This was our second time at the IFA Bavaro. May 9-16. 2 Yrs ago my husband and I stayed and we had the best time. Had NO complaints about the resort. We brought a family of 4 w/ us this time. It was there first time in the Dominican and picked IFA for there first trip. WOW! The resort has changed so much (for the good and the bad). I'm not one to complain about resorts. We have been to the D.R. 4 times and never once have I complained. This trip I had a few issues. Did not let it ruin my vacation.
The check in was a breeze. Our travel agent booked us an ocean view room but we didn't get them. It was okay because I really don't hang out in my room much. We requested to be close to the beach. We did get rooms close to the beach. When we got to our room, it was so hot in the room. Well, the A/C was not working. I went to the front desk. They sent someone up to look at the a/c. Nothing was done. They ended up by coming 2 times and nothing was done. I know they like money. With my little Spanish, asked him to fix the a/c and gave him 10.00us. Let me tell you the A/C worked PERFECT the whole week. He was very happy and so were my husband and I. The family we traveled w/ had no problems w/ there room. I noticed if you take your room key w/ you lights and a/c turn off. I brought an old credit card but it didn't work. I spotted a maid w/ my little Spanish she set me up w/ an extra key again few bucks helps and everyone is happy.

I thought the food was horrible. They closed the main buffet the week we arrived. I booked the Mexican and Oriental a la carte. My husband was so sick from the Mexican. It was our 2nd day and he was sick the rest of the trip. He didn't let it ruin his trip. Just had to be real close to a bathroom and drank tons of H2O. WE loved the Caribe and Oriental. Tried to avoid the buffet. Was very disappointed w/ the selection of food.
Breakfast was okay. I really liked the Pizza bar. We ate lots of pizza and fries. We did enjoy the beach grill.

The beach was wonderful. Plenty of chairs and shade. The staff was on the beach at 10:00am w/ plenty of music. My husband drove the little speed boats w/ the locals. Was going to book w/ Scubacaribe but gave my husband the run around.
My husband and I booked massages on the beach through the Spa. WOW! They did a great job.
The family that came w/ us had 2 young ladies whom wanted there hair braided. There were 2 locals whom walk the beach giving prices to have hair braided. On one of the last days the 2 young ladies went and had there hair braided w/ Mona. They walked down the beach to a little hut. Once they were done and paid the amount they requested. Mona was hassling them to pay her. Telling them they had paid her boss and they needed to pay her. Mona would not let up following them to the resort. Finally Mona stopped and returned to her hut. Be careful if you have your hair braided. Go to the Spa to have it done. Safer..

We spent a couple of days by the main pool. With my husband not feeling all that great we stayed close to our room and the bathroom. The pool has changed and looks beautiful. It was very clean. The swim up bar was great and Miguel was fantastic. He has GREAT customer service skill. He enjoys his job. We brought him a nice bag full of gifts for him and his family.
I do have to share w/ you that the locals check in for the weekend and are very rude. My husband and I were going back to our room after being by the pool all day. I noticed a local w/ his small child hanging out at the pool. I looked again and the child had his bathing suit pulled down and he was peeing in the pool. I made a comment and the local (dad) said "it's okay"

My husband and I noticed that there was a change in staff. We thought the staff was great. Amazing how many hours they work per day.

Our room was always clean and fridge was stock w/ plenty of soda, water and beer. We put out gifts and money every day for our maid. The rooms have changed from 2 yrs ago. I thought the rooms were very nice and bigger. The only complaint was when I did want to watch a little T.V. there were no English channels. My husband did catch a Red Sox game one night in Spanish. He was too sick to join us for dinner, he was very happy to be able to catch a baseball game.

Would not return to the IFA but would return to the Dominican and stay at a different resort..

The hotel was beautiful. There are 3 pools and so many bars. We stayed right outside the main pool area with the pool bar. The room was great except for issues with ants in the toilet and sink area. We complained about it several times, however nothing was done about it. Another issue was that the cleaning maids came to pick up every single towel in the hotel room at 8am. No towels were given back to us until 5pm. The presented a problem if we woke up late or needed to go to the bathroom. The toilet and shower areas are a little see through..however it wasn't a big deal. There are no channels in English, so if you are looking to watch some tv since there is nothing else to do in the evening, then good luck with that.

The food was the biggest issue. We went to the Mexican restaurant the first night, and the food smelled spoiled. It must have been sitting out for hours. I ordered a drink and that was warm. Never went there again! We did go to the oriental place, and loved their food..and continued to go there every single night of our trip since the other food in the hotel was horrible. At the buffets, there was flies in the dressings, and at one point we saw a bird just sitting there and snacking on the food, and no one did anything about it. The water was good, since no one got sick from it. We ended up having the same meal every day: bread for breakfast (with water), pizza and fries (with soda), and oriental food (with other drinks).

The service of the hotel was overall pretty good. People barely spoke English but we were able to get around pretty easily.

The beaches were gorgeous, but get ready for ScubaCaribe to hassle you for money. They come up to you at every possible moment for you to sign up with them to do activities. If you are interested in that, that's great, but we were there just to lay on the beach and relax and when people are constantly hassling you, it's annoying. We did venture out to the other beaches during the day, and guys hassled us there, as well. We were 3 young women, but still be careful when venturing off your resort. Never do it at night, and stay in groups.

There is a market and also internet cafe where you can go on the internet for a reasonable price and also make calls to America if needed.

The hotel also had buses that allowed you to go to the casino and shopping center. We didn't want to venture on that since we weren't interested in either, but both a good option if getting bored on the resort.

