Catalonia Bavaro Resort

Dominican Republic

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*Rooms::* Visited: November 2006
Posted by gdasset
	I have read the Wonderful Reviews and I have but one question right now. What types of Rooms are available? At the moment I can see but ONE picture on the website. Cheers:
4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful.
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*This was the best resort ever.* Visited: July 2006
Posted by arri
	This resort was amazing. The waiters were so very kind, and the food was delicious. The rooms were clean, and the service was excellent. In addition, the bar was effecient, the shows were magnificent, and the people were so friendly and helpful. It was truly an amazing place to go. There were so many nice things to see and enjoy, too!
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*PLEASE DONT TRY IT* Visited: July 2005
Posted by gratamente
	-they let people swim with clothes and shoes at the pool. -They let people eat INSIDE the pool -The pool was dirty with fungus and the water was GREEN. We did not use it -3 days without hot water -3 days whithout ANY chance to change beach towels (ran out) -glasses always HOT -lack of waiters. No way to get a drink unless you "help yourself" -service was 4* -fridge in room made drinks just "fresh" -Air Conditioned worked randomly -2 times staff entered my room without knoking -room towels were just 3 (1 small, 1 medium, 1 large) -Sheets were not changed in 12 nights stay -Sand remained in room as clean up was made in 5-8 minutes -Although my 12 year old daughter paid as an adult, she was not allowed to dine at french restaurant after 8pm -Mexican restaurants has rats. Food is disgusting (pork chops from lunch). -Italian restaurant offers as "risotto" the rice from breakfast -Japanese restaurant is a joke. More like cheap low budget chinese european rests -Both Italian and Mexican are not real restaurants. They are the beach buffet redecorated daily. No toilets. Have to go to the beach toilets. -buffet is a training place for walking competitions. We were 5 and tables of that size (remember, 5 people means children involved) were at the end of the room, so, I had to walk 2 km daily when having breakfast -No money change at reception. Have to go to a Banco Popular office and queue until we were told they ran out of pesos. -Internet: 4 PCs. Just working 2. Slow. Queue again. Mouse was dirty. I personally cleaned it. But still was dirty, so, I had to spend 3 times the time to do anything compared with any normal PC. 3€ for 15 minutes. -The buffet has only 1 toilet, so, it was used and used by many people. Its smell was shitty at all times. Something not very nece when you are trying to eat. I stop here but could continue...
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*The staff was amasing!* Visited: June 2005
Posted by mikeymouse89
	I loved the shows. I went to every show they had. My favorite part of the resort was the friendly staff - especially Carlos, Louis, and Jackson. I'll miss them.
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*This was our best vacation ever!* Visited: April 2005
Posted by kristiwolbert
	This was definitely our kind of vacation! The Catalonia Bavaro Resort was beautiful. I did not have one complaint about the resort. The staff was so friendly and seemed happy all the time! The bartenders were very entertaining as they sang and danced while working. Our villa was nice. The king-sized bed, hammock, and big bath tub were a treat. Our housekeeper was very pleasant, too. What I loved the best was that the staff spoke English that we could understand without a problem. The food was good at the buffets and the restaurants. I was impressed that the resort was very clean and sanitary. Even the bartenders did not touch the fruit to add in or on your glass, they used tongs (I have never seen that anywhere before). The pool was beautiful and the swim-up bar was a special treat to cool off in with a drink and enjoy some shade. And the nightly entertainment was excellent! I loved the dancers - they were very talented! There was a lot to participate in during the day and night...if you wanted to. I enjoyed watching and relaxing. Just sitting in the lobby, or by the fountain, or anywhere for that matter was just relaxing. I enjoyed being lazy! It was nice having the vendors come to the resort. I was more comfortable with that (more so than walking down the beach to them). My husband and I cannot figure out how anyone could complain about anything here. There were several choices of food, drinks, and entertainment. The beach, pool and Ssun were wonderful! We can't wait to go back. We had an excellent vacation - it was the best we have ever had.
