TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

This was our 13th visit to the Iberostar Selection Bavaro. To be honest, our visit over new year 2023/24 wasn’t very good, and we didn’t go back again until this year. So many improvements have happened, making it more like the resort we fell in love with in 2012! The (totally!) new entertainment team is top notch. All day, every day, they worked tirelessly to keep us all having fun. Aside from the usual things they do every day, they put on a few amazing parties: the beach party, which was huge, beautiful, and obviously a ton of extra work. And on NYE, there were two great parties going on simultaneously, again a huge amount of work. Big extra thanks to Lilo, Carlos, Bubaloo, Honey, and El Nino – you made our vacation amazing!! Two people who have been there from our very visit trip here are Jocelyn and Virginia – both work the beach buffet and the theater at night. We LOVE them, and seeing them again this year made the trip extra special for us. Two of the hardest working people you’ll ever meet, and SO nice! Also in the lobby bar you will find a very talented pianist who plays each night beautifully! The evening shows were good. We’ve travelled all over the Caribbean and NO one else puts on shows like this resort. Our recent trip to La Romana is a joke in comparison (so bad we didn’t stay through a single show). It would be great if they could bring in a few more shows so it’s not quite so repetitive week over week, but a huge improvement over a couple of years ago, and much closer to the days when Pantera ran the team (he is a legend, the GOAT!). Bring back “On the Rock” show!! If you’re there, check out either of the Circus shows – you will be amazed at what is happening 10 feet in front of you! And the magic show was really good! The food was great. Yes, it’s resort food at the buffets. They are cooking for 100s of people. But compared to resorts like Dreams La Romana (where it was often inedible – see my review of that), we ate great! So much variety and for so many cultures, everything so fresh, and high quality. Each day you see numerous executive chefs walking between restaurants and checking the products - very professional. Thank you to Mario in the main buffet for his great service to us, he made us feel welcome and special every day. The Christmas Eve and NYE buffets were decadent! So much seafood! My only complaint here would be the other guests – is it really necessary to touch the food in the trays instead of using the tongs? Is it necessary to eat while you are filling your plate, dropping your crumbs from your mouth into the food? A little etiquette and hygiene would go a long way, and I think when people say they got sick at the resort it’s because of the other guests, not the kitchen. The restaurants were really good! La Coupole was probably our favorite. But the Mediterranean and steak house were also good. The Japanese is fun, and it was good, but not great. It’s exactly what you expect it to be. We didn't visit the Mexican or Italian. We had a few massages in the spa. It was great to see Cleo again, and as always she gave us wonderful treatments. She’s a must-see if you go! Prices for an 80 minute deep tissue were fair. We really didn’t need much from the front desk or the concierge, but our check in and check out was fast and friendly. Our housekeepers did a nice job of keeping both of our rooms stocked and clean. That’s saying a lot, because the rooms we were in are really starting to show their wear and tear. That’s one thing I think they need to address asap is room updates and maintenance. Ours was kind of shabby, paint peeling, cushions and walls on the patio stained. We don’t spend much time in the room, so it wasn’t a huge issue. If you enjoy a good jogging/walking path, this is the resort for you! The four Iberostar resorts are connect to each other and the main road by a clean, beautifully landscaped and paved path that is fully gated within the resort, limited traffic, and great views of the golf course. No other resort compares in this! Overall, the care to the landscape and environment of the entire resort is stellar. Kudos to the sustainability leadership at Iberostar. What they are doing to preserve the environment, reduce waste, and protect the ocean is wonderful. Thank you! Lastly, I’ll touch on the language “barriers”. The official language of the DR is Spanish. If you want to hear and speak only English, stay in the U.S. But the staff at the resort do an amazing job of speaking enough English to help you and interact with you. Not to mention they all speak a little French, German, Portuguese … So live a little, expand your horizons, chill out, or open up the google translate app if you really need to ask something complicated. I don’t speak Spanish, but had no issues whatsoever, and never have at this resort. See you in 11 months and 3 weeks!

Amazing hotel! Jose and Houston were amazing and extremely accessible if we needed anything. They helped set up our rooms so nicely and made it very special. 10/10 would come back.

Beautiful resort with tons of cool amenities! Great pools, really family friendly. Beach is gorgeous but not great for snorkeling. Rooms could be better updated and cleaner given the price.

The Iberostar Punta Cana hotel offered good facilities and food, but there was a serious security issue: US$260 disappeared from the room. Even after informing the hotel and filing a police report, there was no clear response regarding the investigation or a solution to the case. The experience undermined our confidence in the hotel.

I traveled with my family: husband, two adult children and a teenager. Room was nice, but dated. Nice mini fridge in room. Mattresses were comfy. A/C worked well. Nice outdoor area. However, bathroom shower flooded the room on several occasions if the shower was used longer than two minutes. Grounds were beautiful! Pools were nice. The gardeners gave us a fresh coconut. Beach was nice. Not too many bothersome vendors. Plenty of chairs. We had professional photos and they are AMAZING! Food was ok. Buffet was as you’d expect. Steak house service was rushed. Ordered a filet and got a huge piece of sirloin? Hibachi was the best. Should have gone there more than once. Couldn’t get reservations at Italian the whole week we were there. Mediterranean was good. Two of the five of us got severe food poisoning at the Mexican buffet by the pool. So badly, that I had to take my adult son to the onsite doctor. ($250). They couldn’t give him IV fluids but did give an IM antiemetic, which helped his symptoms. Doctor recommended he go to the ER, which I was not doing in a foreign country. The front desk and customer service reps couldn’t care less that two of us were sick for 30 hours on two separate days and wasted two days of our vacation. Because of their illness, they couldn’t go on a $900 excursion we had paid for. The excursion guide said he would refund the $350 for the sick kids and then didn’t. Once they have your money, they couldn’t care less about you. We will never return to the DR. This is the second bad experience we’ve had in this country.