Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites

Worst resort ever except the Star Camp (kid's club)! Rude staff, very rude, my mom got humiliated at La Dorada (the Greek restaurant), very unprofessional! If you don't speak Spanish, go somewhere else! Upon arrival, the receptionist at check-in was unwelcoming and the "concierge" acted friendly at first promising us to make the reservation for the Japanese and Italian restaurants and will confirm with us the next day. He even met us at the pool saying since we were first timer at the resort, he offered us a special breakfast at the Coral Level the next morning. Next morning, he sent someone to pick us up and that person asked us if we bring our ID. I was so confused, why would we need to bring an ID to have breakfast? He revealed that there'll be a "presentation" while we have our special breakfast. Now we know the true motive and declined, we are not wasting 2 hr of our precious vacation time to hear a sales pitch! After that, no words from the concierge, he never made any restaurant reservation for us!!!! I had to wait outside the guest service office to tried to make a booking and found out all the restaurants were fully booked! We stayed 4 nights and no availability! What a scam, I paid extra to stay at the Selection so we have access to more restaurants! We ended up dinner at the buffet twice and lined up at opening time to get in the French and Greek restaurant. The French restaurant was good, the waitress was more friendly and spoke okay English, but the lobster bisque and the lobster and steak was just shrimps, no lobster. The Greek restaurant, La Dorada, was a disaster! The waitress was very rude, when I ordered the souvlaki and another dish from the special section, she said "no!". She was angry and said one main per person only, she never explained the menu so how would I know they treated the souvlaki as a main course? Plus, it's unheard of that in an all-inclusive resort, it limited to one main course! Then it took more than an hour for our food, no wonder they limited to one main per person because they were super slow! Even worst, due to the slowliness and we sat next to the glass window of the kitchen, my mom kept looking at the kitchen. The waiter and waitress made fun of my mom in Spanish saying "that woman looked so desperate". One of our family member speaks Spanish, how unprofessional they were to say that in Spanish in front of us! When the food was finally here, the waiter put my mom's dish down and said "go eat mama"!!! Seriously, we tried to hold our cool and not to ruin our vacation!!!!! The food was mediocre, overcooked meats and salty! Avoid this restaurant!!!! The buffets were okay, even though lots of varieties, we got bored after 4 lunch and 2 dinner! The meat dishes in general were overcooked and salty. Not much kids friendly choices! The waiter and waitress barely speak English, luckily, one of our family member speaks Spanish so he ordered drinks for us. But at one of the lunches, we ordered 1 pina colada and 4 virgin pina colada and it turned out the other way around. Thank God that I tasted it before giving it to my 3 yr old son!!!! How can you mixed up like that when there are kids in our table???? The only positive about this resort was the Star Camp, the kid's club. I picked this resort because of this for our two kids: 5 and 3 yr old. I read upfront that for kids under 4, I need to supervise so I was prepared for that. However what I didn't find out until we got there was they have set "family time" for kids under 4 so I had to adjust the plan to go at 2-4 PM and after dinner at 8:30 PM (they have a morning session as well, see the pic I posted). The indoor playground was large and cute, however, my daughter's favorite trampoline area was closed during our 4 nights! She was sad that she didn't get to play in it. The staff were friendly and tried to engage my daughter by speaking English. I appreciate their efforts! Overall, I would not recommend this resort unless you have kids and speak Spanish!

Pros: - Great Buffet Restaurant with a lot of variety and quality. (Desserts are absolutely the best). The lack of AC in the restaurant is uncomfortable a lot of times. - The drinking water system using refillable glass bottles is very sustainable and kind of cool to refill your bottles whenever you need. - Nice 2 clay tennis courts, but they could offer clinics and promote group sessions. - The bathroom in the Family suites are big and renovated - The main swimming pool area is nice. - Most of the resort workers are nice and polite. - The evening entertainment shows (performances) are fun and well produced. Cons: - The wifi works in most of the property, but you lose connection in some places - It was impossible to make a reservation in the steakhouse and Italian restaurants. Even with 4 days in advance - The room AC is noisy and it doesn’t cool down the room enough. (It’s not terrible, but not great either) - The group of concierges are all the time trying to sell you “special packages” of upgrades to some of their better hotels and upper level areas, like Coral. This is super annoying. - I paid my trip using Costco Travel for 2 adjoining junior suites, but they don’t have these rooms in the resort, so I had to pay $400 extra for 4 nights to move into a upgraded Family suites with adjoining rooms. - The check-in process was slow and a little confusing. - The Gym is not great and needs upgraded equipment. The AC is also not strong enough) - The room beds are comfortable, but they have only one type of pillow and I didn’t like it (too soft). Also the TV is not positioned in a good spot of the room to actually watch it). - Overall the entire property is a little dated and it’s time for a renovation.

