DO NOT STAY HERE!!!!!. The flight was fine, so was the ride to the hotel. We arrived and checked in with no problems other than only one employee spoke English. The grounds were clean and pleasant, the room average to look at.

Here's the real Carabela, the beds were rock hard, pillows lumpy. We didn't sleep for 7 nights. There were tiny ANTS everywhere, even on the bed. We both were bitten in our sleep. At night I had to keep the water in the sink dripping to keep the ants from coming up the drain. The A.C. barely worked and I got stuffy being in the room. After 3 nights with my husband waking up with a migrain and both of us not sleeping we decided to complain to change rooms. The room they offered was worse!! I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. Obviously of the 10 buildings only a few of them were updated (ours being one of them) The room they offered (also on the 3rd floor) looked like you would rent it by the hour. We stayed right where we were.

The food sucked! We both LOST WEIGHT on this vacation. Everything was either overcooked or undercooked. The meats fatty and even the bread tasted weird. I got some sort of stomach illness and mainly lived on chips and candy bars from the gift shop. Flies were landing on the food and nothing was labeled so you had no idea what you were eating. You couldn't eat after 10pm and once we even saw a peacock sitting on one of the tables. The restruants food was the same as the buffet, poor. The snack bar, there is only two words that could sum my thoughts on the snack bar, burn it!

No employees could speak English and they failed to enforce the hotels rules like small children being supervised and no glass by the pool. There were usually cups, straws and cigarette butts floating in the pool along with little worms. We hardly saw any pool upkeep.

The other guests were mainly European. The ********* are soooo rude!!! There were ******** spring breakers there and they were loud and disrutpive. The were spilling their drinks in the pool and there was a fight one night. Their last night there they trashed the hotel, the Policia were called.

You had a Disco every night from 10-11pm but you had to purchase your drinks (no all-inclusive there)

I just had to post a review about the Carabela. We are a couple in our early sixties and stayed at this resort during Thanksgiving week 2006. We cannot say enough about the place. After reading some of the negative reviews, we were somewhat apprehensive, but since we got the trip at a very reasonable price and having been to the Dominican Republic at least a dozen times, we decided to give it a try.

From the minute we landed at the airport and got our luggage everything was fine. We located our tour guide, Narciso, from Coco Tours and were directed to our air-conditioned bus. After everyone was on board, we departed and made the usual three to four hotel stops before arriving at the Carabela. Once there, check-in was a breeze and we were taken to our room. Since we requested an upper floor, we went to building two, fourth floor (w/elevator) and were put in a room overlooking the swim-up pool/bar. The room was nice, the a/c was on and it was very cool and there were no things that were disappointing. When we booked originally, we had requested building 6, but somehow that information never got transmitted, so we went to the front desk and spoke with Fernando who was on duty. We explained the situation and he said he would need to speak to his manager and asked if we cold return later. When we came back after eating, he said that they did not have a room available in building 6 until the next day and offered us a room in building 5 and requested we look at it. We did, but really wanted building 6 and when we told him this, he got his manager and between them, made arrangements for us to have a room the next day. Their desire to please us was extraordinary. Our room was on the second level and overlooked the beach and ocean and was very nice, clean and comfortable.

The people who complained about the service being poor or that nobody was very pleasant must have been staying at a different Carabela. Everyone was super. As for the food, it was nothing short of fantastic. Where do you find oysters on the half shell at a buffet. Every night there was a different carving from beef, to lamb to pork and on Thanksgiving there was even turkey. Almost every night they were grilling a meat including steak, pork chops, chicken and even goat (which was delicious). They also had pastas, rices, potatoes, vegetables, sea food and a salad bar that was delightful. We never tried the gourmet or specialty restaurants because the buffet was so good.

The grounds were meticulously maintained and the areas around the main lobby/buffet area were swept and cleaned every day. The beach area was raked or any debris every morning as were the grounds leading to the ocean. The three pools were cleaned every day and the areas around the pools were swept of any debris every day.

This place impressed us so much that we are returning there this May with our son and daughter-in-law and cannot wait to get there. We would highly recommend the Carabela to anyone who would want an ideal vacation spot. The one thing to remember is that this is a third world country and a little courtesy on your part goes a long way. If you are friendly to the people working here, they reciprocate in kind.

About Us: Husband and Wife – no kids, but like kids, – in our thirties, live and work in Spain, but originally from the U.K..

All our previous stays have been decided on the overall feel from your website reviews, so always feel we should give a little back!

We recently spent 1 week at the Carabela Bavaro Beach resort at Punta Cana. October 21st – 28th.

My husband and I decided to opt for the most reasonable hotel on offer, through the Spanish Company, Pullmantur. Our past 3 visits had been with the tour operator, Travelplan. (1st visit Bavaro Princess, 2nd visit Sunscape Punta Cana Grand and 3rd visit Punta Cana Princess All Suites). Our 4 hour check-in at Madrid airport was a bit of a pain, but as we had to fly in from Málaga, we were happy to check in the luggage as soon as possible.

We travelled on a Boeing 747, and the travel time was 8 hours.

We felt very smug at Punta Cana airport, with our zip-off trousers – we would recommend these to everyone who is travelling from cooler climes. They seem to have improved the passport control here, they now just need to get the ladies in their fancy outfits to move people along a little quicker from their photo opportunity as this meant there was quite a queue just to get into the airport arrivals building.

We were directed to our bus over on the other side of the car park, waited about half an hour for the stragglers to arrive, then we were off. The whole coach was going to our hotel, so there were no stops at various hotels to do numerous drop-offs, which was a blessing.

Check in at the hotel was no probem, and there was a note on their form that we had requested a top-storey, sea-facing room, as I had heard nothing from my emails I actually called, so I would recommending doing both, just to be on the safe-side. We did not wait for a porter as there were bags appearing from every which way, so we just saw ourselves to our room, which was in block 5, 4th floor (with lift), no. 9.

The air-con was thankfully running, with an additional room key when we arrived. It looked clean, if a little basic. There was loud meringue music playing from a bar in El Cortecito, which is directly next door. Saying that the music never bothered us, it just reminded us where we were, which is a country we adore. The view from our room was straight out to sea, but, and this will sound silly, we had most of the view obscured, because of all the coconut trees’ tops being right on the same level as we were, so it might be better to ask for a 3rd floor room. Also I agree with other reviews that Block 6 would be the ideal Block to stay in. The bathroom was very basic, and we were missing plugs both in the bath tub and the sink. The other complaint we had were the pillows, which looked quite old and dirty. The new pillows arrived straight away via housekeeping (although they were still of the lumpy variety) and the plugs arrived the next day.

We dashed down to the beach to have a swim on the day of our arrival and the sea was as beautiful as ever, warm and blue, so we were quite happy with our choice.

Restaurants:

Buffet: Open-air. Good at breakfast, lunch and dinner - always had plenty of choice, self-service drinks, couple of theme nights (eg. Spanish & Dominican while we were there) – one night they even had a sushi chef. Beware the unlevel floor surface, I nearly fell several times. Restaurant bookings are made at breakfast time near the main entrance of the buffet. Never a problem getting a booking and there is no limit on bookings, although you are restricted to only booking one day at a time.

Gourmet: Next to the buffet restaurant. Air-conditioned, which was welcome. Very nice menu – shame you cannot order cocktails as a drink in the a la carte options.

Mexican: Lovely on the beach

Italian: Very nice – had one of our nicest meals here

Creperie: In the Italian – avoid this – as only had savoury crepes on the menu, nothing else. So we ended up having the buffet after on the night we ate there.

Day-time snack bar on the beach – RUBBISH - ok for self service drinks, but the burgers were hideous, more like corned beef, without the beef. 4 things on the menu (even with a photo of each item, looking really sad)…

French fries / 2. Burger /3. Hot Dog / 4. Pizza – One day we did have a hot dog roll with some french fries on and it was actually delicious. This was one of the things we put in the suggestion box at the hotel. (The poor selection, not our french fry roll idea!) Even a selection of fruit would have been great.

Our day was basically, breakfast, back to room to brush teeth, down to beach to set up camp for the day, scuba diving every other day, quiet pool near block 6 for sundowners (coffee in our case, as we are not big drinkers, the bar was not open here, but we would get drinks from the close-by block 10 bar) and swim in Block 6’s pool as it was so peaceful and the water was far warmer than any of the other pools. Back to room for rest then bath prior to evening. Remember your bug spray!!! Restaurant then show. The disco looked OK, and we were surprised that they had water free for all, as were under the impression it was pay-pay all the way in there.

Other points we were both aware of:

Good:
Excellent mini-golf round by the gym next to the kids club – clubs and balls from inside the gym, or sometimes the kids club.
Nice Self-serve coffee, soda, juice and pina colada & coco loco at most of the bars
Laid-back atmosphere
They supplied a 1 gallon bottle of water for your room fridge, although we are used to having soft drinks supplied in the mini fridge.

Poor:
Shows were worse than most we had seen If you got peckish for food, there was nothing around the opening hours of the restaurants.
If you were a night bird all the bars closing at 12’o clock except for the disco would not be ideal.
No bottled water, only horrible water fountains all over the resort, which reminded me of work!

