Beautiful Property, Average Amenities, Party Crowd

The Catalonia Bavaro Beach is a simply stunning resort. The white-sand beaches bedecked with palm trees, quiet romantic corners, giant resort-style pool, and delicious drinks all exceeded expectations. My boyfriend and I had such a great week relaxing on the Privileged Beach at the amazing Pure Bar, enjoying a dip in the pool, and taking romantic walks around the resort. Where the property fell short, however, was on little details and processes. As a 5-star hotel, we expected a lot. While the Privileged Room was gorgeous (especially the huge bathroom with double sinks and shower!!), we only had two towels in our room at arrival - no hand towels, face cloths - two thin pillows, no robes, no slippers, etc. We had to request all these things, which the staff eventually provided, but there was always something not properly restocked when housekeeping redid the room. We were also a bit disappointed by the COVID closures. All of the unique features of the hotel (swim-up bar, juice bar, creperie) were closed due to COVID, which wasn't advertised anywhere on the website. It was disappointing to arrive and realize some of the things we were most excited for weren't open. The COVID tests, which are free so long as you have a green card/are American and cost $20 if you're not, were a mess. When we showed up for testing, there was no order to the crowd, and people were shouting and swearing at each other. Eventually, a hotel guest stepped up and organized everything. However, we had to go to guest services 3 times to get our results as they were never emailed to us, and we saw many others the morning of their departure who still didn't have results. The food at the restaurants was amazing (Esp the Rodeo Steakhouse), but the buffet food was average and repetitive. I'm also mostly gluten- and dairy-free, which meant I either had to embrace getting sick, or my options were limited. Most importantly, the resort got really crowded on the weekends, and the crowd wasn't really our speed. Lots of large families super into partying, taking videos of themselves singing and getting drunk at the pool, smoking/vaping, etc. This is just personal preference, but I like to go on vacation to relax and enjoy a book at the beach, so I didn't love being surrounded by that atmosphere. One night, a fellow guest was playing loud music at 4am, and we had to call security twice to finally get him to turn it off. While there were a lot of misses on the details, we did overall enjoy our experience here. I personally may have chosen a different resort if I knew the vibe here, but ultimately, the value for money was still incredible. Coming here for one week and getting all of our food/drink included was less than NYC rent, and we got to enjoy the beach and pool every day. Final tip - check to see the seaweed situation in Bavaro Beach before booking! It was fine when we left, but when we arrived, we couldn't enjoy the beach and the smell was awful.

ELIZABETH BLOSSOM BOWLES07-06-21

Love Catalonia

Best service! can not wait to go back :)

LUCIA ROMERO01-06-21

Yana from customer service

All employees where very professional, but manager Yana took it even a step further and helped us with dealing with a difficult situation. While on vacation our dog was hit by a car back home. We had previously booked an excursion but were unable to go due to us staying up al night trying to get an earlier flight back to the usa. The employee of the excursion company refused to refund the money we had already paid and became very rude. In our desperation we turned to Yana at the hotel and she was able to speak to the company and get the issue resolved.

ABEL DELGADO PLASENCIO28-05-21

Great stay even during covid times

I had a great time. The resort was amazing, especially considering its cost. All the employees were amazing and kept the guests well entertained, from guest services to bartenders to entertainment employees. I don't remember all their names, but Coca-cola, Ava, and Leslie are some of them.

TANAY SHAILESH TAK17-05-21

Vacation

We truly enjoyed our stay. The staff was very accommodating and friendly. We loved all of the activities and restaurants. The entire experience was very very relaxing and enjoyable. We had to be moved to another room due to the AC being out. Guest services checked on us several times to assure our new accommodations were sufficient abs we were pleased. We are excited to visit again soon!

TERESA JOAN DAVIS09-05-21

Felt like I was in Paradise

This was the beat vacation I had in a very long time. Staff was amazing and very accommodating

KATHRINA NERRISA ALI27-04-21

Buena atención y comodidad

Excelente hotel, con una área verde hermosa, tranquilo para relajarse y pasarla bien en familia... La cama de la habitación super cómoda... Su comida buena la atención de su personal de servicio todos son muy amable, especialmente Kenia la señora del buffet, sin dudarlo volvería a ir en mi próximas vacaciones.

