Grand Palladium Bavaro Suites Resort And Spa

Flight delayed several hours, arrived and checked into resort at 5AM. Took 2 days to recover from the late arrival. Customs, bus transfer and hotel check-in were quicker because of the delayed flight (accommodating).
The bed with the memory foam mattress was very comfortable. The room was clean and spacious including the bathroom even with the 2 person Jacuzzi tub. Had an issue with the water not being hot enough for the tub one evening. Someone showed up within 30 minutes to check. Issue resolved within a couple of hours.
Requested in advance a room with a king sized bed on an upper level near the beach - got a ground floor room with 2 double beds near the lobby yet resort maybe 75% full (at least it was quiet).
I found the food to be average except for the beach restaurant at the GP Palace which had really good food at lunch time (steak/salmon/pork chops). The disco on the resort was an outdoor one, had to go to Hemingway's at the GP Palace to their disco even then the DJ only started playing music at midnight and it was mostly local music being played. When he played some north American music he would cut the song short and move on to the next song (which was then typically local music). The surf at the beach was high especially the first couple of days. I found a nice section of beach near the GP Palace where the water was calmer and I was closer to the better lunch buffet and the adults only pool. I did lots of walking throughout the grounds of all 3 resorts which I didn't mind. The grounds were very well maintained and picture perfect (lots of hedges and palm trees). The circus show in the theater and the fire show on the beach were phenomenal. The fridge was partly restocked with some items (chips/choc bars). Soda and water were replaced more often. Drinks such as pina colada's were from a machine and not made from scratch. Great open/fast WiFi throughout the resort. I checked my bags for late departure with the bell hop for storage in their storage room. No problems or issues from doing that. Courtesy showers were available near the pool and they were spacious and well appreciated for cleaning up prior to a late evening return flight. [Details]

Me and my partner went for 7 days and had a great time! We stayed in a rooftop jacuzzi suite and found the room to be a little dated, but the beds were comfy, the AC worked great and the rooms were clean. The jacuzzi took a little long to fill, but it worked great otherwise. The food was good - we ate at the a la cartes every evening and the buffet for breakfast and lunch. We were a party of 2 so we did not have any trouble getting a reservation at the à la cartes. El Dorado and La Paisana were our favourite, La Lola and Boghali were a close second. The beach was beautiful and the grounds were very well kept. We never had any issue finding a sun lounger near the pool or beach, but if you want shade on the beach, be sure to go early. Hemingway Bar had fantastic drinks and it was a great spot for a pre or post dinner drink if that's what you fancy! [Details]

Not that great nice place but lots of things are wrong.... everyday was something else.. not happy with this vacation.. never going back to that resort ever again [Details]

We had very good time at this resort.it was super clean and well orientated
Ideal for families and couples
The food,beach and entertaiment was great
The only issue we had last day few hours the AC stopped working
And the room was very humid
Apart from those issues the resort overall so good [Details]

Generally good except for the reservation process. First, they recommended an app which when you use, it will always return full. Encountered a lady with an attitude when I went for reservation at their guest services.
La Paisana was the worst, Italian is good and the Chinese is better. ‘Chinese' restaurant is a misnomer I believe because it is a mixture of Asian cuisines, not only Chinese.
Not much of activity compared to my 5 or 6 previous experience.
Their nightly show is not properly advertised, so you will have to guess what you will get.
As with other resorts, their time share is annoying.
Except for the lady I complained about, employees are very good and friendly. [Details]

We had an amazing time at this resort! Beautiful grounds and friendly staff. We aren't big pool dwellers and prefer the ocean and the breeze that was always there. We got into one pool on our way back up to retrieving our luggage to go home. It always seemed like it was full and people were having a great time when we walked pass it every day. I was worried about the sea weed as it was a high year for it, especially last summer, but it was great. They cleaned the beach up every day. On the windy days there was more in the swimming area but not enough to keep us from hanging out for hours in it. The one downfall of the beach area was not having enough loungers and we had to get down to the beach very early in the morning to save a couple for us each day. People are fast about it too! I went down every morning around 8:30-9:00 am and was amazed at how early everyone reserved their spots with towels. We loved that we had access to all of the Grand Palladium properties and restaurants. Make sure to try the Argentinian restaurant at the Grand palladium Punta cana! Value for the money was great and we would definitely go back and recommend to others! [Details]

