is to try them for yourself. And don't forget, don't go down there expecting to be treated like people you see on television shows. that is just a show. You get what you pay for. But what you get is better than sitting at home in your back yard.

One last thing, Hi to Dale, Gloria & the kids plus your adopted family (Lisa, Michelle, Matt & Eric)

I stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe from April 22 -28. This was my second time to Punta Cana and first time to this resort. This resort looked quite beautiful from its appearances. We had to wait 3 hours to be checked in but that was to be expected. Our room on the fourth floor with the view of the gardens and had all the basic amenities. On the first three days, our toilet broke twice and the AC broke once. The fourth day was problem free but not for long. The fifth and sixth day, the lights were working in the room. The good news was that they maintenance staff were in our room fixing the problems within five minutes of our phone call. I was very impressed by their punctuality. There weren’t any lights in the sleeping area therefore it was pretty dark at the night. The rooms were cleaned very well everyday and the mini fridge was filled everyday.

The buffet wasn’t too impressing or great at all. There wasn’t that much selection of items to choose from. We loved the Mexican restaurant where we ate dinner three times and Italian restaurant was pretty good as well for both lunch and dinner. The nice thing about the resort was that we didn’t have to make reservation for the restaurants as they were all first come first serve basis.

The nightly shows at the resort were pretty entertaining. We went the Tropicalisimio and were bored to death and left half way through. I noticed that there were other people leaving as well in the middle of the show. The discos were pretty good except that it was spring break time for Spain and the place was filled up with teens. Mind you that we were only in our early 20’s. It was too much of loud kids to handle.

We took a two hour horse back riding tour at the resort for $40 each from 4 -6 pm. We enjoyed it a lot except we were extremely sore for couple of days after that. My friend got some skin tear in an area we won’t discuss. This excursion is not meant for kids and make sure that you are dressed well. A second excursion we did was Altos de Chavon and exploration of the cave.

This excursion was breathtaking and quite interesting. Sting had performed at Altos de Chavon the night before and we got to see the big mess of garbage that was left behind after the show. It was quite an experience.

This was a great resort.
No need to make resevations for dinner, just wait in a short line up(uaually) and you can go as many times as you wish. The steak house was awesome!! No dress code for men... long pants were only an issue at one restaurant. Certainly saves weight when having to travel with 4 or 5 pairs of mens long pants( if staying for a 2 week duration) We really loved the food and what more can be said about the beaches in Punta Cana.

This was our 5th year vacationing in the DR,we stayed in Puerta Plata the first three years as we were afraid to go someplace that we would not like. So last year we stayed at he Grand Palladium. This year we booked at Barc.Bav, Caribe.

Flight
Air transat flight from Halifax, left at 7:00 and arrived by noon, we were not able to check in till 3:00pm, but we were on the beach by 1;00pm.

Check In:
Check in was slow and no one really tried to speed it up, there was no refreshign tropical drink waiting for us.We had no choice but to take whatever they gave us.

Rooms:
Very plain and not really special,ive stayed at nicer Holiday inns(budget inns for that matter)

Food
The food was Ok, not spectacular, the Buffet is the most convenient,If you really want a very nice plate of pasta, got o the guys at the rear of the buffet, you choose whatever you want ,however you want it. and they heat it up right there.I think its better than the pasta at the Italian Rest. Desserts were ok.alot of the same stuff, over and over. The best restaurant that we only discovered on our 4th day was the Mexican, You dont even have to order from the menu, they have all yo need at the buffet. Everything.

Beach and Pool
Quite nice, we did the beach in the Am and the pool in the PM.was windy the week we stayed.lots of activity on the beach; lots of yung ppl drinking i n the pool area

Casino
My fav. hangout, although its not regulated,its still fun, dont plan on playing you r usual game, I never once saw anyone checking to see if all the cards were there. you can win alot, but you have to be lucky to beat these dealers.!!!

Gymnasio:
The gym, is the worst ive ever sen, One treadmill, that is extremely dangerous, the belt slips if you try to go more than level 2. very small, and yo havet to walk almost a mile,literally to get to it from CAribe. For a resort that caters to beachgoers, who try to be fit, this was bad.

Staff:
Very grumpy front office, wont go out of their way to help.even with tips. not enough staff to keep everyone happy, not enough bars open to keep everyone happy.

The information from this forum was invaluable to us so I thought I’d return the favor. We were at the Caribe for the first full week of March 2006. Two adults and children 17, 15 and 13. Our friends were at the Beach and Palace. Caribe and Beach are side by side and equivalent.

The insulated mug is by far the most important piece of equipment you can have.

