Catalonia Gran Dominicus - All Inclusive

Great place to relax

I loved my stay at this hotel. My boyfriend and I planned our first vacation together and visited Dom. Rep. We decided to stay for part of the vacation at Catalonia and it was great experience. The beach was BEAUTIFUL, the staff was very friendly (without being annoying) but what we love the most was the quiet, and relaxing atmosphere the hotel offers. The food was good, the pool was great and even though the rooms dont have the best decorum, dont let the pictures fool you, the place is more beautiful in person. So if your looking to relax and soak up some sun, this hotel is the one for you.

Good enough

Hotel is nicely located on Bayahibe beach, good condition, clean, no complaints about the room, good all around activities during the day. They even have an archery area. On the negative side, food can be improved, variety is lacking and quality may be what is expected for price. Night activities are very boring, and that definitively must be improved. Waiters at buffet and room service is very nice. We were told that to eat A la carte restaurants we needed to make reservations one week before, which doesn’t make sense cause most people don’t stay that long, it may has been an excuse for some other things. I noticed they make it hard for dominicans to make reservation at this type of restaurants.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

If you want to shop go to La Romana town, you may want to go to Higuey (30Km away from hotel) and visit the church there which is very important in the Dominican Republic. Hotel is only two hours from SDQ airport if you drive.

Not worth 3 stars

By American standards, the hotel is not very clean, neither is it in good shape. Towels and bed linen were old, often with the yellowish/grayish color of old white. There were stains in the bathroom/showers etc. Food was terrible in the buffet and snack bar. But the other 3 restaurants were OK. The main bar was great. Staff are the best. Don’t speak English, but you can manage to get what you want. Language barriers make it hard to participate in the activities. We were very disappointed with the excursion team, as we learned they were way overpriced, and that we good have got the same activities for half the price we paid through other agencies in the Bayahibe village. The stores on the resort were also overpriced and we were upset when we found out that the can of bug spray they sold us was only half full. But anything you may need from the store across the street from the lobby. We never got to use the catamarans (included), sure due possible excuses (wind, waves, no boat available, etc) while they kept trying to sell us paid water activities (banana, para sailing, snorkeling) during the very same time and weather conditions. We got sick during the last 4 days of our stay. Be prepared and take some medications with you. The beach, the pool and the staff are great.

do not buy anything from the hotel. Go to the Bayahibe village.