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*We had a thoroughly enjoyable holiday.* Visited: January 2005
Posted by linda2
	My husband and I stayed at the Catalonia in January 2005 and had a very enjoyable holiday. We stayed in Villa number three and had a lovely view of the ocean. The rooms were spacious and clean, and the coffee making machine with ground coffee provided every day came in handy. The bathroom was exceptionally large with a bath big enough for two! and wth a separate shower cubicle. The beach was clean, with no hasslers on the beach at all. It was very relaxing. Food was of a good to high quality. I think the chefs certainly went out of their way to provide a variety of meals. The French restaurant is highly recommended and we had three meals in our two-week stay there. The Japanese restaurant was interesting, we watched the chef prepare the meals in front of us. It was mostly meat based, though, so it would not for the vegetarians. The only criticism I had was that this hotel - like most all-inclusives - was isolated. There was no place to venture out, should guests require to. We like to visit a local town and sample the culture, but there was nothing at all nearby. So, all the entertainment was hotel-based, which could (after a few nights) become tidious. The staff was most courteous and couldn't do enough to help. We thoroughly enjoyed the holiday and if all you want is sun, sea and relaxation, this is the place for you.
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*There was seaweed in the water along the beach.* Visited: August 2004
Posted by linda_co
	We enjoyed every part of this resort, including the golf. The only problem was that my husband and I love to walk the beach. We had stayed at the Tropical Princess in Punta Cana the year before and came back to Punta Cana for the beach. Unfortunately, there was not a long place to walk on this beach without encountering stepping into over the ankle seaweed on either side of the resort. Right in front it was fine, though. It was not thick anyway.
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*I loved staying here!* Visited: January 2004
Posted by xx1brownsugar1xx
	Don't listen to any of those negative reviews. Everything was great. My family and I spent a great time here and we hope to go again next year. The food was fine for me because I'm Spanish. I guess most American people aren't used to eating differently and I think their food was great. Room service was good and the people were friendly. We were never bored during our stay at the resort. Even though I know Spanish, there didn't seem to be such a big language barrier there like some people have commented on. I'm recommending this resort to many people. I hope they have as much fun as I did when I went!
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*This was our best vacation ever.* Visited: January 2004
Posted by jber3420
	We just returned from spending eight days at this resort. It was by far one of the nicest resorts I have ever stayed at and I have been to a lot of them. Check in was quick and easy. We had to wait about an hour for our room because we got in early. But they gave us our wrist bands as soon as we got there so we had access to anywhere on the property. It was the cleanest place I have ever been to as far as our room and all the public areas. Room service was excellent. The staff couldn't do enough for us. There was a little bit of a language barrier, but all we had to do was learn about five or six words in Spanish and we were set. The food was very good in all the restaurants and was presented very well. The bars were all well stocked and very pleasant. There were plenty of activities going on all day and night. There was always something to do. I am planing on returning here and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a great vacation.
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*We had a great vacation.* Visited: October 2003
Posted by gargo
	If you want value for your money, this is the place to go. They hve a great golf course, great scuba diving, and a gorgeous beach. We enjoyed this vacation so much that we are planning to come again next year. We were a party of four adults and four kids (5-9 years old), and we all had a wonderful and relaxing vacation.
