Barceló Bávaro Beach - All Inclusive Adults Only — Attraction in Higüey

This is our 3rd Barcelo property we've stayed at. We've stayed at 2 Barcelo properties in Mexico and now this property. This property needs some help. I feel like more attention is given to the Barcelo Palace than this property. The adults only side and the Palace buildings themselves are in good condition. The outside of the buildings are nicely painted, the grass is cut & the beach has nice sand. The furniture is also nice and fits the Caribbean setting. The lounge chairs on the beach were ok. I didn't see too many that were in poor condition. The room we stayed in just felt a bit outdated. However, the bed was very comfortable & the sheets were clean. The bathroom felt dangerous. We don't drink enough to hurt ourselves, but the way the glass is mounted in the tub/shower, it's not very sturdy. God forbid an intoxicated person lean/fall while in the shower and the glass breaks. The bracket that "holds" the glass in place is not the most sturdy. Originally when we arrived at the resort we were greeted by staff. Since we purchased the Premium Level we were taken into the Premium Level guest services area where we met with Harlen. He explained the services we could receive because we are staying in the premium level. I don't know if I misunderstood him or just thought we'd be scammed, but needless to say I missed the part where he told us room service was included. Regardless, we took advantage of that after the 2nd day. We ordered breakfast and dinner a couple times. The food was very good. The hotel buffet wasn't terrible, but I felt like the options were slim. Some of the food looked appealing, but upon taking bites it was clear it was mediocre. After the 2nd day we started taking advantage of room service or walking down to the Barcelo Palace (which if you stay at the adults only section, you have access to the Palace at no extra cost). The desserts looked appealing as well, but again there wasn't a ton of sugar in them. My favorite dessert was some sort of coconut flavored item. It was sweet & tasted really good. The pool was very nice. We only sat by it a couple times, but from what we saw people were enjoying themselves. The room we stayed in was nice. Spacious. However, the room smelled moldy. There was mold on the curtains (which I brought up to staff and they were unable to off us a different room - high season). This is a health hazard. The staff only apologized... For the amount of money we spent on this vacation I found it complwtely unacceptable. Also, the shower head had mold in the holes where the water came out as well. I didn'tknow what could be done since Gamily Mendez told us they didn't have any rooms available. The shower/tub did not drain, UNLESS you removed the decorative drain cover... odd. The cleaning staff just removed the decorative cover and that was "the fix". The light at the pool was also inoperable, so we couldn't really swim at night because it was too dark. I just feel like with these issues some sort of compensation should have been offered. A suggestion would be to offer some sort of a discount on the spa or something (free mini bottle of rum or chocolate liquor). These issues will 100% have a baring on us return to another Barcelo property in the near future. I will give a couple shout outs to: Mayra Encarnacion. She was one of the waitresses at the buffet & was very accommodating. Out of all the staff we encountered at the adults only side & Palace, she worked with a sense of urgency. Most of the time we were left waiting for drinks / refills. Daneuuris Mejia who stocked our mini-fridge. He was always very attentive. As I said there was quite a bit wrong with our stay & 95% went unfixed. With that being said. I would really have to consider coming back because of the issues.I would air on the side of caution if I came back. If there is a next time I'd be a bit more direct on having the staff immediately fix our complaints. Hopefully fixes & updates can be made so other people can enjoy their vacation. I'm giving the room a score of 2 because the mold...

We had higher expectations for the resort than what we experienced.

Check-in: We booked rooms at the adults only hotel but on check-in we’re told we’d been “upgraded” to rooms at the Palace where there are children. When we asked why, we were just told the rooms we got were much nicer, though I’m not sure whether that was actually the case. We weren’t given any information about the resort at this time. Nothing about the schedule of activities, nothing about the dining options, nothing about the fact that you need reservations (typically well in advance) to eat the a la carte restaurants, and nothing about transportation.

Rooms: The rooms were definitely dated. The website is misleading for sure. The tub was dirty when we arrived. Pros were hot water was good and air conditioning worked well. We also found the beds comfortable. They don’t give you enough towels unless you request more and no washcloths at all unless you ask. We had an issue with the TV and they sent someone right away to fix it. We also had our fridge replaced and had to call maintenance for the safe but all of that was taken care of quickly and we appreciated that. The rest of the hotel was kept very clean.

Guest Services: I tried calling from the room several times but rarely got an answer. We were told we had to physically go to guest services to make reservations at restaurants but when we did, the system was down, so we had to go back again. Wilmer was vey helpful once we found the second guest services area.

Spa: the spa is very beautiful but the service was lacking. Three of us paid for the same facial but after speaking with one another realized we’d all had different experiences. There was very little massage and music from the beach party pounded through the rooms. For $140 USD, I thought it was insane that the facial was barely even 40-minutes long.