They really went out of their way to make our stay enjoyable and relaxing. I have to adhere to a strict gluten free diet as I have Celiac and every restaurant wea able to accommodate me with several choices on their menus. To me that was a very important feature. The staff is pleasant, polite and always ready to assist you. [Details]

The resort was great! We had 5 teenagers with us and there was lots for them to do, including the big sports Centre! We/they felt safe exploring the grounds at all hours. Lots for us adults to do too! Beaches are FANTASTIC, pools, restaurants and buffets are good. Rooms were as expected. (No problems) The staff are wonderful! Lots of options for excursions as well. I would recommend this place! [Details]

We had a wonderful family vacation! Beautiful resort, clean and up-to-date. Food was great and plentiful. Check in was easy and quick. We had 3 rooms and requested to be all together and they were more than accommodating to put us all together. Staff were friendly, and helpful. À la Carter's dinners were excellent with a new one to choose from every night. [Details]

I had a great time at Grand Palladium Bavaro [Details]

This was our third time at the Grand Palladium. We have never been disappointed. When we arrived this year we were upgraded to the Honeymoon Suite ! What a surprise. The best thing about this room was the outdoor shower ! It was amazing. We used it everytime. So much room. There was a nice hammock out there to relax in as well. Room was always made up and was clean.Pools were always clean and full of fun. Because we have been there before we knew the lay of the land. We ventured to the other pools as well and we were surprised to find our Bartender William still working at the Palace swimup bar. We have known WIlliam for 10 years. He is one of the best in the business.There was never a problem getting chairs at either the pools or the beach. The beach was perfect as always. This is one of the reasons that we keep coming back to PC. We have travelled to other islands but keep coming back to this one. The people here seem genuinely friendly here. We understand that there are vendors and that's how they make their living but a friendly "no thanks" and they will leave you alone.

We are already planning our trip back next year. [Details]

The hotel consists of many small villas over the property. The entire facility has beach front access, multiple pools, numerous buffet restaurants, and several a la carte restaurants. Get your pool towels before noon (the towel supply usually runs out by early afternoon). We found the beach to be somewhat rough, but our kids are good swimmers, so it was not an issue for them. Golf cart-like trams carry guests around the facility (it is a big place). We found the buffet restaurants were better for us than the a la carte. We travelled with our kids. The buffet restaurants had plenty of food and everyone could find something they liked. The a la carte restaurants required a reservation, but we tended to eat on the spur of the moment, so the buffets worked best for us. Hotel staff were friendly and helpful. The place was clean and well maintained.

As some other guests have said, new arrivals are subject to high pressure "travel club" sales. I stood my ground and said "NO" and they eventually backed off. There were also peddlers aggressively selling trinkets on the hotel grounds, and on the beach. [Details]

Worst Christmas vacation in Punta Cana. Imperial service & room not worth the extra money. Save money and go to Bahia or Iberostar instead. Christmas spectacle a shame! Do not pay more than 1600$ for this hotel. The only thing good is we are at building 19 closed to the beach. What a rip off! We have to pay extra $10 each time for the Spa in a hotel with Spa? What the hell? What a scam! [Details]

Stayed in the luxury junior suite,close to beach, pool and food. [Details]

This is a very large resort so be prepared to walk or wait for the trolley car that goes around the resort. It can get all a bit confusing. We only ate at the buffet because you have to line up at 5 (I'm still on the beach sorry) for an hour to get a table. It's just ridiculous. The buffet restaurants are more than fine and my kids always had something they liked to eat. The reception is weak, the door keys constantly didn't work and the floor is killer slippery if it gets wet or even a little humid in the room. Hotel is situated on a very nice beach which is always breezy and the water is clean but usually with some waves - water is not calm yet it's not overly agitated. Love Bavaro Beach! If you go make sure to bring any snacks or toiletries you may need or you will go broke - it's extremely expensive in the shops at the hotel. Nice hotel all in all but not my favourite in Punta Cana so we probably wont be returning. [Details]

the hotel was behond expectations because of the restaurant you can go to every restaurants without reserving and their very close if you dont take the shuttle you could walk the only thing that i dont understand is why they dont accept canadian money at the airport we couldn,t eat good vacation [Details]

tres grand et beau [Details]

we loved the resort. the beach and pools are beautiful. [Details]

We took a family vacation to the Grand Palladium Bavaro in August 2013.