Arrival logistics: We thought about taking a cab from the airport but we were on a small bus--even stopped for beer on the way in. Barcello is the first stop. The Beach lobby was constantly busy so even if you beat your own bus by cab, you might arrive with another. Only one or two people at the desk and they were not helpful at all--they had moved us to the Caribe even though we confirmed by email our stay at the Beach with adjoining rooms for us and to be near two other families. Although Caribe is part of the complex and the same grade; they did not explain it and it sounded like we were being sent to a whole ‘nother place, so I scrapped with the front desk lady but to no avail. Heard similar tales at the desk; big groups split up, promised rooms “not available” even though empty. For us, no switching despite hard work by our agent there. She said there were 60 overbooks on Sunday alone. Our new rooms were not adjoining but close enough--as far as the children were concerned! The desk staff at the Caribe was very nice, though. Bottom line: room reservations are merely a suggestion.

Check out is noon, strictly. They said they’d give you a changing room but we didn‘t take them upon it (2:00 bus). I think it’s OK to leave luggage in the lobby. You can still use everything at the resort after noon until you leave--a few for the road included.

Rooms: Basic motel furnishings, not too old; fairly small; nice balcony; drawers/closet space ample; paint and bathroom new; all very clean. Coffee pot, AC and minifridge worked fine; safe did not in one room. (Coffee was good). Showers in both rooms leaked into adjoining bedroom until we found the missing grout and kept a towel there--I knew not to bother changing rooms. Light bulbs too dim to read (pack a couple of 100’s in your plastic mug). Bring a clock. Ice machines on the halls, stocked with ice made off-site. Some rooms are in noisy locations and the staff starts early (weed whackers at 8:00) plus the rolling carts clack along the tile floors of the hallways. Hint: Keep a dram of rum on the nightstand to quiet the noise in the morning.

Grounds: Well kept; pool area, gardens and beaches very nice despite some trashy people and their ubiquitous water bottles; security was visible but not scary so we felt comfortable with the girls out at night (take the guy a pizza).. Pool and beach chairs all taken at the peak times but otherwise usually available. Sometimes long lines for towels; usually none; so if there’s a line, come back later!

Mosquitos were not a problem except for the night owls who wandered around from the disco, casino, etc; put some bug spray on your legs. But it was windy and that kept them away except in the back areas.

Beaches: Great. Some other resort’s were not as well-kept. The pools and decks are fairly close to the water compared to others but to me that was a plus. Water sports seemed to be available most of the time but it was quite windy so they weren’t used as much. Nothing to see snorkeling there; scuba was OK (Tip: bring a banana scuba diving to feed fish). The Beach was the most happening, especially with the college age; the Palace very staid and quiet (boring?), the Caribe beach was smaller and not as much happening, good for little children; the beach at the Luna was a quiet paradise with mostly adults. We enjoyed having the choice, but it looked like most Palace people migrated down to hang with the common folk! Note: The insulated mug is by far the most important piece of equipment you can have.

Food: We are not picky eaters and like to eat whatever is indigenous. Tuscan indigenous can’t be beat; this was the D.R. so lower your expectations. Note: we ate at all of the complexes except Palace’s and friends who were staying there said the food was comparable. Lots of pork (good BBQ-type) and fish (not too appealing to me). Beans and rice made good lunches, I think.

Breakfast buffets were typical of cruise ships--Euro fare, fruits, omelet station, breads, plus sausage, pancakes, etc. Lunch buffets also quite Euro--lots of heavy hot food or mysterious cold cuts, but pasta bars, too, and fresh grilled meat including burgers. Dinner buffets were interesting and varied, and also usually had pasta bars.

The restaurants varied. The steakhouse always had long lines (one hour) and too me not worth the wait--the food was OK but, for example, the beef tenderloin medallions were neither medallions nor tenderloin, but like flank steak and still tasty. Italian didn’t work. The Mexican was our favorite and seldom had lines; fresh cooked food, some to order at an extensive buffet or off the menu. The local wine was…realistic and supplied in big plastic jugs. The wine list was OK, priced from $20-35; we stuck to beer and mixed drinks. Deserts were good with a few exceptions you would discover.

As for the lines, you could enjoy a drink in the breeze and get to know some other guests. Like everything, look for a way to enjoy rather than to complain.

The service wasn’t bad as long as you were flexible and kept a good humor. If you were missing a fork, you just walked over the wait station and grabbed one--is that so hard? If you expect Country Club service, stay home.

The real treasure was the Luna, open just for lunch, away from the crowd and with tables in the sand, steamed shrimp and good soups, popular but you could get a table time.

Pizzas were very popular--not quite like at home but neither are you.

Rumor is there is a late night cheeseburger place near the disco.

Bars: Here the staff was often overwhelmed and thus some were brusque; some were OK. The drinks, especially frozen ones, had very little alcohol which was good for pacing yourself or letting the children drink. To make them good, order extra rum--preferably dark. Imported drinks were not priced too badly but we never ordered them. The tonic wasn’t quite the same but I had brought a bottle from home plus a flask of gin for the room.

The insulated mug is by far the most important piece of equipment you can have--just a basic 14 oz coffee cup is fine.

