Unique Club at Lopesan Costa Bávaro — Hotel in Higüey

Let me just start by saying, this was my first vacation in over 5 years and my first day off in over a year, as I work 7 days a week. So when I booked 10 days solo at Lopesan Costa Bavaro, I thought, “Finally, time to relax.” Little did I know I was about to be entertained in ways I didn’t expect—and not always in the ways you’d hope. But overall, it was all good fun.||So where do I begin? Lopesan is a place where mostly heaven and a smidge of “wait, what’s happening here?” coexist in perfect harmony.||The Butler: Meet Wendy (Wendy Guerrero), my personal butler and now, possibly, my spirit animal. Although he was so late on day one that I thought he might be dealing with some serious scheduling challenges, after that, he was on me like butter on toast. Need a reservation? Done. Room needs a miracle? Fixed… mostly. This guy is a superhero in butler form. I’m going on record—he was the MVP of my trip. If you don’t get him, you’re missing out. From day one, he was there tackling all the quirks in my room like TV, AC, and lights acting up. If it weren’t for Wendy, I’d have thought I was on a prank show. Not everything got fixed during my stay, but he did more than anyone could ask, and checked in daily. He’s like the butler version of an action hero, relentlessly solving problems. Lopesan, give this man a raise—he deserves a medal for putting up with me.||MY ROOM: Now, let’s talk about the room—good gracious. Yes, it was fancy—a 4th-floor 1-bedroom suite with living room, ocean views, the works. But when I arrived, I’m pretty sure nothing but the front door was fully functional. The TV remotes were less effective than a broken compass, the AC felt like a lazy fan, and the toilet? Let’s just say it was one strong flush away from an adventure I didn’t sign up for.||Housekeeping: These ladies were operating like they were in some kind of covert operation. No knock, just entering like they were on a mission. They’d clean, leave, then pop back in randomly—never restocking the minibar but mysteriously removing clean towels while leaving used ones. I’m not much of a drinker, so I could live off water—but come on, how hard is it to throw in a beer or some fresh towels? It got to the point where I started locking the door when I was inside, but even then, they’d rattle it and shout “Housekeeping!” like it was the final scene of a movie. Since there were no “Do Not Disturb” signs, I had to get creative to avoid a 6 a.m. wake-up call. Pro tip: answering the door with bedhead and a smile makes for a quick exit.||The Unique Package: I went all-in on the Unique package, and thank goodness I did. Better room, access to everything (that was open), and incredible service at the unique areas. The restaurants available to everyone were a mixed bag, so having access to the better dining spots was key. Let’s just say, the difference was like eating at a fine restaurant versus a neighborhood cookout.||Disappointing Food Moments: The first one was at The Valley—food was colder than a snowman’s handshake and blander than a reality show marathon. The service was nice but just didn’t hit the mark. It felt like they were trying, but it wasn’t quite there.||Then there was La Boheme—a case of closed clams and seafood soup that tasted like a watery prank. It was like the ocean slapped me in the face and said, “That’s all you’re getting.” On the plus side, my friend said the ratatouille was decent, but we both left the table hungrier than when we sat down. And the birthday celebrations? It felt like a marathon of “Happy Birthday” songs. By the sixth round, I was ready to start checking IDs.||Redemption at the Steakhouse: El Asador, aka steak heaven, was everything you want: incredible food, fantastic service, and an atmosphere that made me want to high-five the chef. Tomahawk steak all day, every day!||Mareas Seafood: This spot next to the steakhouse was delicious, even with a few minor service hiccups. But hey, when you’re savoring lobster, who’s counting?||Unique Beach Restaurant: I paid extra for this place, and it was closed for dinner the entire time. I wasn’t thrilled, but breakfast was flawless. The staff were amazing, and the food was fantastic. I could have eaten breakfast there every day (and basically did). It was like a warm hug after a long week, and the fresh fruit is still in my dreams.||El Charro, the Mexican Restaurant: The staff seemed to be in a bit of a hurry, except for the manager, Genesis. Not only is she great at her job, but she also knows how to handle the chaos. The food was fantastic, though I recommend ordering double—no, triple—portions because the servings are smaller than a post-it note. Genesis is a gem, and if I could have taken her home to manage my kitchen, I would have. Go big or go home at this place!||Shows: One of the main reasons I booked Lopesan was for the theater shows. Unfortunately, they were only performing on a tiny outdoor stage that looked like a dance-off gone wrong. Twelve dancers squeezed into a space barely big enough for two, performing with more agility than a pack of acrobats. Despite the cramped quarters, the dancers were fantastic. Shoutout to Amari, Pearl, and Amara (hope I got those names right), who lit up that tiny stage with energy and passion.