Barcelo Dominican Beach - All Inclusive

Not Impressed

Hotel was horrible, food was worse, everyone was sick 3-4 days of our 7 day vacation. The only good quality was that the staff at the hotel was exellent. I would never recommend this hotel to anyone.

Can’t wait to go back

everything was nice, hotel is little old, but all other impressions arevery good, so definitly will go back again. People are friendly, stuff proffesional, maintenance was on call (needed for bathroom leak), reacted right away, beach is beautifull, just "around the corner", plenty of excelent food...plenty of actities- for every kind of personality, would highly recomend

wonderful first time experience

Last year my daughter and I went to Las Vegas(nice)for our girls only vacation. But this year we decided on the Dominican Republic. We hit the jack-pot. The hotel was fabulous, the staff was fabulous, and the food.....OMG, oh so good. Even when there were (minor) problems with the room, it was immediately addressed. We were very happy with everything from the wonderful welcome dancers and complimentary drinks they serve when you are checking in. There is plenty to do for all ages. My daughter and I went horse back riding on the beach, snorkeling, parasailing. It was fun-filled and relaxing at the same time. This was an experience I will never forget and always treasure. I will definitely go back again and again.

Traveler's tip

There was only one gift shop inside the resort, so selections can be limited, but the prices were good. Due to the moistness of the rooms (if you have a room on the beach like me) the floors were wet and there were a few mosquitos. To remedy that, turn the air conditioning on high.

Cheap hotel in nice place

It is difficult to evaluate this hotel as 3 stars. Everyday repair and construction makes a lot of noise. Lazy and unobliging stuff are have to be asked several times (in bar, restaurant or room service). Be careful with restaurant reservation, they have a trick - reservation time that lady will give you will be different with time in printed paper. Why? We do not know. But first time we were late because of that, but second time I checked reservation paper, found the difference and asked to correct. Shows are there every day. But if you do not speak Spanish it will be boring for you. They have nice diving center and very professional instructor Bert. Internet center in the middle of the hotel but it will cost some money and wireless access doesnt work everywhere. We got true pleasure of coffee shop. Coffee was excellent, café has nice décor and smoking is allowed. Room design and cleanness are low, not TV remote, noisy air conditioner inside the room, no body lotion and barely warm water in the shower. We were tired of solicitation on the beach.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Certainly use the safe in you room for all your valuable.

Outstanding service, great customer skills & awsome staff!

We got there late thanks to last minute directions and problems with the car rental agency (not Expedia’s fault) Once we got there it was great our family was greeted with drinks and an outstanding waiting area. Once they located our information we were golf carted to our rooms! We didn’t even change over and went to eat a never ending buffet of great food. We are already planning on our next trip back there again. Thanks Expedia! Also, thank you Barcelo Dominican Beach.

Traveler's tip on nightlife

Always have a travel buddy or at least let someone know where you are... Tourists seem to have a curiosity of local joints that can cause trouble.

Nice landscape with tons of palms

This is quit big resort with a lot of green grass and tons of palms and bushes. Some restaurants have very good and tasty food other have average. There are seven of them. The beach is great and worth to hang around. You need to give some tips to have better room service, but it does not hurt you. We really enjoy our vacation.

beautiful resort

very nice service, excellent food

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

they should offer more local attractions, to know more from near towns

Great stay!

We had a great time at this hotel. It was a great hotel for it’s value. The location was great and you always felt very safe. The staff was very friendly and helpful. We would definately go back!

Awesome hotel, would go back in a heart beat

My Boyfriend and I just came back from spending the week at this hotel and I was nervous because I read some of the negative reviews and I was not sure what I was going to expect. The Hotel was fabulous. The transport from the airport to the hotel was flawless, about a 20 minute ride. Once we got there we could not get to our room until 3:00 and they are VERY strict about that so we had to wait around the lobby for a few hours, so that kind of stunk. Our room was beautiful, so perfect. Before I left I sent a special request to the hotel because I read from a few reviews to ask for a renovated building, block 6, so I asked for that, a king bed, and an ocean facing room. I recieved all three requests and I was VERY pleased. We had friends that stayed in block 1 and said the rooms were okay, but very dated and smelled musty. Our room however was brand new and did not have any problems with it. The food was alright. There is always something to eat at any time of the day. I am a picky eater to begin with, but my boyfriend never had a problem eating. The beach was perfect. Plenty of chairs to go around. You can always find chairs at any time. Pools were clean and the quality of the drinks were good. The Italian restaurant was the BEST, I could have gone there every night. All in all it was an awesome week, and I could not have had a better time. I would go back to this hotel in a heart beat.

