Royalton Bavaro, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort & Casino

Tabatha Owen

We stayed at Royalton Bavaro for six nights. We had a large group celebrating a senior trip traveling from New Orleans. I want to give an honest review because a lot of the positive reviews I read prior to coming on the trip, I feel we’re very misleading. Was this resort, beautiful? Yes! Our rooms were great. We stayed in building 15, closest to the beach. It never had a “smell”, housekeeping service came every morning to freshen things up, and the AC in the room was AMAZING. The beach is gorgeous and I felt like they did a great job trying to keep the seaweed cleared. And everyone in the DR seems to love babies. That’s about the end of positivity for me. The room service was TERRIBLE. It took 1.5-2 hours to receive your order. Your options were American breakfast, English breakfast and Local breakfast with either a juice or a coffee. You’re unable to alter the order in any way. As soon as you placed it on the TV, they would call to confirm if there were any allergies - I am allergic to gluten and both times we received our room service, there was bread on my plate. We were traveling within an 11 month old, which made things extremely challenging because he’s on his own schedule. There’s not a lot of options for little ones (other than a plethora of fruit) and Unless you’re getting to the buffet when it opens, it’s pretty picked over/everything’s cold. You’re not allowed to make your dinner reservations prior to arriving at the resort and once you’re there, they tell you that everything‘s been taken. You have to literally raise hell in order to get a dinner reservation and I had two different experiences where I was given gluten-free food and got very sick afterwards — the Italian restaurant, I had to run back to my room and the steak house (not Brazilian steak house). The best restaurant we ate at consistently was the sports bar. We had a great experience at the hibachi restaurant, but I think it’s because I was able to watch them prepare my food safely (they have GF soy sauce). There is always someone trying to get you to have an up charge to your room, sell you something on the beach and the tip culture in the DR in general is disgusting. I fully understand that I need to tip but every single thing that we did felt like someone was pressuring us to tip in order to do their job. Also, my husband really wanted to sail a hobie cat the entire time we were there, and was told no every single day except the last morning we were there (whether the flag was green or red), they never wanted to allow us to take the catamaran sailing & he had to again raise holy hell in order for them to let us take it. If You’re looking forward to the lazy river, I would bring your own Floaties because they have Little to no Floaties of their own and take them out as soon as the clock strikes 4 PM. Other than that, the resort is absolutely massive. They offer a shuttle service, but they never show up on time (even when you request a shuttle one hour before you need it and give them an exact time). I honestly hate writing a negative review. I normally never write negative reviews, but I do think that if you’re looking to stay somewhere that has delicious food and a great atmosphere, this is in it.

Jesus Islas

The good: ●Overall, the resort is beautiful, and the rooms are well-maintained and comfortable. The lazy river was by far our favorite feature and one of the highlights of our stay. The resort also hosts nightly shows, which provide some enjoyable entertainment for guests. The food quality at the restaurants was good; however, securing a reservation was extremely difficult unless you were willing to dine at 9:30 PM, which is often close to closing time. The bad: ●I racked up $200 in roaming charges trying to get ahold of front desk as I needed to modify my reservation and NOBODY picked up. When I got there and asked to speak with manager the declined. ●The hotel staff at the bars and restaurants had the worst attitude. You ask for a refill on your water and they give you the ugliest smirk. Makes you feel bad for asking anything. ●They left us with no towels in my room after room service. I called to request new ones and TWO HOURS later they brought some after we had been soaked from being in the pool. ●Lastly and most importantly: COCKROACHES, on 4 different days we saw cockroaches in the buffet RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOOD. The last night we were able to capture a video. I spoke with the lead in charge, he apologized but didnt do anything about it. Final Thoughts: My family and I are very easygoing travelers. We understand that no resort experience will be perfect, and we are generally accommodating and understanding when issues arise. However, after spending approximately $2,000 on our stay, the level of service and the sanitation concerns we experienced were extremely disappointing and far below what we expected.

Elena C

Our stay at Royalton Bavaro started off a little rocky when our original butler was never introduced to us, but the situation was quickly turned around and we ended up having one of the best resort experiences thanks to Edwin. He truly went above and beyond for us, and our stay would not have been nearly as enjoyable without his kindness, professionalism, and constant assistance. We are so grateful for everything he did to make our short trip relaxing and stress-free. As Prime Members, it can sometimes feel overwhelming upon arrival with multiple people promising assistance that doesn’t always follow through, so I really want to recognize Evelys, Edwin, and Jared for genuinely being there for us and making sure we were taken care of throughout our stay. The resort itself is beautiful, very well maintained, and has a relaxing atmosphere perfect for unwinding. The food was excellent, especially at Rio, which was one of our favorite dining experiences. Also, a special shoutout to Miguel at the Diamond Club Pool Bar — amazing service and such a friendly personality! Overall, we had a wonderful stay and would absolutely return. Thank you to the staff who made our vacation memorable!

Rachael Worton

This was our second trip here. What an amazing place with attentive staff. The nightly entertainment was brilliant, the buffet restaurant had an excellent choice of food from all around the world. The a la carte restaurants were outstanding and we never had an issue booking, infact we only ate at the buffet once or twice. Breakfast as the buffet was great, freshly made omlettes, fruit, meats and cheese...whatever your taste there is something for everyone. The beach staff are great, they go of there way to find you a spot, they clean your sunbed and then lay down your towels. Drinks are served to your sunbed, there's a great choice of cocktails etc. The only thing I would give a negative to is the speed of checking in, I'm not sure why it takes so long, but it does get frustrating after you've had such a long journey. Anyway, we've been twice and plan to return, so it hasn't put us off. See you next year you lovely people 😘

Lyn Navarro

I had a mix experienced during my stay at this resort. There were definitely some highlights, but also a few things that could have been better. Starting with the room, there were a few issues that took away from the overall comfort of our stay. There was a noticeable smell coming from the room that smelled like toilet/sewage, the shower was set up a bit oddly and the door didn’t fully close, and the tub wasn’t the cleanest. The food across the resort also didn’t quite meet expectations. It was pretty bland overall even at the restaurants where you needed to reserve, which was a bit disappointing considering the variety offered. That being said, the staff truly made a positive impact on our stay! Everyone, especially the bartenders, were so kind, respectful, and welcoming. Some specially were Roberto, Gary and Esteven! They really brought great energy and made us feel comfortable. The vibe of the resort was also amazing especially by the infinity pool. It was such a beautiful and relaxing atmosphere, and we genuinely had a great time enjoying that part of the experience. In fact, we enjoyed ourselves enough to extend our stay one more day!