Palladium Bavaro Punta Cana

My Fiance and I decided to book a late deal to the Dominican Republic in May this year. We stayed in the Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort and Spa for two weeks and all i can say is it was the best holiday we have ever had.

The hotel its self is part of a complex that links 3 hotels within the chain Grand palladium'. Upon arrival the hotel complex seems vast and can be slightly daunting, but as soon as you have settled in it becomes easy to find your way around. There is a train that links all hotels and runs every 15 mins, It is worth getting on the train the first day as it will help you to work out where things are.

We stayed in a standard room, which was cleaned on a daily basis, Our room included a T.V, Games Console and Ipod dock and a massive bathroom, compared to other hotels that we have stayed in thie standard rooms in this hotel were excellent.

The games team provide entertainment throughout the complex daily including water polo, volleyball and darts some watersports are also included in the all inclusive package but there are additional costs for diving and motor driven sports

There are aound 12 restaurants on the complex that you can use including a brazillian, chineese, asian and mexican. There are around 5 buffet restaurants each 1 with a different theme each evening and a sports bar serving snacks 24 hours a day. We recomend that you try he brazillian restaurant as it is a brilliant experience and the food is amazing.

The beach is clean and beautiful, however there were sightings of jelly fish during our stay so we used the pool areas during the day and went for a walk along te beach in the afernoon, i wasnt brave enough to go for a swim in the sea!

There are 4 pool areas on the complex to choose from all of them are clean and are located near to restaurants that serve food at lunch time. I would recomend the pool at the Palladium Palace more than the other pools as there is a slight sea breeze and more sun loungers available. The pool bar at this pool is amazing, but be aware that too much rum and sun is not good!!!

I would recommend that you take all sun cream and after sun wih you as the shops at the hotel are very expensive, although they do have a large selection of creams if you do forget to pack them. The shop is also well stocked with medication if needed during your stay be warned the tablets are much stronger than England!! The shops also have many home comforts - I couldnt resist a kitkat after 10 days without chocolate!!!

After reading a few of the reviews on trip Advisor fr this hotel we were not sure if we had made the right decision about our holiday, But after going and experiencing the hotel for ourselves it truly is amazing and we would recommend this hotel to anyone considering a holiday in the dominican republic.

What a great hotel! My husband and I travelled there on the first week of June. It was our first time to Punta Cana but we have been to other locations in the south before and have stayed at many other "Palace" resorts. This hotel greatly exceeded our expectations and it was very reasonably priced.

The room was great, we were bumped up to a junior suite. While we had 2 double beds, we just pushed them together for the week and it worked out fine. We had booked through our agent the "imperial" package (black wrist band) which enabled us to 5 a-la-cartes that we could pre-book, and free internet for 30 minutes each day. The restaurants were great - we really enjoyed the buffets and there was great variety among the a-la-cartes.

The beach was beautiful, that's where we spent most of our time. The pool and swim-up bars were fine. The grounds are well kept and the staff was always very accomodating and friendly.

The little stores at the resort and the neighbouring ones had everything we needed and a great selection of souvenirs - surprisingly it was half price than at the airport!

Overall a great, relaxing vacation.

This place was exactly what we were looking for. It was a HUGE resort and had so much to do! so many activities! Or... you could just lay around, drink, and do nothing like me! I loved the spread out villa feel as opposed to the sky rise hotel feel. The grounds were very well kept and the place just looked very nice and clean over all. There are three Palladiums you have access to all of the time. The Royal Suites is the only exclusive one.

room: The rooms were huge and nice - a few little quirky things that were very minor inconveniences. I went with my husband and two other couples. I think we were with a fairly easy going group and all had some random issues with our rooms but nothing that came close to runing our trip! For example, our AC leaked a little bit, our jacuzzi buzzed for a couple days straight (couldn't turn off the jets!), and the flowers left in the room brought in little bugs to the bathroom (TINY - truly didn't bother us at all). We had a key issue as well but things were easily fixed with a call or a stop at the front desk. We had a clean room each day, and our fridge was stocked with two huge bottled waters (that we'd fill up daily at the pool bar with fresh water also), beers, and sodas.