Beach was not set out at all and you were left to drag your beds off a pile in the morning. As we walked along and passed the Palladium next door the layout on the beach was much better. As we approached from another angle to our resort, my husband commented that it resembled a refugee camp compared to the other resorts we had passed.

Swim up bar was only operating on the reverse side, so you had to get a drink and drop into the pool with it. We did not spend any time at this bar.

To sum up, we really could not complain for the price we paid, and found everyone very pleasant around the resort.

We will definitely be returning to Punta Cana and to be honest if we found a deal like this again, we would probably opt for this resort again, as prefer to spend the difference on diving.

We stayed at Carabela Beach Resort in Bavaro between October 13-15, 2006 and would recommend it to people who want to be treated rudely. I would also highly recommend it to people who wish to experience a major bout of bacterial gastro-enteritis.

It started in the lobby. The male receptionist was utterly rude. It was like going through immigration and passport control at the airport all over again. We did not need this and had we not paid it advance would have gladly turned around and headed back to Santo Domingo. We asked for an ocean view room but were given a second floor unit that faced away from the beach. When we tried to get reservations for the Mexican Restaurant, were told that we should have booked before 10:00 AM. Unfortunately we got to the front desk at 10:05 AM. Five minutes late in a country where people are routinely hours or even days late for appointments. That is truly absurd.

The dining room buffet was a nightmare. The floor was uneven right in the middle of the salad bar. By the time you see the sign on the floor asking you to "watch your step", your salad is flying through the air.

The beach. That's what we came to enjoy. All we saw was a little "fenced off" section. Swim beyond that little section and you risk being run over by tour boats. One tour boat lost an engine and drifted right into the "fenced off" section. Oblivious to swimmers they kept trying to restart the engine. If you came for the beach you are wasting your time. You are better off swimming in the muck at Boca Chica Beach.

We left on October 15, 2006. On October 16, I developed a fever, chills, abdominal aches and acute diarrhea. I am absolutely sure it was the food.

My girl-friend did not get sick because she has a gastric ulcer and is on a bland diet. She ate fruits and stayed away from most foods. I was not on a bland diet and pretty much sampled the entire menu. I am now being treated for a serious abdominal infection from eating the food at Carabella.

Carabela Bavaro Beach Resort
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Telephone: (809) 221-2728
Fax: (809) 221-2631 or (809) 221-1107
Owned/Managed by Vista Sol Hotels
http://www.vistasolhotels.com/index_carabela_i.html

Date of vacation:
Jan. 26 – Feb. 2, 2006
Nolitours vacation package booked with Joe Markovitch at www.escapes.ca. Joe can be reached toll free at 1-888-685-6888 ext. 502 Air Transat direct, non-stop flight from Vancouver, Canada to Punta Cana

About us:
We are a casual, laid-back, multi-lingual, self-employed, professional couple- mid 50s age group- with extensive travel experience for both business and pleasure. I do all of my own research before choosing the resort and I book our vacations with on-line discount travel agencies. We often travel last minute and this vacation package was booked one week before departure at an excellent price. The primary purpose of our vacations to all-inclusive resorts is rest and relaxation. We prefer to mingle with the locals and learn about their customs and culture, rather than spend our time chatting with other guests. We are very avid snorkelers and non-motorized water sport opportunities rank high on our list of vacation priorities. Excellent snorkeling directly off the beach is a must. A nice beach, with opportunity to go for leisurely walks, is also important to us. We rarely use the swimming pool and/or swim-up bars. We enjoy small resorts, preferably less than 300 rooms, which are open-air and give a tropical feeling. We prefer resorts where the evening entertainment takes place outside rather than in an enclosed theatre or auditorium. We are not picky eaters and do not seek out resorts with multiple a la carte dining options or air-conditioned facilities. Resorts with fitness centers, casinos or spas do not interest us. Cleanliness is paramount.

This is the first time we have traveled to Punta Cana, although we have been to the Dominican Republic before. We were aware that the Carabela resort would not meet some of our criterion but we booked it anyways, based on the price and the favourable foreign language resort reviews. English language resort reviews I had read were less than positive. We took a chance and are very happy we did! Good value for our vacation dollar!

Flight & Customs:
Due to the last minute booking, we were required to pick up our tickets/hotel voucher package at the airport. One clerk was on duty at the Nolitours/Air Transat Vacations counter and the line moved rather slowly. We had pre-selected and paid for our seats in advance. Air Transat is the only airline I am aware of that allows pre-booking of emergency exit row seating. This is a change in policy from the last time we flew with this airline, as I understand transportation safety guidelines require that the check-in clerk deem a passenger sitting in these seats to be physically able to operate emergency equipment if required. As my hubbie is very tall, I was fortunate to be able to pre-book the last remaining emergency exit row seat for him on the flight to Punta Cana and I opted to sit in an aisle seat one row behind. The flight departed Vancouver on time and we arrived at destination after a seven hour flight.

It has become the norm that many airlines have cut back on their in-flight service. Air Transat offers a boxed cold meal- usually a sandwich, drink, and a dessert. Coffee and tea round out the meal service. Soft drinks or water are offered at no charge. Alcoholic beverages, beer, wine or spirits, are subject to a $5.00 charge. Snacks such as peanuts, pretzels, granola bars cost as well. I highly recommend you pack your own snacks/goodies! Two movies were shown en route. We prefer to bring along our own headsets. Headsets are available for purchase at a cost of $1.00.

I had expected major immigration/customs clearance delays at the Punta Cana airport as I was aware that several flights would be arriving at about the same time. The new blue immigration forms- one for arrival and the other required for departure- are now a companion to the tourist cards provided with our vouchers, and had been handed out in flight giving ample time for everyone to have their paperwork filled out and ready. I found customs/immigration to be very quick and efficient, less than 20 minutes and no one seemed to be concerned about inspecting luggage as is the case upon arrival in Mexico or Cuba. I was very alarmed to have both the arrival and departure portion of the tourist card collected, but we were assured not to worry- this was the new procedure.

Finding the Nolitours rep. was easy! We were given our bus number, told where the bus was located and handed a brochure giving the time and place of the resort briefing scheduled for the following afternoon. As the other buses departed, we sat and waited!
Turned out that a guest going to our resort had accidentally taken someone else’s suitcase off the luggage carousel and they were unable to find him. Please be careful as many travelers have similar looking suitcases, so always check the name tag and make sure it’s yours before you leave the luggage area! The ride to the resort was about 40 minutes, and we were the first stop. By this time it was dark, so we had to wait until the return ride to the airport to get a feel for what the area and the other resorts were like.

The check-in process for our return flight was slow! It took almost 1 ½ hours for us to finally reach the check-in counter. Many vacationers were being charged for exceeding their allowable luggage limits. Air Transat allows 20 kilo (approx. 44 lbs.) per person and this was strictly enforced. Excess charge is $7.00 per kilo so keep this in mind when souvenir shopping! I was glad to have pre-booked our seats in the rear section of the Airbus 310-300 where the seat configuration narrows down to 2 seats (window & aisle) together, rather than the 3x3x3 seats. Still it was very cramped, and it didn’t help my hubbie any than the somewhat petite female passenger sitting in front of him attempted continually to recline her seat. She became most annoyed and agitated! Only when she was outright told that it was impossible for a 6’ 3” man to fold his legs to avoid his knees being right up against her seat, did she finally stop. Please be considerate to the person seated behind you and do not recline your seat!

Punta Cana airport is modern and clean. We loved the open-air, thatched roof concept! Return flight to Vancouver departed right on time and would have left even a few minutes earlier but for a minor incident. Seems one couple had somehow missed paying the $20.00US per person departure tax, which is collected by the Air Transat check-in clerk. Officials boarded the aircraft to seek out the couple and collect the required monies. We landed in Vancouver about 30 minutes early. Food service consisted of a cold Subway roast beef sandwich and cookie, with a wrap style sandwich offered again shortly before landing. Three movies were shown. We had traveled to Cuba in December 2005 with Skyservice airlines and found them overall to be much better than Air Transat. Skyservice uses a 767 aircraft for flights from Vancouver to the Caribbean and we found we had more legroom and also received a hot meal.

The Resort Check-in:
Check–in was quick and accompanied by a welcome cocktail. Once we had filled in the registration card, we were handed an envelope with our room keycard, 2 towel cards (lost towels subject to $20US charge), two $5.00 coupons for the Carabela casino and a booklet listing the resort amenities, dining times, etc. Resort guests are required to wear one of those dreaded plastic bracelets! I also wished to immediately arrange for a key to the in-room safe but was told to come back the next morning as none were presently available. Charge for this is $10.00US per week payable in advance and as promised, I was able to get the safe key after breakfast the following day. The resort staff is multi-lingual, but many do not speak English well. This resort is dominated by European guests and therefore, more staff speak Italian, German or French as their second language. The reception staff could have been a bit friendlier. The resort accepts Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Check out time is at noon. I have submitted a map of the resort layout to Debbie’s for reference and use of future travelers.