||White Party & Foam Party: The White Party on the beach was a bit chaotic. The MC’s humor didn’t quite land, but he did better at the Foam Party. Nicol, a lively, energetic host, made even the most confusing moments fun. Her energy was a highlight during my stay.||Boulevard Bars & Club: The Boulevard is stunning—world-class gym, lovely spa, fun games areas, and beautiful bars. The Irish Pub and Wine Bar were fantastic. But the Sports Bar? The TVs were out of service, and there were no sports on most nights. The club was great, but the crowd wasn’t. When the right people are there, I’m sure it’s a blast.||Hotel Bars: Thank goodness for the hotel bars. Drinks were always spot-on, and Perla at the lobby bar made me feel like a VIP with my nightly cappuccinos. It took me a while to get her to smile, but it was worth it—her smile could light up the room.||Overall: Lopesan Costa Bavaro is a tiny bit of “what’s this?” mixed into a huge heap of “wow, that was amazing.” Once the room quirks were handled (thanks, Wendy), everything else—pools, beach, common areas—felt like paradise. The staff were incredible. I live and work in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a literal 5-star destination for the global elite, so I know good service when I see it. This place impressed me, and I’ll definitely be back. And hey, Lopesan, if you need some consulting on sports and entertainment, I’m your guy. I’d even trade my services for a return trip!||WHAT A...

Unique Lopesan is beautiful ! Upon arrival we were greeted with a smile and a mimosa! Our bags were tagged and taken into storage. We didn’t get our rooms until 3:30 PM and by the time we had to walk over to the unique section to have our bracelets scanned ( room key it was now almost 5 pm . Marcela and Jomariah made the check in process at unique pleasant and immediately asked us if we would like a drink , now that’s service!. Our butler assigned to our group was Johan, he was GREAT and communicated with us through WhatsApp for all our requests and needs. He was even able to get our large group reservations for most of our nights, which by the way you cannot do until you have a room number and it must be done through the Lopesan app . I would recommend if you’re arriving early to the resort be sure to pack a bathing suit and your flip-flops so you can enjoy the beach while waiting for your room. The grounds are pristine and the rooms were large and beautiful with a modern decor . The staff was friendly and the resort had the most incredible powder sand and clear water beach… we felt so relaxed and enjoying swimming ! The food at unique beach club was delightful at most restaurants. In the Unique beach club restaurant the breakfast was amazing starting with an omelette station , fresh fruit smoothie and many other food options.. we were full! I must say Jose & Alejandro & Jamie were the BEST! For lunch the grill had seafood, steaks, chicken .. bountiful and delish! As for a la carte , El Charro ( Mexican) was a favorite as well as Mareas. Food presentation was lovely and tasty! The live musicians made it even better! So much fun! The main infinity pool was great , kids and adults enjoyed it , the added music was a bonus. The amount of palapas ( beach umbrellas) were plentiful , never had to feel like going down early to save a spot! The bars were plentiful and drinks were very good. The waitstaff would be going into the sand and asking if we would like a drink ..Estefania & Ana and Daisy were happy to help and with a smile! The kids enjoyed the waterpark and arcade/bowling alley ( extra cost ) very much , although it does have a 10 to 12 min walk through the Boulevard . The Boulevard could use some more stores of variety and some higher end . Needs more lighting on the trail to make it easier to walk . As for the teen vibe club, I would say that needs a lot of help. There was nothing there, except an empty room with some video games and a pool table, unfortunately, no music or DJ where they could dance . We didn’t get to experience the Theatre show. Although it is nice that they have it except that it’s all the way down by the Boulevard. So if you don’t like walking or have trouble walking you may want to consider renting a scooter . The boulevard has a Pharmacy, which you can rent the scooters from. The biggest struggle here is the language barrier. Many of the staff do not speak English that makes it quite difficult to communicate with the exception of some of the head staff members. Having kids with allergies, I would say was troublesome at this resort - we didn’t feel comfortable with the dining options , so you must alert/convey through many channels before eating to be sure the allergy is understood clearly! Lopesan offers a card to guests with allergies to show at each restaurant however as I mentioned, the language barrier made it confusing and we didn’t feel 100% sure that they understood the severity of the allergy. Overall is Unique Lopesan a resort I would return to again and the...