Golf: My friend, who is a scratch golfer, said the course was just OK. Mini golf was fun and the source of the coldest beers.

The floor shows: OK granted this is just opinion b/c I really don’t go for these--pretty lame. The big one Tropicalissimo or something--fun to watch for about three songs but then grew tiresome; the toothy lounge singer got a little gamey by the end. But some folks like that stuff so see for yourself.

Casino: The casino was the nightly entertainment for all of us. The blackjack dealers were the surliest and unaccomodating I have ever seen, and it appeared that the ones who wanted to be nice were under strict orders to be mean. Their math wasn't so hot and there were several questionable dealing practices. Everything was lightening fast, autopilot, and sometimes you didn't get a chance to indicate hit or pass. Sometimes that was good for you! But you know the old saying, "when it's the only game in town you have to play it." They were $5 tables so it's not like a big deal. One couple found it worthwhile to take a taxi elsewhere but I like staying on campus. There's no way to tell about the slots being tight or loose; it always seemed like mine was the former and the one 5 spaces down was the latter! But they had a lot of nickel slots so you could stretch it out. And they really put rum in the drinks there! When the crowd was fun it was OK but the rude dealers really took the fun out of it. And the casino management (which I heard is independent) was completely uncaring.

The guests: A very nice crowd; no drunk rednecks. A small tribe of 6-11 year olds looked like they were having fun; hardly any 13-17 year olds and nothing--nothing--for them to do at night unless you sneak them in the casino to play slots. And with people from so many countries, the languages would especially hinder this age group from making friends. There as a good crowd of college students were having fun, and fun to watch, but few over-did it. All ages of adults but few in the real old category except with families. Very European; lots of Canadians (Calgary!). Seemed like a lot of Spanish people but maybe from other parts of Latin America? Also many of the French speaking could be Quebecois. Although in the minority as to total sunbathers, lots of women were comfortable being topless, mostly on the beach, mostly older, and it was no big deal after you saw a couple; added to the exotic flair. Manthongs should be banned internationally, though. Just my opinion.

Staff: Housekeeping very nice and willing but no English at all; front desk very nice at the Caribe. Overall good if you were patient and accommodating; if you want to boss people around, stay home. Some appreciated efforts at Spanish and some were clearly annoyed. The local tour reps all seemed good and a good resource.

Health: We all did OK; wash your hands frequently and don’t drink the water--watch your supply in the room and you can always get bottles from the bars. I was told by my local rep to avoid lettuce-type foods b/c they can’t be rinsed thoroughly; I did after the first night and was OK and ate fruit, meat (cooked thoroughly) cheese and veggies. I brought a small bottle of iodine and mixed a batch of sterile water for rinsing cups, etc. but this may have been unnecessary. Ice is safe. I don’t think malaria pills are necessary. Our friends sons, who were prone to testosterone-induced injury, visited the clinic frequently at night, so it’s good to know there is one to patch up the knuckleheads (claims trees leap out at you--not verified).

Discos: Midnight to three a.m. Nuff said.

Shopping: Very expensive on site but sunscreen at the market nearby is just as bad. Our rep would bring us stuff cheaper if we asked, but pack what you’ll need, plus some munchies, as food there is either meals, pizza or nothing. The market is fun if you like haggling; some vendors are very laid back and others aggressive, but in a fun way. There are no Cuban cigars in DR--why would there be--so if you like smoking banana leaves, buy “Cuban!”

I just returned from the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe resort in Punta Cana, I was worried after reading some really negative review about this resort, I can tell you now, the majority were unfounded.

We found the staff to be helpful, and generally smiling and always greeted you with olah at every occasion.We left a little something for the maid everyday, and our room was cleaned every morning, we also left a little something for the guy who filled the beer fridge, and that was filled every day to capacity. Their English was better than expected, and if you try a little Spanish they appreciate that.

The food at the buffet in the hotel and the other 3 hotels was good, some things were a bit peculiar, but then we just didn’t eat them. We were a party of 24 for a wedding and none of us got sick.

The ala carte restaurants, The Steak House, The Itallian, the La Uva Grill were excellent, never had to make reservations, sometimes had to stand in line, but was worth the wait.

The rooms had just been painted, but they do need to upgrade to some new furniture and drapes, but the room was immaculate.

The grounds and the beach are beautiful and they work very hard keeping it that way. Punta Cana has the most specactular beach and blue water, it will amaze you.

Snacks are very expensive, take your own, chips etc. Also bring suntan lotion with you don’t try to buy down their, extremely pricey. I took my own coffee and carnation milk, there is a coffee machine in your room, but the coffee is so strong it is difficult to drink.

The resort itself is massive, with 5 hotels, there is a train that runs you to all the hotels every 15min. unless you want to walk .

We just arrived back from a week at the Barcelo Caribe and enjoyed it very much.

