TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

Horrible food and cockroaches in room. Definitely not a 5 star. The food is uneatable and unsanitary. I expect a more for a 5 Star resort, it just did not deliver. Corel level is slightly cleaner then Bavoro level but I don’t think you should pay extra for cleanliness. Just a disappointment!

Where to begin. We were looking for an all-inclusive resort in the DR for a couples New Year getaway. We found what appeared to be a nice property and (more often than not) god reviews here on TA for this property, so we decided to try it out. We booked Coral Level, selected our room on their website, and expected to have a nice week away but it turned into anything but. There were problems from the moment we arrived at the resort. When we arrived to the check in desk, we were asked to have a seat and we waited 20 minutes before even being addressed. We were told our room was not ready and that we should spend a couple hours walking around the property. It should be noted that we arrived at this property two hours *after* their listed check-in time, so there really is no excuse for this, but we figured that things happen and we could pass the time at the beach. When we went back to the desk, were were given an interior property room far away from the beach. I reminded them that we booked at Coral Level and even selected our room on the website. The man at the desk laughed at me like that wasn't even possible. I took out my phone, showed him the email confirmationS (plural) and he suddenly acted confused. He then told me that room was not available and we were to take this one away from the beach. I told him that was not acceptable, and he just laughed, shrugged, and then offered to help another couple. I couldn't believe the disrespect. We sat and waited until he was available again but several more times he would just shrug at us and go back to working on the computer, ignoring us. Eventually we went to someone else who found us a room close to where we originally booked, but not the room we wanted. We were over three hours on the property now so we just wanted to get to the room. We gave in and accepted it, then went to sleep. We arrived at the room and the AC was broken and the air smelled musty and damp. We were not happy but we were told we could not move. We cranked the fans up high and decided to deal with it in the morning. I woke up the next morning to my wife telling me that I should get out of the bed because it's covered in bugs. Same for the walls and our luggage. I have since learned what "sand fleas" are, so that was a fun experience. We went marching back to the check in desk and demanded to be moved from the room. Same person as before, same shrugging dismissal. I was livid. On the spot I began searching for other properties in Punta Cana. While walking (off the anger), I decided to try approaching another property's check in desk, speak with the manager, and explain in detail everything that happened. This desk manager was the best part of our stay. She was shocked, apologetic, immediately found us a beachside room (which we originally booked), and personally accommodated us and our luggage to the new room to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. She was an absolute angel. The rest of the trip was fairly uneventful because we took trips off property most days and the days we were there were spent on the beach, away from staff. We will never stay here again and I would not recommend this property to anyone. If this is how people in the Coral Level tier are handled, I say good luck to anyone trying to have a nice experience here. The Iberostar brand has been ruined for my wife and I.

Consider this a 2.5-star rating. Given issues with our host and communication, I just can't bring myself to give a full three stars. Iberostar at Bavaro has four levels, from highest to lowest: (1) Grand, which is adults only; (2) Coral Level; (3) Selection; and (4) Iberostar. I was looking for a more upscale experience for my family's first real post-COVID trip, so I chose the Coral Level. Notably, the price was nearly about 150% higher that of the next level down, Selection. I paid a touch more than $3,000—$750 a night—while Selection was around $2,000 for four nights. Check-In/Host Experience: Each Coral guest has a host, who theoretically creates the entire experience while at the resort. Unfortunately, I forget the name of our host, but that's probably better for him. When we checked in, the host took our reservation requests for the second through fourth night. (Why not the first night? That's below.) I believe we requested the seafood restaurant (only available for Coral level), the Mexican restaurant, and the Japanese restaurant. The host took that information down and never got back to us. Letter, we found out he never booked the Mexican or Japanese restaurants because of lack of availability and never bothered to inform us. We did get into the seafood restaurant, but there's almost always availability for that and the main Coral Level restaurant. We found that out the next day, as we went up to ask where we were eating. We were unable to get into anything but the seafood restaurant or the main Coral restaurant the second and third nights. After a complaint, a different host got us into the Mexican restaurant for the last night. Additionally, the host kept trying to get us to attend what, in effect, was a timeshare presentation. If we attended, we each got a sixty-minute massage gratis. That's a meager benefit, compared with, say Marriott's timeshare presentations, which come with significantly discounted room rates and Marriott points. Our host told me that attending would help his own metrics. I ended up not attending, which was for the best. Separately, I tried to book a paid massage through the Iberostar app, and I never received a response. In all, our host detracted from the experience significantly. The Rooms: They're nice. Tropical themed, but with more muted colors. The room offered plenty of space for a family of four. Additionally, there was a nice balcony. The rooms are set off in a separate area of the resort complex. The only downside is that when I look at the rooms for the Selection level, they look nearly identical to the Coral Level rooms. In other words, it appears that the extra price for Coral Level doesn't include a big upgrade on room quality. Restaurants: Breakfast and lunch is buffet style in the main Coral restaurant, but it was fantastic. Great quality and myriad choices. Theoretically, dinner may be had in any of the Iberostar restaurants except for those at the Grand Bavaro level. In practice, good luck. On the first night, you MUST have dinner at the Selection buffet, a level down from Coral. There is no Coral dinner buffet. The Coral full-service restaurants? Nope, even though ample space existed. The Selection buffet is much larger, a huge step down in quality, indifferent service, and inferior drinks. No thanks. The two Coral Level restaurants—El Faro (the main) and Sea & Salt (the seafood)—were excellent. Good luck trying to get in anywhere else, however. Most of the other restaurants were fully booked for our last three nights even a day before, when we arrived. Our main host shrugged about this. Oh well, apparently not his problem. At least one host snuck us into the Mexican restaurant. It appeared that the problem wasn't space: 2/3 to 3/4 of the tables were empty. Perhaps they, like everyone else, are having staffing issues. The Beach: It's beautiful: Tons of sand, tons of cabanas, bar service, beach towels, the works. The Pools: They're everywhere, and they're great. The Iberostar App: Partly useless. At least when we went, we couldn't make reservations for any restaurants, and especially not before arrival. It shows reservations, which is how we know we didn't have the reservations for which we asked, because our host sure didn't tell us. The spa-booking capabilities are useless. I requested a massage a day or two in the future and the resort never contacted me about it. IHG Benefits: None, when we visited. It is not the resort's fault, but IHG had not integrated Iberostar into IHG Rewards, and I missed out on a ton of points because of it. Activities: The coral lab is pretty darn cool, but unfortunately that's the only activity I recall doing from the resort. I attempted to the the cocktail class, which the app said was at a certain time and location, but the resort changed the time without updating the app, so I missed out. Other: I appreciate the focus on environmentalism. Additionally, the bartender I chatted with at length at the Coral level bar was fantastic. In sum, we were left fairly disappointed by the experience. With better service and better communication, the stay could have been a 4- or 5-star rating. But, given myriad options in Punta Cana, there is no reason for us to return.