Our Room:
There are ten buildings, from two to four stories in height, some with elevators, which make up this resort. Total capacity of the resort is around 494 rooms of which 24 are oceanfront junior suites and 24 are family suites featuring a sleeping loft. We were assigned room #4309, which was one of the loft suites, in building #4 on the third floor. Very interesting arrangement! Our building had an elevator, but we opted to use the stairs. Building #10 is the newest and most coveted. My request for a king size bed when I booked this vacation, was granted.

On the way to our room, the porter commented that we had been given a very good room. When we entered the room and I looked at the bathroom and strange loft area, I definitely begged to differ with his opinion. The room was hot and stuffy because the air conditioner didn’t work. We quickly discovered that the loft level also had an AC unit, but it was not powerful enough to cool the entire suite. I tried immediately to get a different room allocation but the front desk clerk was less than accommodating. Finally, the clerk allowed us to look at a room in building #2 which was poor as well. It was late, we were hungry, the buffet would close in 20 minutes and so we decided to accept the room we had been given figuring everything would probably look much different the next day after a good nights sleep. Good decision on our part as indeed everything looked so much better the next morning and we stayed in room 4309 for the duration of our vacation. Requests for air conditioning repairs were handled through our vacation rep. since we got no response from the front desk staff despite numerous attempts. We discussed the issue with Sophie Brodeur of Nolitours right after the welcome briefing held at 4:30 pm the day after our arrival and within the hour, the repairman was at the door. Wow!! He figured out the problem and replaced the defective control pad. Hats off to Sophie for her excellent service! As an aside, Sophie Brodeur is on duty at the rep. desks every day from 4-6pm, except Tuesday, which is her day off. Wonderful, reliable young lady!

The best description for the décor and furnishings in the room would be “dated and a tad tired”. Keep in mind that this is an older resort! The furniture was adequate, but in need of some minor repairs, for example missing knobs on the night table, touch-ups to the wood finish of the tables. Our room was two levels with the upper loft level being the sleeping area. The king size bed was very firm but comfortable to us. There were two night tables, but only one with a lamp. A dressing table with mirror and a chair as well as a full sized clothes closet (which we didn’t use) rounded out the furnishing in this area. No clock is provided so bring your own travel alarm clock if you wish. The loft area also had a separate air conditioning unit, which worked well. Access to the loft was by a set of narrow, creaky wooden stairs with metal railings. I doubt the construction and configuration of these stairs would pass Canadian building codes, so be careful.

The entry level of the room (suite) featured two upholstered chairs, a large daybed/sofa, a coffee table, an end table with a lamp and a cabinet on which there was a small TV (no remote control) and a non-stocked mini fridge below. TV reception is satellite and 17 channels are available, although only four are English.

The clothes closet, near the front door and across from the bathroom, was a very generous size. It featured separate his and hers sections for hanging clothes and a top to bottom shelving section in the middle, in lieu of a dresser. The in-room safe is located on one of the shelves. Of the three sliding doors, the middle one was a full-length mirror. Sufficient clothes hangers were provided. The floors on both levels are tiled. Unfortunately, the room did not have a ceiling fan, which we prefer to use at night. I was surprised that there were no musty smells or strange odors in the room, but I did come prepared with room air-fresheners, just in case. The soundproofing is almost non-existent. Thankfully, we had quiet neighbours! We also appreciated the light switches, which worked from either the loft or lower level of the room, but we did find lighting generally to be poor and this was due to the low wattage, energy efficient florescent light bulbs used throughout the resort. Extra outlets were also available for use when recharging batteries, cameras, etc. The voltage at this resort is 110V with plug configurations being two flat prong north-american style. Guests from Europe will need to bring adaptors!

The bathroom has a full sized tub with hand-held European style shower. The wall-mounted bracket for the showerhead was not adjustable so the water ran against the wall tiles and could only be used as a hand-held. Frustrating!! New, extra long shower curtain was provided. No mold or mildew on the tile grout and the chalking around the tub had recently been re-done. Sadly, the bathtub was in rough condition. There was a very unsightly rust ring all around the very slow and plugged drain, along with many, now rusting areas where the enamel was chipped. Faucet was quite dated and should be replaced. Not pretty!! Good water pressure and no shortage of hot water though!
A 1500 watt, three-speed hairdryer is mounted on the wall. Worked great! The vanity counter was generous in size, but had chips and cigarette burns. The sink did not have a stopper plug and was also chipped. The sink tap worked well but was dated. No odors from the drain though! A large mirror covered the entire back wall but the area was poorly lit. Two large bath and two hand towels as well as a bath mat are provided and changed daily. Bring your own facecloth if you use one and a box of Kleenex. Shampoo and soap are also provided, but we prefer to bring our own. Toilet worked. There was no bidet. The tap water is unsafe to drink! We used bottled water for brushing our teeth.

Our room had an east facing balcony, overlooking a lovely, lush and well landscaped garden area. Two wooden chairs with chair pads and a small slatted wood table were provided. A plywood partition, painted white and with floral design cutouts provided privacy from the balcony of the rooms on either side of us. Nice relaxing place to sit! The patio door worked just fine and there was also a screen in very good condition to keep out critters. There is a sensor on the patio door, so your air conditioning unit will not run if the patio door is left open. Never saw any crawlies but we were on the third floor! I came prepared with ant bait and bug spray, which I didn’t need to use. We also had no problems with mosquitoes, not even after the brief rain showers. Never once had to use our Deep Woods Off insect repellant or the After-Bite. Hubbie got one mosquito bite!

The maid we had for the first three days was very efficient and kept our room spotless. She arrived at the same time every day. The issue of tipping at an all-inclusive is a personal matter. I am a rather generous person and opted to leave the maid a gratuity every day rather than a larger sum at the end. I didn’t want to take the chance that our last day would perhaps be her day off! On the fourth day of our stay, we noticed the cleanliness level of the room had deteriorated and this was due to a different maid now doing the room. During our stay I heard of no incidents of theft from a guest’s room and none of our personal belongings were ever touched or out of place.

Restaurants and Food:
The main buffet “Noray” was open for breakfast (7-10am), lunch (noon-3pm) and dinner (7-10pm). Dress was casual. We especially liked the open-air concept of the buffet, which is located next to the lobby bar around the corner from the front desk. There is both a smoking and non-smoking area. Bussing staff was a bit slow at clearing plates and resetting the tables. We often just helped ourselves to clean cutlery and napkins. Coffee and fruit juices were self-serve. No big deal! The selection for all meals was very adequate to serve all tastes, but as the guests at Carabela during our stay were primarily Europeans, the food choices offered reflected this. Expect meats such as rabbit or goat at lunch or dinner along with the more usual chicken, pork, beef and fish. A wide selection of cold cuts and cheeses are available for breakfast, along with pancakes, scrambled eggs and omelets were made fresh on request. A large variety of delicious breads and pastries- always fresh- were yummy. The fresh fruit selection was also good. Variety is the spice of life and the buffet sure offered plenty of variety although it did seem a bit repetitive. Never left hungry! Wine both white and red, as well as beer (el Presidente) were offered for lunch and dinner. I especially enjoyed the white wine! Soft drinks and juices were available in self-serve dispensers and an ample supply of cold drinking water, in 500ml bottles was always on the counter. One thing we did notice was that the water bottles were not always factory sealed, so we presumed that the resort was cleaning and re-using the bottles. This practice is definitely less than hygienic and was perhaps the source of our illness? We aren’t certain, but as experienced travelers, we were always very aware and cautious of everything we ate and drank.

For lunch, a second option was the snack bar located at the beach. Again, this area was very open air. Bathing suits only and bare feet were acceptable. No stuffy dress code rules suited us just fine! The snack bar served only pizza (if you could ever get a piece!), hotdogs, hamburgers and fries. That’s all folks! Disposable foam plates were used for food from the snack bar area and could be taken back to your beach lounger. Garbage cans were placed close by, so the beach remained fairly tidy. Since we do not eat fast food, we opted to have lunch at the buffet every day. Nice selection of salads and freshly grilled fish or meat! Dress code for lunchtime buffet was shoes, no wet bathing suits as the chairs are upholstered, but a beach cover up or T-shirt were fine. Although it was not required, most guests dressed up for the evening buffet. That’s definitely a European thing!

The resort offers three a la carte restaurants for dinner: Mexican (El Mariachi), Creperie and Italian (MamaMia). There is also a gourmet restaurant (El Almirante), which serves lobster, but this is not included with the all-inclusive package. I believe lobster dinners were approx. $20 or $25.00 per person. There was no limit as to how often you could go to the a la carte restaurants. Sign up for evening a la carte is done during breakfast near the entrance of the main buffet. First come, first served and we had no problem getting reservations. General rule is simply if you snooze, you lose! We opted to eat at the Mexican and Creperie once during our stay and would recommend them both. The specialty restaurants are located in a building down on the beach and are not air-conditioned. This can work against you on cooler, windy evenings, so bring a cardigan. We had very windy conditions the first three days of our stay and the shutters, which are usually opened, were left closed- and still some sand managed to blow in. Yes, it was really that windy!! Food was okay with generous sized portions. Since the dessert bar in the buffet was amazing, we opted to pass on desserts offered at the a la carte restaurants and head back to the buffet after finishing our entrée. European tortes, especially the chocolate or mocha, were my downfall!! The ice cream was absolutely yummy!