staff: Most of the staff were very friendly and spoke a good amount of English. It helps to know some basic Spanish though in some instances. The animation crew (pool/beach entertainment crew) was fun and very nice - also worked SO HARD, but just a little agressive at times. There were pools and parts of the beach you could easily escape them though.

pools: Awesome, huge lots of options, swim up bars at all of them and waistaff to bring drinks.

lounges/chairs: never had a problem getting a place on the pool or beach. maybe a little harder to get under a palapa but again - no issues at all and we usually got to the pool/beach around 10ish.

food/drinks: Lots of very good food. Drinks were great but sometimes you have to specify with the frozens if you want rum added. Buffets had a good variety but by the end of my trip I felt like I'd had my fill of meat, rice, beans, and pasta. I was ready for a salad! (We were advised against eating the salad b/c it's washed with the water.) For dinner, we only waited entirely too long for one a la carte restaurant but never had any issues otherwise. But, we were able to eat at every place that we wanted to, easily.

bars: good bars all over the hotel (Hemingway was our favorite), disco was fun, sports bar was nice to have 24 hours :)

weather: May is "rainy" season apparently. One full day of crazy storms made for an interesting first day but the rest of the time was gorgeous. Typically very sunny and hot until after lunch time (3ish) and then overcast/maybe sprinkles.

One thing that was very odd was the almost daily loss of power on the entire resort. It would go out for anywhere from five minutes to a couple of hours one night. Very odd...still didn't ruin our time. Also, I wouldn't recommend the spa - I got a mani/pedi and it was ok but not worth the $50 at all.

Overall we loved this place and would go back in a heartbeat :) The value was amazing - what a deal we got for a beautiful resort and fun and relaxing vacation.

Overall, everything was again wonderful and you can’t beat the price. Our Villa was between the pool and El Arrecife Restaurant, so it was a very looong walk at 2 or 3 in the morning from the Lobby/Disco/party area; even more so when your key card doesn’t work and you have to walk all the way back (tired, hot) to the Lobby then back to your room again. This happened 3 times in 2 days, 4 times in 3 days and 5 times in 4 days – basically at least once a day. We were blamed for keeping it with our camera or cell phone – no, it was in its little coat in the middle of a paperback. Only one of the times were we offered a ride back to our room. And one time when we finally did get in our room, we had no water to take a quick shower. So we put on our suits and went for a dip in the pool. I dared anyone to say anything! We had a little trouble getting service (wine, water, pop, coffee) at the 2 buffet restaurants. The sidewalks are still incredibly slippery. We saw a lot of people with twisted ankles/knees. Our last full day there it rained like we’ve never seen before; during that week we had over 20” in 5 days. We’re not complaining about the rain - can’t do anything about that. But our last afternoon there we were taking a nap and woke up to hear the toilet gurgling and water running. Half asleep my husband jumps up not knowing there is already at least a half inch of water on the marble floor. He slammed into the edge of the wall, hit his head, broke some ribs then fell. We called the front desk – they told us to pack – there would be someone right there to take us to a different room. So we packed and waited about an hour; no one came. We called again – they said the same thing. We did this 3 times then hauled all our stuff down to the Lobby and waited until someone finally thought it would be a good idea to get us a different room. And the water wasn’t coming from the toilet – it was coming from the outside, down the little hall, right into our room AND from the pond in the center of Villas 23-30. It was a very disappointing last night there, but we’re ready to go back.

My wife and I visited the Grand Palladium Bavaro May 23-30. Aside from mother nature the resort did everything feasible to make our stay comfortable. This is a large resort made up of three separate sections but all accessible with the trolley system. Would definitely recommend you immediately get on the trolley and take a 25 minute ride around the entire resort to get the lay of the land. We discovered things on day four that we didn't know were there.

With all the people switching from Mexico to PC we thought the resort would be packed - wrong. Some days at 10:00 am we wouldn't find but 5-10 people at the pools. The beach was popular but even that wasn't crowded. Most vendors on the beach were selling beach activities i.e. boat tours, para-sailing, etc. Only saw one other person selling shells and starfish each day. Very nice gentleman - no pressure at all.

