Catalonia Royal La Romana - All Inclusive

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

3735 reviews

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  Sea, Sun and Smiles

  I had a wonderful experience at the Catalonia Royale and absolutely loved it. The restaurants were amazing, especially the little snack bar after a beautiful day at the beach. My room was wonderful as well. I’ve been there twice—once in the summer and once for New Year’s Eve—and the New Year’s Eve experience truly exceeded my expectations. I am planning to go back again and have already referred several people because of how much I enjoyed my stays. I completely understand that repeat customers are not entitled to anything special; however, I did email ahead to inquire about a possible upgrade or any added consideration, and unfortunately never received a response. It would have been nice simply to be acknowledged. Aside from that, everything else was excellent

  Jan 01, 2026
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  Not the best sadly ..

  Within days of our arrival both my husband and I became ill. I have never experienced a stomach problem that has gone on for days like this did. Just impossible to venture anywhere that didn't have a toilet within running distance. We could only have picked this up from the food and/or drinks supplied at the hotel. A lot of the staff speak very little English which can be frustrating ( reception staff are ok ) though when we asked for a kettle in our room we may as well have asked for a ticket to the moon! In my opinion if a 5 star hotel is going to cater to English guests then this should be something that can be provided if requested. The hotel is in a beautiful location. The gardens are lovely and well kept. Our room was spacious ( fortunate as we did spend a good amount of time in there ) Bathroom and double shower nice ( also fortunate! ) We will not be returning.

  Dec 31, 2025
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  Worst experience of our lives!