Several people had indicated displeasure with this resort in there reports. We do not agree with them, and really enjoyed our trip, from the staff who all seemed very friendly and helpful to the wide variety of food choices. Staff was a lot better at English than I had expected and if you try to pick a little Spanish you will have no problem comunicating, we also tipped and they really appreciated that. Make sure you go to the Steakhouse, the Mexican restaraunt, and the La Uva Grill on the beach all had great food. All buffets had lots of choice plus they featured a grill and make your own pasta's as you want them, witch was very nice to have. The rooms where good, not horrible as many people had complained, but they where also not great. There was some wind damage to the beach before we where there and for couple days while we where there too. The resort was very clean and staff was always sweeping or washing something, we could all do more to help by picking up our own garbage rather than leaving it laying around.

Just returned from one week at this resort.

My complaint is no fault of the staff but of management. They have been lax in remodeling the hotel. It needs it badly. The food was not good. Beaches were very nice. The caribe is cheap in furnishings, food and how they treat thier staff. I saw where the staff lived and based on the money everyone pays to go stay at this resort I was appauled that the hotel couldnt provide better accomodations for the guests and staff.

The rooms were dirty, old, musty and not at all romantic or appealing. I was very disappointed. I dont think they had been remodeled since the 70's. There were 60 in our group and about half got sick during our stay and most were disappointed with the accomodations.

I was fine with all the Spanish being spoken and we did have a nice girl who took care of our rooms and nice bartenders. We understood it was a poor country and didnt mind tipping at all. But how do you tip to get a nicer room and better food. That is management that needs to get off thier butt and stop pocketing money and take the time to update the resort and better take care of their people. I think more of thier employees would smile if they had good working and living conditions. A good hotel starts at the top so I wouldnt blame the waiters and maids.

We visited Barcelo Bavaro Caribe from Dec. 31st, 2005 - January 7th, 2006. Although we had been informed that it is a resort 'complex' with 5 resorts (Palace, Caribe, Beach, Golf & Casino) + Discoteca + shopping plaza it's hard to picture the size of it until you get there. This resort complex is enormous. Having stayed at a sole resort in Cayo Coco, Cuba there is no comparison.

The choice in restaurants (buffets and a la carte) is wide: 5 buffets, 9 a la carte restaurants. There are several bars, 2 discos, 5 pools. For pure variety of experience I have never seen anything like this.

To all of the negative reviewers: it seems that your expectations are unrealistic and we had the misfortune to witness some of this from others while we were down there:

'Staff speak Spanish' - what a shock, you are in a Spanish speaking country!
'The staff look tired' - they work long hours for little pay - give them a tip!
The room has mosquitos - close the patio door!

Honestly, to read these negative reviews what comes through is the whining of spoiled privileged people who don't recognize that these gorgeous resorts are staffed by third-world employees who probably as children begged on the streets to survive! My parents visited DR in the 1980s and were shocked by the abject poverty of the average citizen - especially children. Get down on your hands and knees and thank the universe that you had the good fortune to be born in a country where you get to vacation for a week in a tropical island resort ! whose luxury far exceeds the wildest dreams of the average resident of the Dominican Republic.

To all,
We were at the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe, my father and I, from November 11 to November 18, 2005.

I have to say that I was concerned after reading the other people reviews on this hotel.

We found everything to our satisfaction for a 4* hotel. The food was excellent and the people are were nice. They are trying very much to help you.

We also enjoy the fact that we could go, either walking or taking the free train, to the 4 different resorts on site. You could go eat at all resorts except the Palace.

You do not need reservation for the restaurant "à la carte". You could also have a nice golf shirt with shorts. No need for long panse.

The landscaping is very nice and spotless. Very nice resort.

The only thing negative about the resort is the ocean. I was expecting the ocean to be crystal clear and it is not. The water was warm and long enough to walk.

Firstly if you would like to email me for a review you can on mizzyk2004@aol.com I will answer any questions you might have as honestly as I can.

My husband and I went to the Dom Rep for our honeymoon from 18/05-01/06/2005. When we arrived we thought that we were getting booked in at the Beach Resort but it turned out that in fact that we had been booked to the Caribe. we were very disappointed and this did not start out hol off well. and at the end we were delayed for nearly 24 hours this was due to a staff problem for our flight with First Choice.

When finally we got booked in we were given our room number in the 6000's and sent off a bell hop grabbed our cases which was welcomed but not asked for and as he did not speak english we could not tell him we did not want his service which resulted in us tipping him $1. We got to our room and it was ok i supposed but not as we were expecting at all. Yes, two beds neatly made a bath with a shower, a sink and a toilet ... but in comparison to some hotels that I have visited in Ibiza or Spain on a basic self catering holiday this was little different in fact i would say that some of the hotels i stayed at in Spain were better and cost a lot less so where is the logic? The room was very clean but very old fashioned and smelly (musty damp). There were Mosquitos everywhere but we did have a nice view of the sea and had our own little balcony. The beach was outstanding and very clean and the weather was really really hot even when cloudy we burnt really bad so slap on the cream peeps.