The food was incredible. Anyone that says otherwise should sit at home and eat their own cooking. There is so much variety I can't even describe it all. Champagne and orange juice at breakfast helps set the pace for the rest of the day.

If you're looking for a resort to just kick back and enjoy the sun, beach, food and the serenity of the grounds this is a great spot. Treat yourself to something special and visit the Grand Palladium - Bavaro, Punta Cana or the Palace.

Had read some bad reviews, ignore them. The place is fantastic, the beach is breathtaking , the food is good and all the staff we dealt with were very friendly, we can speak a little Spanish, so this helped but so does a tip. We tipped everyone and they certainly looked after us. Only downside we had was the entertainment which we thought could have been better but we met up with other English people and made our entertainment on a night. Would definately go back.

I went to Punta Can with a group of 6 ladies and we stayed at the Grand Palladium Bravaro but also spent time at the other 2 resorts that were included in our all inclusive package. we had an awesome time, the food at the buffets was wonderful and had a great time trying all the "new" foods. I fell in love with the coffee with hot milk that we had for breakfast every morning. The employees were a lovely courteous people and so beautiful with their big smiles and Ola greeting. didn't get to do the tours due to health issue of my traveling companion but will certainly do that the next time I get to go. And certainly hope there is a next time.

By all means do this vacation with a loved one or a friend or a group tour. It is the best.

I recently got married at the gran palladium bavaro - wow! what a place - i couldnt of asked for anything better for our wedding day they made it just perfect for us & hassle free. the place is just stunning, beautiful gardens, beaches, pools & restaurants, staff are just the loveliest people , they do speak very little english its mainly spanish but they really try hard to understand which i thought was just lovely (there were many people at the hotel on holiday who i thought was just rude to staff not to be able to speak our language clearly - but i think that is just disgusting when your visting their country it should be us that make the effort to speak their language- they are just wonderful people. the beach is amazing. although you do need to get there early morning to get your beds as it gets extremely busy understandably you will see why although we never had any problems getting seats round any of the beatiful pools. food was excellent many many choices you certainly wont go hungry - there is a sports bar which is open 24hr and they do just the best pizza,. we have only been back home two weeks and weve booked already to go again next april for our first annivesary - i just loved it - the best holiday i have ever had and i can honestly say i will be back every year. amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just returned back from the Grand Palladium Bavaro in Punta Cana DR. What an awesome resort. This was our 3rd trip to Punta Cana and it still excites me. It's a great country with great people. The Punta Cana beach is just beautiful, white sand and aqua waters, lined with lush palm trees. The resort, so far, is the lushest we've been on, so if you like lots of trees, flowers, and gardens this is the resort for you. Everything is kept spotless from the lobbies, to the rooms, to the grounds around the property. The room was great, lovely hot-tub right in the room itself, with a stand up shower in the bathroom. All marble floors throughout the resort, being lobbies, rooms, and public washrooms- even at the beach. The food on the resort was great also, there were 6 of us and no one got sick. If you go, go to the Brazilian restaurant for sure, it was the best A La Carte I've been to in a few years, and I go every year to one country or the other, and this one was top notch. You got roast beef, chicken, saucage, fish fillets, and shish-kabob, all in your meal, not choice of one or other, but all. Everything was cooked very tender and seasoned nicely. The pools on the resort were great, there are 5 in total, and very large so not over crowded at all. William at the main pool bar was totally awesome, very friendly and curtious. Always were able to find chairs on the beach and at the pools as resort is roomy so there are plenty. You have full use of the sister resorts as well, being Palladium Punta Cana and Palladium Palace. There are two multi-seated trains that run around and between the resorts so you don't have to worry about walking far as they run every 15 minutes. If you are walking, most pathways are covered so you are shaded from the hot sun. The nightly shows were very good and costumes worn by entertainment team were very beautiful- seemed that they were all new. There is a piano bar in the main lobby and the disco is right out front, next to the theatre, so everything is close by. Next to the disco is the sports bar which has 24 hour food service. This resort had the best pizza that I have tasted in these areas as well. Everything from meat, chicken, vegetarian, Hawiian, to just plan cheese...yummy! If you like ice cream, you have to try it here, from self serve- soft serve, to tubs you scoop out of as well, make sure to try the rum & raisin - there's RUM in there!! We found the drinks to be very good here too, but the food was so good and plentyful, made it hard to find room to put the drinks in sometimes :) There are also many turtles, fish, and flamingo's around the main lobby, makes for great picture taking with the flowers and trees in the background. When you hit the beach, to the right (10 minute walk) there are about 5 or so shopping huts. They are very aggressive there, so if this bothers you and you like to do the hut shopping thing, go to the left from the resort, BUT you will have to walk farther. A lovely 40 minute stroll down and back past lots of other resorts along the way (just around the point) will bring you to about 15 shopping huts. You will still have to haggle but they are less aggressive here. Take a bottle of water with you and take your time and the walk does not seem that far at all- hop in the ocean along the way. About walking around the resort, we found no flies or bugs that bothered us, but we did put bug lotion on our legs at night just in case. For excursions, we did the Bavaro runners and the Marinarium tour. Both were well worth the money, around $90 US per person. Bavaro Runners takes you through the country side, to a local school, sugarcane plantation, coffee plantation, cocoa plantation, tobacco plantation, horseback riding, and lunch at a ranch in the mountains. The Marinarium tour takes you out on a catamaran to swim with stingray and nurse sharks- very safe, you have a lite lunch on board, an open bar on board and a floating bar in the ocean. You take a cruise along the coastline and stop off shore for a dip. For those who don't wish to swim, you can stay on board and party with the entertaining tour guides- alot of fun!! There was some language barrier on the resort, mainly with the younger staff, while the older staff had very good English. Well dah, you are in a Spanish country, and that is to be expected. If they travelled here we would speak English to them wouldn't we...so no problem there for me. I found the staff to be very very friendly, but you always get what you put out. Lastly if you wish to cool off late at night, hop on the train and take a spin around the resort, it passes right along side the beach and the breeze is awesome. Go, enjoy the culture, enjoy the resort, enjoy the beauty, embrace the people, and you'll have a wonderful time.

