I booked through Apple vacations and they were great. We arrived at the Resort before check in and our rooms were ready.

The Room:

We stayed in the Junior Suite which wasn't anything special. The beds were hard but after the first two days this didn't phase me. The air conditioning worked great in our room which was a plus. The jacuzzi in the bathroom would have been great if it worked. Finally after awhile it decided to kick in and work. There was blood on the shades in the bathroom which I found disgusting. We had the first floor and some bugs did get under the door so watch out they could be quite big.

The Beach:

The beach was nice. A little small for my taste. Very narrow. The water was beautiful. Never had a problem finding chairs, even after 11:00.

Pools:

There were so many to choose from. The Bavaro beach wasn't anything thrilling compared to all the other resorts I've been to. They don't really take the time out to clean the pools at all during the day. The pools at the Punta Cana were much nicer but still nothing special.

Drinks:

If you are looking for a strong drink ask for mucho anything becasue you drink will barely have any alcohol. Roberto at the lobby bar will take care of you. He was great.

The People:

Well if you speak English good luck finding someone else who does. The language barriers are huge. We are very social and this was a big downfall.

The Food:

The only good one was the Tex Mex one. We ate there twice. The buffets were OK. Definitely not a 4 or 5 star rating food. Don;t get me wrong there is enough to choose from and you won't get hungry.


Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad place for maybe 3 stars. You can find a much better resort in the D.R. I wouldn't waste my time going back here. There are far better resorts on the island. Choose wisely. you'll have a better time somewhere else. Was it pretty? Yes. But you could have five time nicer somewhere else and spend the same amount of money. I'm lucky I got a good price on this resort. had I spent what the rates are now in July i would be completely and utterly unhappy.

I will never return here. Try the Majestic or the RIU. Both gorgeous places and well worth the money.

I you do decide to stay here you won't have a terrible time but trust me for an extra $100 go somewhere nicer. You'll be much happier.

And p.s. the burgers at the sports bar were gross. I don't know what spice they put in there but it was just bad. really bad.

Before going to Punta Cana I eagerly awaited the latest reviews and forum updates on the Grand Palladium Bavaro Hotel. Since returning and reading some of the more recent ones I felt compelled to give some balance to future potential visitors as it's all too easy to write a solely negative/positive review.

A little background - 2 couples travelling together aged 27 - 30 years old. Have been on similar trips before, including all inclusives but not to the Caribbean itself.

(1) - Reception - Utterly incompetent and rude, regularly over 14 days. Absolutely zero communication between them and a glazed look of "I don't care" as they begrudgingly dealt with issues. Example - Door was broken to room which locked us out. At least our friends were beside us. 6 phone calls and 2 visits to reception over a 10 hour period followed - No help. At 2am, a maintenance crew member broke the door in for us. Worse still, 3 phonecalls were made the following day to have it fixed for obvious security reasons. Result? Nobody had a clue about the problem. We sat in the room until 3pm until they finally arrived to fix it. Manager didn't help at all and demanded we pay for the night as our things were in the room and as a result we technically stayed there. There were more unreal attitude probelms ahead but I'll leave them out. I must point out that I have no doubt that others may have had great service from reception. We didn't and it left a bad taste, maybe we were unlucky. There is a massive difference between laid back and unhelpful.

(2) - Rooms - First room was a deluxe until we upgraded. It had filthy stained jacuzzi, leaking AirCon, broken toilet door, leaking shower, broken phone and old musty sheets. Second room, Junior Suite, was far superior even though it cost almost $400 to upgrade. Unfortunately, if you don't tip on Day 1 the lovely flower petals and folded towel animals are omitted. Over 2 weeks our room was not cleaned 4 times, once for 3 days. Despite calls to reception and customer service desk, this was never explained or even remedied.

(3) - Food - I enjoyed it a lot as I didn't expect Michelin stars. La Cathedral got a bit dull but the others such as La Uva were worth a visit. The 'A La Cartes' are just a 5 option menu so don't get too excited at the prospect. The Italian restaurant is the best of those by a distance. 3 of the 4 in the group had stomach problems but this may have been more a combination of heat and new cooking styles and seasonings.

(4) - Beach - Best part of it, absolutely fantastic. Glorious sand and sea. No problems getting beach beds but this was low season and I imagine it can get worse. Lots of activities going on and the beach vendors were nowhere near as intrusive as I had been led to expect. A simple 'No Gracias' with a smile is plenty if not interested.

(5) - Resort Spa - Thoroughly enjoyed this place. An oasis of calm, staff were excellent and the massage treatments were top drawer, thoroughly professional and modern. Gym was befitting of such a nice place. A great spot to shade from the sun during the midday heat.

(6) - Facilities - Sports centre was impressive and courts and equipment were in good condition. Pools were busy and had a great atmosphere but there were a number of broken tiles and dodgy cleaning areas. Entertainment staff were nice and friendly and made a hell of a good effort. . Drinks were great and floor service was excellent. Elizabeth in the Punta Cana section deserves special mention - Thank You!