The staff all work very hard and as mentioned already they are very unhappy and have to work very ridiculous hours and as a result take it out on the guests which was not my idea of fun. European visitors were not made welcome at all by the sharing guests or by the staff. Even once I got called a pig for going up to get a second helping of orange juice. The guy who does the entertainment all through the day is back in the evenings doing shows which i might add are really rubbish and not aimed at the English speaking at all.

I do agree from one of the other reviews about the music ... in particular the CHA CHA SLIDE!!!

The food in my opinion was a load of crap...The steak was like rubber and made me ill the buffets were left open for bugs and flies to land on the italian was ok but not excellent and the mexican was by far the best however that made me ill too. I had sickness for the full two weeks we were there as did my husband and never took so much imodium in our lives.

We also found it very expensive for snacks like crisps and chocolate so take your own if you like things like that as its not included in the A.I deal.

I’ll try to say this in a short paragraph. This is the worst resort my family and I have ever visited and we have been to a few in the Caribbean including others in the Dominican Republic.

We have just returned from the Barcelo Bavaro Caribe resort and I feel that I must concur with the report given by Matt (June 2005). We are from England and found that some of the staff, although not all, tended to pander to the Spanish speaking majority. This was very apparent in some of the bars in the resort. At the bar down on the beach adjacent to the Caribe hotel I was ignored three times when I asked for some bottles of water, and Spanish speaking guests walked up from the sands and got served straight away.

Europeans were definitely in the minority as the majority was from Puerto Rica and the South American countries. There seemed to be a lot of youngsters who appeared not old enough to drink alcohol, but were served in bars, became a little drunk and boisterous,then later on at night would shout to each other across the balconies. Not the place to be if you want a bit of peace and quiet.

We went to the Dominican Republic in May 2005 for our Honeymoon from the uk. This was our first all inclusive trip abroad together so was expecting high standards.
We were a little disappointed that we were put in the Caribe Hotel as we originally booked for the Beach Hotel but after check in and a walk around the resort we saw that there was not much difference and that the atmosphere in the caribe was much better and more entertaining than the beach.

The rooms were ok but we were not overall that happy with ours as it was not to a standard that we considered to be 4 stars but it was adequate for what we needed with the very welcomed air conditioning. The room was very clean and had two double beds, a TV with cable channels from america on it, a toilet, a bath with a shower over it and small balcony for you to sit on at your leisure. We had a room in the 6000's and it over looked the beach very nice view and very nice first thing in the morning as a sun trap. Also there was a phone but the one in our room was broken we did ask several times for it to be fixed but it never was the whole 2weeks we were there.

The entertainment staff were great they are always trying to keep you busy and get you involved but we must say they have only a selected assortment of music that wears a little thin on your patience after about 5 days of the same songs repeated again and again and again. They do however work very hard.

As Brits we did not feel very well catered for there was as suggested in many other reviews a language barrier that was often hard to over come. But again we should have expected that not speaking spanish ourselves. There were lots of holiday makers there and not many spoke english that we found.

The Food was a sore point for us too, the food on offer was vast, there was lots to choose from and loads to eat but we found that the meats were often not cooked right through and that things were left open to flies and bugs we were very ill for the majority of the holiday having to keep very close to the toilets if you catch my drift but we did not let that spoil the holiday we found that the Mexican at the Beach hotel and the Italian at the caribe were the best places to eat.

We found that your are harassed but numerous people trying to get you to take their services offered. We were hounded by people wanting us to have our pictures taken with a snake, monkey, parrots, two hula girls, two show girls, we were pestered to take trips that cost the earth and were made to feel very guilty by saying they don't get paid if we don't buy, The massage girls probably give an excellent massage but they keep asking all the time when you are trying to relax.

My husband and I stayed at the Caribe for the first time, we are both 37 years old. I have been to the islands in the past my husband had not.

The rooms were dated but not hideous, the were very clean, the maid was wonderful as way the man doing the mini bar. If we left a note with a request it was always filled. We always left a $1 tip for everything and everyone that served us in anyway. It may be included but what is a few dollars a day to show appreciation.

The food was spectacular, we ate at all of the restaurants and the buffets, never had anything that was not good. All of the waitstaff and bartenders were very friendly and put up with us killing their language.

The beach was the most breath taking sight, we just sat looking at it in awe.

We recently returned from a 5 day stay at Caribe (2adults 1 18yr old).April 16 -20.The resort is beautiful, but the rooms are old and need up dating. The weather when we went was overcast, yet we all got burned! Be careful! Pleanty of bottled water, food was OK, and if you know the language you will have a much better experience.

Our family of 5 (myself, husband, our daughter, her husband and our 1yr old granson) stayed at the Barceló Bavaro Caribe for 1 week this was our second and our daughter and son-in-laws third trip to this hotel. They were married at this resort in 2002. We came back for their anniversary and her birthday.

