Catalonia Royal Bavaro - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

10107 reviews

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  Rough start to a subsequently Enjoyable Vacation!

  We stayed at the Catalonia Bavaro beach resort on the family side in 2007. This time we chose to stay on the adults-only side at the Catalonia Royal. Upon a late night arrival, check-in was quick and easy. Once we arrived at our room, however, we soon discovered that we had trouble connecting to the wi-fi. The connection was weak and kept timing out. (It should be known that wi-fi is most convenient to access the hotel services. The front desk almost never answers the phone.) We then discovered that the toilet did not flush. We tried to call to reception and were instantly put on hold for 30 minutes after which we decided to walk over to the desk. Unfortunately, the night-time desk attendant was terribly inept at his job. First, he tried to put us in a room that was inferior to what we paid for. Then he tried to put us in a room that was also not what we asked for. After being driven from reception to room, back to reception then to another room, and back to reception; an hour and a half later we were given the presidential suite for the night. It was far more than we required. It was clean but it had a foul smell. It was 2am at this point so we slept there for the night but early morning we went back to reception to make sure we were placed in a proper room for the remainder of our stay. The pleasant woman at the desk quickly provided us with a room that was precisely what we paid for. I forget her name but she was quite helpful ,always with a smile on every interaction. We are very appreciative of her service. After this preliminary debacle, the rest of our stay was quite pleasant and relaxing. THE ROOM It was in good repair, had a functioning toilet and had good wi-fi connection. The bed was comfortable; the TV worked well with lots of English options. The shower worked well and there was always hot water (sometimes too hot). We are not really fans of the open concept bathroom area but there is a glass door that sort of separates the toilet from the rest of the area. The lighting isn’t great at the sink, and the small vanity mirror light didn’t work. The outlet next to the sink was a bit sketchy so we chose not to use that one. There were always clean towels provided and the cleaning ladies did a great job preparing the room daily. The minibar/fridge were always restocked. The wi-fi worked very well in the room, at the restaurants, pool and beach. The temperature in the room was a bit finicky to maintain and sometimes too cold so we would just open the patio door to even out the temperature. We did have an issue with the safe one night, but the maintenance guy came out right away to fix it. We also had an issue with our room door as the key would unlock it (green light), but it wouldn’t open. Again, once reported, the maintenance staff promptly remedied the problem. THE FOOD There was an adequate variety of food at the buffets for breakfast and dinner. We never went hungry. We did the buffet at the family side for breakfast every morning as it was close to the beach. We got food from the snack bar at Beloved every afternoon. We booked at Beloved for dinner one night. I do not recommend it. The service was very slow, and they got my order wrong for both the starter and the main course. We booked the Terrace and Mamma Mia as well. Both of these are good options. The food and service were very good. The first night we went to Thalassa by mistake thinking it was a buffet, but they immediately sat us at a table for dinner even though we did not have a reservation. I recommend booking the a la cartes as soon as you arrive as they fill up quickly. This is something easily completed on the resort app. (If you have the privilege option, you can also order room service from the app. But be aware that the selection will dwindle as the night goes on.) THE POOL We spent some time at the infinity pool a couple of days. The covered loungers get taken early but there are always other loungers available. You will have to keep moving them, though, to chase the shade if you want out of the sun. The pool was always clean. We didn’t go to the other pool at the front so I cannot comment on that one. THE BEACH We spent most of our time at the beach. We always found loungers. (We were at the beach by 9am) There was sea grass on the beach but a crew was always out in the mornings to clear it. We found that there was a lot of grass in the ocean as well. When swimming we were always having to swish it away. The water was only about 4.5 feet deep all the way out to the buoys but still good enough for swimming. The beach bar was a nice place to get out of the sun, and the service was always good. MICELLANEOUS There are a gym and a spa which we didn’t use. You can have a massage on the beach. There are always vendors walking around on the beach but a “no, thank you” will send them on their way if you are not interested. There are some activities throughout the day, but we didn’t partake in any of those. There are shows in the evenings, two of which we attended, but there are also shows on the family side which may be better? And finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention the resident animals on the resort. There are both cats and dogs strolling throughout the grounds day and night. (There was actually a 4 wk old puppy when we were there.) They are permitted in the open-air eating establishments but will go away with a gentle nudge. Most guests enjoyed the familiarity of ‘pets’ and were most welcoming to them. Some even fed them table scraps. Being an animal lover myself, I was always looking for them and gave them some attention whenever they came around. They will find a shady spot on the beach and lay there for hours unbothered by the people around them. They are very gentle and friendly, and I never saw any aggression from them. Given our experience at this resort, while it is nothing terribly fancy, it is clean, sufficiently maintained from rooms to pools to beach to grounds, provides an adequate variety of good food and drinks, with friendly and attentive staff. I can say that we would recommend it and would definitely return again.

