Catalonia Bavaro Beach Golf And Casino

We stayed at this hotel in the 3rd week of April, 2024.

The Privilege rooms are well appointed and clean. However, there are a few issues that were irritating throughout the stay.
1. The bathroom door is a slider style, and does not offer full privacy (large gap allows you to see into the bathroom).
2. The bathroom door was very very hard to slide open or closed. Children would struggle a lot.
3. The patio door was very hard to open or close as well, and there is no handle on the outside, so you have to leave it slightly open if you want to get back in.
4. The AC vent points directly at the beds, resulting in having to choose between good room temprature and having cold air blowing on you all night.

The beach was ok, but there is an issue with seaweed (sargassum) that they try to clear off the sand, but it is all over the floor under the water. A bit uncomfortable to stand on but not the worst thing.

The food is basically ok. We found it difficult to find items that met our expectations and the buffet selection was vast, but not always appetizing. The sit-down restaurants are all by reservation. The steakhouse and japanese restaurants are good, the best meals we had the whole week. The italian restaurant was not good. The sauces felt like they were made from powder packets and tasted the same. The tapas restaurant was ok, but not great.

Finally, as far as service is concerned, it seemed like the staff didn't really want to be there. Often service was slow, the staff had humorless expressions that bordered on indifferent.

Overall, I would not return to this hotel. [Details]

Room was not ready when we arrived, check out time was noon and we got there at 6:30 pm, why the room was not ready and we got put in a room that had not been cleaned from the previous occupants.
Bed not made, no towels , no hair dryer, tv not working and air conditioning not working.
They sent people to fix these things which took hours and our air conditioning never worked the whole trip even with the mechanic guy coming.
The food was a little foo foo for us.
They only had one nighttime buffet so there was often a line up to get in, which we had never experienced before.
we upgraded to the privileged package which I would recommend people do that are staying at this resort. that will allow you a bit better room, and beds on the beach which was a great little bonus.
The breakfast was the best and they had a second buffet for this which was open for breakfast and lunch only.
The pool was great and the beach was fantastic.
The bars were great, take your own insulated cup to the beach and pool ,otherwise the drinks will melt quickly in the heat..
Resort was very pretty and eye appealing for walks.
People were friendly and try to be helpful.
The towel guy at the beach was wonderful.
The reort does not have rye or ginger ale so if you like those things get your rye at the airport before you go and your gingerale and put it in your carry on so you can have it at the resort.
Check in and out were smooth, no issues.
They do not take cash when you buy something at the resort so you need to get it charged to your room then pay at the front desk.
I would go back to this resort because of the pool and the beach [Details]

terrible dont even want to talk about it Im a travel consultant and will not recommend your resort [Details]

Overall, the resort was very good. The food was great and the grounds and pool area were kept very clean. The Privileged upgrade was not what we expected though. The first room we received was very out dated, smashed in door frame and smelt off along with two double beds when we booked a King. We requested a different room and did receive one which was better. This took some time though as the service of the front desk was not great. Service everywhere else was pretty good! [Details]

The concierge and front desk staff were great immediately upon our arrival. Getting checked in took as long as would be expected.
Overall the resort and the grounds are beautiful. The rooms could use an upgrade on certain aspects but overall was good for a family with two young kids. We ate mostly at the buffet and were happy with the food overall. For dinner, the buffet seemed to offer something different every night with some obvious staples. We did 1 a la carte (Toscano's) which was good, the service was quick and very friendly!
My only complaint is about Klub Dive, which is the company that is posted at the pool and operates excursions. We assumed the excursions would be as advertised. It was not. The 3-hr Glass bottom boat "tour" is a ride to a corral reef to snorkel. Following snorkeling, we were supposed to go to "an island" where there were local shops and a picnic lunch was provided on the beach. Instead, we were taken to a beach just further down the coast (the beach was beautiful) but there were no shops and no lunch (thank goodness for packing protein bars). To conclude the trip, we were supposed to see a dolphin show. This consisted of our boat driving by a pen in the ocean where OTHER tourists were personally experiencing a dolphin show...we watched those people and saw a couple of dolphins as we drove by. Also, they didn't have enough life jackets for everyone on board. They had 2 for the kids but belts for some adults.