A few pointers to the ridiclously exaggerated review about everything being 'perfect'. For example, The Sports Bar has a pool table which is 20 years old at least, no cue ball, no chalk, broken pockets and comes with dodgy cues. Hardly perfection but even if you don't care about playing pool, it's indicitive of the resort as a whole, except for the spa which is first class. The place is not 5* as we know it and I would say closer to 3*, 4* on a very good day. I got the feeling it was low season and everyone was less enthusiastic. The other 2 hotels within the resort were a completely different experience and full of helpful, attentive staff. I still can't figure out if the Bavaro is where they go to learn their trade, vice versa or if it is a punishment to be there but it stands out like a sore thumb.

The place is idyllic and the weather was amazing, I defy anyone not to enjoy it. I wouldn't be returning to this resort as there were some stunning places on view up the beach that I would like to visit instead.

Great experience and a fantastic trip in spite of the hotel itself rather than because of it.

P.S - Don't even dream about renting a car, the locals are bonkers on the road!! Lovely friendly people and I recommend the trips out to the countryside to meet them....

The Grand Palladium Bavaro it!s EVERYTHING that anyone could possibly want in a resort-Location, fine restaurants, beautiful beaches, tours, power sailing, immaculate landscaped grounds, palm trees, exotic birds and pink flamingos, several pools, great service, friendly accommodating staff, plenty of free entertainment, casino, free shuttle service around the entire resort...What else is there?

Just a wonderful, one of a kind exprience my wife and I will never forget!

Language Alert:
You will thank yourself for learning a little working Spanish, to improve communications with staff and fellow guests, as English is NOT the dominant laguage spoken.

All of the main hospitality staff DO speak English, but sometimes they struggle with comprehension, nuances and syntax. Also, it is exhilirating to hear so many languages being spoken in the same place at one time-Spanish, German, Dutch, French, Italian, Haitian Creole, Swedish, Hindi, Urdu, English!

Health Alert:
Guests do a LOT of smoking-all bars, casino, most beach areas, beach area restaurants. Haven't these people ever heard of cancer? Or even second-hand smoke? As non-smokers, this was the only drawback!

Nudity Alert:
If you are offended at women occasionally walking the beach or sunbathing without tops and wearing thong bikinis, you may want to have a talk with your kids ahead of time.

Be Generous:
The average worker makes around 6000 pesos a month ($200 US dollars). Tips make a HUGE difference! They work at the resort 12 straight days, then get only 3 off to be with their families!

Be Respectful:
A simple hello (HOLA in Spanish) works wonders! The staff and servants are unfailingly polite, smiling and greatly appreciate being acknowledged as human beings! Remember-YOU and YOUR CHILDREN represent whatever country and culture you are from.

Please be sure to leave a positive lasting impression!

Can't wait to go back...

John

My husband and I along with 18 family members had our Family & Friends trip at the All-Inclusive Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort & Spa in Punta Cana. Our group was 5 age groups (20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s & 70’s). Every one of all ages enjoyed themselves and was very happy with the Resort.

English speaking people were definitely in the minority but we managed to get pass the language barrier with a lot of Pantomimes (lol). Most of the Customer Service Reps were helpful with the exception of the Manager (Ms. Carolina Beck) who did not have ANY customer service skills which made us wonder how she became Manager. However, the Assistant Manager, Mr. Jhonny Martinez more than made up for her rudeness. He was great.

We all had Jr. Suites which we were very pleased to find out were in small Villas. The rooms were roomy and very nice (I’ve attached pictures). The grounds were well kept and beautiful. The Resort (including the 2 sister resorts) were so large that each of us got a little lost at one time or another but the Tram would take you every where you wanted or needed to go on the 3 resorts.

Food/Restaurants - There was an abundance of food and it was great to be able to go to different restaurants just about every day. The food was varied and good however the majority of us had intestinals problem at one time or another even though we only drank bottled water. In fact, my niece had to get Medical Treatment which cost $250 (it was reimbursable under our insurance plan). One drawback for dining was that Men had to wear long pants at all the Ala Carte restaurants which is not that convenient when you’re on vacation. My husband had on a very nice, expensive Linen knee length outfit and was turned away; however, men were going in with raggedy jeans that looked like they had them on all week. Oh well, if that was all we had to complain about that was not too bad.

Bug bites – we all had repellant with Deet and some of the group did not get bitten at all (including my husband) but some of us (ME) had bites all over. I guess it has to do with body chemistry.

Air Conditioning – some of the rooms air conditioning and refrigerators did not get cool and some were almost freezing. Our first room was very warm but we were moved the next day (thanks to Mr. Martinez) as soon as another unit was available.

All in all – in was a great vacation and I would definitely recommend the Grand Palladium Bavaro and look forward to going again. We plan to take Spanish lessons before next trip though!