Drinks:
When it comes to all-inclusive resorts, there isn’t much that surprises me anymore. I was very surprised indeed to discover some rather lonely bartenders at this resort. Don’t think I ever waited longer than a minute to be served during the day and the resort was booked at close to capacity. I was told, and my observations confirmed, that most europeans do not drink heavily and especially not during the day. The mix of guests was about 15% Italians, 20% Germans, 10% Poles and eastern Europeans, 10% Portuguese speaking (this includes Brazil), 30% Spanish speaking from central and south America, Dominican and Spain, 15% French speaking (France & Quebec), and a smattering of English speaking guests from Canada, although there were no Brits. The Lobby bar, open in the evening, did occasionally have a line-up of approx. 3 minutes waiting time due mostly to the fact that they served excellent cappuccinos. Service at the pool bars, beach bar or theatre bar was always friendly and with a big smile. I didn’t notice any premium brand alcohol, but the domestic brands, especially the rums were just fine for mixed drinks. One interesting feature of the resort were the self-serve drink stations which complimented the bar service. Located at the beach or in some of the pool areas, you could get beer on tap, fruit juices, soft drinks and bottled water all day long with absolutely no waits.

Cocktails of several types were listed for those who needed some help deciding what to order, and the drinks were definitely not watered down. El Presidente beer (pilsner) was on tap. Drinks were served in glassware at the lobby bar and generous sized plastic cups at the beach and around the pools. We had brought our own 12 oz. size thermal mugs. Thermal mugs are a Canadian thing! Considering how environmentally friendly these mugs are, I’m surprised they haven’t yet caught on at all resorts. One guest (same fellow who took the wrong suitcase and held up the bus) brought an obscenely enormous thermal mug of about 60 ounce capacity and was refused service at the bar. He was livid and only after the Nolitours rep intervened on his behalf did the barmen reluctantly agree to fill his thermal container with beer for the rest of the week. I was not pleased one day when this fellow dropped his beer filled mega-mug right in front of my lounge chair and my belongings got soaked with beer. Too bad that only the lid of the mega mug suffered some damage!

Tipping for service was never expected or necessary and seldom observed, although I did make a point to tip the bartender when I requested a cocktail not listed amongst the offerings posted or when my hubbie was served Brugal Extra Viejo rum on the rocks as a nightcap. The lobby bar closes at midnight! Pool bars close at 6pm.

The Beach and Pools:
The beach at Punta Cana is world class! It goes on for miles! We are beach people.

We did unfortunately experience very windy weather the first three days so it was a bit unpleasant sitting in your lounge chair and getting “sandblasted” by the fine powdery sand blowing everywhere and all around you. Perfect conditions however for taking nice long walks! From the Carabela resort, which is located in the mid section, we walked to the RIU complex (about 7 miles?) one day and to the Barcelo complex (about 5 miles?) in the other direction the following day. Wish we had taken our GPS or a pedometer along! As a reference for those who may be interested, I have also submitted a map showing the location of the various resorts along Punta Cana beach.

One thing we did not enjoy was the constant drone of motor boats and the fumes emitted by the outboard motors. Under no circumstance should you ever attempt to swim outside of the safe, roped-off swim areas! At high tide, we noticed a stronger current and since the water deepens fairly quickly, make sure to keep a watchful eye on your children. We didn’t notice any lifeguards on duty, but there were many resort security guards on the beach and around the resort generally at all times. We never felt unsafe, intimidated or threatened in any way. Once the weather cleared, the beach was very busy.

What we especially appreciated, and one of the reasons we selected the Carabela resort in the first place, was all the natural vegetation (palms and tropical pine species) on the beach. No need for palapas. Hubbie always found shade and I always found sun yet we sat next to each other. Always plenty of loungers, so never a need to get up at the crack of dawn to “reserve” a spot with your towels as is so common at many resorts where shade is at a premium. There were shower facilities to rinse off the salt water after enjoying the ocean and public washrooms at several locations on the beach, all kept very clean and well supplied with hand soap and TP. In front of the watersports center, was a nice play area for young children. There were no beach vendors to harass you, but do be prepared to encounter some salesmanship when you walk along the beach, especially agents selling timeshares. Topless sunbathing for the ladies was very common, as were men wearing Speedos.

The resort features three free-form swimming pools. Clean and well-supplied washrooms were close-by. The main pool is deep and not suited for young children. Water was a bit chilly but refreshing. Keeping this pool totally clean and free of debris was a challenge, not only because of the leaves from the trees, but also because of the horseplay by some guests who pushed one another into the pool- drinks still in hand. This pool also has a swim-up bar but bar service was not provided. No idea why! If you wanted a drink, you had to get out of the water and go around to the front of the pool bar for service.

The second pool meanders along directly in front of building #10 and features shallower areas for children as well as a large whirlpool. There is a self-serve bar. The third pool is located near building #6 and was in our opinion the nicest one for families. The kiddie area was large, as was the whirlpool and the water seemed to be the warmest of all three pools. There was a full-service bar. As these two pools were in more open areas, away from the very lush and mature vegetation and gardens of this resort, they were also cleaner. A few palapas for shade were available. There were plenty of loungers, as well as tables and chairs around all of the swimming pools, which featured lovely large patio areas. Outdoor showers were also located at all pools. Very nice lay-outs! Space around the pools was at a premium on very windy days, but otherwise there never seemed to be a problem finding a lounger or chair around any of the swimming pools. Again, expect topless sunbathing at all pools.

Resort activities:
A daily posting, listing activities offered at the resort can be found on the side of the animation building directly on the beach. This is also where you pick up your pool/beach towels. The activities staff engaged everyone, regardless of language spoken, and welcomed participation in beach volleyball, bocce, table tennis, badminton, dance lessons, darts tournaments, aerobics at the main pool, etc. Certificates and a 500ml bottle of rum were handed out to the winners every evening in the open-air theatro before the show started at 10pm. We did watch several shows and felt they were very well done. A cycle of 14 shows are offered, so if you stay for two weeks, you’ll see something different each night. Thankfully the audience participation shows did not involve silly antics or beer drinking contests as we have experienced at other resorts. They were done with much humor, a bit cheeky and even a tad racy. Lots of fun and quite entertaining! The animation team members spoke several languages, albeit very limited English and the announcer introduced the show in five languages. Very talented fellow!

There is an on-site disco directly behind the theatre area, near Building #10. Disco is open from 11pm to 3 am but drinks are not included. A casino is located across the main street from the resort and is open from 9 pm to 5 am. Two five dollar casino vouchers were included in our check-in package, but we didn’t use them.

The resort offers a Kid’s Club and we observed many happy little guests throughout our stay! What always amazes us is how well the children get along despite the language barriers. The two young ladies from the animation team in charge of the Kid’s Club seem to be well loved by all the children. From observation, I would recommend the ideal age group for children at this resort to be ages 4-8, but there were several babies and many older children as well. Not once did we see a misbehaved or crying child and we were most definitely impressed with the excellent table manners and behaviour of all children at meal times, even the two year olds. Europeans generally travel with their children and it was not unusual to observe three generations enjoying a true family vacation. A mini disco for the children was staged at 9pm nightly at the theatre and the kiddies eagerly awaited this event and their nightly “moment of glory” on stage.

The watersports center offers kayaks, snorkeling equipment and wind surfers for guest use. We always travel with our own snorkeling equipment. The two pedal boats were apparently broken. Due to the red flag days, there were limited activities. A full service PADI dive center is located directly on the beach near the animation center and beginner scuba lessons were offered at the main pool. Motorized water sports seem to dominate in Punta Cana! Banana boat rides, parasailing, glass bottom boat excursions, speed boats are everywhere. Cost of these activities is not included with the all-inclusive package. Thankfully a safe swimming area in the ocean is roped off, and we highly recommend you do not venture outside of this area. There was no snorkeling directly off the beach, which was a big disappointment for us as we are very avid snorkelers. Snorkeling excursions were being offered and ranged in price from $29-$39US per person for about 1 hour. We did not participate as we felt the price was far too high. Deep sea fishing charters were available nearby.

The resort offers two tennis courts and they have a tennis pro on staff. A massage hut is located on the beach, near Building # 9 and also in the shop area in between the resort’s own souvenir/sundry shop and the 24 hour medical clinic.

Shopaholics, souvenir seekers and those who love to barter will especially appreciate the direct access gates from the Carabela resort’s beach pathway to both Plaza Coconuts Village and El Cortecito. The gates are locked at night with a security guard on duty. If you don’t find what you are looking to buy at either of these “strip malls” of souvenir stands, they probably don’t have it in the Dominican. Cheapie, cheapie!!

Excursions:
I always suggest that guests attend the rep. briefings, and especially so if visiting a resort for the first time. Our Nolitours rep. offered many excursions and tips to make our stay pleasurable. Unfortunately, some people had their booked excursions cancelled one day due to a bus driver strike. You will find listings and descriptions for many of these excursions on Debbie’s main website- www.debbiesdominicantravel.com . We did not do any organized excursions, opting instead to go for very long walks on the beach and explore on our own. The small town of Cortecito is right next door to the Carabela resort. There you can find an internet café, money exchange, a grocery store, bars, restaurants and souvenir stands. You should be aware that making telephone calls from the resort is expensive. Phone cards to use at pay phones are a good option. Many guests were using their own cell phones. The resort offers two computer stations next to the front desk at $5.00US per 30 minutes of internet time.