Despite being out the money, we laugh about the excursion now and how we have learned a lesson - buyer beware. Klub Dive does operate down at the beach where you can use Kayaks, Windsails and paddle boards for FREE!!

Honestly, this resort was great! There are so many amenities there that there isn't really any reason to leave. [Details]

Check in was fast and easy with friendly staff.

Came to this resort for the golf. Golfing in December was awesome didn't really care what the conditions of the course was. Here are some suggestions for the golf course. Get rid of the grass on the tee box and just put in artificial turf.
Take extra long tees as the grass is high on the tee box and extra balls(lots of balls) as balls are hard to find in the rough. A sleeve of Titleist velosity will set you back $25usd. For that price you can get a dozen back home. Greens can be in better shape. Unlike golf courses up north they don't really have grounds crews so go in with zero expectations. We were just happy to be able to golf.
We walked the 9 hole course right at the resort after hours(no clubs just a stroll) seemed to be in better shape than the 18 and challenging. Still need to pay the $41 cart fee here as well.

The food at the resort, wasn't the best but then it wasn't the worst. They do seem to try which I appreciated. The rodeo steak house could have been excellent if they can get the steak temperature right ordered medium rare got it blue for all 4 steaks we had. The 2 well dones were a nice medium. The Italian restaurant was not so good. Mikados was great, good food and fun entertainment with the guests you're with. The tapas restaurant was meh, some of the dishes were fine others not so much. The pizza bar by the pool is a great place for a quick bite. The only issue I have here is the ppl waiting in line who already have 2 or 3 slices still waiting for more. Take your slices eat it at a table and come back for more while the cooks make more there's 10 to 15 ppl waiting to get a few slices. The main buffet by the lobby is the only place open for breakfast lunch and dinner. If you like buffets you'll like it here but it does get tiresome having the same thing everyday. You get to the point of just wanting to eat fruit. The buffet by the pool and beach is less food than the main. This one is more like a quick burger/hotdog joint with abit of extra stuff. Depending on the days, there are pig roasts and bbq by the beach restaurant, didn't try any of it as it didn't appeal to us. Also drinks at the buffet, no hard liquor just beer, wine, pop and aqua.

The resort has a 24hr in house medical team (pay $200usd for initial diagnosis prescriptions) which 2 of our members used. I really appreciated this service.

All the bars on the property here are wonderful, especially the bar beside Mikados where Nicole and icilie(spelling) are very fun ladies. The main bar by the lobby where most ppl go is loud and crowded but the servers remeber you and keep bringing you drinks that you may have had a day or 2 ago.

The beach is fantastic. Yes there are sea weeds the grounds crew do come and clean it up at 7 in the morning but it keeps coming in. Not to the point where it's an eye sore. Watch your step in the water as I found there to be some sharp rocks. I would suggest some water shoes if you have any. There are enough beach beds for a great number of guests. Wasn't that hard to find something all times of the day.

Didn't spend too much time at the pool, the kids seemed to enjoy the entertainment portion there.

The entertainment crew worked like dogs to keep everyone happy and laughing. To me these are the ppl that deserve the most applauses, not easy trying to entertain a thousand ppl. Like most resorts the shows are a hit or miss to each their own.

Now to the rooms. We did stay in the privileged rooms. The rooms were nice and clean, nothing fancy. You are spending most of the day either on the beach or at the golf course so you really only need it for sleeping. The house keeping is great. The ladies work hard. If you need anything just ask them and they'll bring you the water the pops and the very important Presidente cerveza. No hard liquor like some other resorts. We had 2 separate rooms here one on the main fl and the other on the 3rd. The 3rd fl had some water pressure issues and the toilets don't flush like your standard NA poopers thru out the resort.

In all we had fun and it was a great get away. The staff are awesome the resort was clean and kept. the golf was better than playing in the cold temp. The blue water white sand beach for 7 days what can you ask for. No major issues that the hospital couldn't fix. Just have no expectations. I feel when we sees reviews and the stars beside the resorts we as ppl have some sort of expectation just go in with an open mind, you're there to relax and have fun.

