Catalonia Royal Bavaro

The hotel staff is nothing less than excellent and the best of the best right from when you arrive to the minute you leave. They are always there when you need them, morning noon and night.
The food was great and always a variety and many different restaurants to choose from. Rooms are kept clean and serviced all day long.
THere was entertainment every evening.
We hope to return next year. [Details]

Catalonia Royal Hotel [Details]

The rooms were nice, big and clean.
The pools were amazing, with 3 to choose from. Swim up bars at 2 of them. Staff were friendly.
The restaurants and food was all phenomenal. We enjoyed every single meal whether it was restaurant served or buffet. All absolutely amazing!
Our first time to Dominican and this resort exceeded our expectations! Talked to multiple couples during our stay and they all said it was the best resort they've been to in DR. [Details]

We chose the Catalonia Royal Bavaro for our last minute gettaway during the Christmas Holiday. We wanted a smaller, more intimate hotel that doesn't require super long walks to the beach or to restaurants, also not too crowded that you need to run to find a lounge chair or a spot at the pool.
This Hotel was great. Sorry, excellent from this point of view.
The cleansiness of the resort is top notch (from our experience). The service was great. Everyone felt happy to be there and they work so hard and they would go above and beyond to get you want you need.
They have a small putting green on site that you can play 9 holes anytime of the day, without bookg a time.
There is also Golf available to book at their insainly beautiful golf course.
Serving the drinks on the beach was extraordinary. The staff at the beach bar catering to everyone on the beach and being super attentive is just [Details]

Catalonia Royal, Very clean and attractive. Good layout and bars and restaurants spaced well throughout. [Details]

The hotel was more intimate than most all inclusives, but had everything we needed right on site including great restaurants, shops and a spa. The staff was amazing and very attentive. [Details]

Our room needs to be updated mainly bathroom shower [Details]

This was our tenth visit to this resort in the Dominican Republic and it was like coming home. Located just 20 minutes from the Punta Cana airport, you are there in no time. The resort was very busy during our stay and it was good to see this. Everyone works very hard to maintain the protocols and most of the guests were happy to comply with what was needed. As always, the staff was welcoming and accommodating in every way. It was great to see that many of the staff we met on previous visits were still there and two of them remembered us from previous stays and welcomed us back. The accommodations and food and beverage offerings were just as we remembered them.
The adults only section Royal Bavaro has two pool areas, so you can choose between the quiet infinity pool near the beach or the more active pool near the lobby. Good selection of seating and room to distance from others if you chose. Beach is wide and while there was a small amount of sargassum, they work hard to keep it under control. When staying at Royal Bavaro, you also have access to all of the amenities of the adjacent family-friendly resort Catalonia Bavaro. Due to the current covid protocols, reservations are needed for the a la carte dining options.

We were sad to leave but will return again soon! [Details]

Booked a week at the Catalonia, the 1st 2nd day we were out doing excursions and didn't fully enjoyed the resort.

The 3rd day was going to be our 1st day actually relaxing at the resort.

We were very well aware about the season we decited to travel (very hot and rainy) but the AC in our bedroom wasn't working, the area (not the bedroom) smelled like sewage.
The resort looks beautiful and it is very clean but you can see it is older, and the decorative waterfountains the water is very muddy.

I do know DR had just recently opened back up for tourism, and maybe they weren't operating at their best, so I do not want to disencourage you from trying this resort. I hope your experience is better than mine and I don't doubt that it will, I am simply rating my personal experience this time around. [Details]

the stay was great. I loved that we did not have to book any of the restaurants, unlimited and walk up. [Details]

It was an amazing trip! [Details]

Went to this resort for our honeymoon with a couple of our really good friends.
We all had an awesome time, very friendly people and a very clean resort.
Food was excellent with lots of choices.
Stayed on the Adults only side but had access to the family side as well.
Awesome Entertainment every night on both sides. [Details]

Rooms are clean and comfortable staff is beyond amazing Leonardo at the main bar went out of his way to make my friends birthday memorable The golf staff from drivers to landscapers are friendly and kind. And the casino staff ,whether winning or not, we laughed With them every night This was third time at the resort 1st time on the adult side. Already looking to book again
You guys are fabulous [Details]

FYI: If “management” responds to this review it will be the first communication with them. We attempted many times while at the resort to meet with management only to be told they were not on duty. I have sent 3 emails and made 2 phone calls attempting to get an update since returning home. Emails were not answered and I was put on hold for 30 min on each call and finally hung up when no one came back to the phone. If they do respond I am sure they will say that they conducted an investigation and found that no one entered the room. $900.00 just vanished into thin air. I can't wait to hear their newest excuse after the ones we received while at the resort. Please General Manager Victor Cruz, if you do respond also explain why you cannot answer emails when asked to show me the information from your fake “investigation”.