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*Ideal para abueletes.* Visited: August 2003
Posted by soyjarew
	Acabo de llegar de alli (7-sep-03), y lo que en un principio parecia paradisiaco, se fue tornando en monotono. Nosotros eramos un grupo de 13 personas, con lo cual nos recogieron en un cutre autobus desde el aeropuerto. Al llegar al hotel no tuvimos recepcion con bailarinas y musica(cosa que agradezco por artificial y cutre) y los cocteles de bienvenida tuvimos que "robarselos" a una camarera sin "stress". De las 6 habitaciones que nos dieron, una no tenia abrebotellas, otra no tenia tapon para la gran bañera, otra tenia el aire acondicionado estropeado, y en otra ¡Habia huespedes! Tras un paseo a la recepcion solucionamos el tema de los huespedes con un cambio de habitacion, bueno solucionado a medias, porque a los dos dias nos querian meter huespedes en la nuestra. La bebida bien si te gusta el ron, no, no hay cacique ni pagandolo y el whisqui se llama "local" y sabe a ron. Cocteles los tienes de todo tipo, y acostumbraros a ver rodajas de lima en vez de limon (inquietante sabor). La comida es excelente, a casi todos mis colegas les entro cagalera, excepto a mi, ¡Cuidado con las mezclas! Siempre tienes algo abierto para papear, en cuanto a los restaurantes tematicos, a nuestro juicio el mejor es el japones, nada de sushi, buenos arrozes y buena carne, y lo mejor: ¡Tienen aire acondicionado!, el mejicano es excaso, el italiano tiene menos variedad que el buffet y el frances estaban completas las reservas de ¡10! dias, asi que no pudimos probarlo. La animacion es cutre salchichera, no veras nada especial, salvo que tengas 50 años seas mujer y te gusten los morenos bailones de salsa(lo habitual). El golf es muy bueno y barato, eso si comprate un traje-red antimosquitos, no, los sprays repelentes se los pasan por el forro. La playa bien pero estrechita, la piscina con su bar y jacuzzi muy buena, pero la bebida baja muchos enteros la calidad. El paisaje y fauna fantastico, por el precio del viaje ves gallinas,patos,pajaros,pelicanos,gaviotas,hipermosquitos,avispones,tarantulas de 30cms comepajaros,chupacabras... Y puedes tener la suerte de encontrar algo de esto en tu habitacion. Aqui desde pequeños(desde que aprenden a hablar) ya te piden un dolar,una cocacola, un cigarro, pesos, lo que sea(comprobado en excursion por libre). Por lo tanto si te han educado en el fabuloso mundo del pagamasporlacara (propina), podras disfrutar de la velocidad turbo de los caribeños, hasta esos momentos inexistente. Ni que decir que para comprar algo y que te tomen solo por gilipollas y no por gilipollas profundo,debes regatear al menos media hora.Esto ultimo fuera del hotel,en el hotel nos hicieron sacar dinero del cajero porque nos faltaban 5 pesos(1/6$)
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*This vacation not 5-star.* Visited: June 2003
Posted by abandy2
	Just returned from Catalonia Bavaro on June 12, 2003. I felt there was an English communication problem. Not many people spoke English. No clocks in the room, or ice machines. Food, like some say, there is something for everyone, but this is not a vacation where you are going to over eat. Most meats were undercooked. Needless to say, both my husband and I had severe diarrhea. (We’ve had it since the third day of stay and still have it, so we went to the doctor.) I loved the beach and the pool was very big (lots of bird poop in pool, I think that they only cleaned the pool every 2 days). I may go back to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, but I will wait to see what the doctor’s tests show first.
2 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful.
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*This resort is a must-see experience!* Visited: April 2003
Posted by francis_hawley
	What a time! The resort was incredible, the food was great and the rooms were large and beautiful! Room service was slow, but you must remember you are on "Dominica time". We created little gift bags each morning for the maid and left them on the pillow. Our fridge was full, the room was cleaned early, and we received fresh towels. The beach was sandy, but about 30 feet out, there was coral. It was hard, but not sharp. The pool was huge and clean - as clean as possible with all the palm trees. As for birds in the eating area - that is nature, and this resort makes you part of it!
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*Great Place - Bad Beach* Visited: January 2003
Posted by linda_coedy
	My only complaint is that if you like the beach forget it. There is very little distance for walking and although you can walk and the sand is beautiful, the water is indeed filled with seaweed. If you walk along you actually have to wade in the seaweed up to your ankles at parts off the property. It is very isolated. I ignored some of the previous comments in regards to the seaweed and should not have. I only went in the water for one dip the whole week. We had been to Bavaro Beach (around Princess Bavaro) in Punta Cana before and the beach was fantastic so we thought we would be getting the same thing. It seems the further you get away from the main strip, the more seaweed. I gues that is why the main strip is more popular. The golf was super though. Not busy at all and very reasonable.