JOSE MIGUEL CARRION22-04-21

Good

Nice Beach Spacious room Service poor

serge bugnon12-04-21

Mostly good experience with some lessons for next trip

I had a great time. Celebrated my 41st birthday. I stayed for 5 nights in the lowest price Junior Suite. It was my first time in Punta Cana, and I was travelling solo. Since I didn't intend on being in the room much, I did not upgrade. I would say that the room was clean and served the purpose but showing signs of age, along with other parts of the resort. The toilet was leaking out the bottom and the flush mechanism broke during my stay. The flush strength was poor. I didn't want to spend my vacation fixing a toilet. I let the front desk know and the facilities engineer did replace the handle mechanism but did nothing about the leak. I put a towel on the floor and lived with it for the duration of my stay. Covid safety precautions by staff were adequate. I did not feel like it was too little or too much to navigate. But I would recommend they put a sign on the Covid testing office. Obtaining the Covid test results to get back to US required a little effort on my part. Made multiple visits to Guest Services to see if they received the email. Would have been nice touch if they called, emailed, or delivered the results. I could already see that they were minimally staffed and having to prioritize. The vendors that were allowed to sell items in the resort were a bit pushy at times but understandably so. I did not mind them so much but could see others finding this an issue. The pool was nice but here I would probably have liked to have stayed at Royal adult only side. Non Executive Club member drinks were good but could be improved. The plastic cups seem old. I was not a fan of the pineapple syrup used for drinks, would've preferred fresh. No other beer than Presidente. The food was good. I imagine Covid has impacted their selection and quality. I found something to eat and like at every meal but not so much to love. There was a rum cake I had at Yucca that was my favorite thing there. The steakhouse steaks were a bit tough and food was not hot but I was hungry and ate everything. I did not book this all inclusive with high expectations for the food, so I was not disappointed. Buffet is what you make it. Did not pay much attention to the late night entertainment but could hear the music, and the other guests seemed to enjoy what was offered. The staff friendliness was a huge highlight. Whether it was checking in at the hostess stands or getting information from concierge, Jean Luis, I was always greeted with a smile. The wind was high during my stay so the ocean was not prime for snorkeling but still found it accessible. If I went back to Bavaro Beach, I would stay at Royal adult side and get a better room. After watching some videos of Punta Cana trips during the same week, I would probably look to stay closer to the Caribean Sea side. It seems a bit calmer waters.

JAMES WILLIAM THOMPSON02-04-21

I felt so welcomed

My stay was amazing only because of vacation concierges Holando and Dalliance! They very absolutely amazing and made my stay the best as it could possibly be. I will miss those two so much! These gentleman deserve a rise. Also i cant forget about the greatest bartender Isaac. I love Catalonia Bavaro only because of the friendly and kind staff. The made me feel safe, welcomed and created a very special environment.

Tina Tobolová01-04-21

PERFECT STAY

This was my 6th time at Catalonia.Always a great time. The food was very good, all of the workers at the Buffett were so professional. Thank you Brianda for always taking care of us. I stayed in the privlleged delux family suite, our housekeeper was perfect and kept out room very clean. I can;t wait to return. Thanks again everyone who works at catalonia punta cana.

LANCE KLEINKNECHT29-03-21

Fun Week

For the most part we had a really nice week! We thought that the resort was gorgeous and drinks were strong! Food was not good and COVID restrictions were frustrating at times. I think those should be put on the website.

