Catalonia Bavaro Beach, Golf & Casino Resort - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

16364 reviews

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  Disappointing Stay Despite Some Positive Aspects

  We stayed October 8–11 in a Privileged Room, and unfortunately, our experience fell well short of expectations. While the drinks were good and some employees genuinely worked hard to make the best of things, the issues with room cleanliness, air conditioning, and customer service made this a very disappointing stay. Our first room had a mattress that was soaked in urine. After sleeping in it, both our pajamas and the sheets smelled strongly of urine. Given the circumstances, we requested complimentary laundry service for our affected clothing and pajamas. However, this could not be approved on the spot, and we had to wait for a response. When we finally received one, we were told the laundry could be done, but it would take 24 hours to be returned, although they would try to get it done sooner. Having to wait for approval and then potentially go without our clothing for 24 hours after sleeping in a urine-soaked bed was yet another frustrating part of an already unacceptable situation. The front desk staff was very apologetic and arranged for us to move to another room, and they did provide assistance with moving our bags. However, we were told we could not move until after 3 p.m., which was an inconvenience that should never have been necessary in the first place. Unfortunately, the second room came with its own major problem: the air conditioning did not work properly. Despite being set to 22°C, the room never dropped below 24°C and was usually around 25.5°C. The room phone also did not work, so at approximately 11 p.m., I had to walk eight minutes to the front desk in my pajamas to ask for a fan. After asking for help, I was ignored for more than 10 minutes and then rudely told that everyone was busy and I would have to wait. When someone finally assisted me, I was told the air conditioning was out throughout the entire resort and would improve in 15 minutes. I requested a fan but was told they absolutely had no portable fans available and that the only option was to have a technician look at the unit. Because the front desk phone was not working, I also messaged customer service. After a lengthy delay, I was told a fan would be delivered. It eventually appeared outside our door at 2 a.m. This was an unacceptable amount of effort and inconvenience just to get some relief from an overheated room. Customer service was also frustrating when trying to make dinner reservations or order room service. I could never successfully log into the resort's website to access these services. When I contacted customer service for assistance, I was simply told to send a text instead. Responses often took more than 30 minutes, making it difficult to plan meals or get timely assistance. Dinner reservations were particularly challenging, with very limited availability. On our first day, we were offered only one option, at 9:30 p.m. For a resort stay, this lack of flexibility was disappointing. The beach furniture was also not always in the best condition, although I will give credit to the employees who worked hard to remove weeds from the beach. The drinks were good, and the food was okay, but neither was enough to offset the overall experience. Overall, the biggest disappointment was the lack of comfort, reliability, and responsive service. A urine-soaked mattress, difficulty obtaining even basic laundry assistance afterward, a second room with inadequate air conditioning, a nonworking room phone, and hours of waiting for basic assistance are not what guests should experience, especially when paying for a Privileged Room. While some staff members were helpful and the beach team clearly put in effort, the resort needs to address its room cleanliness, maintenance, booking system, and customer service response times. The lack of urgency in resolving these issues made an already unpleasant situation even worse. I had hoped for a relaxing getaway, but instead spent far too much time dealing with avoidable problems. Based on this experience, I would hesitate to return or recommend the resort to others expecting the level of comfort and service that should come with their stay.

  Oct 14, 2026
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  An exciting and emotional family time.

  Great. Everything was awesome. And they have a plus we really loved: Miniclub. A kindergarten. It is very useful when you go with your whole family, but, at the same time, you want to spend some time just with your wife. Altagracia, Brenda and Kenya were very nice taking care of our kids. The restaurants were great, the buffet was excellent, the cleaning service was very good, the night shows were unforgettable. Special greetings for Yudenka, Emmanuel and Esmeralda at the lobby, and all the Catalonia Bavaro team. God bless you.

  Oct 04, 2026
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  MAYBE I would go back...

  Just got back last night from an 8 day vacation at this resort in punt cana These are my honest thoughts on this resort, we upgraded to the Privilege package the rooms were beautiful and spotless and very big,king bed double shower ,mini fridge stocked with 2 beer 3 big bottles of water and 3 pops..a few of the days we had to call for beer and water but they pretty much brought them right away Pool was nice beautiful landscaping, the side with the swim up bar was always packed ,more of the party side and the other side was more relaxed which we loved..until thursday We were told thurs through out the weekend is open to locals and it was packed, kids everywhere ,buffet line to get in was about 50 people waiting outside ,bars packed..was a total different experience, i was pretty much ready to come home after that The beach itself was gorgeous, lots of chairs but tons of sargasim in the water, the water was the color of pickle juice, if you walked out very far and hopped the barrier wall there was a small circle of beautiful blue water which everyone flocked to so we only went out one.This obviously was not the resorts fault I know they cant control this Drinks were good, the bartender at the privileged bar on the beach was the best bartender, super friendly and knew her drinks well, we spent most of our nights there Casino advertised was terrible, there was about 15 slot machines and they were super old..we went twice and never went back Would I come back at a different time of year to get that beautiful beach I was hoping for, maybe Its a huge resort and im use to a smaller feel..its ALOT of walking if you dont mind that then the resort is pretty decent

  Sep 28, 2026
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  A 3 star in my opinion..

  My wife and i were there Sept 19-27.. Let's just say the check in progress is a joke.. Took us over an hour.. Seems the front desk people like to chat more with the guests checking in, than getting stuff done.. I was furious.. If i wasn't 3000 miles from home. I would have left.. Than after all that 1 of the staff members (Yenci) promised us a few things to make things better.. Complete lies. Never heard from him again. The casino is an utter joke.. They show just close it and put another gift shop.. The beach ground were ok.. But the water looked like rust up near the shore. You can only go in about 20 feet before you are surrounded by weeds and whatever that is .. We are beach type of people but after 2 days we went to the pool. Which we don't usually do.. We booked privileged , which in my opinion wasn't that much of an upgrade because they have an Exclusive area which puts them as the preferred guests. The grounds are nice, our room was nice.. The housekeeping was done very early every day which we like.. Like 11 o'clock. Lots of bars to get drinks at.. Never really waited in any big line ups.. Buffet was decent.. No real variation .. But most buffet's are like that. Also a quick note.. It seems to cater to more Spanish people, so if you speak English very few guests do.. Just putting that out there,, Would we go back.. NO.. But don't regret the trip..

  Sep 28, 2026
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  Stay at the Catalina resort

  Our experience at the Catalina hotel was very good. The rooms needed more attention, but the rest of the facility was great. You would be more than happy to return again in the future.

  Sep 20, 2026