Some things to always bring: lots of sunscreen, bug spray (my friend got 35 bug bites within the first couple days we were there), something to do in the evening to keep yourself entertained. They do provide bottled water in the refrigerators in the room. There is a downside about that because electricity only works when your room key is inserted in a slot when you are in your room. You only get one room key so when you leave the room with that key, everything turns off - all lights, air conditioning, and refrigerator. We did get a safe key for a reasonable price, as well.

Overall, I wouldn't come back to this hotel, because of the food. The only things to do at this resort was eat/drink and lay on the beach...and if you are left with only one option, you are gonna end up baking in the sun starving to death. I would def try another resort after talking to other people at the airport and hearing about their food options.

My friend and I stayed at this resort from 5/3/08 to 5/8/08, I would return to Punta Cana but try a different resort. Apparently it was a long weekend in the countries so it was mobbed around this time, check your calendars or do some research before you book!

We were pleased with our stay but it does get a little boring at night because there really is no entertainment- it's more of a relaxing get some drinks and walk around type of resort! Our check in was a disaster, the front desk was very unorganized and rude. There is no "check in" line or anything so it's basically bombard the front desk until someone sees you. Our room wasn't ready for about an hour b/c housekeeping was a little slow. I would recommend checking in on a Thursday or Friday b/c the weekend was mobbed..... Check out wasn't a problem. Get an extra key to your room, they only give you one at check in! We didn't use the safe in the room we were both a little uneasy with leaving money while we were out.

The resort and the grounds were gorgeous, very clean! Our room was average nothing special which was fine for us girls! The only problem was the shower ceiling was leaking when someone upstairs was taking a shower... The tv only gets 2 american channels if you want to nap or just hang out in your room, bring an ipod or a portable DVD with some movies if you get tired of being outside! The beach was amazing the water is crystal blue and the sand was so fine and white- loved that part! Bring SPF 50 or higher b/c you will burn it's a strong kind of sun out that way!!! The workers offer Aerobics and yoga which was very entertaining! All of the workers were nice on the resort always saying hi!

The restaurants were very hard to find, we ended up finding them b/c we walked around one day. There is Japanese, Carribean and Mexican located in the Cafe Domenico they are small restaurants so make reservations quick it gets filled up fast! The buffet was alright you get sick of the same foods everyday but it was fine for us! Pikalo Pizzeria was the best they served pizza and burgers up until 10p if you were hungry or in the mood to snack! The waiters try their hardest to entertain you which was pretty funny but they were really nice! We had great massages, those women worked hard to please us which was very nice! I totally recommend taking a morning or afternoon to go- that was well worth it!

There is no shopping unless you take a bus off the resort, we didn't do that seeing that this was our first time in that country. The local stores on the resort were fine for us! The resort offers different things to do at night by taking a bus off the resort for Casino, swimming with the dolphins, excursions and snorkeling however we just went there to relax....

It was a good, relaxing time we definitely needed a break from everyday life but I would try a different resort next time. Oh and bring bug spray and spray those legs I got chewed alive at night! Pack very light your in your bathing suit all day and at night it's a little muggy so sundresses and tanks are the way to go!!! Hope this helped a little....

Three of us stayed at IFA Villas Bavaro May 8-15, 2008. We were in our early twenties and booked the trip through a travel agent several months in advance. The resort overall was very well-maintained, most buildings looked new, pools were nice, and a few construction projects were ongoing.

Our room was located near the main lobby and main pool area, so the pool and buffet was a short walk from the room. I would suggest asking to stay in this area of the resort, as the villas area is pretty far from the actual beach and the shuttle service to the beach would have to be used. I think if our room had been located elsewhere, we may have left with an unfavorable impression of the resort. The beach was a short walk through the resort, along tiled pathways. The beach was awesome, however, my only complaint would be that the resort is located in a central area that involves a number of water sport activities... so alot of boats are hovering a few yards away from the beach and a small "roped" off buoyed area is designated as the swimming area for guests.

The room was very well kept and clean. However, there is little privacy with the bathroom and shower. The toilet is located behind a thin, almost see-through glass door as soon as you enter the room. The shower has one wall that is made of square bubble glass blocks that are somewhat see-through, if only silhouette. This isn't a huge deal, just a heads up. The only drawback with the room is that the air conditioning is operated by using the room keycard. Only one key is provided per room. When you remove the key and leave the room, the electricity and air conditioning to the room stops. It took several hours for our room to recool after it had been closed most of the day.

The biggest complaint of our stay would be the food at the buffet. The food is hardly seasoned, very bland, and has little taste one might expect of certain dishes. We found eating at the pizza bar (which also serves chicken tenders and fries) to be our safeguard. The reservation-based restaurants are nice and serve better food..however..the mexican themed restaurant is basically a glorified buffet.

There is a market located near the beach where prices are very negotiable. If they ask 35 dollars for something, chances are..if you stick around long enough and give a counter offer you can leave with the goods for five or ten dollars. However, I would recommend only buying cigars or jewelery, and buy the small souvenirs and paintings at the airport because the prices are the same or less at the airport on your way out.

We would go back to this resort for the price we paid. Security was great at the resort. If a basic dominican vacation is what you are looking for, and have a strong stomach that can handle the food... this resort may be for you.

**One disclaimer: Americans should know ahead of time that there is an obvious anti-american slant among hotel employees and vendors at the market. Be prepared at the nightly shows for chinese people to be made fun of, and jabs made at americans...of course only in spanish. When we asked a vendor about not liking americans, the issue seemed to be the war in Iraq.