Conclusions:
We enjoyed our stay and would not hesitate to go back to this resort. We especially liked the casual atmosphere and opportunity to mingle with so many European guests.

The Carabela Bavaro Beach resort is a solid 3 star resort, perhaps 3 ½ star for those lucky enough to get a room allocation in the new building. The resort is older and compact with well-maintained lush gardens, featuring some ponds, lovely stamped concrete walkways and also many resident peacocks. It’s a great place for families on a budget and because of the ramps and elevators in some of the buildings, the resort is also suitable for elderly vacationers or those with mobility problems. We observed several guests with canes and a gentleman using a wheelchair. Cosmetic repairs such as re-enameling the bathtubs and re-surfacing the vanity counter tops, along with installing new taps would make a world of difference.

Always remember that the sun shines just as brightly on a 3 star resort as it does on a 5 star resort. With the right attitude and reasonable expectations, I can’t imagine someone not having a great vacation at the Carabela Bavaro. Go and enjoy!

My sister & I recently May 2005 went to Club Carabela Beach club. We have nothing but good to say about this resort. I do not understand what all the gripes are about the the little things we just laughed about. When we checked in it was swift. They took us and our luggage to our room in 5000 building, wonderfull. The floor is slick so watch out its tiled. The A/C was more than good. We got settled and went out to venture. The resort is well laid out small enuff but had 3 lovely pools and the beach was to die for. Well our fridge did not work but all we had to do was plug it in lol.

The food, you could find anything for your taste buds there was way too much selection at each serving, they will cook to your taste. No sickness here, and all was good, no sickness here. The drinks are very strong, thanks to Julia all you have to do is tell them to lighten up.a simple no will suffice.

Learn a few phrases of Spanish and they love you. They will remember you. Get to know them, tip them as they work for nothingin our standards. I had seen many nasty and rude people because of the laungage barrier. Not to mention the petty crap. I could go on for days on thee petty BS Get a grip you are in their country now..

So what if it smells musty, It's humid there, what do you expect. Thats the weather.Does everyone want to smell bleach? If you are nice to these people they will more than cater to your needs. If you are rude and nasty to them, what do expect they will ignore you. I do not blame them I would do the same thing here in US if I could get away with it. Some people are way to spoiled and I have seen tooo many ugly Americans perhaps other nationalities to boot complaining about petty things in my stays here. If only anyone that complains about the service, food and whatever else at Club Carabela or any other place in DR, they need to walk in their shoes for just one hour.

We went May 29 -June 5, 2005. My husband I, and our children age 13 and 12. We had two separate rooms. Over the course of 2 days, our children had to change rooms 4 times and we had to change rooms 3 times before we finally wound up in the newest block, the 10,000 building. Every room in the hotel has a leaky bathroom directly over the toilet (obviously making it impossible to use). Somehow when we finally got to the 10,000 building, they managed to stop the leaks in our bathroom, however, we ended up on different floors of our children instead of adjoining rooms as we had requested (it turns out - they don't exist - (unfortunately no one bothered to inform us of that). Every room we were in had an overpowering stench of mildew. You could not drink the water and even though we did not drink any water and brushed our teeth with bottled water, 3 out of 4 of us got sick with diarrhea and stomach pains and nausea for four out of the seven days we were there and lasting into the following days we were home. They claimed the ice was made with purified water, however, my daughter, who drank no beverages with ice, was the only one that did not get sick. Our conclusion is, the ice is not purified as they had said. The buffet was boring and repetitious, steam-table food day after day. In order to make reservations in the alacaret, reservations you either had to either demand them or bribe them with money because they said they were "full".. However, when you get to the restaurant(after the bribe),the restaurants were ALWAYS half empty. Essentially, it was a scam. The A La Carte restaurant food was not much better than the cafeteria/buffet. The beaches from a distance were beatiful, but unfortunately when you got there were like a giant ashtray, covered with cigarette butts which we found repulsive. Obviously not cleaned on even a monthly basis. Any non-house drinks were $3-5 US. All drinks in the disco were not free, they were $3-5$ US each. The TNT rep, JOSE, was rude, and only available if you wanted to book an excursion. The staff were OK, but spoke no English. Our children suffered severe flea or bed bug bites and had to be seen by a dermatologist when we got back to the U.S. Sports and daytime entertainment were non-existent. A volleyball game now and then. The nighttime shows were boring, repetitive, and totally in Spanish which we do not speak. Also, when you go to the show, especially from the 10,000 building, be careful -- there are drainage ditches crossing the sidewalk that my husband sprained his ankle in(read:stupid architecture and design). The physical structure of the resort was fine, but its overall management and condition was seriously substandard.

This would qualify for our family as VACATION FROM HELL!! This is our fourth vacation in the Dominican Republic, and by far our worst vacation experience. We definitely do not recommend this hotel at any price unless you are a glutton for punishment(Masochist). If you are a Masochist, this is the place for you. The maid had trouble keeping up with our need for toilet tissue (due to the "so-called-purified" ice cubes). My husband was sick for three weeks. The icing on the cake was flight delays because the plane was 40 years old and instead of arriving home at 8:00 p.m., we arrived home at 2:00 A.M. (very exhausted) - with of course no explanation or food offered and airplane chairs that were made for munchkins or very small people.

My friend and I stayed at this resort from April 7-14 from Moncton N.B., Here is my review of this resort.

This is the 5th time to the Dominician Republic the 2nd time to Punta Canta, I had stayed at LTI the previous time 3 years ago. Carabela is a beautiful resort. We arrived at aprox. 9:45 p.m. on Thurs. April 7/05 after an uneventful flight from Moncton, traveled air transat.

Check in was a breeze the staff was very helpful and our bags were to our room in no time flat, it was suggested that we grab a bite to eat as the buffet was closing shortly. They in no way hurried us along with our meal and were very pleasant.

As it was dark when we arrived I really couldn’t comment on the beauty until the next day, and beautiful it was. The palm tress that lined the beach were spectacular there was as much shade as there was sun, we were always able to find a spot on the beach and a perfect chair, we spent all our time at the beach as found the pool to noisy and not enough shade, besides we like the ocean compared to the chlorinated pool water. The grounds were immaculate and there was always someone cleaning up fallen leaves or coconuts. I have to say the grounds were the nicest I have seen in my 5 trips.

We were in 1400 building, on the 4th floor, thank goodness for elevators, it was close enough to everything and far enough away from everything else. The room was cleaned early every day, before noon, it was nice to go back to your room before lunch for whatever reason and it be cleaned, we left a tip for the maid every day, must say she did a bang up job. We did have problems with the water on 3 occasions, once while all lathered up, it was an annoyance but the pressure returned within 10 mins., no harm done, on another occasion the toilet would not flush, a call to the desk to have fixed while out for dinner, we returned about 3 hours later and it was still not repaired, a call again, we were told that they did not have the complaint logged, once we told them that we needed the toilet quickly, within 5 mins. Someone was there and fixed in another 10 mins. So it’s all good.

I totally did not like the food, I never thought of myself as a picky eater but I guess I will have to say that I am, I found that the hotel caters to Europeans and they eat different stuff for sure, I found that things were just not cooked enough especially at breakfast, I had to ask the chef to cook the bacon and scramble the eggs more, but with a smile they did it for me. We also ate a 3 of the A’La Carte restaurants, and the only one that we liked was the international, it was really good, well compared to the others we had tried it was. I suppose it all depends on what you like, I do have to admit I have never seen pizza with corn niblets on it till this trip, that was kind of gross. I loved the ice cream so I sure did have my share of that. Unfortunately ice cream and beer is not a tasty combination. We did not touch any thing we could not identify so a lot of things we didn’t even try.

We liked the fact that at the beach there was 2 serve your self refreshment stands and a bar for hard liquor only a short walk from your chair.

We also did not run into anyone that spoke English for almost 48 hours, so when we heard someone speak English man we grabbed onto them, to bad they only stayed for 2 more days after that, the majority of the guests we Germans, then people from Spain and Italy. I was impressed however with the fact that the staff can speak so many languages, to bad I couldn’t, oh well it was an adventure and if your going to stay away because of the language barrier well then your missing out on a great time.

We did the glass bottom boat ride and swam with the fish it was very nice, but unfortunately for us all of the other guests were German so the Captain spoke German the whole time and I think we may have missed out on a few things but not to many, it is worth the money and the time it was really really nice. We weren’t going to go out but at the last min. decided to do it we were not disappointed at all ever with the language thing. Not to be missed.

Over all we had a great time, we went for the R&R and that is exactly what we got, the other stuff was just that stuff, the resort it self was gorgeous and I would definitely return, in fact I think I have the hubby convinced to go next winter.

Oh yes the weather was beautiful, high 30’s with an on shore breeze to keep it cool and we got really nice sun tans, one afternoon it rained for about 2 hours. And we were bite by misquotes, myself 4 times my friend 5 times, didn’t realize till after what had occurred, I seen the little buggers on the morning that we were leaving, and 1 of them is still itchy… oh well live and learn, we put deet on after the initial bites, and didn’t seem to be bothered again.