Would I come here again? yes if the price is right [Details]

Friendly, helpful staff. Beautiful grounds and my room was comfortable and clean. Great variety and delicious food at all restaurants. The beach was relaxing and sandbar in the water was incredible. [Details]

Great time, excellent staff, beautiful hotel [Details]

10/10 for family, couples or singles who can enjoy and have fun at Catalonia.
The resort has a Casino surrounded by shops, so you don't need to go out to the city for any of your needs.
Catalonia is gorgeous & full of activities.
The management and the guest service employees are very professionals and were helpful to all of our needs.
The rooms, the public areas, the beach and the pools are always kept clean, beautifully arranged, with helpful and accommodating staff.
A mesmerizing green grounds, with delicious a La carte restaurants and abundant collection of food to choose at the buffet.
The bartenders and all rest of the staff are amazing and they always great you with a big smile.
We will be returning to Catalonia in the future surely. [Details]

We travelled to the Dominican and our plane was delayed by 1.5 hours. Arrived late at the Catalonia and we were 'pressured' from the minute we walked in the door to 'upgrade' our rooms from Junior to a higher level. We decided that since we were only there for 3 nights, it shouldn't be necessary. We got blue wristbands. Waiters ignored us - we talked to 3 other couples with blue wrist bands and they had the same experience. The night we arrived, we found 2 cockroaches in our less than clean room. Day 2 our toilet broke, and it took a day to get it fixed. When we tried to make a reservation at any of the restaurants they had on offer, we were told that they were fully booked. We had no choice to eat at the buffet every day, which was seriously lacking. We found all the staff at the resort to be rude, dismissive, unfriendly and uncaring. When we signed in for the bus transport back to the airport, the bus was one hour late. The whole experience was horrible. I would not recommend this resort to ANYONE. We have asked our travel agent to contact the resort to see if they will offer any compensation for future travel, although we will never visit the Dominican Republic again. [Details]

Terrible rooms, no air conditioning [Details]

We took our parents to this resort for their 55th wedding anniversary and our first time experience in the Dominican Republic. Resort lobby, gardens and beach were clean however the rooms were dated and a lot of amenities in the rooms (we had 3 rooms) did not work (toilets not flushing, safe, thermostat, telephone, hairdryer and fridge did not work). We got to the resort at 1:30am so we had no choice but to stay the night and with 2 little kids and elderly parents wasted a whole next day at the lobby trying to get rooms that had working amenities. I will not be staying at this resort again because of the inconvenience. [Details]

Was just ok.. Not a 4.5 or 5 star resort like some places rate it. I would recommend to learn to speak Spanish to receive the service that Spanish speaking guests received. [Details]

Unrelenting inescapable noise from 10 am till10 pm. Bass so loud it resonated in your bones. [Details]

Beautiful resort with beautiful grounds. The rooms were great. A 5 star for grounds and rooms. The buffet was questionable and disappointing at the breakfast where there was only one omelet station, so the wait time was long. Most of the staff were not friendly. Venders in the lobby were harassing, which made me feel quite uncomfortable. If your a golfer check the cost of the carts. $40 (American) EACH PERSON! NOT for each cart. Excursion...Catamaran...huge disappointment and complete waste of time and money. Entertainment was embarrassing!! Gouging, gouging!! Never again!! [Details]

The hotel was great, the rooms were clean and comfortable the lobby was clean and open with lots of seating .but too much walking for us seniors.. They should have carts going around picking up people and dropping them off. We were in building 3, close to pool and beach BUT really long walk to the buffet and lobby. The beach in front of the privilege was not very nice, it was shallow and lots of rocks and corral to walk on, (water shoes would be wonderful here) however a 2 min walk down the beach it was all sand and deeper. The employees were wonderful Reynoldo, Stanley and our housekeeper Yecenia and the life guard went above and beyond and I just wish I could remember more of there names. The venders on the beach are allowed to walk back and forth but not allowed to come up to the chairs, which was great, if you wanted something you could always walk to them.. Two evenings we were there venders were out side of the buffet and they were pushy and expensive, things were much cheaper in the gift shops. The entertainment during the day was fantastic at night though it fell a little short. Most of them just had on t-shits and bottoms and nothing looked professional no matching.. There were mixed messages about the A La Cartes. We were told as privileged guests we needed no reservations so we pop up to the Italian and were refused because we had none so we made one, got there and the place was almost empty. Were told they were strict with dress code so my husband wore pants and shoes while others got in with shorts and flip flops.. Dont mind dressing up a little for supper BUT double standards are not good......The pool area was awesome, play areas for the kids and lots of room for those who just wanted to swim and some great activities.. The pool area seemed clean and well kept, there was a bar and buffet in the area. The lobby was bright and open with lots of seating, check in was great but could have had a couple more employees to speed things up.. could get on WIFI from everywhere but was kicked off so often it got frustrating...Overall we love this place and would definitely go back [Details]