Excellent

Excellent hotel

Enjoyed our stay but...

We really liked this hotel, the beach was nice, the staff was really friendly, the food was plentiful and tasty. My only complaint was that the room smelled extremely musty. When we first checked in we had one that was overwhelmingly musty. We asked to be moved and we were but our second room was musty as well. Because we wanted to stay close to our friends we put up with it. Our friends had trouble with an extremely lumpy mattress that never was replaced in spite of several requests. But we didn’t stay in our rooms much and besides those 2 things everything was great! We’d go again but insist on another room.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

There is a glass bottom boat trip that you can schedule at the resort for $27/person. If you go just south of the resort on the beach you can get the same trip in a speedboat for much less. We paid $10 each! Just bargain with the manager.

Awesome Vacation

First visit to the DR and was a litle concerned after having read some of the reviews of this property. Went ahead and booked this trip and having now returned I can’t understand any of the negative reviews. The Dominican Beach Resort was definately very well kept. The food was very good, there were 5 theme specific restaurants and three buffet style. Finding something to eat was never a problem and the variety should allow even the most finicky of eaters to find a decent meal. The entertainment was enjoyable and the staff went out of their way to ensure that should you choose fun was a moment away. This hotel has a large expanse of oceanfront beach and the water and beach were spectacular. Having stayed at several tropic destinations this rates at the top. Was glad I made the trip and have no complaints. TO those who are considering this hotel and wondering whether or not to stay I have one piece of advie, you go for the beauty and fun....ignore those who gave a poor rating my wife and I enjoyed thistrip and would reccomend it and the staff at Expedia.

Traveler's tip on recreational activities

When looking at things to do I have several recommendations. We took the one day Jeep Safari and also a zip line excursion. Both were booked through the guest services staff at the hotel and if you look for than relaxing on the beach these give you both a view of the Dominican lifestyle and some adventure. Lifes an adventure so explore.

Not Impressed

The hotel grounds are kept very nicely, but the rooms are a different story; they need major renovations! The room I stayed in had a leak in the bathroom ceiling apparently from the AC. I called the front desk who said they would send a repair person, but that person apparently never showed up or was never sent. I spent three days with the waste basket collecting water and housekeeping apparently didn’t mind either. Overall the service is great, the food exceptional and so are the drinks! This is a place to go relax and not be concerned with the amenities because they lack. If it wasn’t for the rooms I would go back.

Good Hotel!!!

The hotel was really good. At the price like this you can’t beat it. We stayed for 7 nights and the experience is unbelievable. The only problem we had was the A/C. When we got there it was not working so we called the maintenance. They told us they will send someone. No one came. Then we went to the front desk and complained. They called again and told us to wait in the room. No one came again. 9PM knock at the door. They finaly fixed it after 5 hours. Other than that great!!

Traveler's tip

Don’t change your currency to pesos. Not worth it. They accept U.S Dollars and Euros. If you take a trip outside the resort make sure the company has a good standing and well known.

Can’t wait to go back

Beautifull people wow the best store prices too high for a native dominican like me going back to my country.

Never Again!

My husband & I recently returned back from a week in DR and we stayed at Barcelo Dominican Beach Resort. The front desk staff were unfriendly and unaccomodating while we were checking in, so right from the start we got a bad vibe. ALL of the a la carte restaurants were HORRIBLE! Never in my life have I ever had more disgusting meals! We almost got sick from Pepito’s, the Mexican restaurant-- gross. We currently live in New York, where we were born and raised also. We have the best of everything here so we KNOW good food..... The resort needs MANY major upgrades. Our room was pretty clean, but the beds were old and very uncomfortable, the lock to our room didn’t work and the air conditioner didn’t work the first 4 days that we were there. And when it did decide to finally work, it would leak therefore leaving big puddles of water on the floor of the bathroom. Of course when we called the front desk to complain we got nasty attitudes and NO ONE to come make repairs..... Never again would we stay at this resort OR recomend this hotel to our worst enemy!

