Barceló Bávaro Beach (adults only AI), Punta Cana,
Dominican Republic
Summary:
This adults-only resort (the “Beach”) has app. 300
rooms and is adjacent to the Barceló Palace complex, which
has 1300+ rooms.
The addition of the Palace really makes this the best
of both worlds- adults only quieter area for relaxing, and
the Palace for lots more things to do both day and night.
Pros compared to Hedo:
I give
Barceló Beach 4 stars and Hedo 2 ½ stars; everything is
modern, immaculate, sometimes luxurious, and in working
order; 9 restaurants to choose from;
beach is out of this world; entire trip was about 60%
the cost of a similar length trip to Hedo.
Cons compared
to Hedo:
Not clothing optional; people not as friendly and meeting
people more difficult because most guests speak Russian,
German, or Spanish; not a sexually charged atmosphere; I am
not a diver but I understand there is an extra charge for
scuba diving.
Arrival:
The
Punta Cana airport has no jetways, so all travelers deplane
on the tarmac and are led inside the airport, which appears
to be a series of connected thatched-roof open air
buildings, very attractive and tropical looking.
You pay $10 US per person for a visa, and all
procedures are quick.
We found our transport (prearranged thru resort)
easily at booth #22 and were the only passengers.
Landed at 3:20 p.m.- at the resort at 4:00 p.m.!
Check-in/Club Premium:
We produced our passports at the lobby desk, and were
immediately whisked away to the Club Premium (“CP”) lounge
nearby for check in, where we were seated, given cold
cloths, glasses of champagne, and had CP wristbands attached
in minutes. The
CP option only cost us $10 per person extra per day- DO IT!
For this amount, you get:
guaranteed oceanfront room, free room service
throughout stay, 20 minute massages, welcome bottles of
champagne and rum in the room along with a basket of fresh
fruit, access to all 10 restaurants in the complex (a few
more than non-CP travelers) and easy reservations, free
WiFi, free use of computers/internet in CP lounge, access to
the mini-buffet in the CP lounge for any meal,
hydrotherapy at the spa.
Room:
Best, large, immaculate, attractive hotel room we’ve
had in a long time.
Balcony that overlooked the beach/ocean with dining
table and chairs, drying rack for clothes, and privacy
barrier blocking next door balcony; minibar stocked daily
with soda, water, and beer;
shower/toilet in one room (plenty of hot water) and
double sinks and loads of counter space in another room,
separated from bedroom by door; air conditioning and
thermostat worked great; plenty of drawer space for
unpacking; large hanging LCD TV with many channels in
Spanish, English, Russian, German, etc. (no porn).
Beach:
They advertise it as “named one of the 10 best
beaches in the world by National Geographic.”
It lives up to the hype- beautiful soft white sand
about twice as wide as Hedo 2’s beach, tons of tall skinny
palm trees, protected by a coral reef, water is crystal
clear, there are a couple of seaweed patches but literally
80-90% of the swimming areas (which are huge) are clean
white sand bottom.
A couple of mornings we got up early and walked from
our room at the far end of the “Barceló” beach all the way
to the end of the “Barceló” beach, and it took 28 minutes
each way at a brisk exercise-type pace.
During the day, the ECs lead some simple games on the
beach, like bocce ball, volleyball, etc. and water aerobics
are done in the ocean. Watersports are available at the
Palace, including pedal boats, sailboats, kayaks, etc.
Cons: 1)
they do not provide floaties; and 2) not clothing
optional (though we did see a couple of women go topless).
Pools,
etc.:
There is only one pool at the Beach, which is about
twice the size of Hedo’s prude pool, has multiple depths,
water jets, and a Jacuzzi area in the center which is a nice
spot for meeting people. The pool deck is very large and
there are tons of lounge chairs (really nice ones that not
only recline, but the footrest area is also adjustable), and
most of the chairs are underneath bamboo shades.
There is no issue with saving chairs or scrounging
tables because there are plenty of both.
The bar is right next to the pool, in a thatched roof
building with shady lounge area and mushroom-like chairs for
napping. No
swim-up bar, but there are waitresses constantly making the
rounds to take drink orders.
I also liked that all the pools at both the Beach
and Palace have at least four ways to get in and out,
including a ramp type area.
You can
walk from the Beach lobby to the Palace building (a 2-story
mini shopping mall with many restaurants, bars, shops,
disco, casino, theater)
either along the ocean or via a series of covered
walkways in about 10-15 min. or you can hop the shuttle
train for a 5 min. ride
At the
Palace, there are two HUGE pools for swimming (including one
with a swim up bar and one with a deep area marked for scuba
dive training), one lap pool for exercisers (and I also saw
water volleyball played there), a small child waterpark
area, an adults-only pool with pool beds, and the spa has
its own infinity-type pool which overlooks all the other
pools. There is also
a separate Pirate Waterpark area which we went to twice
because I enjoyed the 4 waterslides and wave pool so much.
(We also played 18
holes of mini golf there.)
Cons:
Pool rules everywhere say no flotation devices
allowed and no competitive games; no hot tubs; all pools
close at 8 p.m. until the morning.
Restaurants:
It was sooo nice to have so many options- the Beach
and the Palace each have a buffet for all 3 meals, but for
dinner you can choose from 9 different á la carte
restaurants (2 at the Beach and 7 at the Palace).
My favorite was the French restaurant at the Palace
where I had Chateaubriand as the main course and Crèpes
Suzettes for dessert.
A nice feature of the Beach buffet was that the food
area is partitioned off by clear glass and air conditioned,
set apart from the open air eating area.
We always sat on the side of the eating area which
overlooked the beach and ocean- beautiful view and great
breezes.
Gem- On
the second floor of the Palace complex, there is a Coffee,
Rum, and Cigar bar that we loved.
Every kind of fancy coffee you can imagine, including
alcoholic (I loved the cubanito), and treats like
chocolate-covered strawberries, rum balls, etc.
We also
ordered room service breakfast a few times (free CP feature)
and had omelets, fruit, pastries, yogurt, café con leche,
etc. Ate on the
balcony overlooking the ocean and watched the sun rise and
the army of rakers and cleaners at work on the beach.
Nightlife:
Both the Beach and the Palace have shows in their
Teatro areas at 10 p.m. (Amazingly- in both locales, the
shows start on time and end at 11 p.m.!)
Both Teatros offer cocktail-lounge type seating with
drink service throughout the show.
After the show, there is the Casino (24 hour) and the
Disco (11 p.m.-3 a.m.); both are 18 years and up only.
The Casino is small, and has blackjack tables,
roulette tables, poker tables, Texas Hold Em, and of course
slot machines.
I played blackjack one night for a while, $5 US per hand,
and broke even.
The
Disco was lots of fun- it has a huge movie screen on the far
wall that plays music videos to dance by, and four podiums
with “go go” girls dancing.
At different times, ECs will lead various line
dancing, etc.
For CP folks only, there is a separate balcony area
overlooking the disco with really comfy seating, room to
dance, and a bar that has no waiting compared to the one
downstairs.
We
found a fun night routine is an 8 p.m. or so dinner at one
of the restaurants, maybe a little nosing around in the
shops, followed by special coffee at the Coffee and Rum Bar,
show at the Teatro, then Casino and/or Disco.
Then, before hopping on the shuttle train back to the
Beach, stop at the 24 hour sports bar and grab a snack off
the buffet or, even better, a soft ice cream cone.