Whala! Bavaro

This hotel has so much potential but needs to rectify some things, we stayed in a superior room which I would recommend, it has a great roof top infinity swimming pool which looks out to sea, the only problem is the bar is not part of the all inclusive and the drinks are expensive, the hotels beach area is very small and can get packed,there was always plenty of sun beds around the different pools, the hotel overall is clean and there is constant maintenance. The negative thing’s that could do with improving, food is very bland and not a great variety, other than in the restaurant all drinks are served in small plastic beakers ( you can get a drink in a glass at the sky bar which you have to pay for), the service at the bars are slow and you can stand there and be ignored by the staff. The entertainment in the evening was poor and not enough table and chairs to cater for everyone. The area it’s self is good, just up the road are some great restaurant’s, the beach to the right of the hotel is a great walk and go’s on for miles, there beach bars for refreshments. I would return to the Dominican Republic but I would try a different hotel.

Stayed here for 2 weeks in November and it didn’t get off to the best start, got shown to a room with someone else’s luggage in, went back to reception and shown to another room we couldn’t get into, so went back a third time and got put into a room with intermittent running water and electricity, only one bedside lamp worked and the shower would stop working whilst you were in it, went to reception to report the problem and they said it happens a lot and didn’t really care to much, so we emailed TUI who responded quick and apologised and we were then upgraded to the ocean beach view room. The door frame fell off every time we walked into the room and bed sheets were only changed after I had stripped the bed, in which the undersheet had brown marks on. Food was not great, the people that are stating the food is good must have the most basic of basic tastebuds. We ate mostly at the beach bar (Danny was always so friendly), a lot of bar staff were rude, we found they would serve locals first. You got given water dispenser cups to drink out of, which when you’re paying £1000 each you expect something a little better. Pools were clean though and mostly quiet, so you could always get a sun bed. A lot of locals come at the weekends. Entertainment was okay if you could speak Spanish (we don’t). Thankfully we met 3 other couples who made the evenings much better. Would 100% go back to Dominican Republic, but would never stay here again!

I stayed here for 1 week from the 19th November with my partner. The staff were amazing, very helpful and welcoming especially Aris at reception. We booked through TUI and even though the hotel had been renovated recently, it was definitely not 4 star. Me and my partner saved up for months for this trip of a lifetime. We arrived at 7pm after 9 hours of travelling we were starving so made our way to the buffet restaurant. I have a severe nut allergy and tried to explain to one of the waiters that i needed to be told what i could and couldn't have. However, the translation was terrible. I went to reception to explain and they just told me to go back the next morning to someone who can talk english, which was terrible! The room we stopped in which we paid a lot for was terrible, the shower didn't work and the light didn't work. I reported it to reception and someone came up to fix the shower leaving muddy footprints all in the shower and through the room. We moved rooms to another one, which the shower once again didn't work and the tap kept going deep brown in colour, someone tried to come up at 10:30pm!! to fix it when we were asleep but after 5 continuous knocks, we got up and answered them. The food was terrible, it was never cooked properly and for some reason, the food was never hot it was between cold and luke warm. So we lived on the snack bar. I can't understand how they didn't realise this as there was someone going round checking the food. The hotel shop also charged us £40 for 2 tubs of pringles, 1 bottle of cola, and an anklet which is ridiculous! We met 3 other couples while there and they were shocked how much we paid for the holiday, they paid £800pp for 2 weeks all inclusive and me and my partner paid £1000pp for 1 week all inclusive for the exact same disappointment! After talking with them, we realised we were not the only ones disappointed with this holiday. So please take this as a precaution just i in case you are thinking of going here. We saved up for ages for this and are truly disappointed.