We had previously stayed with the other 2 sister resorts on the same property, but this was our first stay at Bavaro.

We upgraded to an Imperial Suite, which was nice and worth the extra. We had a fruit tray and bottle of rum waiting as an arrival gift.

The room was nice, and clean, however the bathroom did have some ants and the Jacuzzi tub jets did not work.

Our biggest issue was with the front desk. At different times during our stay there would be a note under our door about missing information (e.g. copies of kids passports, booking information etc). As soon as we received one of these notices our room key would be deactivated, which was a pain having to go to the front desk at in opportune times to deal with these administrative issues.

The resort was also under considerable construction and renovation. One of the buffet restaurants at our resort was closed, and not many of the a la cartes appeared to be open.

We attended what was supposed to be a 90 minute presentation on becoming travel club "members" and were given a $50 voucher for our time. However the session was more like 2.5 hours and the voucher was for the Logo Shop which was a joke. So if you get a notice about your free welcome gift, go and pick it up but don't commit to the session!

Aside from that we did enjoy our stay. The kids pool at the Punta Cana resort was a good spot for us. The kids liked riding on the train, and it was nice to have the option of 3 different buffets to eat at (even though the offerings were essentially the same). [Details]

We found this resort to be amazing beyond our wildest dream. The rooms were beautiful, the grounds nothing short of a tropical paradise. We drove through a number of the neighboring resorts on an excursion bus and found the landscaping failed in comparison to the Grand Palladium. The pools were pristine, the beaches stunning, all the staff pleasant and went out of their way to make our stay comfortable and fun!! We found the buffets to be very good and the a la cartes exceptional. We never had a problem getting drinks and found the staff to be very warm and welcoming. The only small complaints worth mentioning was that the one and only ATM on the resort was out of order the whole week we were there so we had to incur the expense of a $20US cab ride 3x to take out cash. Only other issue was it took us 4 days to successfully receive a couple of soft pillows from the pillow menu, I believe this was mostly in part due to language barriers, 3x they brought us extra towels instead. Great week and we would definitely return to this resort without any hesitation and whole heartily recommend it! [Details]

Save your hard earned money and do not waste it like we did. The negative reviews on the Internet are accurate. I should have listened to those folks. This place is a 3 star on a good day. My friends who traveled from the UK did not get a bed for their son for two nights, and we were not the only ones to have such issues. Hotel excuse - 'we are fully booked'. Is that what you want on your holiday? We paid extra for additional stuff. No one cared to explain how we get the additional benefits. The concierge told me 'no one here cares that you have a special band on your wrist'. Shocking but true. I will never go back, nor recommend this place. What a complete disappointment. I could go on about the broken shower, leaking shower door, mattress that belongs in the dump, no one serving drinks on the beach, theft, etc... [Details]

the Hotel was Ok i have been to better we stayed in the Punta Cana section though we booked the Bavaro and the rooms were really old and outdated. The grounds were ok not what i expected for a 5 star i have stayed at the Melia caribe and the Grand Bahia Prinipe which were 100% way nicer than this one. I had read that pants were mandatory at the ala carte Restaurants but in previous experiences they have never enforced it they did here they would not let us in my husband and son had to go change. i think this should be made clear to anyone going. Alos when we booked our ala carte the concierge did not ask us about the japanese restaurant if we would be at the "entertainment table" or just regular ala carte, so we were very dissapointed when we arrived and found that we were not at the table expecially when we booked as soon as we got there. [Details]