STEVEN MICHAEL RISI22-03-21

Catalonia

Awesome

EDWIN DAVID CRUZ GONZALES18-02-21

My review

My review

PAUL MORELLI13-02-21

your team works hard but majority of the Russian guests act very rude

The Catalonia team works very hard to give guests a good stay but some of yout guestes act as headens and pigs. In particular your russian guests act incredibley rude: - on the beach they order tons of drinks they dont drink. Leave their garbage behind on the beach - with buffet the same. Collect and ask for a lot of food which a large amount goes to the trash can - in public areas such as the pool table they bring speakers and play very hard russian music - and to top it off saw two couples having sex in the spa area at around 21.45 right after the evening shows. On the path were they had sex families with their children would pass after the show

Mustafa Ahmadi16-12-20

¡Los mejores días de mi vida !

Sin duda fueron unos días mágicos , llenos de alegría y diversión

SUJEY MARIE MERCADO RIV RA01-12-20

VACATION OCT 2020

5th time in the DR, 5th different resort. Everything was beautiful from the resort to the beach. Traveling during Covid was much different with less happening in the way of events and entertainment however it was a much needed Relaxing vacation. Food was good- it is pretty much the same at all resorts I have attended. Drinks was fantastic!! Thanks to Carlos at the beach bar and Yohannan & Miguel at the privilaged bar and Michael at the lobby bar. They made it a point to get to know us and take great care of us during our stay. All the staff from check in to wait staff was so nice and attenative. Take it from someone who has traveled many places in the carribean and multiple visit to the DR....Do not pay attention to any negative reviews. Food is never the same outside of your home country but you can always find something to eat here. If not maybe traveling out of the country may not be best for you. Vacation in the DR is about the beautiful beach, water, drinks and relaxing and Catalonia gets an A+ for this. The Alegria Spa is absoutely amazing. During my stay I have a 50min and an 80 min deep tissue massage with Rosa- both experiences were top knotch. Best deep tissue massage I have ever had. Our stay was for 7 days and all 7 days were absoutely Amazing.

SHANNON BROWN08-10-20

Great experience!

Before my stay I was expecting the food and service to not be the best because of other reviews I had read, but it turned out to be great! All the staff was very helpful and friendly and the food, especially at the a la carte restaurants was delicious!

Maggie Ruetz GRACE02-10-20

Great staffing

The staffing treat me very well, the room had some issues and I was not comfortable with. The air conditioner was no working, the only fan didn't turn on, bathroom had a really bad odor you couldn't stand. Other than that it was a good experience.

Jose Montero01-10-20

All in clusive Hotel

Tolle Bungalows, gutes Essen und gutes Corona Konzept

Wolfgang kretschmer01-10-20

excelente servicio

todo excelente, solo un poco mas de mariscos en el buffet

Vicki Reyes28-08-20

Excellent hôtel, je le recommande sans hésiter.

C'est un très bel hôtel, la piscine est magnifique, plus belle en vrai que sur les photos même. L'aménagement du jardin est plus que beau, c'est apaisant, on se sent en pleine nature. Il y a plein d'oiseaux qui se promènent sur le site dont des genres de hérons blancs aux pattes noires (ils volent, ils n'ont pas les ailes coupés). C'est très propre. Le personnel est extrêmement aimable. J'ai mangé comme une reine, la nourriture était excellente. Bravo à eux car ils travaillent tous avec un masque à longueur de journée, ça ne doit pas être évident avec la chaleur et l'humidité. À faire attention par contre pour le restaurant japonais, il ne faut absolument pas être en retard sinon on ne nous permet pas d'entrer. Je trouve que ce détail -important- devrait être mentionné lorsque nous faisons la réservation. C'était ordinaire de se faire refuser comme ça alors que nous n'étions pas au courant.

ANNICK CHARETTE26-08-20

Catalonia Bravo Family Resort

Beautiful resort and affordable too. Really felt like a trip to paradise.

Cynthia Clore25-08-20

Enjoy and be safe this is the one.

This is the best and you stay safe. Have fun at a distance from the other guest and enjoy life and a nice vacation in one of the best places, in the Dominican republic

Tracey Contreras Mayer15-08-20

Excellent vacation into the pandemic

Was very relaxing vacation exactly what we needed to scape from the pandemic situation in our town.

LUZ LOZANO CUYOS13-08-20