Loved it ! We had such a great time! Be aware that when you arrive at Punta Cana International Airport, you will be hit with a $10 fee to get into the country! Thankfully, we had cash on us to pay for that! We got to the resort and it was raining, and the staff was very helpful in getting us to our rooms without getting too wet! These rooms are by far the best on the entire complex, especially if you are travelling with children! All of the other rooms in the other hotels are just standard hotel rooms. The top floor is the one with the loft, but after that much walking around, it was nice to have the bottom floor! It was nice to have the tram, especially with my 2 yr old! He LOVED the choo-choo! However, it did move slowly. The food is regional, so don't expect too much "american" type food. It took me a couple of days to get used to it! The activities are pretty muich all in Spanish - we found that this resort is big on local people, Spaniards and Canadians. Not very many English speaking people - Brush up on your Spanish! The staff is wonderfuL! And the grounds are absolutely beautiful! At the end of the property, just past the Premium complex there is a flea market which you can buy your souvenirs at a much cheaper price than at the gift shops on resort property! As a final note, make sure that you pack your sunblock, but if you are susceptible to mosquito bites, bring repellant. My son and I had bug bites, which I don't mind, but was not going to pay $20 for a small can of OFF!.

This was our first time in Dominican and at an all-inclusive. Our experience was pretty unsatisfying. The room reeked of mildew and we found it on our blanket...Yuk! The room’s humidity made it impossible a have a good night sleep, but then again that's normal there. The hotel is old and obviously needs major upgrades and renos. This hotel claims to be a 4, but clearly it's far from it.

The staff was mostly unfriendly, but I have to say that there was a very big group (1000+) U students from Spain and they took most of the staff’s patience. Side note: That group made our stay HELL! Most were lodged in our block and would just not shut-up and create chaos all night. Several complaints were made to the front desk and they made it really clear that they didn't care or that they were fed up with all the guest complaints. Their security guards are just for show.

The golf was really nice, but I have to say that the bees nest on the first nine totally freaked me out. I never saw that many bees, well wasps before...They built their nests in the ground and you could literally see at least 50 wasps hovering around at EVERY nest. It was like fear factor for me!

To sum up my experience, I disliked the resort, rooms, staff and food. I guess I'm not a fan of the all-inclusive genre.
If your not picky stay there and you'll have fun, but if so continue your research and opt for another newer resort.

Honestly, like anything else in life - you get what you pay for.

At $1000 pp in the dead of winter, the Bavaro Golf resort is fantastic. Good food, clean rooms with plenty of room, nice pool and a lovely, lovely beach - one of the nicest I have ever seen.
With the ability to use the facilities are the sister resorts (via a short tram ride), this really is a solid budget hotel choice.

I have stayed at the Iberostar - and this isnt on that level...but I also paid nearly twice as much for the Iberostar.

If you want a quick, inexpensive, fun place to go on a last minute winter vacation - look no further.

Barcelo Bavaro Golf.

The stamp was put on the stay by our first night. Arriving at midnight after a long, overcrowded Sunquest charter – I really must find a better charter company – we were put in a large lofted room. Lighting was gloomy, but otherwise looked fine. But ten minutes later, the disco, not more than ten meters away from the bedroom window, started up. The noise level was impossible. I asked for a room change, but no go, the place was full. Walked the complex and the beach until 3 am, until the disco finally wound down.

The Golf is the smallest hotel of the complex, two rows of two and three level room complexes, one facing the golf course, the second the Plaza Dominicana, which houses the disco. If sleep is a priority or a necessity, do not accept lodging in this second row; you will not sleep. If you are there to party, then party on.

The hotel is clean, somewhat basic. The fittings are a little long in the tooth, and it seems as if this was the first to be built of the complex. One benefit over the other units, however: there openable doors on both sides of each room, allowing cross flow ventilation for those who do not want to be forced to use the noisy air conditioning. If you keep the sheer curtains closed, not too many mosquitoes get in. Insect screens on the windows would be nice.

The unit showed its age in the leaking air conditioner, leaving a wet puddle on the glazed tile in the bathroom. This was leakage from the upper units, as we had not turned the conditioner on. In the dark, my wife slipped and smashed her face on the floor. She had a nasty facial bruise, but fortunately no bones or teeth broken. The initial response of management was to put a pail under the leak to catch the water; the response to a second complaint was to do a repair that lasted one day. A third complaint was responded to more promptly, and a tech came by, explained that his repair would be temporary again and that he would need time to do a proper repair. As we were leaving the following day, I said: Manyana.

All meals we took at the Beach and Caribe. It took a little while to get to know the layout. Some kind of guide would help. The buffets are standard for Caribbean, rows of salads, basic meats done to a uniform style. The walls are open to the elements, with windbreak netting when the wind is stronger than usual. Wine is offered, but is not drinkable. We settled down to the usual Presidente beer, with variation into tequila and rum from time to time. The local white rum is not good; the darker is better.

Evening entertainment was variable. The Beach had a universally tepid and boring program, with much Latino buffo humour, and volume settings to make the ears bleed. The Caribe was much better, with a trio of singers who excelled, until the standard Bavaro advertisement break, coming on as support to the generic dance troupe. Alas, they were better when they were not trying too much.

The beach itself is fantastic. There is a wide lagoon, out to a coral reef, with very quiet water in its lee. The water is great to stay in for a long time, likely because the lagoon is relatively shallow and stays warm. Just short of the breakers are cages in the water, for a ray and some nurse sharks, for the snorkellers to be able to say they swam with a shark. Maybe a hundred snorkellers in the enclosure, with half as many again on the boat itself.

Except for the Beach area, which has 'animacion’ - this is really a noisy attempt at aerobics/dancing, with a rah rah camp leader and compere - there is little to distract. There is peace and quiet, with an excellent bar at the south of the beach. Basic canoes and sailboards, and Hobie cats for rent. The ‘all inclusive’ boats are Lasers, two of them, both cleverly placed at the at the extreme North end of the complex. No extra charge, but so much mouth about who could and could not sail them it proved to be not worth the while. By the way, I am a competent sailor. I have been used to seeing a few basic cat rigged dingies about Caribbean resorts, to mess around in. These are normally idiot proof, and cheap to operate. Maybe I am naïve about this. Certainly providing the boats, however inaccessible, means that they can be added to the hotel brochures…

We found ourselves gravitating to the Caribe, rather than the Beach. It was less given to offend audibly. The shows are better there; they share with the Palace next door. The Palace is more ostentatious than better. “Premium” means a pianist in the foyer in the evening, playing golden oldie movie theme songs. Lots more children, lots. So for an ‘upscale’ family event, this is the place.

The golf course is pretty standard. The greens are better than I believed they would be. Rentals are Wilsons, with a terrible driver and fairway woods, which I kept in my bag. As Air Canada lost my golf bag I had to use this set. Too bad, but not the hotel’s fault. Buy balls before you go; the prices on the course will make your nose bleed. A very basic grill on the club house patio. Hotdogs or hotdogs. No relish, so bring lots of those little restaurant bags of relish if you like relish.

I must say a word about the staff. They were patient, and helpful. They dealt with crumbling infrastructure with grace and to the best of their ability. They are understaffed in critical areas such as the restaurants, but do a great job nonetheless.

Overall, it was not too bad, by Caribbean large volume standards. You get what you pay for. Next time I think I will put a fcw more pennies into my vacation and find a little place in St. Croix. Ten beds in the hotel sounds a lot more attractive to me.