Traveler's tip on dining

The food is just ok at the buffets and ALL a la carte restaurants are HORRIBLE!

Excelen

Good

Great stay

The resort was only 20 min away. The beach is absolutely amazing. They do have well kept grounds which is nice for walking. They did not seem to have clean towels readily available so its best to keep the same ones for a couple days then try and switch them out. The staff is very friendly and smile all the time. Room: We requested a renovated room upon arrival and we were placed in block 100 which worked out great. The room is located by one of the main buffets,the Spanish and Italian restaurant. There was also a pool nearby and felt like everything was pretty close even the beach was a short walk. Our room was clean and that is all that really mattered. Did not encounter any bathroom problems like I read in previous reviews, on that note a lot of the reviews made me worry for no reason! Food: The food was not the best but did have somewhat of a variety(snack bar has the worst food). I heard from others that we traveled with the Mexican restaurant was terrible. The Spanish was not too bad, the Italian supposedly did not take any reservations but no one seemed to come out or really go in and the door remained closed. The buffet by the beach and Coco seemed to have the best food. By miracle got into Wasabi and that was the best by far, although that was the only time I got sick the whole stay hmmm

Traveler's tip

Randomness: If you book through expedia I would definitely recommend meeting your advisor, Susana was awesome. Vendors were only on the property one night. Actually the best place for souvenir shopping is what is called "the cortecito?" this was located up the beach past the other beach shops, make sure you bargain! Bring your usual stuff like Pepto, Imodium, bug repellent and Tylenol. If you want to play tennis will need a reservation. Overall, I had a blast and enjoyed my stay. whoo hoo.

Would definitely return

Although this is not a " super class" hotel, it is very accomodating. Service is great, food delicious and varied. Good crow to mingle with and no hazzles. A good place for families with small children as well. The place is kept very clean and the staff is very helpful.

SUPPER GOOD

Great Hotel!!!! the beach was excelent the best of all dominican republic beaches!!!! the a la carta restaurants (6)was delicios the food quality great!!! the people extra kind!!!! the room a litlle old, need manteniment but u dont spend a lot of time in the room so it dosent mather!!!!!

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

THE BEACH!!!!

bargain vacation

This is the second year we went to this hotel. Had hoped they would have redone the rooms but no such luck. The hotel grounds are lovely and large, lots of pools, beautiful beach, plenty of lounge chairs and room for everyone, I thought the place looked nice. Food is fine, not great. It’s a bargain and we liked it, but not deluxe.

It was okay

I can recommend the hotel, my room was clean, the food was not imppressed but in general the accomodation for vacations were fine.

Not impressed

The hotel need a renewal!

Not impressed

What was good: - The beach was beautiful - nice breeze, great sun, clear water with small waves. - The weather was great. - Food was good - both buffet and Bahia restaurant. - Evening entertainment was fine. - Close to Punta Cana airport (about 20-30 mins) What was bad: - Our room had 2 double beds, so we asked if we can be moved into a room with a king bed (we’re a couple). So they moved us to an older building and our room was dirty, TV broken, telephone broken, and zero hot water. They did fix the hot water and bring us a new TV, but we never had the phone fixed and maid service didn’t clean our room until our 3rd day. - The resort is large - it would have helped if they had better maps and descriptons of the restaurants and buffets. - Three pools and two were fairly dirty. - Should have more activities. - Better help from "guest serices"...they were not very accomodating. I travel quite a bit and usually just roll with the punches but I wasn’t very impressed. I would definitely go back to Punta Cana but would not stay at this resort again.

Would not recommend this resort. Negatively impressed.

Negatively impressed.

Traveler's tip

Negatively impressed overall.