JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar - All Inclusive - Adults Only

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

16089 reviews

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  Very good stay, just a bit quiet

  This was our first stay at JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar, the driveway from the main road to the hotel is very long and on the ay down to the JOIA you pass signs for the other four hotels on the site. The lobby was spacious and palatial but as Iberostar Club =members were taken to the Star Prestige lounge to check in. The bedroom was fine, there was sufficient wardrobe space and drawers for clothes, the entrance hall had a coffee maker and minibar along with bottles of filtered water. The water is supplied on a daily basis but we would rather get our own, as in lower level Iberostar hotels, we find it less wasteful as on some days we had at least had four bottles of water in the room, we drank less than a bottle a day, so we had 2/3 day old water on occasions. The bedroom was spacious enough and they had installed USB ports in the double sockets at either side of the bed, which was useful. The bathroom was slightly dated, the enamel on the bath was chipped, the shower was large but the water pressure was on the low side. However everything in the room was good quality and it was spotlessly clean thanks to Brigida who was also very good at towel art. Our butler, Victor, called on us not long after we got to our room to check that we had everything we needed, after a long flight 9½ hours, we just wanted to get washed and go for dinner, although I did ask for some tonic water and when we returned from dinner there were four cans there. We went in the buffet he first evening, plenty of choice and attentive staff, likewise the next morning we used the main buffet for breakfast. I am not keen on buffets as I tend to place too much food on my plate as I think I’ll try some of this and some of that and end up feeling too full. Being Iberostar Club members, after the first morning we decided to have breakfast at the La Perla restaurant which offered an a la carte menu. They brought you a fruit platter and came round with a trolley to offer fresh baked croissants, pain au choclat and banana bread. We were greeted at the restaurant each morning by Jhoel, who was an excellent host, aided by Nelson, Maximo, Pedro and Frances, who kept topping up the coffee and on some occasions mimosas. La Perla was also a buffet restaurant at lunchtime and again we preferred it to the main buffet. There are five specialty restaurants’, La Tentazione (Italian), El Galeon (steak), Le Tourbillon (French), Hashira (Japanese) and Casa de la Playa (Dominican). El Galeon was our favourite, the steaks in there were very good, Jessica the hostess was excellent and the waiting staff, Santo, Yohan, Ramona, Keila, Elizabeth and especially Noemi were very good and professional. La Tentazione also did a good fillet steak but the service could be hit and miss, one evening my wife said it felt like a production line, get them in, take the order and get the starters out as quick as possible. On another occasion we had a waitress who gave the impression she didn’t want to be there, wine and water were just sloshed in the glasses and spilt on the table, all the other waiters and waitresses took care pouring the drinks out, ensuring that the wine, especially red, didn’t drip on the table. The Japanese restaurant, Hashira, was the only one that needed a reservation, you could either sit inside and enjoy the teppanyaki show cooking or sit outside and order from a traditional menu. We opted for outside; we both had different chicken dishes but neither of us was impressed with the quality of the chicken. La Tourbillon French restaurant had a good choice of menu, from beef wellington, fish, lamb, duck, chicken and steak. The cheese cart was very for dessert, with a selection of different cheeses. Jhoel and Carolay were the hosts and good service provided by Raisa. We only went to the Dominican restaurant, Casa de la Playa, once as there were not many choices on the menu that my wife liked, although I found it an interesting menu. I opted for stewed goat with rum, which was very tasty and the goat very tender. Whilst in the restaurant they had a DJ, Castillo, who went round the tables asking everyone to write down a memorable song, which he then played to the whole restaurant, it was actually very good, Service in all the restaurants was very good, apart from the one waitress in the Italian. Entertainment was posted on the Iberostar app, but we found that this was hit and miss. On one Sunday evening in the theatre they had three tenors, El Divo, who were very good, but it wasn’t shown on the app, the next Sunday, three sopranos, Las Divas, again not shown on the app so it was not surprising that the theatre was only half full on both occasions, on Saturday evenings a show was shown on the app but didn’t take place, we along with other guests had made our way to the theatre. The evening entertainment was often just outside the lobby bar. Some entertainment, including the fire show, took place outside the lobby bar but the area was a bit too small to properly enjoy it. There was a Queen tribute one evening and I have to say they were pretty good, live musicians not backing tracks as well. The entertainment was repeated on a weekly basis so if there for two weeks you got the same shows, apart from El Divo and Las Divas. There were plenty of loungers and beds by the pool and on the beach, being Iberostar Club Members we used the Star Prestige area, but as is often the case people were going down to reserve their places early in the morning and is some cases not returning for 2-3 hours, they must have been going down in the dark as I liked to go down at 7:00, the best time of the day, and the sun was just rising but there were always towels/books on beds. There was sargassum on the beach each morning, but the staff were out before 7.00 with tractors removing it. The Star Prestige beach area had Augusto as the concierge, he did a good job of attending to the beds and serving drinks, along with Martin and Malyerix, with Julian doing a good job of keeping the sand cleaned and raked. Next door was Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites and we walked through to the Star Café, as it was bigger than at JOIA, and also to the souvenir shops, also there was the coral laboratory showing what Iberostar were doing to preserve coral. Our butlers, Eduardo and Victor were very friendly and helpful, we didn’t really use them as we prefer to tend to our own needs, but they kept in touch daily checking to see if we needed anything, one day we came back to the room to find that they had decorated the bed and it did seem a shame to remove everything so that we could sleep in it. The staff in the Star Prestige reception and lounge were helpful and friendly especially Alby, Darlenys, Junior and Paloma. Overall, the hotel was very nice, ever so clean and tidy and the staff very friendly but we found it just a bit too quiet.