Flight
We flew Air Canada out of Toronto. The flight was great until the last 1/2 when we had very hard turbulence, but other than that we left Toronto on time and arrived in Punta Cana 10 minutes early. The flight crew were great.

Customs
No problems at customs right though and traveling with an infant we were not even asked for ID for the child or who he belonged to. Off to the baggage claim and we were out of the terminal to the bus in under 15 minutes from the time we landed.

Arrival at Hotel
The Barceló Complex is a beautiful resort. The Barceló is about at 20 minute bus ride from the airport.We received Pina Colodas while we were checking in. There were only 15 of us on the bus so check in was very fast, we had also emailed the hotel prior to departure about room location and were given the rooms we had requested, we wanted 2 rooms side by side. After check in we quickly unpacked and headed to the beach.

Food
We found the food to be good, we ate at the Mexican, the Italian, the Steakhouse, The Uva Beach, the Caribe buffet(only breakfast at the Caribe), Casino buffet and the snack bar at the Casino pool. Our favourite was the Steakhouse and the Casino Buffet. You can always find something that you will like!!!!!! We took our own food with us for the child as we didn't want to take any chances with him getting sick.

Rooms
The room are exactly as they were 3 yrs ago and are in much need of up-dating, they are very dark and even the small lamps they have do nothing to give off any light. The beds were comfortable and clean as was the room. On the first day we had 4 large bath towels in each room and after that we each had only 2. The mimi fridge was stocked daily with pop, water and beer. We always had plenty of hot water for showers. We did have a problem with mosquitoes and put a towel at the bottom of the door every night and when we removed it in the morning the mosquitoes started to fly around. Our grandson got 5 or 6 bites on his face and we had seen another young boy with big bites all over his face and body that were very red and swollen. The maid after cleaning the room each day would spray some kind of bug spray in the rooms but it didn't do much......

Beach
What can I say about the beach that has not already been said. It is one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. This is our 5th trip to the Caribbean in the last yr and our 2nd in 2 months to Punta Cana and it still takes my breath away every time I see it!!!!!!

Loungers
We had no problem getting beach chairs, every afternoon when we would walk down the beach I noticed that their were plenty of empty chairs so their was no need for anyone to get up early to put their towel down.

Weather
The weather was fantastic, it was HOT, HOT, HOT everyday!!!!!! We had one morning that it rained but we just walked to the beach market next door and looked around, by the time we were finished the sun had come out and we headed to the beach.

Staff
We thought the staff were great but very over worked sometimes their were line ups at the pool bar but you usually got served fast. The maids always had our room cleaned by 10am.

I recently returned from Punta Cana where I stayed at Barcelo Bavaro Caribe. I very much enjoyed my stay at this resort as did the 7 other people I went with.

Weather: The weather was not so good when we first arrived, it was windy and rainy but by the first of the week the weather was hot. There was always a breeze but was needed to keep you from cooking in the sun.

Pool: The pool at the Caribe is large and beautiful, however is cold, but feels great to jump into after you have layed in the hot sun for hours.

Beach: The beach and ocean are magnificent here. The white sand is so soft and the tourquoise water is so nice and warm. The beach is raked everyday but seawood keeps returning back to the beach.

Loungers: If you want a lounger for around the pool or at the beach go out early, by 8am and put your towel on it, that way you will have one for later. This is what everyone seems to do here.

Rooms: I thought the rooms were fine. The maid did an excellent cleaning job everyday, so we always left something for her on the pillow. The beds were a little hard but I slept well on them. There was new clean towels everyday but no facecloths, so if you want to use facecloths remember to take your own. The safe in the room worked and we used it during our stay. The mini fridge was stocked daily with pop, water and beer.

Entertainment: I thought the entertainment during the day and at night in the theatre was great. These young people work long hours but yet always are happy and smiling. The dancing of these people and watching during the shows was one of the highlights of my trip. The dancers involve the audience and get people to participate in their activities.(The evening shows were hilarous). During the day there was water aerobics, water polo, darts, dance lessons, stretching, contests, etc. The entertainers did an excellent job and this is one of the reasons why I would return to this resort again. If you go to this resort, don't miss out on their evening performances. I can't say enough about how well these guys did.

Staff: The staff in the restaurants and at the front desk did not know much English, so it was hard to communicate with them. The service at the Caribe buffet was not great but at the other buffets(Beach and Casino) was good. I found that most of the waiters and waitress at the Caribe buffet were not friendly and rarely smiled.