  Catalonia La Romana - Dominican Republic. Will never return- awful experience!! Upon arrival to the Hotel, it was clear no expense had been spared on the decor, the place is very beautiful. We arrived on Saturday around 5pm. My husband left me in our room unpacking and he went out to explore. Sunday morning we ate in the Buffet and by Sunday evening I was feeling extremely nauseous and couldn’t eat or drink anything. I went without food for the next 4-days as I couldn’t stomach anything and put it down to catching something on the flight perhaps. However, we quickly noticed the food was not very tasty, everything was bland and tasteless and it didn’t matter whether we ate at the buffet or restaurants. We couldn’t quite put our finger on what was wrong….the orange juice is so diluted that it separates to less than half. See picture attached. By the end of our first week here, I started feeling slightly better but my husband developed what we can only think was severe food poisoning and he was violently sick and diarrhoea, stomach cramps, nausea. Both of us had lost a considerable amount of weight by this point. After starving himself and drinking only water for a few days, he felt he should really try to eat something. We had to book the buffet as it is only a buffet Monday & Friday and we were forced to use the buffet in the other hotel that was rammed with screaming children, considering we paid for an adult only holiday and all the Al a Carte restaurants were full. My husband ordered a chicken dish, which looked slightly green and didn’t smell of anything, he very quickly became unwell again. It’s now Christmas Eve as I write this and we cannot wait to go home. Christmas has been ruined and this has been a holiday from hell. Update: had to visit the hotel doctor at an expense of $600 at 4pm Christmas Eve who gave lots of packets of tablets, gave my husband a saline drip, none of which helped, so we had to get a taxi to Canela 1 Medical centre, as an Ambulance would cost us $450. On arrival the Hospital wouldn’t let us in until we had secured a deposit of $3,000 by card and we were told to claim on insurance later. It’s now Christmas Day and we are still in Hospital and they have diagnosed a parasite from contaminated water and food and Doctor said it has come from the Hotel. We have only eaten at the hotel so this confirms it. They are keeping my husband in a room that costs $250 per night again tonight, and he’s on a drip, antibiotics and probiotics. We are extremely concerned about the costs we will have!! English is not spoken by most, and Google translate is not helpful really, so it’s a very stressful time. Update #2: Boxing Day 26th December 2025 - my husband has been discharged from Canela #1 Hospital so we can fly home tomorrow. We have somehow been charged twice on our credit card by the Hospital AND the Hotel Doctor. We’ve spoken to the Hotel Doctor who confirmed he only took 1 payment and has no idea why two payments have come out. Both payments are different amounts! The Hospital have also taken a second payment which is also a different amount so the cost of treatment currently stands at around £5000!! This adds to the stress we’ve experienced with this holiday. I would like to add and wish I had my phone to video this, but the evening before Christmas Eve, I was hungry and we both went to the snack bar where I had a couple of slices of Pizza and while we sat we watched guests meals being served from the pizza area to the Toscana and Sorenti Al A Carte restaurants. There was no fresh hot food coming from the kitchen, it was all previously prepared and kept in metal trays covered in tin foil. The “chef” and I’m using this term lightly, used his hands and the same pair of tongs to dish up every meal. He used the tongs for fish, chicken and the salad. Other times he just used his hands. We were shocked!! The snack bar had tin dishes with food in under a warm light, which didn’t keep it warm at all covered in tin foil. This was an illness waiting to happen! Now, rooms are cleaned daily, and they make it very clear they do not change sheets often, which was fine with us. However in the two weeks we’ve been here our door handles and toilet flush was never cleaned. This made us look everywhere else and the handles were filthy all over the hotel, especially the main entrance. I understand the heavy traffic of people, but this should have been a priority!! On another note, while we sat to have lunch in the Isla snack bar, we were asked to provide a review by two members of staff. Once they scanned the QR code on my phone, she, the waitress touched my phone to select 5* for all sections on review, and told me what to write to give a positive review. So the review on trip advisor is not what we would have said and as soon as we get chance, I will be deleting it. We did read the reviews of this Hotel and did see some who had developed food poisoning, but we are worldwide travellers, and know how to be careful, however this was purely down to poor hygiene in the Hotel and cross contamination of foods that we witnessed first hand. All the staff are very young and do work hard, so on the outside it looks amazing, but the sanitation is a big issue. They provide bottled water in the rooms and we had a couple of bottles that were not locked, the seal was already broken. Did they fill this up from the tap? Also, all the cups and glasses are washed up using the tap and left to dry in our room , which I’ve googled and contamination can develop and remain in the cups/glasses from the water that you cannot drink. We were really looking forward to this holiday being our very first Christmas abroad. We will never do it again. I was so worried my husband would die here and that trauma will stay with me forever. Now I’m sure that the majority of people here have had a great time, and have not become unwell. But, I feel so strongly about what has happened that I needed to write this review. This is our own personal experience and not a negative reflection on the Hotel in general. General hygiene and sanitation is not at the top of their list, so long as the gardens are kept tidy!! In addition: The beach sunbeds with shade are always reserved with towels even though this is not permitted, and you can never get one. I walked down around 4am one morning to watch the sunrise and they were all reserved. Plenty of sunbeds, just no umbrellas. Staff are attentive and always asking if you need a top up. Staff are very friendly and we have no complaints, they do work hard. The grounds are kept immaculate and the hotel is very beautiful. The shop is expensive and also the mini mart opposite the hotel, so bring your own snacks. Just please be careful and vigilant on what you eat and where you eat and perhaps take some antibacterial wipes and hand sanitiser!

  Dec 28, 2025
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  Hotel fabulous but food hygiene not up to standard

  Location and hotel were great. Spent the first week of holiday in Bavara Beach and was very excited to stay in thus Adult Only resort. Location and amenities were fabulous however the food was not great. I had an upset stomach for 3 of my 7 day stay and food poisoning on my last night. Didn't eat anything the last day as I was worried about my flight back to The UK. On speaking to other guests this happens regularly. The majority of the staff were great, staff at reception were so friendly however some of the staff in the restaurants were not very friendly. On one occasion we had to wait 10mins on an English menu and then approached immediately to place our order. Didn't get time to even read menu. A beautiful hotel but really needs to concentrate on food hygiene. The entertainment was excellent every evening.

  Dec 23, 2025
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  Pleasant and enjoyable

  To all the critics! and Travellers from far ! Respect the culture language In return you recieve theres ! Enjoyable stay

  Dec 23, 2025