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*It was an excellent holiday, and I will definitely go back again.* Visited: September 2002
Posted by lizmann1ng
	This was our second time to the island. We went to Jack Tar the year before, and Catalonia was far far better. The staff was very friendly - especially the young girls in the bar (tip them and you get a lot better service, filled glasses before you`ve emptied the last). The food was a lot better and edible, and there was more variety also. The weather was excellent. If it rained, it was late afternoon. There were not many Brits, but the ones who were there, we made good friends with and that really made our holiday enjoyable. The downside was that there were a lot of birds flying around in the restaurants, you couldn`t leave your food unattended or they would peck at it, and of course, there was bird poo on chairs and things. The rooms were cleaned every day, but the fridge was not always filled. We had to ask sometimes for it to be done. And we Brits like our tea in the morning, but unfortunately there was no milk in the room, which would have been nice. The sea was nice. My husband really enjoyed snorkeling, and the fish were very friendly especially if you had bread. We would recommend Catalonia to anyone. In fact, our daughter may get married here next year and we will definitely go back.
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*What a great vacation spot!* Visited: August 2002
Posted by mister142
	The Catalonia Bavaro had everything we could want in a vacation: a beautiful beach, great food and friendly staff. The room was large and comfortable with a hammock on the deck.The grounds were beautiful and the resort was clean and well kept. We are looking forward to our return visit. Also, you must fly into Punta Cana Airport--any other route is a real journey and not fun.
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*They have nice surroundings, but it's a shame about the food.* Visited: July 2002
Posted by bowenbaggies
	After reading all the North Amercian comments on the place, I felt it was only right you get a British version. 1. Check-in: this was the fastest ever. They give you a key and tell the porters to deliver your luggage on a little buggy to your room. 2. The room: very nice, the bath in the bathroom is to die for. The shower is a little cramped.The bed is average - nothing to right home about. The balcony is small, but the hammock is okay if you can fight the mosquitoes. The towels are changed daily if you put them on the floor, and the rooms are cleaned daily. We had the toilet block up, and on informing guest services, it was fixed within a couple of hours. 3. Surroundings: very lush with lots of green grass and pretty flowers watered daily by sprinklers. There are little ponds with lots of fish and turtles - it is very well kept. After a good rainfall in an evening, take your boots with you as certain paths do tend to flood. 4. The beach: white sand very well kept. Although, there is a bit too much seagrass close to shore. When snorkeling, you can see lots of fish (puffer fish , eels, etc.).The water is also very shallow. 5. The food: well, what can I say nice here? Not much. There is a fairly big choice at the buffet, but it will not take you long before you get the dodgy tummy ache and need the toilet more often. The special restaurants are not much good either the best being the Tex Mex, although my wife liked the French. 6. Entertainment: on the whole - good. The staff do try hard and there are some very good dancers. 7. Bar and Nightclub: It is a must that you go to the bar to get a drink, because if you sit down and order off the waitress, you will wait ages for your drink. The beer is awful, so drink the cocktails because they are much better. The nightclub plays a lot of Spanish music (only playing Amercian and British music very late on - 1:30am onwards). Overall impression: We are glad we tried it, but do not think we would visit again. Also, if you are planning a wedding, beware these are very tacky with sunbathers in their costumes surrounding you. I am sure there are more romantic settings than this.