The hotel itself is huge and very nice (lots of pools). We opted for a Unique club room, but I don't think it's really worth it. Some of the things that were offered with the unique club in the past are no longer available which makes it even harder to justify the cost. If you watch old videos and read old reviews you might get some false information. The room came with a butler, but outside of a few messages and him booking our dinner reservations, we didn't see or hear from him. You will also be "forced" to leave a 5-start review for the butler regardless of whether they did anything to earn it. There is an outdoor buffet restaurant just for Unique guests, which had good food, but had less variety. I know this is subjective, but skip the Unique "upgrade" and save the money for tips.||Food|Buffets had a very wide variety of food. A few really good things (cooked to order fried rice, cooked to order noodles), a couple things that were not good at all (e.g. fish), and a lot of average food (typical of all-inclusives) that won't have you dying to eat more, but will satisfy your hunger.|The specialty restaurants were generally disappointing.|Italian restaurant: fresh fish was horrible and looked like it was a day old, other pasta dishes were average|Steakhouse: average. I get a better steak at a Longhorn chain steakhouse|Mediterranean: not much of a selection of food, nothing stood out|Hibachi: was probably the best of all the restaurants||Rooms|Had the damp smell that I suppose is common to Caribbean islands due to the humidity.|Bathroom area is kind of strange, take a look at some photos or videos. It's tough to explain but it's one big open area, so no privacy for using the bathroom or shower. Toilet is separated by a frosted glass door that doesn't really hide anything (same with the shower stall).||Beach/Water park/Activities|A ton of seaweed. They do have workers clearing, but it's just too much of it for them to clear it all out. Not a deal breaker for me since this seems to be common at many resorts on many different islands. There are people trying to sell you excursions, water sports, pictures with animals, etc. They are not part of the hotel, even though they will walk around the hotel grounds as if they were employees of the hotel. The beach had a sand volleyball court, which I loved.|The water park was not huge (don't expect great wolf lodge variety or size), but certainly can provide some brief entertainment for small children and even teens. My son (14) and I actually spent some time there and had fun. |They had activities every day (horseshoes, darts, boccie ball) and the staff did a good job of getting people involved.||Roaches|While this may be common to the island and not just a problem at the Lopesan and while it may even be common to other islands, I never had issues with roaches at other places. On two occasions coming back to the room, we encountered and killed two roaches. Be careful leaving food out, and be careful leaving suitcases and other things open all the time.||Staff/Service|Mostly good, but not superb, except for one lady at the Italian place who was attentive, checked on us constantly, offered alternatives if we didn't like something, etc., (Note: this was not the waiter who did nothing but take the order).|One other note, service at the Valley Restaurant, on the other hand, was not good at all. Very slow, didn't get much attention. One couple near us sat for about 20 minutes before anybody came to...