Food: Well first of all I am a picky eater, so I found little I liked when I was here. There was a large selection of food, but was not always the food I am used to seeing. There was a wide range of fruits, breads and salads at the buffets, as well as meats. The little things like Heinz ketchup, mustard and Kraft salad dressings is what I really missed having. The spagetti(Beach buffet) and stir fry (Casino buffet) were my favorites. If you love potatoe chips like I do, take a stock of them with you because chips are extremely expensive (Lays big bag $9.00 American). I liked the Casino and Beach buffets the best. We tried the Steakhouse, the Mexican and Italian restaurants also. I would say the Steakhouse was the best, the Mexican restaurant was terrible. Only 1 person out of 8 of us ate their supper at the Mexican restaurant. The Italian restaruant was okay.

We loved this resort. We visited 6 years ago and loved it then too. The employees have made the effort to learn a lot more English since then.

There were 14 of us - 8 adults and 6 - 18 year olds. Everyone of us had a great time and would gladly go back in a minute. No one was sick except for some minor intestional problems. We did take antibiotics with us that were recommend by the hospital's travel clinic. Three of us took them for 2 days each.

Food: It's hard to imagine someone can't find something they like there. There is abundant fruit, salads, meats and great soup for lunch and dinner at the buffets and other restaurants. The beef loin steak at the steakhouse is excellent! We also loved the mexican restaurant.

Staff: They were wonderful. They always had a smile for us and couldn't have been more helpful and fun.

Beach: Beautiful white sand - seaweed was raked every morning - it was never a problem.

Weather: Windy while we were there making it cool the first day but each day was great.

Rooms: Nothing special - fridge is kept well stocked. The rooms are immaculate. All we did was sleep there so it was fine.

The teenagers (all boys) kept busy with aerobics on the beach - amusing the girls and older women. They played bocce ball, volleyball, badminton, ping pong, dart competition and dance lessons.

Barcelo Bavaro Caribe – East Coast Punta Cana, D.R.

We stayed at the Barcelo Bavaro-Caribe from Feb. 03 to Feb. 10, 2005. We are a married couple in our early 30’s. We booked a last minute deal through a travel agent with TMR 3 days before leaving and had a good price.

We had an ROH (Run of House) package. This means that we do not know what kind of room or view we would have until we got to the hotel.

We were in room 6420 (4 th floor)-Caribe and had a partial view of the ocean and pool, which was not that bad. If you prefer OCEAN view rooms, request it through e-mail or travel agent before you go, you have nothing to loose!

We flew Air Transat from Quebec City. As always, we had SUPER service and good food. We had a fajita, chips and soda on our flight to DR, and even ice cream for dessert. No delays either way. We had a lunchbox (sandwich, salad, cake) and beverage on our way back.

Hotel is 25 min. from airport. Check-in at the hotel was fairly quick. We had to fill out a card with our name and address. While my husband was waiting for the luggage (bus), I hurried and went for check-in to save time. We were greeted with a welcome-drink at the entrance.

Rooms: Very basic but EXTRA clean. I left small gifts for the maid everyday but never got any special treatment (duck-shaped towel on our bed, etc…). The colours and furniture definitely need a makeover. The fridge was filled daily with 2 beers, 3 pops, 1 Club Soda and a large bottle of water (never left tip in fridge). Be prepared, the rooms are not isolated, you can hear your neighbours/noise very easily. Our safe did not work properly and we had to go to Front Desk twice to have it repaired. We found also found the beds very hard to sleep on. I would not rate the rooms a 4* but rather a 3 or 3 ½*.

Restaurants: The food was very good. The best so far having already been to DR, Cuba and Mexico. We had access to 8 restaurants. We loved the fact that no reservations were required at the A la Carte Restaurants (Steakhouse, Italian, Mexican, La Uva) during our stay. Our favourite was by far the Mexican. As for the buffet, the Beach Hotel had the best food and definitely the best service. Do not look too much for seafood since you will not find that much unless you pay $$$ to go to La Fuente(20$ US/pers)-Casino resort or the Barcelo Palace (30$ US/Pers) restaurants. But, you will find fish (local, salmon, tuna, ..) at most buffets and A la Carte Restaurants. We never got sick or have stomach problems.

Pools: We had access to all 4 pools at each resort. The smallest pool was at the Golf. We stayed at the Caribe pool all week, which was the closest and largest pool. They were always clean and nice but cold at times. I felt that the pools were not large enough to accommodate so many visitors during the peak season.

Beach: It was very WINDY during our stay. Lots of seaweed along the beach during our stay. Maintenance guys picked it up early in the morning but by noon, it was full of seaweed again. Not many people were in the water during our stay because of all the waves and wind. The colour of the water (blue/green) was nice, like you see in the brochures. The sand was also white and soft once you got the seaweed out of your way. Because of the high winds, we spent our week at the pool. The beach was nicer & cleaner next door, at the Barcelo Bavaro Palace.

Service: The resort was not full during our stay, therefore, we did not have to wait and/or tip as much. We felt that the staff was not as smiley & friendly at times, compared to other resorts we have been to. When we left tips, it did not seem as appreciated as other resorts. I do have to mention that the resort was spotless all week, they really work hard to keep it clean.