My wife and I just returned from our vacation express trip to Punta Cana and stayed at the Catalonia Royal Bavaro. While there we had $900 cash stolen from the safe in our room. This was after the safe was broken and we had to have resort employee come open it for us. The most disappointing part of the whole situation was the response from the resort. We called the guest services 4 times and after 1 hour passed had to go to the lobby to get them to come to the room and "investigate". After the "investigation" we were told it would be 48-72 hours before they could tell us anything. We were never approached by anyone from management and always had to track down someone to ask if they had found anything. Once the guest services employee named Yuri got up from the desk when she saw us and ran to the back office, when we asked for someone in guest services we were told they were at lunch and wouldn't return for 1 hour. We asked to speak to management many times and were told that they were not available. Over the course of two days we were discouraged from calling the police (told that police were not open on Sunday, that we were leaving to early at 11 am on Monday and it was “not possible to file a police report before leaving”), told that maybe our friends took the money and that we had gone and spent a lot of time in the casino. On Monday when checking out we asked for an update and were told that “since we decided not to file a police report they could not submit a claim to their insurance”. They did everything they possible could string us along until we left and to basically say it was our fault, not theirs. This resort is not safe and the response from management is lackluster at best. They know that you are in a foreign country and will be leaving, they do not care and only attempt to string you along until you leave. We were not the only ones missing items from this resort, just about every time we went through the lobby there were people talking to guest services about missing items. This resort is beautiful, but the customer service is Zero! Never an I am sorry or anything from any person at this resort. We never expected to get the money back, but the response from the resort made this experience much worse.

I am quite sure there are many other resorts in Punta Cana that will treat you with dignity and respect, as well as make your trip great. If you are smart you will choose one of them and will not look twice at the Catalonia Royal Bavaro. If you do stay here keep your valuables with you at all times, it is not safe in your room or in your safe as there are many people walking around with the devices that plug into your safe and override your code. It only takes a few seconds for them to plug into the safe, open it and have access to anything you have in there. [Details]

THE FOOD IS AWESOME [Details]

Overall great hotel. Food was good, did not have to wait in line to get seated in the restaurants. Staff very friendly. [Details]

This is the third time for us at this resort and we will be going back again. Wonderful resort for a relaxing vacation. Not many activities on the resort but that is what we like. If you want to do excursions there are lots of things offered that are close by. The staff are a fun, friendly bunch, many have been there for several years and always remember us when we go back. We have never had a bad experience here and we love the fact that it is only 20 or so minutes from the airport. [Details]

This is our second stay at the Catalonia Royal...was so great last year, we went again this year. My hubby likes to golf every morning, while I get to sleep and relax! The restaurants are amazing, the staff is great, and the sun and ocean can't be beat. Love this place♡ [Details]

I will start my review by saying that I don't expect or want any response from the Management, nothing could be said that was not discussed with them during the second part of our vacation. Plus all responses are so impersonal and whoever writes them does not even have the courrage to write his/her name, just Gen.Manager.

Please believe any single bad review you read, those are not frustrated people, those are people that went through a bad experience and paid money to do so. I never go for reviews about food - this is personal taste, but when it's more that that it is serious.

The management to name them like that - would never tell you the truth. They do have a big problem because of frequent theft and break in s in rooms and always cover it. Turists come and go... It's a pitty because it does not serve Catalonia chain and most probably nothing gets to the head office.

To make a long story short, at the start of our second week there was a change in housekeeping staff. That day there was a lot of abnormal comotion around the room and staff talking loudly. At night we went to sleep around 11pm. Balcony door was closed for AC to work well but not latched. Phones and my tablet were charging on my nighttable which was across the room from the patio door. Tv was on and reading light on. Being tired, we fell asleep At aprox 1am woke up and reached for my phone to check the time - everything was gone. Balcony door was open and realized that someone was in the room. It was a horrible feeling, you go from anger to disbelieve. The security guy that came into the room made us open the safe to confirm that nothing is missing from there while I was almost getting frustrated trying to explain to him (without success as spanish was him only language) that someone was probably 20 inch closer to my head in order to steal from my night table.