My stay at the Iberostar Coral Level was the most enjoyable experience I have had. The rooms were very cosy and luxurious. Very clean and I would like to thank our cleaning lady in particular Milena who made sure that our 2 rooms 2352 and 2355 were always clean and well done. Also would like to thank all the dining staff at Il Faro each and every one is so dedicated to their work making sure that we are well fed - chef Yudelkis, Jose, Marleny, sorry I did not make note of all the names - they are all so good, God bless them all

We arrived on a Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. Ricky was assigned to us as our concierge, and he immediately asked if we were celebrating a special occasion. We mentioned our anniversary, to which he promised a "wonderful surprise". We were advised that our room was not yet ready, so we went to have a late lunch and returned at 3 pm as instructed. A bit after 3 we returned to the lobby, and were told the room was almost ready, and to have a seat. Our new friend again questioned if we were observing anything special, and we reiterated that we were celebrating our anniversary. Again, Ricky assured us that we were in store for a spectacular surprise, but "if I told you what it is, it wouldn't be a surprise". During this time, he also told us that among the perks of staying in the Coral Level, we were entitled to a special breakfast at the Grand. He instructed us to enjoy dinner on this night at one of the buffets, and to return in the morning when he would assist with our dinner reservations for the week. When our room was ready, we were instructed that we were not to lift a finger during our stay, and Ricky assured us that he would do everything in his power to make our stay memorable. That, as they say, was a huge understatement. Our dinner that night at Los Haitises was enjoyable - food was fresh, hot, and plentiful. The variety was impressive for this level of all-inclusive. After a leisurely stroll back to Coral, we had the pleasure of meeting Manuel at the beach bar, who is a friendly and hardworking bartender. After a better-than-expected glass of chardonnay and a from scratch margarita, we headed to our room to settle in. We woke on day 2 to sunny skies, and headed to El Faro for breakfast. A great selection greeted us, and the egg chef was especially patient and helpful in deciphering my lame attempt at ordering my omelet using fractured Spanish. Appetites satiated, we strolled to the Coral lobby to arrange our dinner reservations. Ricky greeted us at the door with an outstretched hand, and welcomed us to sit down to make our reservations and to review our "perks". He reviewed all of the discounts that were available to us, and wanted us to choose something off the coupons offered to "make our stay memorable". No thanks, if we decide to buy a bottle of wine or get so bored that we need an escape room, we'll let you know. Ricky's smile began to wane. "What time did you have breakfast?" he next asked. When told 9:15, he said "Great - I'll pick you up tomorrow at 9:15 for a fabulous breakfast at the Grand". He was incredulous when we told him no thanks. We were asked why not, and told him we were on vacation, and wanted to relax. We were told that the breakfast would be very relaxing, and we should go to enjoy it. Again declining his offer, Ricky became downright miserable, like a petulant 7 year old. He pushed away from the table and stood up. I asked about our dinner reservations, and he thrust a finger at the desk, where both employees were busy helping others. After a few minutes of staring at our concierge's back, I stood up, went over to him, and asked why he was so upset with us. I was told that he had no idea what I was talking about, and again turned his back to me. The venom in his voice was evident, and my blood boiled, knowing that we were less than a day into our vacation, and this miserable representative of a multinational corporation was doing his best to disrespect us for declining a "free" breakfast. Luckily, one of the desk clerks was now free, and beckoned me over. He has undoubtedly witnessed the behavior of his co-worker previous to this, because he went above and beyond to help us with our reservation requests. We walked away with reservations for El Tapatio, Kabuki and Brave - all three are highly recommended. The rest of our 7 night stay was very enjoyable. Almost to a person, the staff went above and beyond to ensure that we were pleased with our holiday. I'm horrible at remembering names, but Arbolee and Gerson (Coca Cola) were two of several who made a point of fawning over us. If you're wondering what the "special surprise" was, I'm guessing the surprise is that there wasn't one. Our takeaway is that this is a beautiful resort - the grounds are immaculate, the rooms well-appointed (our a/c worked perfectly, mini-bar temp was tepid), food above average and top shelf booze. Most important, ALMOST all of the staff were delightful, with one notable exception. Hopefully management recognizes that he is responsible for the charitable 3 star review, which otherwise would easily have been 5.