Everything met or exceeded expectations with the exception of some of the lunch buffets and the behaviors of some of the other guests. I was pretty surprised at how rude and inconsiderate some of the guests were but this can't be blamed on the hotel. Parts of the hotel are starting to show their age but there were workers present doing repairs so it's obvious that Fiesta has been paying attention and has no desire to let the resort fall into disrepair. Avoid the "flea market" at the south end of the beach if you don't want to be molested by salesmen. Nancy (our maid), Jimminez (our concierge) and Wilkena(receptionist) were all outstanding. The free internet in the lobbies was pretty terrible, the premium was better but still crapped out from time to time. I was dissapointed that there was no rifle range as listed in the brochures and advertisements. The breakfast buffet and ala cartes were all fantastic. Bar service was excellent across the board. I wouldn't recommend this place for young singles though, most of the clientele were older couples (50 ) or young families. [Details]

Servers in restaurants do not speak or understand english or any other language.Our room was a junior suite and had no alarm clock in it,where it was to be avail. to us. Very bad or lack of outdoor lighting along walkways to your rooms,really dark at night.Trains that take u thru the whole resort does not come around enough.Lack of info regarding the train around the resort. Again,trying to get info from an employee on the resort is really difficult.This has never had to us before as we have travelled to Punta Cana many times and never had a problem ever regarding communication. Cleaning the rooms....our maid always came late in the day to clean and we were always out of our rooms at breakfast time 8am. They need to plan housekeeping earlier.
Go to the Japanese restaurant,this was the best place to eat,by far,great staff who spoke english,took pics for u,chef at tapenyaki tables r fun and funny, we enjoyed ourselves there.
No one at front desk spoke english . [Details]

A lovely holiday. The grounds are beautifully kept.The staff hard working,pleasant and always smiling. Many restaurants both buffet and A la Carte with a large selection of food to choose from. The food was pretty well prepared but could have been a bit warmer. The bars were at the Bavaro were good, especially Hemingways. The beach was fabulous. Lots of shade or sun depending on what you want.A lot of walking but there is a trolley system that gets you around the perimeter of the various Palladium resorts within the complex.The room was clean a few minor things wrong with the lights the sink and the door to our outdoor shower would not lock.Too many tour and gift vendors on the beach [Details]

The whole resort was amazing. The staff at this resort were so friendly and helpful. Even the people that were selling excursions went out of their way to help us when we had problems wirh excursions that we booked before we left home and we did not even buy anything from them. It was all a dream come true. This resort is also very very clean. [Details]

The hotel was below my expectations. Staff had minimal working knowledge of the English language (i.e. wanted to check out a market, but was sent to a shopping mall). Constantly harassed in resort by people to buy time share or to sign up for an excursion. These people were always at the resort and resort pool. Not sure if they were staff or whether the hotel allowed them on the premises. [Details]

We were sold the palladium bavaro as a 5 star hotel .... Even when you arrive the sign reads five star, and it was hardly that. There was no orientation offered so that we could get to know what our property had to offer, and even our information pamphlet was in French - "sorry only French and German". We missed a lot of the events that went on that week including beach parties and shoes because of this lack of info, but it was the general language barrier and misery of the staff that was most bothersome. No smiles or warm greetings, and sales reps in the lobby would even answer their cell phones mid conversation as you were setting up your excursions! We ate at the Japanese restaurant where they have show cooking tables, and watched as the tables around us had a fun interactive experience while our exhausted cook pretty much stood in front of us cooking our meal. The food in general was dissapointing, making our airplane food and pre-flight Wendy's seem gourmet in comparison. Our fridge wasn't stocked every day, even with daily tipping, although the cleaning staff did a wonderful job throughout the week.

If you are to stay at the bavaro there are a few things that can make your stay more enjoyable. Get an orientation tour and ask for information about beach parties, and events that will be on during the week. Renting bikes for a day is a great way to see the entire resort and orient yourself - its a massive property and the bikes gave us a better understanding of our surroundings. Definitely eat at the Japanese and Brazilian restaurants, and the Italian restaurants pastas and pizzas are great- just don't bother with a main course.
Go with no expectations and hope for the best! [Details]

Great staff. Perfect for relaxing a couple of weeks. [Details]

The entertainers at the pool and beach were a bit creepy and way too sexual with their dancing .... not necessary. It gives merengue a bad vibe. Room was clean. Better than Bavaro Palace Deluxe.Food was okay. We did not get sick from the food. Bonus! Brazilian restaurant was fun. Great excursion with Rey the tour guide. Overall we had a great time. Got 2 rainy days. [Details]