We experienced water and beach aerobics, tennis, Latin dance lessons, beach party, eating crepes by the ocean, bocce ball, archery, Zumba, drinking fresh juices and coconuts, laying in hammocks, karaoke, pool, golf lessons, basketball, eating paella, watching evening shows and of course a beach under palms with cool swimming areas. [Details]

Fabulous food. Friendly staff. Had to be moved late at night due to leaky roof. 2nd room same thing. Needs a LOT of maintenance done. Not a 4 star. More like a 3. [Details]

Overall we were really impressed with all of it except for one thing, see further below. The grounds as well as the beach were absolutely beautiful, one of the nicest I've seen. Our kids loved feeding all the various birds roaming the property. The beach was perfect for the kids to swim, very calm and safe with a beautiful walk out to the sand bar between the reef with fish swimming all around. The food was mostly good, I was impressed with the over all quality and variety! You could get anything you wanted. A few things weren't great but it was just a matter of trying different things out and learning what to go back for and what to leave. Fresh fruit, veggies, fish, excellent meat, endless salads, pastas, crepes..incredible really and most of it really good. Staff super helpful and friendly. The only annoying part was at every entrance to any buffet as well as in the lobby and a few other areas, there were specific staff trying to stop you to chat about becoming a member and they were quite aggressive about it. Friendly, but too much in your face. We just had to learn to constantly put our hand up and say no thank you before they even started approaching us, but definitely a constant annoying experience that we could have done without. They should have one spot only and not peppered throughout. We loved the room, definitely worth upgrading to the Privileged section. The room would be checked on 2 or 3 times a day to be cleaned again and again, (we had Angela cleaning our room and she was sweet with the kids and really good) endless beach towels for privileged, a really great privileged section with a beach bar open all day and that was the only bar at the beach at night. We had perfect weather, the pool was fantastic with the kids and the kids club!! Amazing! We loved Kora, and she baby sat for us at night too. We knew we could trust all of them and the girls loved the kids disco dancing in the early evening. There was a fantastic cafe right beside a kids playground so we spent once sometimes twice there everyday. The extra restaurants were easy to get into and we tried them all, they were ok, the Italian being the best one and the Japanese worth it just for the experience. Our BIG complaint that may stop us from returning - the hotel is right beside a Beach Club called Pearl. On our last night, and thankfully only on the one night, they had a private party and the music was over the top, too loud and our girls had trouble sleeping, our room was thumping all night until 2am. Being the last night it put a huge damper on the whole experience. We had just been saying how peaceful the hotel was and what a wonderful experience it was, deciding when we could come back. Now I'm not so sure. The hotel said it wasn't normal to have that music so loud but they didn't seem to have any control over it and anyone can rent out the space for a party. It was so horrible that it's enough to not want to go back just in case there is even one night like that again. [Details]

This resort is definitely a 5 star.We loved everything about it.The food was awesome,the staff were friendly and attentive.The pool was clean and the place was spotless.The beach was beautiful my only complaint would have been that the water was murky and had lots of seaweed.But the beach crew were always cleaning it up.we loved that we did not need reservations for the restaurants. I will definitely be coming back to this place.Tge Steakhouse and Martini bar were very good. [Details]

Food was great. Servers in restaurants and in the buffet were great and fun! Beach was great except - not enough work done to keep the beach clear of seaweed. Grounds were absolutely beautiful. Lobby was gorgeous.