All in all it was great, would go back in a heart beat, the only thing is that you have to come home. I’d give this resort a 4 out of 5.

We were at Club Carabela for 2 weeks (Apr 2 - 16/05). We would have preferred 10 days but that was not an option if we were to fly out of our local airport in Hamilton which only went once a week.

English is only spoken by the front desk people to any degree of understanding. The highest dialect spoken was Spanish from the people from Spain followed by French and German. It was very interesting for me to find myself starved to hear english but soon found other Canadians and Americans to converse with.

We were on a ground floor in the newest #10 bldg. on the far side of the bar. The bar is open from 11am to 7pm. It was as nice as a good hotel room. A large frosted window in the tub/bedroom wall let the night light from the hair dryer shine through giving enough light to find your way to the bathroom. Even though there was a 'save the environment card' on the counter the maid never played by the rules and changed the towels daily. There were large squirt dispensers of body gel (which was fine) and shampoo (which was not, too runny). Our bathroom light had a continuous drip from the air-conditioning. Maintenance came at our Tour Reps request (not ours as we knew this couldn't be fixed, seen it before) and pulled the light out to drain the water. It started dripping again within the hour. We just put a hand towel on the floor with a plastic cup and pulled the door shut. The back of the bldg. backs onto a service road to shops and restaurants on the beach and there was traffic throughout the night but I must have been worn out by the heat and sun because I was always able to fall quickly back to sleep if disturbed. A musty smell was mentioned in another review and I meant to take a scented candle and forgot. Wish I had remembered. We think the smell is a combination of the high humidity and a wall in the room that is tiled from a natural product. Bed was king-size with only 2 thin pillows, a little firm but didn't wake up with any back aches. TV was about a 19" with remote. The mini fridge was handy. We brought back plates of fruit and sweet buns to have as a snack with our afternoon coffee. (Tip) This bar had a Nescafe machine the same as the beach grill. Every choice was sweet, even if you chose coffee and milk. The other two pools have machines that are different and choices are better with real milk. This was important for us to discover as my husband is a diabetic and we don't want coffee whitener with glucose in it.

The pool was always empty in the morning and as our patio was in the shade till 1p.m we usually used the pool then. After breakfast we either played tennis if it was overcast or used the gym. The tennis courts use to be where our bldg. is and the sign still shows it. We asked at the front desk and were told they are just across the road beside the Casino. We had no problem ever getting a court and they were not too bad even if they hadn't been swept (clay courts). Racquets and balls are available but we take our own.

We had rain one morning for an hour and this must have woke some mosquitoes up. We were in the habit of taking an after dinner stroll and sitting in an empty pool bar that had hedges around it. Ended up with bites on my calves but never felt the bites and they never got itchy, just the same you don't want to take chances so stay away from the bushes or use spray which I started to do and never noticed any new bites.

It seems like people either hated the food or liked it. We liked it. Fresh fruit every meal is a real treat after a winter of apples, bananas and oranges. Every dinner had a feature meat item. We saw turkey, roast pork, really large baked fish, rabbits and a whole roasted pig one time. My only concern was that they grill pork chops and chicken right there and I was careful to make sure things looked wholly cooked. They put little pictures beside the pans of mixed dishes so you know what the main item is. I got my fill of seafood. Mussels, Conch, Squid, Shrimp. Even had a smoked salmon appetizer at the Italian restaurant. Lots of vegetables done in different ways also. An avocado dish was really tasty. We ate in all four of the al a cartes and liked the Mexican best. You can only book the restaurants for that night (not in advance) and they have someone at the main Buffet entrance in the morning during breakfast. If no one is there just ask whoever is at the beverage bar beside it, they sometimes do double duty. We have been to D.R. before and I was anxious to see if the coffee would be as good as the first time. It was. They have the best coffee. When we were in Cuba the previous year I expected that the coffee would be the same and was very disappointed. I had to order espresso just to get something that was stronger than tea.

The entertainment was repeated most nights in the same style. Dance after dance to very loud music with no breaks for an hour. Thanks, but I've already been to enough dance recitals for a lifetime. Before the entertainment would start the little kids could go up on stage at 9pm and dance to the same music (Chicken Dance and Hokey Pokey) every night. Our block of rooms was next to the entertainment stage so the noise level was very high from 9 to 11pm.

The beach area was great with all the trees. This is a very important thing in our choosing of a resort and the aerial picture in the brochure sold it. The coconut trees are all groomed and only very small coconuts were visible to our eyes. The only unfortunate thing about the beach in our preferences is that all the commercialism spoils the view. There is a constant boat traffic flowing back and forth in front of your eyes as you look out into the water. Also helicopters fly over every 30 minutes. Snorkelling is not great as I found the clarity of the water hampered by all that beautiful fine sand floating in it, but I did see some fish.

The shopping street entrance on the west side of the resort is down by the towel exchange/activity booth. We found that if you ventured down this street AFTER lunch you didn't get hassled as much because the look-out guys (they try to drag you into multiple shops to get their commissions) have left for an afternoon break. We found 3 internet places but the best was the first place on the right as you leave the resort. It was $3 for an hour or $2 for 30 minutes. It's $6 for an hour at the resort. You can also place phone calls here. I heard a few people complaining at the resort desk that they were charged multiple times for calls that didn't go through so it is probably best not to make your calls from your room. The internet place had 4 computers and they had MSN. The keyboard is a little different but not too much so I just typed and let people think I was making errors. I was chatting to my Son in Toronto as fast as I would at home and at the same time I was checking my personal mail provider for messages and sending one to all the family. Did it all in 30 minutes and got back to having my vacation.

We walked out the main entrance and down the road in the same direction to the shopping street and turned left at the end. We had read that there was a small store down the road and you can see it from the corner. We bought our rum and vanilla there. You can bargain on the cost of the vanilla as it is priced for more than it should be and then tell them you want at least 27 pesos to the US dollar. It felt like less of a hassle than dealing with the shopping district and it was nice to walk someplace other than the resort. We walked further on another day but other than passing some locals selling their own cooked items there wasn't much to see. We did pass some children on their way to school and we exchanged holas. There is a larger food market on the shopping street but they didn't have vanilla and the price of cigars and rum was not the best. You need US cash as most places do not have credit card options.

On departure day we didn't have to leave the resort until 6:50pm so we ate a late lunch and grilled up some sandwiches to take with us (I had a Tupperware container) for dinner at the airport. I didn't check the prices at this airport but after getting a $40US credit card charge for BurgerKing in Santo Domingo a time before, I wasn't going to buy anything if I didn't have to. The hotel has hospitality rooms for having a shower before you leave. You book at the time you check out at noon and you get 20 minutes for the two of you. They phoned the room right on the button to see if we had left yet. When you check out they should give you a little ticket which you will need to get on the transport to the airport. Some people didn't seem to have been given one so had to run back to the desk and get it.

The airport check in went pretty quickly but then everyone had to get into one snake like line which you don't know where it was because everyone you asked just said 'over there'. The purpose of this was only to show your ticket to one guy who then let you go through to customs. Inside was comfortable but way to noisy as the speakers were going every other minute and it just echoed so you never knew what was being said unless you were in the washroom.

My brother and I visited Club Carabela during March Break (March 3-11, 2005) and we loved it! We stayed in the 2000 building and our balcony was overlooking the main pool with the swim-up bar. I would recommend this building as it is close to the buffet, lobby, shops, pools, entertainment, casino and beach. We loved it. The room was clean and comfortable. Nothing fancy, but very nice.

THE STAFF
The staff at this resort is just wonderful. We were treated like special guests. Everyone was very friendly, helpful and fun to be around. Some outstanding staff members(say hi to them from me) are Gilberto Santana (buffet restaurant manager), Cedano, Pablo(lobby bar), Fiordoliza, Juan Ramirez(front desk), Beinvenido(pool bar) and ther other lady who managed the pool bar (I`m sorry I forget her name). Seriously, I enjoyed the staff so much. If you want a wonderful massage I would highly recommend Zaneida who works at the spa on the resort (you`ll find it in the hair salon) I`ve had lots of massages from Massage Therapists in Canada and I can tell you she is as good as I`ve ever had here at home. Awesome! Tell her I said hello. Everyone was so friendly and always had a beautiful smile to share, a laugh or greeting. They were funny, sociable and always in a good mood. The disco is so much fun too. Lots of dancing and the staff members are willing to show you how to dance!! I loved it!!! The entertainment committee is hilarious. They are energetic and full of life. They get you in the mood to party, relax and have fun. You can really forget your work or any stress when you stay at this resort.
You must go PUNTA CANA AND BAVARO BEACH. I had the time of my life. Have a great vacation!

THE BEACH
I loved the beach too and spent most of my time there. It was super! Lots of shade if you like.

My husband, 12 year old son and I stayed at the Carabella from March 28 to April 4. We chose this resort after reading the reviews and because kids 12 under stay and eat free so we only had to pay for our son's airfare.

For the price this resort is a great value.