Another couple, 2 nights after us went through the same thing - the girl opened her eyes just to see a short man dressed in Catalonia uniform. He ran through the front door breaking the chain. We were advised by the management not to tell other guests what happened and not to scare them. This was nerve......Well, it's all said and done now. We were "helped" by giving us a ride to the wrong Police station (instead of Policia Turistica) and many more. We have a stamp acknowledging our complaint and we won't stop here. This has to stop before anyone gets hurt or even worst.

Many guests complained about someone knocking at their door late at night saying that they are from security or room service, a lady that we meet on the beach heard someone trying to get into her room with a key. She got scared and asked who was it and the answer was security, then the person left. It was after 11 PM.

I realize now that they are used to this type of events, there is no need to say that all our efforts hit a wall like all others before us, we were told not to tell other guests what happened. The question is WHY? Not to get people scared or to make it easy for them?
They are probably breathing a little easier since we left. But for sure won't stop here. This hotel could be a big risk to your life.

When all happened, we were in villa 19, ground floor - rooms 1902 and 1904. In 1902 there was a horrible constant sewage smell and in 1904 AC was just ok, but in general rooms were ok. Being in Punta Cana for many times, we knew most of the time what to expect and what we bought from Air transat. What we didn;'t know is that Catalonia hotel has a problem with theft and security that is going back to 2013 if you read Trip Advisor.

The good - beach was nice and clean, water also but not for swimmers as it's shallow. Food - we enjoyed it. Staff in restaurants - great / front desk - ok / client service - ok for what they are allowed to do or say having in view all the problems and internal rules and regulations.

Will not return to this resort and because of what happened, for a long time I don't want to hear about going to Dominican Rep, a destination that was always my favorite. Thank you Catalonia

Room Tip: Never ground floor, 46 close to lobby &Thalassa but long walk to the beach. Get something in the... [Details]

Hotel is very clean and well kept for an older resort, front desk was very helpful, food was great, room was decent, an actual king size bed not 2 doubles pushed together, had an issue with the safe and a new one was installed for us, beach was always kept clean of sea weed, but there is not a lot of area to swim where you are on sand, a lot of sea weed areas, infinite pool was nice, nice lounge chairs with cushions which were real comfortable, no problem getting beach towels. If you are a golfer, there are 2 courses, one a 9 hole and one an 18 hole and from people we talked to they were in great shape. Beach was not noisy with boats ripping up and down the coast as the water is very shallow, there were only a couple of boats that would come and go once or twice a day which was nice. [Details]

This was our second visit to this resort, and we are planning to go back. The staff is wonderful, very friendly and attentive. The grounds are well kept, the beach is good (not as nice as some but good all the same). The food is good I am a very fussy eater but was always able to find something on the menu that I enjoyed. We find it very peaceful here and there are always many returning guests. Another plus is that it is only about 20 minutes from the airport. Guests have full access to the sister resort next door. [Details]

Good experience great service great staff [Details]

Immediately after checking in we were directed to a concierge who tried to pressure us into attending a session the next morning (early) to listen about buying into a vacation club membership. The pressure to attend these sessions continued the entire time we were there and, we were harassed by at least three people every day. If we refused or told them we weren't interested, the individual became rude. We had to avoid certain areas of the resort just to avoid these people.

We stayed in one of the villas with a private pool and there were numerous problems with the room as well. The electric curtains had to be on the same frequency as one of our neighbours as the curtains would open and close by themselves at any hour. Despite numerous calls to have this fixed, it never was. They only changed the frequency to a different neighbour. We were unable to sleep in the entire time we were there because of this. Additionally, our air conditioner broke and took over 24 hours to fix. Our internet was down in our room for over 48 hours.

The resort would water the plants on either side of our deck at prime times in the afternoon with the most foul smelling water so we lost about two hours a day of our private use pool.

There were other problems with the room as well and, the only thing that guest services offered to us for our horrible experience was a free breakfast in bed (at an all inclusive resort...) OR one massage ($100 cost).

The cleaning, serving and maintenance staff were all nice but they couldn't understand English so trying to communicate with them (especially the maintenance men) was next to impossible. [Details]

Everything was perfect. I was a little disappointed about the shoreline. Too much seaweed. The beach was great. Enough chairs, enough sun, enough shade, enough bar tenders.... the pool was great, but a little noisier than the beach.
Bathroom: toilet and shower not very private. Huge bath in room.
25 minutes from the airport....ability to go to restaurants on their other site without resevations...nice place and I will definitely return. [Details]

Hard to believe we were back in the Dominican where the people are so friendly. Service in the restaurants was very slow and unfriendly. Resort needed a lot of updates. Half of the beach chairs (if you could find one) were broken. Bath robe in our room had a huge stain on the front of it. So disappointed that we switched resorts. [Details]

I would preface this review by stating that I have travelled extensively in the Caribbean. I am a writer and have professionally reviewed hotels. I consider myself to be fair minded and cognizant of limitations that are sometimes beyond the control of hotels in these third world countries. However, I have always thought that the “devil is in the details”, services and details that are within control.