Problem was the rooms. Advertised rooms are the newly renovated ones and does not show the actual crappy rooms that most of us had to endure. My room was shabby, filled with bugs, even in the fridge! Holes in the ceiling, thermometer hanging off the walls. Sliding door didn't lock. Shower hardly worked at all – no water pressure. Mold in the vents. No air conditioning. Called 3 or 4 times about the A/C and instead of being told the truth that a major part broke down, I was lied to constantly and told "lady, I'll send someone to fix it". Why are the staff trained to lie to customers? This went on for 4 days until I finally heard about the part being ordered and waiting on shipping or something of the sort. The heat was unbearable and I was just lied to each time I called. My sister's room was nasty - water dripping on the bathroom floor which she almost slipped on – she caught herself. Imagine if she had fell and hit her head on the ceramic tiles? The wicker furniture - she fell through when she sat down and again - no air conditioning. She was moved to one of the newly renovated room and again ran into no a/c and the small fridge did not work. I understand the a/c situation but the rooms are deplorable and some of them should not be used until they are renovated. The amount of mold in the room vents was scary. The bug bites were constant while sleeping – we woke with huge bites and my friend had to keep taking benedryl to keep the rash down.

The resort outside was beautiful but enter a room – and it was frightening how bad the condition of the rooms were. And the lies from the staff – this needs to be addressed immediately.

I have more pictures...if you would like to see them. [Details]

In general very good experience Hotel and grounds seemed to be well maintained rooms a little out dated
Most of the staff are friendly! [Details]

I booked this vacation to celebrate our 25th anniversary and the resort didn't let us down. The rooms were great, clean and big, the entertainment nightly was well done, food was amazing both a la cart and buffet, romantic dinner and couples massage was an added bonus. Everyone was cheerful. [Details]

The staff went above and beyond to make you happy and comfortable huge thank u to Kenya, Christian, Ramon and Maridalia who made our stay so wonderful and enjoyable. [Details]

We travel a lot and don't travel back to the same hotel,but this resort I would definitely go back.From the hotel staff to the resort grounds we found it to be well worth the money.We really enjoyed ourselves. [Details]

My friend and I spent 2 weeks of great weather, beautiful surroundings, fine golf, and reasonable food until it rained on the 11th day causing us to be lured (we'd avoided them up until then!) into the Exclusive Traveler Club! After 3 hours of a magic show of deception, manipulations, outright lies, and champagne, we had done the deed: signed the dreaded contract taking us for thousands of dollars! The main interest had been the cost of two rooms at Royal Bavaro for 2 weeks costing a total of $3300 Can...that and the 50% off the golf at so many resorts -- all of which turned out to be lies...not even close to the real prices they would offer. We believed them...thought they had some integrity...wouldn't prey on 2 seniors who were basking in the glow of a lovely vacation.
That was end of January. It is now March, and we are still fighting it, trying to get our cancellation. The biggest problem is access to the appropriate people. The call center itself take hours to access...just music, being cut off, etc. After days of constant phoning and emailing, an accountant (not a boss) promised us a refund of 90% within 12 days...then 20...then not at all. Later, he offered a cancel. We wanted something in writing...never got back...now they've all disappeared...no contact. I've written letters of breach of contract, but they just ignore. My friend has American Express, and the payments are coming off his card. Amex must honor the notes they have received!
This company is definitely a scam, but they are slick and have themselves covered in so many ways. The hotel obviously supports them as well, so my advice is to stay away from all the Catalonia resorts in Dominican and Mexico. As well, our Transat agent didn't warn anybody about them, so that is in itself very mysterious. At the very least, don't go near the Exclusive Travel Club agents...they are crooks!!!!! [Details]

Very nice big resort. Clean. Air conditioning didn't work very well. Food was cold at times. Large variety of food to choose from. Only ate at the Japanese a la carte, not the best. Beach was beautiful. Not enough entertainment during the day around the pool. It didn't start till around 4 pm. If I want to do water arobics I don't want to wait that late. All in all a nice place. To many time share type people on the resort trying to sell you the adults only package. One night they had venders and they were very pushy. If I want to buy something I will. They made me not even want to look. [Details]

Staff was very friendly. Food wasn't what I espected it was bland with no seasoned. It would have been great to have authentic Dominican food. The hotel grounds and beach were very nice. The room was ok. Would have been nice to have a bigger shower as it was only a single. [Details]

I would have rated our experience higher, but we were totally turned off by the daily sales people every time we walked to the front of the hotel. Also the vendors on the resort property were so pushy, I would not even shop. Too bad cause I love to shop. [Details]

Good overall trip [Details]