Entertainment: Was not the best that we have seen. They implicated the visitors more than they implicate themselves in the shows that we saw. We went to the Tropicalissmo for the Las-Vegas style show and we were disappointed, lots of people even left way before the show was even over.

Excursion: We went to Saona Island ($81 USD/per), we had heard great reviews about this excursion. We drove to Bayahibe by bus (2 hrs) and took a speedboat to a natural bath (they call it) and swam in crystal clear waters for about 20 min. Then we headed to the Island…This was one of the most beautiful beaches we had seen. We stayed there for about 2 hours. We returned to Bayahibe on a Catamaran (3 hrs). We enjoyed drinks and meringue classes on the boat on our way back. Our guide, Victor, was the best.

We had 80’s weather all week. It only rained about 15 min. during one night while we were sleeping. The high winds all week were a bit disappointing.

I have positive and negative reviews from the hotel. We still found that for the price that we paid (last minute deal), it was still worth it. The food was definitely the best. We also loved the fact that we had access to 4 resorts. The trip to Saona Island and the sun were the highlights of our trip.

Having just returned (January 31 – February 7) from the Barcelo Caribe in Punta Cana, I have one word for it "DUMP".

We have traveled extensively for several years through out the Caribbean / Mexico etc. We have been to Punta Cana many times as well but always stay in a 5 star resort.

However, needing a quick get-away we took the Barcelo Caribe on a Sell-Off. Tip: Do not pay brochure pricing for this property. It is rated a 4+ star and I feel hard pressed to rate it a 3 star.

The hotel rooms are in need of a complete make-over. Our bathroom ceiling tiles would blow up every time you opened the Patio Door. Every time we would take a (warm) shower, the floor would flood. Also, if you want to get to know who is staying in the next room....just look through the wooden vent in your bathroom!!

There are not nearly enough lounge chairs to accommodate the guests either at the pool or on the beach....get up early to secure one. Also, please don't complain about those who do get up early to secure a lounger and then go to breakfast - "First come - First Served".

There is one washroom facility to serve everyone on the beach and pool area. You have to go to the front lobby reception area to use this washroom and the ladies room will always have a line up. It makes me think twice about swimming in the pool!! There is another washroom in the so-called "Italian Restaurant", but you have to cover up in order to walk through and use.

The only pool / beach area to have something to eat is a take out Pizza counter....again place your order early as it will be lined up.

There is a Sea Food Beach Hut further down the beach and of course...lined up.

The Animacion Staff will do minimum by way of entertaining the guests...certainly not anything like we are accustomed to at the better resort. They can't even get in the pool with the guests to conduct their so-called water aerobics.

There is very little English spoken, but keep in mind you are in their country...try a little Spanish, it goes a long way. It does appear however, that the better the facility, the better knowledge of English the staff has.

The only pool bar will be lined up 3 deep and by mid-day it's absolutely filthy behind the bar.... it will actually smell bad by days end.

There will be very little service in the main dining room and don't expect friendly, smiling faces as we have always had in the past. If you would like a little nicer atmosphere and service, eat your dinners over at the Casino Buffet.

The specialty restaurants are no big deal, but certainly a nice break from the buffets. The Mexican is the best.

All in all, if you pay the great sell off prices that are available such as $497.00 CAN for a week as posted through a travel group on Feb. 10th or even as high as $799.00 CAN you can't go wrong and you won't go hungry. The beach is magnificent and the weather usually very nice.

We stayed at this resort Jan 31 to Feb 7 2005.This was our fifth trip to the D R

It is a 4 star and was very nice. We had accessed all 5 hotels and could eat and drink at 4. The gardens are perfection. The gardeners are always cleaning and pruning the grounds. The maid service was wonderful. The resort is spotless.

Our room was on 7234 and faced the ocean.It was nice and clean but a little old.Our frig was well stocked each day with beer and pop.[We left a tip each day inside] The patio doors was left open all night so we could here the waves on the beach . There is even a small clothesline on each patio. We had a beautiful ocean view.

The shows were typical for resorts. We went to the Tropicalissmo show and this was a very good show but the other shows are not to good.

The buffets were great with a large variety. The salads were real lettuce and romaine lettuce. They had fish, chicken, pork and beef at the lunch and dinner meals. They had shrimp, lamb.pork chops and steak on the buffets. There was something for everyone. We ate once at the Italian restaurant and this one was the worst.The Mexican was one of the better ones.at the each of the buffet hall you could order lots of different meats and have the cooked the way you wanted with garlic,act.

The staff were very friendly always saying Hola. The gardeners, waiters and maids were very friendly and work so hard for what the make.We tipped often, even to the gardeners.A few thing we did not like was the bar drinks were not very good with the coke always flat and you could not get two drinks the same.There was not a lot of chairs on the beach and you had to get one before 8.am or you missed out.