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*A good value for the price.* Visited: April 2002
Posted by daniel_l
	We liked it so much here that we have booked to go again this year at the end of April. We booked the first time because it was a better rating than the cheap holidays and figured it would be somewhere in the middle of the road. We were pleasantly surprised. The check in process was organized. Although it was sometimes slow, it went pretty well for us. But some groups took an hour (we took 10 minutes). We flew and booked through Air Transat and had good times for entry and departure. We enjoyed the resort as a whole. The specialty restaurants -French in particular - were excellent, with the Japanese and Italian a close second. The Tex Mex we would not try again. The beach BBQ was great food, but the beach prep for the dancing and band was a little weak. The grounds were immaculate and the pool - well, let's say my wife fell in love with it so much she forgot we were at a beach resort. We participated in the activities and got to know the staff and animation team. If you befriend them, you get better service and life is easy and more enjoyable. We went not expecting a glamourous resort where servants bow to your every whim and everything would sparkle and we were pleasantly suprised at how clean the resort was and friendly the people were. The food was average in most cases, but excellent in others. The breakfast buffet and the egg station was always done to my request once I got past the language issue. Showing an effort to speak Spanish went a long way with the people here. Also, showing our Canadian Colors and friendliness really helped make our stay very enjoyable. If you have never travelled to the Caribbean, or expect that the resort be like going to a Hilton in a downtown big city, your expectations are way off. When going to the Caribbean the first thing to remember is this is their home and nothing is rushed. Be friendly patient and in time everything will be just fine. This resort staff worked hard to provide all the conviences of home and were successful while we were here and, for an inexpensive vacation, we look forward to going back. I'll write again when I return to let you know if it has changed, at least for us. We recommended this place to some friends who went in December during Christmas (the supposed worst time for service and food) and they loved it and are also going back this spring. They loved the food the peace and quiet even with all the people around and the pool, beach and drinks. They were pleased with the adjoining rooms they had as well.
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*It was absolutely Heaven.* Visited: April 2002
Posted by shelleyanderson12
	I had read other reviews of this property and was absolutely petrified to stay here. Thankfully, all of our fears were laid to rest when we drove up that incredibly beautiful driveway and entered the gates of Heaven. My husband and I stayed at a Sandals property in Negril Jamaica last year and we both preferred Catalonia Bavaro by far. The beauty of this resort was indescribable. The lush gardens, the abundance of palm trees and the tropical flowers were amazing. The rooms were impeccable with balconies equipped with a hammock and rocking chairs to enjoy the night skies. The bathrooms were all marble with a two-person tub, as well as a mini-fridge that was always stocked with beer, soda and bottled water. The beach was breathtaking with white sand that felt like powder under our feet. The pool was the highlight of my vacation. It was huge with fountains, islands of palm trees and greenery, as well as a hidden cold water jacuzzi nestled in among the islands. Every part of the resort was immaculate. Everything was so clean and inviting. Many of the reviews that I read discussed the quality of the food. I can honestly say that anyone who said they did not eat for their whole vacation because the food was bad, have to be entered into the Guiness Book of Records as being the most finicky eaters alive. The food for us was great. Breakfast buffets were our favorite with more choices than we could ever imagine. The best part were the donuts that were made fresh right in front of us every morning. They were "to die for". We ate at the Japanese, Italian and Tex-Mex restaurants with the Tex-Mex being our favorite. The Japanese was good and the Italian was great (the Zambuca was exceptional). A lot of people raved about the Creperie that was located in the shopping plaza, but we did not care for it. The staff at this resort was second to none. These people worked long hours and were always smiling. Our chamber maids were very pleasant and very appreciative of the little gifts we would leave for them and their children. Although we did not speak the same language, a smile said it all. We did learn the basics in their language and tried our best to communicate with what little Spanish we knew and we were able to make them laugh. Janet and Mariyo were the greatest. We would come back to a room full of tropical flowers, lots of towels, facecloths and a fully stocked fridge. Also, the Animation team was excellent and the nightly shows were always entertaining. They worked so hard. We definitely plan to return and would highly recommend this resort.
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*We had a great time - it was worth the money.* Visited: March 2002
Posted by fernando
	I just came back from vacation at Hotel Catalonia, and it was worth every dollar paid. The beaches and pool were very clean, and their staff was very helpful and attentive. The animation team was great, including a live band in the afternoon and at night. The nightclub was also very nice with different music playing throughout the night. The buffet food definitely could have been better, and I strongly recommend eating at the Japanase restaurant. Guests were from all over the world. The room was excellent, with a view of the beach. It was very spacious and comfortable. Overall, it was a great experience.
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Catalonia Bavaro Resort Overview

Situated on the Dominican Republic's easternmost beach just north of where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea, this resort includes a casino and a 9-hole golf course. Water-sports equipment, four à la carte dinner restaurants, day and night activities and entertainment, a disco, and a children's...