I recently stayed at the Catalonia Royal and from the outset things did not go well. After a long flight all one wants to do is relax in the room that was booked. In my case, I had requested a ground floor room in a quiet area close to the beach. I arrived at 2.30 p.m., was taken to 4 different rooms before I was finally so exhausted that I settled for the last one – it was now 6 p.m. The room faced a busy roadway, no hammock on the balcony as advertised. After inspecting the room I discovered there was no stopper in the bath, no instructions to operate the TV or the safe for valuables. I had to phone reception to send help. They say they are coming right away but they do not come. Throughout the stay I had to phone many times before there was a response to my requests. On returning from a long day on a catamaran only wanting to take a bath, there were no towels in my room, not even a hand towel. The room had been cleaned but no clean towels. Also, I had paid $120US for the trip and my requested wake up call for 6.45am(bus leaving at 7.40am) did not happen. Fortunately, I woke up at 7.20am and was just able to make it. When I questioned the employee at reception who had promised to wake me he said he had spoken to my husband. I am single! Hardly any of the staff speak English so this makes all communication very difficult and frustrating. Many folks that I spoke to confirmed all these problems and some had even worse things to report. When I asked why a toaster at breakfast was not working, the waitress investigated and realized it was not plugged in. When she looked for the outlet there wasn't one on the wall. A very basic and important device for breakfast was put there just for show! I had to use the same beach towel for the whole week because there were never any towels in the towel hut at the pool. Two employees sitting in an empty hut texting and talking all day, telling people the towels were coming – but they never come. Again, the basics, the small important details that make or break a vacation.

To be fair, I have to mention that there is one restaurant that is excellent (The Thalassa), both in food, presentation, and service by the staff. I took the majority of my meals there and was more than satisfied. The whole staff in this restaurant are competent and have a wonderful friendly attitude – in particular Ernesto who took excellent care of me throughout my stay. If the rest of the hotel was run as well as this restaurant it would be a wonderful place to stay.

Over the years, I have come to realize that the squeaky wheel gets the oil so I do speak up when things are not satisfactory. The Food and Beverage Manager (not the Hotel Manager) did come to talk about my dissatisfaction and listened intently. He stated that input was necessary because if no-one complains he cannot fix things. Overall, this hotel is not as advertised. This is not fair to Canadians who spend hard earned money for their vacations. For a few dollars more I would very strongly recommend the Majestic Colonial as an alternate because it lives up to its advertising, all the basic details are taken care of and more. Plus, if you are a beach person, the beach there is far superior to Catalonia Royal which has a seaweed problem and small beach. [Details]

This is a fantastic resort with wonderful restaurants, lovely pools, great beach, and very friendly staff! Will come back again for our third time!! [Details]

This resort was awful! Our room was musty and moldy. The patio furniture on our private patio was covered in dirt. Our fridge leaked water all over the floor in our room. The food was awful. Couldn't order an alcoholic beverage at the Steakhouse, unless it was beer. There were ants crawling on the walls at the Italian restaurant. Birds were flying into the buffet and walking on/eating the food. The staff didn't shu them away or change the food out. Every two steps you take, someone is trying to sell you something and they don't take no for an answer. They follow you around after you've already said "no thanks" multiple times. They even followed us to the beach and sat down on our lounge chairs! As soon as you got rid of that person, someone else would show up.
The beach was nothing to write home about. A lot of seaweed in the water and on the beach. It is also a very isolated location. Can't walk the beach for very far. Maybe a 1/4 mile... The drinks were not good. Shall I go on?? [Details]

Quiet hotel mostly (beach party one night). The Catalonia (family hotel) is much busier. Gardens are lovely. Beach has seaweed but it is cleared away within the limits. The water is very calm due to a reef that is far out. The treadmills need to be replaced in the gym. The gym is very small. The golf course is a resort course in okay condition (not worth full price) but okay since included in the package($35 per person for cart is charged whether you share or not). More restaurants than nights to choose from. We liked all of them. Resort is isolated except for Catalonia. To go outside a cab is required (at least $25 each way most places) although a free shuttle is available to a shopping centre. [Details]

Nice hotel clean and quiet
a la carte restaurant very good
but buffet service is the worst of all my trip .the need to improve the service
at the regular retaurant . [Details]