Just spent two weeks at bavaro resort, absolutely amazing, rooms, food, service, weather, everything just perfect, had our wedding 2nd week, carolina handled everything and the day was flawless, all staff are really friendly, cant do enough for you, will be back again next year.

Gary & Jennie, Birmingham

Been back in the States for a week, and I miss the beautiful beach and weather sorely. After spending hours on this website scouring reviews, my gal pal and I finally settled on this place. We were not disappointed. The hotel is as gorgeous as it looks in the pictures. Upon arrival you are greeted with fruity drinks and your bags are whisked away by a helpful bellman (but he'll catch you off guard, I promise...then expect a small tip for holding your bags while you check in). The hotel staff were pleasant from the first - able to speak at least 4 languages with minimal effort. My friend and I had placed a reservation online (not through an agent or company), and were given a single King. We're buds, but not that close. We requested two queens, of which there were none that day, but we were told they would bring a roll away and have us moved the following day. We were then led to our room, which was gorgeous. Nice bathtub - shower was a bit small in the first room though. Everything was super clean. When we relocated the following day (all it took was a trip to the front desk in the morning and 1 phone call after we had arrived back to our old room to notify them we were ready to move), the new room wasn't quite ready, as the cleaning staff had the beds PULLED OUT FROM THE WALL to clean behind and all furniture moved. I've never seen that before. Needless to say I did not have concerns about bedbugs while we were there.

Speaking of bugs - no mosquitoes on premises that I noted. They must fumigate at night, because I am the mosquito queen (wherever I am, they find me). The airport, on the other hand, is where I was eaten alive. Just be forewarned...hanging around there is bad news for exposed skin.