My experience at IBEROSTAR was truly unforgettable, and a big reason for that was the exceptional service provided by Gheremy, the concierge. From the very beginning, he made sure every detail of our stay was perfect. He was always available, attentive, and incredibly knowledgeable — whether we needed help with dinner reservations, excursion planning, or just local recommendations, Gheremy handled everything with professionalism and a warm smile. What really stood out was his genuine care for our comfort and enjoyment. He checked in regularly to ensure we had everything we needed, and he went out of his way to make our trip extra special. His service was beyond 5-star — Gheremy is a true asset to the IBEROSTAR team. Thank you, Gheremy, for making our vacation smooth, relaxing, and memorable!

We stayed for 7 days and had high hopes, but this resort fell short compared to other Iberostar properties. Cons: • Not all staff were friendly, and several didn’t try to communicate in English — mainly Spanish-speaking and not much effort to help. • Pools, especially the Bavaro pool by the bar and the kids pool, weren’t as clean as they should be — water was cloudy by mid-day. • The beach was full of seaweed, making it impossible to swim. • Food at the Bavaro restaurants looked great but had no flavor. We didn’t have a single meal we enjoyed. • Rooms are outdated and need renovation. • Major issue with the AC: it was broken, loud like a rattling propeller, and didn’t cool the room even at 19°C. Asking for a fix felt like a hassle; moving rooms was discouraged. • Front desk was friendly until we had issues — then not helpful. • Promised 2 x 30-min massages but no voucher was given. Staff seemed confused. A different staff member helped us get both the massage vouchers and a steakhouse reservation after our concierge said it wasn’t possible. • Spa staff were not friendly — no smiles, no welcome, no warmth at all. It made us wonder if it was because we used a voucher due to the AC issue. Pros: • Hotel grounds are pretty and well maintained. • Property isn’t too large, so it’s easy to get around. • The buffet and café were highlights — you could always find something to eat, and buffet servers were nice. • Golf carts available for quick rides. • The kids club staff were kind and inclusive — they tried to speak English so the kids wouldn’t feel left out. Beautiful property, but service, food, and room experience didn’t meet expectations. Ficamos por 7 dias e estávamos com grandes expectativas, mas o resort deixou muito a desejar comparado a outros da rede Iberostar. Pontos negativos: • Nem todos os funcionários foram simpáticos e vários nem tentaram se comunicar em inglês — falavam praticamente só espanhol e fizeram pouco esforço para ajudar. • As piscinas, especialmente a do Bavaro perto do bar e a infantil, não estavam tão limpas quanto deveriam — a água ficava turva no meio do dia. • A praia estava cheia de algas e não dava para nadar. • A comida dos restaurantes do Bavaro era bonita na apresentação, mas sem sabor. Não tivemos uma refeição que realmente gostássemos. • Os quartos são antigos e precisam de reforma. • Problema sério com o ar-condicionado: estava quebrado, fazia um barulho enorme como uma hélice solta e não resfriava o quarto nem com a temperatura em 19°C. Pedir conserto foi um transtorno e desencorajaram a troca de quarto. • A recepção era simpática até surgirem problemas — depois disso, a boa vontade desapareceu. • Prometeram 2 massagens de 30 min, mas não nos deram o voucher. Os funcionários pareciam perdidos. Só conseguimos resolver depois que outro funcionário (não o concierge) nos ajudou com os vouchers e com a reserva no steakhouse (o concierge disse que não tinha vaga). • O pessoal do spa não foi nada simpático — sem sorriso, sem boas-vindas, sem calor humano. Ficamos com a impressão de que foi porque usamos o voucher por conta do problema do ar-condicionado. Pontos positivos: • O hotel é bonito e bem cuidado. • A área não é muito grande, então é fácil de circular. • O buffet e o café foram os melhores — sempre tinha algo para comer e os garçons do buffet foram simpáticos. • Carrinhos de golfe disponíveis para deslocamentos rápidos. • O pessoal do kids club foi atencioso e tentou falar inglês para incluir as crianças. Hotel bonito por fora, mas o atendimento, a comida e a experiência do quarto ficaram muito abaixo do esperado.

My stay at the **Iberostar Bávaro** in Punta Cana was an incredible experience that exceeded all my expectations. From the moment I arrived, I was greeted by a warm and attentive staff, eager to make my vacation unforgettable. The resort is stunning, with an elegant and well-maintained design, surrounded by typical Caribbean white-sand beaches. My garden-view room was spacious and very clean, with inviting decor and an extremely comfortable bed. Housekeeping was impeccable every day, and the minibar was constantly restocked. The entertainment team made every day fun with activities. The pool is huge and perfect for relaxing in the sun. What surprised me most was the friendliness of the staff (typical of the Dominicans), always willing to help with a smile. From the receptionists to the waiters, everyone made us feel at home. I truly recommend it.