  Mar 22, 2026
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  Our second 8- day stay at JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar

  We just wrapped up our second 8 -day stay here at Joia Bavaro by Iberostar celebrating our 30th Anniversary. The stay was every bit as incredible as the first -maybe even better. The oceanfront views from our balcony were absolutely spectacular. Waking up and looking out over the ocean and pools never got old. The entire resort was spotless, and you can tell they take great pride in keeping everything clean and well-maintained. The staff is unbelievably friendly and attentive - always checking on us and keeping drinks coming by the pool without us ever having to ask. A special shoutout to our butler, Armondo, Hands down the best we have ever had. After long days at the pool or beach, we would come back to the room to find champagne on ice and fruit waiting for us. He even arranged a private driver so we could explore the island, which made the trip even more memorable. He truly went above and beyond in every way. We couldn’t have asked for a better experience and are already looking forward to coming back again soon.

  Mar 18, 2026
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  Great vacay

  Houston and Jose were so great. Highly professional and always ready to help. We had the best time. Highly recommend.

  Mar 18, 2026
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  Beautiful resort in Dominican Republic

  Our butlers Jose and Houston were amazing. They were helpful in making reservations and arranging for specific accommodations. The property itself is beautiful and very well kept. The beach was clean and well equipped with comfortable loungers and tiki style canopies.

  Mar 17, 2026
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  Wonderful vacation at the Joia by Iberostar Bavro resort in Punta Cana

  We are just back from our 7th trip to this wonderful resort. Long beach walks were a daily occurrence and then back to the pool area. We were treated well by all employees. I want to recognize a few employees that went above and beyond. These staff members were not only incredible but they remembered us from our previous visits. Noemi at the lunch buffet and the steak restaurant always ensured we were looked after in a very special way. Melissa a supervisor always ensured we were well treated and looked after (while always having a smile on her face. Ery at the swim up bar works very hard but always remembered our drink order and was great to interact with.. Michael at the Italian restaurant was always smiling and made us feel at home. It is people that can elevate a vacation from good to great and I am very happy to say that was done during our vacation.

  Mar 17, 2026