The Beach
As stated in other reviews, there are many shade trees along the shore. Palm trees and some type of pine trees that shed their needles. There are spots under the sand where the tree roots jut out and I stubbed my feet on them until I learned to look out for them. The pine needles and twigs can be very picky on your feet also so I chose to wear sandals when walking to and from the beach bar and restrooms. The resorts nearby the Carabela have much nicer beach fronts. It would be nice if they would clear out some of the trees to make the beach nicer. The other resorts have palapas for shade; the Carabela doesn't need them with all the trees.

Down by the water the sand is lovely to walk barefoot on. By 5 pm you can no longer find open areas for sunbathing, so if we wanted more sun we would take a walk along the beach or go sit up by the main pool nearest the lobby.

The beach bar is great because you can go in anytime between 10 am and 5 pm and help yourself to cold water bottles, pop, juice or beer. They also serve hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries and pizza. There is a soft serve ice cream cone dispenser also.

Pools
There are three. There is the large one with a swim-up bar but they didn't serve drinks to people in the water, maybe for safety/sanitation reasons. There is a large roof over part of the pool so you and your kids can get out of the sun while swimming if you want some shade. This pool is deeper at one end and they also do scuba demonstrations here.

There is a nice bar that above the swim-up area and also a coffee machine where you can even get espresso with milk or hot chocolate. This bar had the best blender drinks we found. My favorite was the banana dacquiri, not too sweet. My husband liked the sweeter coco loco drink.

Bars
Top shelf brands of liquor are available but not included in the all inclusive plan.
There is a disco open after 11 pm. We went in it once the first night we arrived. None of the drinks in the disco are included in the AI plan, they are around $3 each. We didn't stay long for that reason.

The lobby bar serves excellent cappucinos; frothy with cinnamon. The other two pools are very nice also. One is by building 10000 and has a cool water jacuzzi (I had read in an earlier review that it was boiling hot; this was not the case during the week I was here). The rooms here are poolside and you can walk right out to the pool from your balcony on the main floor.

Accomodations
We stayed in building 1000, it was very nice and clean. I never saw a single insect. It's centrally located so it's an equal walking distance to the beach or the restaurants, theater, lobby. The resort is a nice size for walking around to wherever you want to go. Our room was modern with elevators and key cards. The older buildings (e.g. 6000, 5000) have metal keys instead and no elevators. The A/C worked great in our room. You have to keep one of your hotel cards in a slot to keep the electricity running. You can use an expired credit card or something similar to keep it going. One day the power went out for about an hour in the entire resort; they had it back in operation and there was no trouble after that.

The flusher handle broke off our toilet one day; someone from maintenance was there to fix it within 20 minutes.
The staff at the Carabella are excellent. Very prompt and friendly.
All the rooms have refrigators (not stocked, we would bring bottled water back and fill it) as well as balconies. We could see the ocean from ours even though we weren't right on the beach. The best building in my opinion is building 9000. It is right on the beach in a more cleared out area and has a thatched palm roof. It looks the most modern. I think this might be the one that has junior suites.

Building 6000 is close to the beach but is one of the older buildings.
When we checked in we were told we couldn't get one of the buildings close to the beach as the resort was full. It never felt crowded however. There were always plenty of beach chairs available both on the beach and by the pools.

Check-in itself was a breeze. They served us fruit punch welcome drinks and took our luggage up to the room for us. We were able to get a room on second floor as we requested.

Activities/Entertainment
The animation team is excellent! They have scheduled activities all day long if you care to participate. My favorites were water aerobics in the ocean at noon and in the main pool in the late afternoon. The staff is wonderful and we had a lot of fun playing various games on the beach such as bocci ball, horseshoes, darts, shuffleboard, ping pong, schoulen, etc.

If you win at a certain activity they call you up on stage at the theater at night and you are presented with a diploma and a bottle of Brugal rum.

We always looked forward to seeing the children's mini disco on stage at 9 pm each night. They danced to some very catchy tunes in both English and Spanish. The same animation team that worked all day long at the beach led the evening entertainment as well. I am impressed at how much effort they put in all day long and into the night.

The stage acts in the evening were amateur but not bad. We've seen similar shows at the Iberstar where we stayed in Puerto Plata. The ones at the the Carabella weren't nearly as elaborate and the dancers did not have the same level of talent.

Usually I was too tired from being in the sun all day to stay up past 10 anyway and I would go to bed by this time. Punta Cana has the most amazing sunrises as it is on the East Coast of the DR. I often would set the alarm on my cell phone (there aren't any alarm clocks in the room) and get up by 6:30 to see the sun come up.

We didn't go on any excursions as we preferred to relax and enjoy the resort.
We had read on previous reviews that there was a mini-golf course at the Carabella. My son was disappointed as this no longer exists. They are constructing a building in its place.

When he got tired of the sun and the pools he would watch the couple channels on TV that were in English, such as the Sci-Fi channel. The TV was little, maybe a 13". Some friends we met who stayed in building 10000 had a much larger TV.

Water Sports
My husband and I love snorkeling but didn't want to spend money taking an excursion. We heard from another couple that the snorkeling was best if you walked down the beach to the left past where they rent the boat taxis (in the swimming area in front of the Palladium resort complex). You can see the reefs close to the buoys. Here we saw big Angel fish, marlins, as well as others I can't name. There are some reefs at Carabella also but it is a much farther swim out to the buoys and not as many big fish here. We would bring hard rolls from the breakfast buffet to feed them.
We have our own snorkel gear but you can get it from the resort. My son wanted to rent a boogie board but they only had one and it was busted in half. There are kayaks you can use that are included in the all-inclusive.

The water is so pretty, that beautiful tranquil aqua color like you see in Cancun and other Carribbean locations.
The sand is the best in all the world for walking, soft like brown sugar and you can walk and walk and never cut your feet up as there are no busted up shells in it.

Restaurants/Buffet
The food at the buffet was very good and you could always find something you liked. The buffet itself wasn't as big and sumptuous as other places I've stayed in the DR (e.g. Iberostar or LTI) but the quality was comparable.

You have to help yourself to beverages (other resorts I've been to they wait on you) but this was no big deal. They have beer and wine as well as coffee, juice and bottled water. We tried 3 of the a la carte restaurants and they were all wonderful. The best was the gourmet/international. Here you can get grilled lobster (you have to ask for a separate menu) for $15; it was excellent. The first night we didn't know that so I ordered a boneless chicken breast which was superb also.

The italian restaurant was okay but I liked the Mexican restaurant better. We didn't try the crepe restaurant. The restaurant reservations can be made at the breakfast buffet after 7a.m. The first morning I tried making a reservation around 8:00 a.m. and they were all full except the Italian. They only take reservations for that same day. So the next morning I made the reservation for the gourmet restaurant right away at 7 am.

You can always eat at the main buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The a la carte restaurants open at 7 pm. One night they had a special Spanish celebration at the main buffet and they had vendors in the lobby selling jewelry, paintings and other souvenirs.

There is a street with vendors who are very pushy where you can barter for items such as t-shirts, etc. The hotel has a gift shop too where you can buy similar items. Check to see what the prices are in the gift shop so you don't end paying more than that to the street vendors. There are also vendors right on the beach in both directions, a short distance from the resort.

The weather has been excellent both times we've been to Punta Cana; last year we stayed in January at the LTI. We liked that resort as well as Carabella. The beach is better at LTI but the staff is much nicer at Carabella and there was no activity program at LTI. The rooms were much nicer at Carabella and the a la carte restaurants were far better.

I would definitely return to Carabella for the price we paid. If they cleaned up the trees on the beach it would be a big improvement.

We stayed at this hotel for 5 days over Easter (March, 2005). I booked with Vacation Outlet on the internet. I thought the price was good considering we were there over a holiday. Overall I think the hotel was nice, however, having stayed before at Iberostar, we are a bit spoiled. The hotel is probably a 3 star, not 4 as advertised.

Rooms: The room is very basic. They gave us a loft room as it was myself, my husband and our 13 year old daughter. The loft has a double and single bed, no TV, the a/c didn't work well up there. The main room had a double and a single with bolsters, sort of like a daybed. Bathroom was OK. Housekeeping was not wonderful. We had a small fridge which was turned off when we arrived and was never stocked with even water our whole stay. Water can be had in several spots around the resort and is free but not brought to your room. Our room was on the 3rd floor, where all the loft rooms are. Elevator did not work so we had to walk up. Our room 1039 did face the ocean and had a nice view.

Food: The buffet was OK. Very much the same each night. Salads were good and they did have several kinds each night. The meats were usually tough and I didn't care for them. My husband loved the fish and raved about it. No seafood other than fish. The only restaurant we were able to get was the Creperie on the beach after tipping the guy $5. At first he said everything was filled. There is an International rest. and a Mexican one. At the Creperie we were served 2 very large crepes filled with steak, pork and ham with vegs (we got 3 different one to try them). No other accompaniments. No salad. The dessert was more crepes with ice cream and candied fruits. The baked goods like bread, croissants, etc. were good. For lunch we ate at the snack bar on the beach. Hotdogs, hamburgers (cooked to the max) pizza and fries. Some days the bread was very stale, one day it was fresh and good. Water is available here as well as a soda fountain and Presidente beer self-serve.