  Apr 12, 2026
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  Repeat clients. A slice of heaven.

  This is a wonderful hotel. We are currently here for our 4th time. The staff are very attentive and go above and beyond to make your experience perfect. The beach bar is our favorite place in the morning. Cleudy and her team are exceptional. They really take care of their customers and make you feel at home. There are too many wonderful employees to mention by name but Ezequiel and Aneury at the BLoved are amazing. If you’re looking for a peaceful relaxing vacation this place is heaven.

  Apr 09, 2026
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  Very Relaxing Place to Visit.

  We stayed at the Adults Side - Great experience! Firstly, the property is very large, lots of area to walk around and explore, or just take a leisure stroll. The service team does their best to provide accommodations as much as possible. A few areas to mention: Dining - Thalassa is the Best! The food is all well done and plenty of choice, no matter what your liking is. Both: buffet and a la carte. Christina at the entrance was very friendly and has lots of knowledge about not only how to great people, but also knows the menu and provides insights on the dishes and what is the best to order, her knowledge of English is an asset. Anyolo Gil - amazing server, he works long hours and always full of energy and cheerful, very respectful, great sense of humor, makes sure you are looked after and all the food is served perfectly well. He is also eager to assist his fellow team members and train new staff. The Buffet on the Family side is also great - vast choice of delicious food! Angelica in the Piano Bar - tirelessly waking around to make sure that tables are clean and glasses are full, a very pleasant person. Marissa can give you a very relaxing massage and very skillful at doing that. Hansel from the entertainment team - that boy has a never ending energy, he is always smiling, eager to make sure that you have great time! His friend from the entertainment team ( forgot the name) never fails to engage you in aerobics or game competitions on the beach. And last, but definitely not least - the lady that was maintaining our room - building 40 - she always kept our room perfectly clean, towels in place, pretty way of decorative folding on the bed with a touch of fresh flowers. The live entertainment each evening was well chosen with variety of performers. Thank you to Each an Everyone for providing such a great service! Now, a few areas I would suggest for improvement: the TV has no Youtube, and NO channel guide, so have to flip between channels to find something to watch if you wish to. The thermostat in the room would not adjust to the desired temperature - we just turned it off, it was 17C - even for the summer too cold. The room, even though we paid for a "renovated" one, had quite a few flaws: you could see the cealing with either water or humidity damage, the make up mirror in the bathroom did not have working light, some wear and tear to the counters. Considering that we went to the room only to sleep - way too much fun outside - it was ok, but considering the price we paid... the room leaves much to be desired. The beach - might be the season, there were lots of seaweed, but the cleaning crew was working every day to clean up, the sand very soft and clean. The water mostly shallow all the way to the limit line, but still can swim if you want. Overall - we had great time, would definitely recommend Catalonia Royal Bavaro for vacation.

  Apr 08, 2026
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  Awesome!

  My husband and I did a 10 day stay at Catalonia Royal Bavaro, Punta Cana, DR (Mar 23 - Apr 2, 2026). We had a great time. This place is very well kept with beautiful landscaping. We had a room close to the beach which was great. The room was super clean but the furniture is outdated but in good condition. I have read reviews that the staff did not smile and this is certainly NOT the case. From front desk to cleaning staff all were super friendly and smiling. Special mention to Alfredo, John, and many more (I should have written their names down). The food was good but a little on the salty side. We loved the beach and could walk for miles. Some days we had sea grass come onto the beach, as a result of high winds. The staff were cleaning it up continuously! They did an awesome job! We would definitely recommend Catalonia Royal Bavaro (Adults side) as I cannot speak for the family side as we didn't go over there. Thank you to all that made our stay so wonderful.

  Apr 08, 2026
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  Amazing 2 week vacation!

  Amazing unforgettable 2 weeks here with my wife. Daughter and future son in law. All the staff were amazing my Concierges and my butlers on royal side went above and beyond shout out to Carlos! Great job! Yoderlin perfecto! Erik, Juan, and Wily also helped alot to make our stay memorable. Franceli at the bavaro etc lounge was an amazing help as well 5 stars!

  Apr 05, 2026