Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

16319 reviews

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  “A Holiday of High Expectations but Mixed Experiences”

  We arrived at Catalonia Bávaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort after saving for a long time and were really looking forward to our much-anticipated holiday. Unfortunately, our experience was very mixed, particularly considering that we paid extra for the Privileged Package. After a 10-hour flight, we were disappointed to find that the lobby had no air conditioning and was extremely hot. There was also only one member of staff handling a very large number of guests at reception, resulting in a long and uncomfortable check-in process. Unfortunately, we were not given any information about the benefits included in our Privileged Package. We were initially allocated a top-floor room, only to discover that the air conditioning was not working. The hotel was apparently already aware of the issue, which was particularly disappointing as working rooms were available on the lower floors. We eventually received another room, but unfortunately this room was also in poor condition. There were mosquitoes, bathroom lights that did not work, damaged fixtures, stains on the walls and floor, a dirty showerhead, and a balcony door that would not lock properly. Considering the additional cost of the Privileged Package, we expected a much higher standard of room maintenance. The Privileged Beach area was also disappointing. During our stay, there was a significant amount of seaweed along the beach and in the water, making the sea difficult to access and creating an unpleasant smell. We appreciate that this is partly seasonal and outside the hotel’s control, but it unfortunately meant that we were unable to enjoy an important part of the package. The pool area was much more enjoyable, although it became extremely crowded later in the morning, with long queues at the bar and difficulty finding available sunbeds. One area where the hotel deserves considerable praise is the food. The restaurants and main buffet offered excellent, tasty food, and the staff were generally friendly and welcoming. The resort itself is also beautifully maintained, with stunning scenery and plenty of local wildlife. Unfortunately, the frequent presence of outside vendors selling excursions and souvenirs significantly affected our overall experience. On several occasions, markets were set up around the resort, sometimes blocking exits, and we were repeatedly approached by vendors who continued to pressure us even after we politely declined. This became uncomfortable enough that we began taking alternative routes around the hotel to avoid them. We were disappointed that more was not done by hotel management and security to address this. Overall, we are leaving with very mixed feelings. Catalonia Bávaro has many positive qualities, including excellent food, beautiful surroundings, friendly staff, and great potential. However, the condition and maintenance of our rooms, the initial air-conditioning situation, and the persistent vendor activity significantly affected what was supposed to be a special and long-awaited holiday. I genuinely believe the resort could provide an excellent experience if these issues were addressed. We would consider returning in the future if improvements were made, but for now, we will likely explore other destinations for our next holiday

  Sep 08, 2026
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  Serious room problems affected our holiday

  Unfortunately, our experience at Catalonia Bávaro fell well below what we expected from a resort of this standard. Our original room (2921) had inadequate air conditioning in the heat and humidity of Punta Cana. We reported the problem to the hotel and were initially provided with an old portable fan, which was simply not an adequate substitute for functioning air conditioning. We spent an extremely uncomfortable night and were unable to sleep properly. The room also had a very strong sewage/fecal-type smell and wet flooring around the toilet area, which caused us concern about the condition of the bathroom. During the night, a helpful receptionist gave us temporary access to another room so that we could try to sleep. Although the air conditioning was better there, unfortunately that room had an extremely strong damp/mouldy smell and visible water/moisture near the ventilation/air-conditioning area. Despite being exhausted, we were unable to sleep properly there either. Unfortunately, the overall customer service was also very disappointing. At several points we felt that our concerns were not being treated with the urgency or attention they deserved, despite repeatedly explaining how seriously the room conditions were affecting us. We often felt that we had to keep chasing for assistance rather than the hotel proactively trying to resolve the situation. This left us feeling that our comfort and wellbeing as guests were not being prioritised. I do, however, want to recognise the night receptionist, who was polite, helpful and genuinely tried to assist us. There were some other staff members who were also kind, so my criticism is not directed at every individual employee, but at our overall experience of how the situation was handled. The Wi-Fi in our accommodation was also extremely poor and unreliable. This became particularly frustrating because I needed to communicate with TUI about the problems we were experiencing and had to rely on my own mobile data to do so. After considerable disruption, we were eventually moved to Catalonia Royal Bávaro, where the standard and comfort were significantly better. We appreciated the move, but it could not undo the loss of sleep, stress and disruption we had already experienced during the first part of our holiday. What is particularly important is that, after we had already returned home, the hotel finally responded formally to our complaint and confirmed in writing that a technical incident involving a broken chilled-water pipe had temporarily affected the air-conditioning system in certain areas of the resort. I appreciate that acknowledgement, but I wish we had received such a clear explanation and an effective solution much sooner, while we were actually at the resort. We have photographs and videos documenting the room conditions, and the problems were reported to TUI while we were still at the resort. There are attractive parts of the property and some staff were genuinely kind and helpful. However, based on the condition of the accommodation initially provided to us, the poor handling of our concerns and the significant disruption to the beginning of our holiday, our experience fell well below the standard we reasonably expected. I am sharing this review as an honest account of what we personally experienced so that other travellers can make an informed decision.

  Sep 08, 2026
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  Best Holiday Ever

  Leaving soon sept 5th Would like the thank all the amazing lovely staff who have looked after us on our 2 week holiday. Fernando, head of entertainment. Hes absolutely brilliant funny guy who clearly loves to make people happy. Entertainment crew all absolutely brilliant and make you feel happy so you enjoy your holiday even more. They are by far the best entertainment crew out of any resort we have ever stayed in. Alejandrina, Yery, Moises, Yulan, Carlos and the rest of tje entertainment team. Bar Staff who looked after us and were Yafreysi, Marileydi, Rosmerly and all the other bar staff in main bar. Absolutely amazing service and so friendly and chatty and made you feel so welcome.The best staff ever. Pool bar staff Elizabeth, Ronaldo, Carlo and Jessica. The best ever pool bar staff out of any resort we have ever stayed in. Restaurant staff Martina from the Ranch restaurant and Caralina from the Gran caribe restaurant who we met but there were many also great service and friendly. We would like to recommend coming to this hotel as the rooms are lovely, the grounds beautiful with small ponds filled with amazing wild life, turtles, different fish, different birds from Ducks to Great Egrets, Dominican woodpeckers, and Iguanas. Even around the main restaurant theres pools with beautiful Koi Carp other fish, turtles and Great Egrets. The beach is beautiful but the time of year we have come there's a lot of sea weed but we can accept this as its nature. The restaurants offer a great selection of food that is tasty, freshly cooked personalised stir frys, pasta stations, egg stations. A la Carte. Steak house great. Italian, good Japanese, great Asian not good. Day time entertainment good with games dancing, water aerobics, pool party. Nightlife good as well. Different themes each night. We can honestly say this is the nicest, frieniest, most beautiful resort we have ever stayed in. Even better than Riu in Jamaica.

  Sep 05, 2026
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  Worst experience

  We had a bad experience, from lack of air conditioning, flood in the bathroom, the fridge was broken. They just apologized but we slept without it. Imagine hot nights without air conditioning.

  Aug 31, 2026
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  First time in punta cana

  Very good experienced, budget friendly resort, staff are great and very friendly. One advice, ocean is covered in surgusum in late August.

  Aug 31, 2026