Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites

Our expectations were not met. For the amount of money we've paid we are very disappointed. Mini bar at the room was not getting restocked in a daily basis even after asking the staff nothing was happening. We were not been provided with drinking water,instead we had to fill up bottles in wate r station which is a big inconvenience especially if you are thirsty in the night and you forgot to fill up your bottle . Staff was catering to only Spanish speaking guest and ignoring the rest( English-speaking).Some staff was nice only after tipping, the rest was behaving like we were bothering them. Mind you that we are cheerful crowd but we felt unwelcome. We all together had 3 rooms booked and in 2 of them the electricity didn't work and the AC worked on and off. It was advertised as a 4.5 star resort but I wouldn't give more then 3 stars and definitely won't come back to this resort. Te buffet food was dissent. '

Arrived and all restaurants that required reservations were booked despite being told I could only make reservations on site! On top of that huge room mix up!

Had an awesome vacation at this location. The resort was as expected, the kicker on this trip for this 5 star review was a small group of employees that went above and beyond while we were there. From just there positive friendly attitudes to the attentiveness to there services. These awesome locals made a world class difference in our stay. Upon leaving, we were not just leaving a resort but also our new friends in the Dominican Republic Thanks again! Manny Cabrera Frannely Hernández Clary Solano Edwin Moises Carmona García

Day 1; Arrived Saturday early afternoon. Check in was fine. Immediately went to secure resturant reservations. Suprise....no reservations availabe at any resturant for any nights our entire trip. The hotel website brags about their gastronomical food offerings and that was the main reason we chose this hotel. And yes they do have a buffet which is mediocre at best. Tried a 'steak' at the buffett which i could barley cut with a knife yet alone chew. We talked to several people who had reservations for every night of their stay. We have been to dozens of all-inclusive resorts over the past 30 years and never have we been relagated to buffet food for our entire trip. Management tried to tell us how great the buffet was. If it's that good why are all the resturants booked solid? To be fair breakfast was decent. We will order a pizza from town tonight. We feel totally ripped off by this hotel.

⭐⭐ (2/5) I am an IHG Diamond Elite member and a Marriott Lifetime Platinum member. I have stayed at properties around the world. This stay stood out for all the wrong reasons. We Did Our Homework. The Resort Did Not. On February 25, 2026, more than a month before arrival, I emailed three separate resort teams in both English and Spanish to arrange a birthday celebration for my son Henry, turning seven on March 28. The response I received was an offer for romantic roses and a special dinner on the beach. For a seven year old. That told me everything about how carefully this team reads guest requests. The Birthday That Required a Fight I was quoted $25 for cake and decorations. At check-in it became $100. I paid it. What I did not receive were the room decorations explicitly promised by the guest relations team. No balloons. No banner. My son walked into an undecorated room on his birthday because no one followed through on a written commitment. Getting a specialty restaurant reservation for his birthday dinner required a formal escalation to guest relations the night before. Only then did a reservation at Salt and Soul magically appear. The dinner was lovely. The fight to get there was not acceptable. The Upsell Culture Is Relentless A breakfast billed as a special educational experience was a high pressure sales pitch for their VIP club membership. We had already paid a premium rate. A staff member posing as a concierge promised to secure our Italian restaurant reservation for our final night, insisted I save his WhatsApp, and has not responded in 48 hours. I told him directly: “I can tell a lot by how you treat non members about how you would treat members. This has been enlightening. Lot of talk but no follow through.” That sentence summarizes this entire stay. Loyalty Status Means Nothing Here When I asked about an upgrade consistent with my IHG Diamond Elite status I was told my standard junior suite was already the upgrade. It was not treated that way at any point during our stay. This Is Not a Family Resort This property markets itself as a premier family destination. In practice it is built for VIP club members. There was no onboarding, no orientation, and no effort to help families navigate a complex property. We lost real experiences because of it. Think about what a Disney cruise does. Children are front and center above everything else. This property is the polar opposite of that. The One Bright Spot The food is genuinely excellent. Every meal was well prepared and our boys enjoyed every single one. The grounds are beautiful. That is real and it deserves to be said. Note on the Beach Sargassum seaweed accumulation is significant right now. This is a regional climate issue and not the resort’s fault. If you are traveling in March or April, manage your expectations on beach conditions. The Bottom Line The gap between the marketing and the reality is significant. We will not be returning.