The swim-up pool bar was not manned and you had to call the waiter down to order or get out and get your drink and get back in the pool. Contrary to other reviews, the pool was clean most days, it was murky one day at night. The staff always seemed to be cleaning the pool and around it.

Bars: There is a lobby bar which opens at 6:00. Only local liquor and beer is available. My husband drinks Absolute and had to pay $3. USD for each drink. I ordered Sambuca and was charged $3. I do drink rum so I bought a Capt. Morgan at the duty free in Miami and asked the bartender, Julia, to keep it for me which she did. The beach bar is convenient and not crowded. The swim-up pool bar was not manned and you had to call the waiter down to order or get out and get your drink and get back in the pool. There is a bar right next to the stage and another one behind the stage which services the quiet pool.

Pools: There are 3, the swim-up pool bar, the quiet pool with jacuzzi (not hot contrary to other reports) and one other closer to the beach. The pools all appeared to be clean and the staff was always cleaning them and around them.

What we really enjoyed was the little shopping village, El Cortecito which is right next to the hotel. There are a few sidewalk cafes, and 2 or 3 restaurants as well as lots and lots of little souvenir shops. The owners get pushy sometimes. You really need to bargain and start to walk away to get a good price. There are also places to book excursions along the beach. We wanted to go on the quad bikes, but being Easter week, many were not open. We did find one. Rancho Caribeno which is in the Uvero Alto area about 1 hour away. We were picked up right on time and driven there is an airconditioned van. We asked the driver to stop at Iberostar Punta Cana to get a look at it and will be going there in July (looks great). The quad tour was a lot of fun, driving thru rice paddies, a few villages, passing a big bull with huge horns chasing after a truck carrying her baby while people walking along the road ran for safety, stopped at a village and gave away a big suitcase full of toys, Tshirts, baseballs, girlie stuff, etc. The people were so nice and I can't wait to see the photos. We were disappointed when a police officer made us leave the beach while driving the quads. They also have horses and you can do both on the same day if you like.

Just returned from the Club Carabela in Punta Cana. This was quite a lovely resort with something for everyone. My husband and I stayed in building six thousand. We did read the reviews on this resort before we left and kept and open mind. We were pleasantly surprised. This was our third trip to the Dominican. We did compare it to our other trips at resorts that were rated 4 and 5 stars.
It is quite close to the airport, check in was very fast and the Bellman very efficient.

The beach was the best yet for the beaches sake, sugar white sand, raked every morning, turquoise water. There were a few topless women and nasty speedos belonging to aged and overweight Europeans. Quite humorous!

The buffet was good, the a la carte restaurants better, the ambiance wonderful! No problem getting reservations for these at the Buffet restaurant in the morning. The drinks were okay. The cappuccinos at the grill the best, the chocolate, vanilla ice cream machine there, was also popular.

Depending on what you like accommodation wise, there are several choices. The 6, 7, and 8 thousand series buildings are older but quieter, most with ocean views. The double beds were a bit tired and need updating, but comfortable. The AC worked so well that we shut it off at night and left the sliding glass doors open at night (they have screens) so that we could feel the ocean breezes and hear the waves lapping. There were no blankets on the beds, just sheets and bedspread. The 10,000 series building is very new and all rooms overlook an incredible pool. The 3,000 building I would not recommend, the 1,4 and 5000 buildings are newer with elevators, many with ocean views and these are a little livelier if that is what you like, as they are closer to the lobby and swim-up bar pool.
The grounds were gorgeous, I didn't find the fleas, blackbirds, peacocks or mosquitoes to be a problem at all. The staff were very helpful. Check out is at 12 noon. We did not depart until 7:00 pm. The resort offered us a room to shower in before we left. This was an added bonus. We brought our own towels and facecloths. Internet access at the hotel consists of two computers. It costs $6 US for 30 minutes or $10 US for 1 hour. The small village area to the left of the resort has three Internet connections. Atlantico connection is at the end of the village and it cost $2.75 US for one hour. Both places had msn messenger. The other two internet connections were just outside the resort. Price $3. US for one hour, no msn messenger.

We enjoyed the self-serve depots, the ample closet space, the room refrigerators, bottled water was plentiful, the resort bathrooms, clean and very nice. We did not avail ourselves of the casino. We did not try the watersports as we were there mainly to rest. We stayed for two of the evening shows but did not find them that entertaining. The televisions are quite small, no remotes and not too many stations.

We recently returned for a two week stay at Club Carabella Beach resort If you are slightly susceptible to flea bites- do not go to this resort. If you are concerned about mosquitos- then you had better stay away. If you are concerned about open air restaurants with black birds freely flying in to feast on the buffet trays- then pick another resort. These are my concerns and if I had been made aware- then I wouldn't have gone.

If these do not worry you then you will find the three a-la carte restaurants have excellent service and food. You will also find that all of the staff are overly friendly and very helpful.

My girlfriend and I spent a week at this resort from the 22nd to the 29th of January. We loved this place.

The Grounds - This resort has beautifully manicured gardens throughout. The plants are super and the little tropical pond infront of the main entrance with its flamingoes and peacocks is quite impressive. The reception hall, the 3 pools and all the buildings are pleasing to the eye. The peacocks roaming the gardens give you the feeling that you are truly in nature.

Food and Beverage - The all inclusive food buffet was really fantastic, over the week, we found everything we could possibly think of. Beef, Pork, Goat, Rabbit, Turkey, chicken, Fish, Seafood .. you name it we had it. They have an open grill where the selection of meat is cooked fresh infront of your eyes. They have food trays with rice, vegetables, stews, pasta and almost anything you can dream of. Breakfast had all possible breads, muffins, danish, crecents, rolls and toast plus all possible egg combinations cooked infront of your eyes as you request them. There is a salad buffet, a desert buffet, a cheese buffet, a bar .. its all totally delicous. The a la carte dinners in the Mexican, Italian and International Restaurents provided us with special romantic evening dinners. The food was as good as that of the Buffet.

Service - The people at the reception where super helpful, very supportive and curtious. The phone operator, the Internet provider, the bagage handlers, the room cleaning staff, the waiters, the barmen, the entertainment staff, the sport and aqua center staff were a joy to deal with. They are all worth every single $ tip we gave them.

Room - We had a room on the second floor of building 6000. It had a view of the beach. It had two double {queen ?} beds that were super comfortable despite the fact that the bed is a wood board base instead of a box spring. The sheets, pillow cases, towels were changed. Toilet paper, soap, shampoo was ample. We left a $ for the room service lady every day. Our room was always impecable. There are many buildings that face the beach. Buildings 1000, 5000, 7000 and 8000 are just as good as the 6000. The best of them all is building 9000 which only has junior suites with a king size bed and costs $25 more per person per night based on double occupancy.

Beach - The beach had great white clean soft sand with many coconut trees and 100's of beach chairs. It was never a problem to find beach chairs or fresh beach towels at any time of day. The beach is protected by a coral reef running parrallel to the shore at about 300 meters out. The water is pure turquoise blue. The beach bar was great, the Hamburger, hot dog, fries and pizza all day beach snack service was really good between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner. The entertainment group provided disco music, aerobic classes, resort dance practice and volly ball tournaments.

Aqua Centre - The aqua center had Kayaks and Catamarans that you need to book. We always got the Catamaran at the hour we booked it. There is snorkelling equipment, but unless you are a very good swimmer and able to swim about 300 meters to the coral reef, you will not be able to do any snorkeling. We had to pay $ 20 each to get a motorboat to take us to the reef for an hour of snorkeling and bring us back. There is diving equipment and there are many excursions, like party boat, catamarn snorkeling, safari, manatee parc, Saona Island visit by Catamaran and other activities.These can all be booked at the aqua center.

Night life - The enatertainment group performed super dance shows on the huge resort theatre everynight. There were very funny shows where the guests participated. After the show, it was everybody to the Disco and Salsa till 3 in the morning. There were also a couple of bars on the shopping strip outside the hotel.

Shopping - There is a street just outside the hotel running parallel to the beach. It is called El Cortesico and its just full of shops. All the shop keepers want to invite you to see their store. They have very nice things. Their Starting prices are completely out of touch with world reality. Generally you start bargaining at 25% of the asking price and finish buying at 30% of what they ask. The Merchants also come inside the resort with their tables on Friday night and they offer everything for sale. Still you bargain with them the same way as when you visit thier store. The only reasonable prices are in the Airport when you are leaving the country. The locals food and Rhum store is outside the hotel main entrance. Take a right till the end of the road and then take a left. Its about a 300 meter walk. Rhum at the local price costs about 70% of what is asked in the tourist stores.

we were at the carabela hotel, punta cana for 1 week over christmas 2004. 2 adults and our 2 teenagers.
the good things,
nice beach, lots of self motivated sports and games, nice pools, great pool side bars, bartenders were friendly, pretty resort, lots of vegatation, peacocks are pretty the not so great things, musty damp rooms, air conditioning did not work(room at 78-80) sometimes only 2 towels for showering(no mat, no facecloths, no hand towel), patio doors did not lock on either room, staff was nice but not overly happy to provide service (did not smile alot), nothing to eat late afternoon (everything closed)beach was very shaded, okay if thats what you want. mostly spoke in every other language but english at the night shows and during activities during the day, they forgot to translate to english.