Food: This was probably the most disappointing. Fruits and vegetables were great but we avoided seafood sitting out on the buffets. The buffets in general were not good. Avoid the Coral seafood restaurant. It was not good. The steakhouse was okay but nothing too special. We went to a restaurant off of the resort for dinner a couple of nights and had excellent, delicious food, miles ahead of what the resort offered.

There are NO snacks on the resort. Stop at a store and buy your own on the way. The gift shop does sell Cheetos for $16 USD. Sunscreen costs $32. Do yourself a favor and go to the Super Lama nearby instead.

Beach: Absolutely beautiful. We loved the beach and always found chairs. Beware, there are no umbrellas and not enough small tables for your drinks and things but it still was the best part of the trip. There is also no food/beverage service on the beach.

Pool: Loved the pool. It was large, clean and there was drink service. No food though so bring snacks.

Entertainment: The entertainment staff were wonderful. We enjoyed the karaoke and bachata nights.

Transportation: Ridiculous. The security gate is a mile from the lobby. They don’t want you arranging any transportation on your own. We were told that our return airport transfer couldn’t come past the gate and that we’d have to pay a taxi $10 to drive us the 1 mile there. When I spoke to the transportation company we’d booked through, he said the hotels do this so that they can earn commissions and that he was a licensed company and could come get us. We also found a driver we liked and had arranged for him to take us to dinner one night. I was told they wouldn’t let him through security to pick us up. Eventually they did but it was stressful and I didn’t like that I had to argue about it. They have golf carts that can take you between the resorts but they won’t bring you to the gate. It all just felt like such a scheme.

All in all, you get what you pay for. The beach and pool were 5 stars, but the food was more like 1.5/2, and everything else 3. My friends and I still managed to have a great time once we figured out how to navigate the weirdness. I’m not sure any of us would stay here...

We may be done with the "all inclusive" and Barcelo experience. Having stayed at other properties, this was definitely a Barcelo "value" experience (Barcelo Bottom Feeder). We stayed on the adults only side but frequently came across childish behavior among guests. Disregard for others with loud, abrasive and selfish antics overshadowed the majority that were respectful. When we visited the Palace side, it was a crowded madhouse. So, the Beach did offer some respite. Buffets were well stocked though did thin out towards later hours. Get there early to avoid the picked over presentation. Amazed that guests were actively picking apart food in the trays to only take the good... Restaurants were average with dishes that were either under or over cooked. Flavors were average. Not certain there is value in going Premium for open access to these places. Alcohol is well below average. While the draft house white and Presidente beer sufficed, nothing else did. I'm referring to taste, as there were plenty of drunken patrons to indicate quantity over quality was fine.

Dealing with food poisoning was very poorly handled by the Premium and Excursion desk. We ate at the French restaurant on a Thursday night. That evening, I experienced aches, chills, fever, diarrhea and bloating. I remained in bed through Saturday morning when I was finally able to take in water and small amounts of food. While we are aware these things can occur, what incensed us was the way my wife was handled by your excursions representative on Thursday morning. The day before we had booked a boat ride with a Friday am show time of 0825. My wife went early to let them know I was sick but they were not yet open. When he did show up, he proceeded to hard line her with no refunds and to move to the next day's excursion. She continued to emphasize that I was extremely sick and not at all likely to get better before our departure. He demanded a note from a doctor as proof and was only willing to refund 60% and told my wife she had to sign the receipt. On Saturday morning, when I was able to depart the room, we asked to speak to a manager at the Premium desk. While not immediately available, we were later told by staff that because my wife signed a receipt, nothing could be done for us. We would not be receiving a refund. Further, we had to push for the Premium desk to document the food poisoning incident. Even though they said they reported it, they asked no questions regarding the specific time and what each of us ate. Very suspect handling... This is NOT "premium" service and not how we expect to be treated as repeat Barcelo customers. Check in/out table in Premium needs to be enlarged so that guests are not sitting right next to each other. At very least, move computer screens to center and push seating to ends of desk so that guest privacy is respected. Place more signage indicating that lounge chairs cannot be reserved or held while guests leave for other activities. My wife was verbally accosted by guests that had placed just a towel holder (no towel) on 4 chairs early in the morning. 2 hours after we witnessed the placement, my wife went out to sit on the beach and no chairs were available. She sat in one of the "reserved" chairs and within 5 minutes was approached by 4 guests who aggressively indicated she should leave. Though she reminded them they could not reserve and the chairs had been unused for over 2 hours, they made it clear she should move. When she put her towel on the ground near the chairs to at least sit on the beach, one of the women walked across the towel and kicked sand on it. My wife took the higher ground, but Barcelo must take a more proactive and engaged stance on this guest behavior. It happens at the pool and beach and makes for a very negative experience. No smoking/vaping signage needs to be expanded. It should not be allowed in any eating facility or at the bar counter. Zones should be designated away from the broader...