Royalton Bavaro, An Autograph Collection All-Inclusive Resort — Attraction in Higüey

what was supposed to be our once-in-a-lifetime honeymoon, booked through TUI, at the Royalton Bávaro Punta Cana from 15th – 29th September 2025. Unfortunately, what should have been a perfect and memorable trip turned into one of the worst travel experiences we have ever had.|| Damaged Luggage on Arrival| • Upon collecting my luggage in Punta Cana, I discovered that my brand-new suitcase (£60, bought specifically for the honeymoon) had a wheel completely broken off, leaving my clothes exposed.| • When I asked the TUI rep for assistance, she offered no support other than suggesting I purchase overpriced tape from the gift shop. I was forced to pay for this myself to salvage the suitcase, which is now unusable.||. Hotel Check-in and Honeymoon Recognition| • We had informed TUI and the hotel in advance that this was our honeymoon, and even provided our marriage certificate as required. We were promised a romantic dinner on the beach to celebrate. However, upon arrival, this was scheduled for the very first night—impossible after a long-haul flight. When we requested to reschedule, we were told this could not be rearranged. This felt dismissive and deeply disappointing for such an important occasion.||⸻|. Hotel Cleanliness and Facilities||The resort in no way reflected the advertised 5-star standard:| • Rooms & facilities:| • Cockroaches in our room and in hallways (one remained in the corridor for three days).| • “Fresh towels” with make-up stains, pillows stained, and minibar not replenished unless tips were given.| • Jacuzzi bath had no hot water; showers did not function properly.| • Room service trays left in corridors for days, cracked walls, and missing door plates (replaced with handwritten numbers).| • Restaurants & food quality:| • Dirty cutlery and glasses, to the extent that guests purchased flasks to avoid using them.| • Uncooked, cold, and unappealing food on multiple occasions; missing items in room service orders.| • We were even refused items (e.g. a pizza) because staff claimed it was “too much food” for two guests.| • Buffet food left uncovered, attracting flies; lunchtime food under a tent was cold and unhygienic.| • We frequently skipped meals due to concerns over food safety and both suffered upset stomachs during the stay.| • Drinks tasted identical and were served in dirty plastic cups rinsed only with water.| • Entertainment & facilities:| • The second week’s entertainment was identical to the first, making it repetitive and boring.| • Limited rubber rings for the lazy river.| • The advertised pizza truck was closed throughout our stay.| • Towels at the pool were stained and service was poor unless tips were given.| • On-site vendors constantly hassled guests to buy gifts, disturbing relaxation.| . No hot water in the main breakfast restaurant which resulted in no tea or coffees twice. | . The sports bar and the lunch ‘nibbles’ bar displayed a selection of food for lunch however didn’t have most of it in stock. |. No air con in any restaurants. | |5. General Standards||We spent over £5,000 on this holiday, expecting a premium, 5-star honeymoon experience. Instead, we received poor communication, broken facilities, unsafe and unhygienic food, and a complete lack of recognition for our special occasion. Other guests we spoke to also expressed dissatisfaction, so I believe this is not an isolated case.||6 . Check out||We called the bell boy to come and help with our luggage due to TUI damaging my case I was unable to take my case to reception myself. The bell boy took 55 mins to turn up which resulted in us struggling to carry our own luggage. ||When we checked out the hotel reception staff demanded 150 dollars as my husband lost his key wrist band. This key was tied with string and was not secure in the first place. We were also not told about this charge when we initially checked in. The staff were so rude and would not allow us to leave until we made this payment which converted to £115. I believe this behaviour to be embarrassing for a 5 star hotel. ||I do not recommend anyone spends their money on...

MOST RELIABLE REVIEW YOU’LL READ 👆🏻👆🏻👆🏻 Just saying because the comments are all over the place. I read them all before coming here and thought about them constantly while staying at the resort, so here is what they got right and here is what is mostly exaggerated:

CHECK-IN ; 4/5 Check in was chaotic because of the amount of people checking in with us, but manageable and expected. Assigning us a room did take several hours, as some other guests stated. However we got the wristbands that give you the “all inclusive” perks immediately. Because of that, the long time they took to assign us a room wasn’t an issue, as we were having lunch peacefully right next to the lobby.

FOOD ; 3/5 Really comes down to where you go. During our stay we went to the following: Gourmet Marché: You will most likely visit this one, as it’s the only place (besides room service with limited options) that offers breakfast. Honestly I liked it. Great options. They have omelet stations where you can have a custom made omelet, as well as a smoothie bar. Besides that, a lot of options. Only issue here is I don’t think drinks are very accessible for breakfast. I’d rate it a 4/5. Rio: This is the best place you can go. Service is fast, food tastes great, drinks are tasty. Overall a bit fancier than the other restaurants, and the restaurant is kept at a nice cool temperature. 5/5 Grazie Italian: Terrible. Osso Bucco was very chewy, Chicken was dry and flavorless. Only good thing was the Caccio y Pepe. Also, waiters left the main door open the whole night to take care of tables outside, so the whole restaurant feels like is being kept at 80º F, which is probably not the weather you want when eating pasta and meat. They also never brought our wine. We eventually asked if we could order desert to our room and the waiter (dripping in sweat) was confused and rude, but I think he was just stressed and it was stressing us out so we didn’t wanna give him a hard time. We also had 2 salmon carpaccios but no salt whatsoever on one of them. I’d rate it a 1/5 definitely skip this one. Zen: I also liked it. Top #2 restaurant in my opinion. My salmon did have pin bones in it still so if that’s not your thing then either stick to sushi or some other plate. Sushi, by the way, tastes great here. Definitely recommend the Vulcan roll. I asked for a Philadelphia with no avocado and teriyaki/tare sauce instead of soy and they got my order right and brought it to us quickly. Service did take a little bit longer than Rio also. 4/5. Oceanside Buffet: Is alright. I did get there last minute and only went to the pasta-making station though so be mindful of that. My pasta did not taste very good and you can’t really customize it besides putting a small amount of protein or veggies in there. The sauce itself is already made. Portion size for that is huge though. 3/5 in my opinion but location is definitely a plus as it is right by the beach. Scoops Gelato: LOVED IT!!! Cannot rate higher than Rio or Zen because it’s not a restaurant (more of a coffee/ice cream shop). You can get ice cream and put anything you want in it. 5/5. Pizza Grill: we didn’t go, but ordered pizza to our room and it was terrible. The dough was probably cooked a long time ago and they just put some sauce and very little toppings on top once we ordered. 2/5