Back to the hotel -- service was wonderful. Always friendly, always attempted to guess what language you spoke (greeted in multiple languages as we both look a bit European). Only an occasional grump. We were some of those that tipped for every drink based on recommendations we found on this site - and the staff were very appreciative. We were at the lobby bar one night and tipped a dollar for each round of drinks we had gotten, and we were told to wait before we left for dinner so that we could get an "especial" drink - which was better than all the others up to that point!

Be forewarned - house liquor is awful (except the Dominican rum). Find Hemingway's at night and your palate will be saved. Play Scrabble while drinking...it's highly entertaining. Unfortunately - margaritas are bad at Hemingway's, but everything else we had was excellent.

In terms of food - we loved the Mexican restaurant. Just DON'T order the margaritas. Undrinkable...left on multiple tables. (Not a good drink to order in general. Stick with drinks that contain rum while on the beach!) Brazilian restaurant was very good. Dominican was great. Seafood place was okay. Bring your appetites! At every restaurant you are able to go the buffet, then order an "appetizer," followed by a main course and possibly dessert. They serve you house white or red with each meal - also undrinkable. Water is filtered...soda is good as well. The smart ones were ordering cerveza with meals.

The beach is absolutely gorgeous. 1 small rainstorm in the early morning, but every other day was beautiful. Temp averaged 83, and on the beach there was a constant low breeze that kept you cool. Soft white sand that stayed cool, no matter what time it was. There are lots of beach chairs, however, you absolutely have to "reserve" a cabana no later than 0630. We tried to get out there by 8 the first day, with no luck. The following day we were there by 0630 and some had already been taken, but there were still a few available. Reserving is NOT allowed by the resort but, needless to say, there were lots of towels and personal belongings claiming the protected cabanas by the time we got out there. We stayed under ours until we went to breakfast, and did witness the wonderful staff removing seaweed from the shoreline. Don't abandon your cabana for too long if you do get one, as when we returned from a half-hour lunch there were three girls about ready to remove our belongings from our chairs.

Overall I would definitely recommend this hotel. I would consider it the 4 star it calls itself. My only gripe is probably obvious - the liquor. If you don't drink, then don't worry. If you have a way to get regular liquor/wine in (if you want decent drinks), I recommend it. Other than that, I have no complaints (besides being blinded by the hideous topless women and men that should never wear speedos). We enjoyed ourselves and plan to return next year.

Will make this as short as possible...Grounds and rooms were awsome, very clean and the grounds are just kept so nice its a pleasure to walk through this resort. Service was very good, drinks were brought out fast(rember this is the Dominican Republic) more relaxed so sit back and enjoy, also service in all buffets and al acartes was great.Entertainment was also very good , we found the carnival with juggling, fire breathing to be the best by far.Beaches, what can you say , very nice and sand so soft and the vendors are not as bad as i thought they would be a simple no works ,actually had one give my daughter a free necklace , she was not feeling well that day and he was kind enough to do that and not ask us to buy anything enough said.Would recomend this resort highly it was a blast and would go back in a heartbeat.

We found this resort as the most beautiful of all those resorts we have seen along the Bavaro beach. We were very satisfied with the staff politness,cleanliness of room,catering of mini-bar and the cleanliness grounds. The beach was just perfect and clean, but with lack of free sunbeds after 9AM. The variety of food served in restaurants was great and satisfying. Breakfast was absolutely amazing, with 12 kinds of fresh juice prepared just in front of the guests. Animation team was doing a good job, front-desk staff at reception was always friendly and speaking well english , the same with any other employees we met. They really do their best to make your stay enjoyable. I read many reviews of english native travellers and i must laugh. They claim the english skills of the staff, well guys you should better stay at home next time or just learn some foreign world languages like Spanish for example :)

Therefore please ignore all the negative reviews here from nasty and "picky" travellers who aren't able to relax a bit. If you understand mentality of people here, and you accept that they are not native english speakers, you will love this resort ! This resort is a 4-star level (not a 5-star) but will definitely fulfill the expectations.Its much better level than other resorts on Bavaro Beach that we saw during our stay.

Briefly, as we have just today returned. This was the best holiday we have ever had. Superb accomadation, we had an upgrade to Junior Suite, take it if you are offered it. It is definatly worth it. The food , the facilities, the total package, everything was without fault. If you want to nit pick then there were a few small things but so small it is not worth a mention.