ROOM The room was pretty nice. I think this is a lucky/unlucky kinda situation and we might have been lucky. No cockroaches or insects like other guests stated. The elevator did break and was not fixed by the time we checked out, and the bathroom sliding door would only open halfway.

DRINKS They will be watered down everywhere, from alcoholic to juices and soda. Only place where that wasn’t the case was at Rio.

ATTRACTIONS Beach was beautiful. Lazy river was fun but you do have to pay for floaties. We luckily ended up finding some left behind though.

That covers it I think. Customer service is alright but will take forever at the restaurants. And sometimes they will not understand your request. They did burst into our...

Where do I even begin?

If you’re reading this, take my advice and RUN — do not walk — as far away from this hotel as possible. My family has visited this place more than three times, and based on their past recommendations, we made the grave mistake of booking a trip here. Well, never again.

We went through a travel agency, naively thinking it would make everything smoother. Big mistake. Not only was it a nightmare from the start, but when things went wrong, the agency washed their hands of any responsibility — leaving us stranded with a hotel that seems to have forgotten what hospitality even means.

Surroundings — 7/10 Sure, the grounds look decent from afar. Some buildings are crumbling and screaming for a paint job, but the pools are pretty enough — until you see the truth floating in the lazy river: abandoned empty glasses, sticky grime, and a clear shortage of staff who actually care to clean it up. The swim-up bars? Be prepared to wait… and wait… and wait some more. And watch out for crossing rats throughout the resort

Rooms — a soul-crushing -1/10 Brace yourself for this one: the rooms are an icy, grimy nightmare. The moment we stepped in, it looked promising — until the details emerged like cockroaches in the dark. And yes, there were roaches. Big, flying ones. My husband had to slay one with a towel — a memory I won’t soon forget.

The closet was falling apart, the bed’s headboard was a lint graveyard, lamps were rusted and grimy, outlets didn’t work, the jacuzzi was filthier than a truck stop bathroom. Mold coated the shower tiles and fixtures like a science experiment gone wrong. And as for the bedding? One word: bloodstains. Twice.

Room Service — 1/10 So much for 24-hour unlimited room service. Try ordering a simple midnight snack for two rooms — you’ll be interrogated like a criminal. “Why are you ordering for four people?” they ask. Because we paid for it, that’s why! Orders canceled, food arriving hours late — if at all — with an attitude that made it feel like we were the inconvenience.

Food — 3/10 Want to eat at the restaurants? Good luck reserving — the app only lets you do it daily, and by the time you figure it out, everything’s booked. We were a group of thirteen across five rooms — and after begging and pleading, we were grudgingly given three late-night dinner slots. The rest of the time? Buffets. And not the good kind.

Cold, stale food, suspicious “fresh” fruit crawling with roaches, and don’t even dream about the “unlimited lobster” they promise — unless you pay extra for the elusive Diamond Club. I’ve had better buffets at a gas station.

Drinks — 5/10 Yes, they pour freely — but mostly water, it seems. Twelve hours of “unlimited cocktails” and not even a buzz? Impossible — unless you’re drinking juice. The only saving grace: Ashley and Ruben, the heroic bartenders. Friendly, warm, and the only reason the bar experience wasn’t a total joke.

Flo Rider — 10/10 A rare gem — worth the extra cost. Garner and Maria were phenomenal, and our whole family, young and old, had a blast.

Beach — 1/10 Dreaming of a beautiful beachfront escape? Forget it. Mountains of stinking sargassum for miles — there was no beach to swim in, no view to admire, just a foul-smelling stretch of misery.

Guest Services & Front Desk — -1/10 Check-in? An hour or more. Check-out? Same ordeal. Complain about the mold, roaches, filthy blankets? They shrug. Ask for help? Get a blank stare or outright rudeness. Here, you’re not a guest — you’re a nuisance they tolerate until your check clears.

Tours — 8/10 At least the buggy rides and cave tour were fantastic — though the buggies themselves seemed ready to fall apart beneath us. But the experience, guide, and photos were top notch.

Final Verdict I’m not hard to please — truly. Give me a clean room, edible food, and friendly faces, and I’m happy. But for $8,000 for a family of five? This was an insult. I wouldn’t wish this place on my worst enemy.

Never. Again. Pics to come — see for yourself. Good luck if you’re already booked — you’re...