Went with Thomson no probs there either, flight, rep everything spot on.

Weather was good, a bit windy first week, but only roughed up the sea a bit, the beach went on forever in both directions, so the 'walk of shame' ( food burn off exercise) after breakfast is in perfect conditions.

If you read this then take it from me you will enjoy.

From the moment we arrived at the resort we liked what we saw. Everything was beautiful and very spacious but easy to get around with the train or walking.

The grounds are totally beautiful with walkways that are easy but slippery to walk on when wet.

The food was outstanding and the no reservation required fit us nicely.

The disco was a bit small and loud but the shows were pretty good not great but ok.

The pools fill up early so get up and reserve your spot or you wont get one they are gone by 9 a.m.

The beach is fantastic and the water was fine!

We did a sport fishing excurion and did land a 50 lb white marlin so that was a wonderful day.

Staff was wonderful and would recomend this again to anyone...just be prepared there are many guests there that are european and show it...they were rude and obnoxious but hey your on vacation so dont let the poorly raised ruin your trip enjoy!

great resort!!

Just got back from a week at this hotel. We have been to Punta Cana many times, just love the Bavaro Beach.

This resort is wonderful, my husband and I had such a great week.

We were rather nervous, having stayed at 5 star resorts such as the Gran Bahia. But we need not have worried.

The hotel is great, beautiful grounds and very well kept.The room we had was huge, including the largest bathroom we have every had during our previous visits. It was very clean and had no problems with bugs or air conditioning. The maid did a super job, always lots of towels, and facecloths, and of course stocked fridge.

I read previous reviews, and had to agree with two of the negatives that I read about.

It is hard to get a beach or pool chair, but only if you want shade. Otherwise it was never a problem. You need to get up early!

The only negative I have about this resort, is that the beds are very hard, and the pillows small and flat. The mattresses are very new, but so hard! Bring your own pillow if you can.

Its a huge resort, with its sister hotels Punta Cana and Palace. Lots of choice of restaurants, buffets, pools and bars. The Palace section pool is gorgeous, and have to recommend Hemmingsways, an upscale and wonderful bar.

Food was very good, enjoyed them all, and was easy to get into them without reservations. The Italian and Seafood were very good, did not find the Asian very good at all. It was the only place we find the servers rather rude and unfriendly.

Did not go to the theatre at all, though some of the shows looked like they would be good.

We flew West Jet, great airline. The arrival was smooth at the airport, and a very quick check in at the hotel. Also, booked our restaurants at the check in, no line up and very quickly done also. We never go to the meetings they have, but do book restaurants before it, to avoid the line ups.

Well I have never done a review before so bare with me here.I have just come back from a 7 days stay at the Grand Palladium Bavaro Punta Cana and if first impressions meant a great vacation for me.Driving up to the resort the ground and all vegetation where well kept,clean and very pretty.At the main lobby we were met by very friendly staff to assist us with our bags.I did not mention that there was 4 of us in our group.The staff were helpful in many ways and you never felt pressure to tip them, but the fact they are so kind and helpful I wanted to tip.Check in was smooth,our rooms were not ready so we sat in the lobby bar and had a few bahama mamas,now they were good, and lots of alcohol in them.Once our rooms were ready and it was about 2 hours were settled in there.We stayed at the Imperial Club part and our room was spacious and clean and we needed for nothing.Maid service for the most part was great,the odd day it was late afternoon before our room was done but please remember that this is a big resort and these ladys work very hard.The beach,in one word was wonderul and always got a chair ,there are are few beach vendors but they really don't bug you .Now the food was wonderful at the main buffet,lots of variety and very friendly staff as well.I only went to one a la carte as I was totally happyat the buffet.Thepool was nice as well as the swim up bar.I flew with Air Transat Club class and would fly again with them.Also want to say to my travel agent and friend Maggie at TPI (TRAVEL PROFFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL OF HALIFAX) thanks for being part of my wonderful vacation and if your looking to book look her up.I would certainly go back next year and honestly I am already in the early planning stages for it.

I spent a week at the Grand Palladium Bavaro with 2 friends.

Overall, the place was great. Staff was friendly to us especially with one of my party being fairly fluent in Spanish.

2 of us were really unimpressed with the food. This was my first time at an all-inclusive and I suppose that with buffet-style dining, it's really like eating cafeteria food in my opinion. We mostly ate at the Cathedral restaurant, but I often found the food was cold (nothing tastier than cold eggs and pancakes for breakfast) Maybe I'm just a food snob!

We were a little put off by the staff constantly asking us if we wanted to play bingo, or basketball, or get information about the massages. It even got to a point where I told a member of staff that I was tired of being harrassed and just wanted to read my book quietly by the pool.

We also had problems with getting beach towels. If you didn't plan ahead, you'd end up with no towels. Also the little factor of people going out at 7 am to "reserve" spots at the pool AND spots at the beach when there is CLEARLY not enough chair for everyone. VERY rude and inconsiderate. We had a couple from England curse us out because we had 'taken their chairs' even though they were 2 people and they had reserved 4 chairs (2 in sun and 2 in shade) and we had nowhere to sit. On our last day, we decided to forget playing that game and we just set up towels on the grass by the pool.

The beach was beatiful, but we spent more time at the pool because it was quite windy and unless you wanted to eat sand for the next couple of hours, wasn't really much fun.

Overall, the place was really nice. We really did have a great time (by trying to ignore as many people as possible. We just wanted to be left alone)

Oh, we also saw like 5 weddings durring the week while we were there. A beautiful place for a wedding, but maybe not the best place if you just want to be left alone to your relaxation.

Although there were clearly a lot of people at the resort, it never felt crowded, which was wonderful.

Wonderful Holiday We have just returned March 2nd Found couldn't fault anything except the entertainment much the same most nights.also we had to play the towel game not enough beds on the beach we had to be up early to put a towel on the bed. but the staff were fantastic the food was excellent in every Restaurant. gardens were kept wonderful

rooms were cleaned regularly and beds changed every day .clean towels every day.

We would definitely go back to this resort .couldn't wish for a better Hotel. The two minor

points stated did not spoil the holiday .It was Fantastic

Our group of six from the USA stayed at the Grand Palladium Bavero Resort from Feb 20-27, 2009. We had a terrific time. Yes, we read the reviews and noted the criticisms and from the moment we landed at the Punta Cana Airport until we left to go home, we had a great time. I don't take the criticisms seriously because I'm not quite sure why some people go on vacation if all they are going to do is complain. If you want perfection, I would suggest the 6 Apple Resorts! We loved the beautiful grounds, the gorgeous ocean and beach and the hospitality of the staff. Yes, we were definitely a minority at the resort with the many Canadians and Europeans, but that didn't bother us nor did the communication with staff. We actually had fun with it. We always met people with "hola" and found out quickly that staff was always eager to teach us a word or phrase if we were able to communicate enough for them to understand. The staff laughed at our efforts and we laughed with them. We appreciated all that the resort staff does to accommodate the needs of their visitors. We had a great time and enjoyed the Outback Safari with Gregory as our guide. He was very informative and everyone enjoyed the humor we shared with him. We made some great friends from Britain and found the tour to be well worth the money. We also enjoyed Danny on the Glass Bottom Snorkling Tour. If you like to experience the sea life whether it be through a glass bottomed boat or in the water while snorkling, you won't be disappointed. Sonia, located at poolside, was more than willing to recommend various tours and set up our trips. We thoroughly enjoyed the long walks on the beach and the numerous restaurants on the resort. Some of our group had a very relaxing massage while others of us enjoyed the lounges and the "drink of the day". The restaurants offered a wide variety of foods and we enjoyed trying a little of whatever we were in the mood for that day. We had one in our group who has a definite food allergy and she found her special requests met with a smile and assurance that her needs would be honored and they were. We took so many pictures of the beautiful resort and some silly pictures of our humor and great times. We have great memories of this trip and would highly recommend it to anyone who goes on vacation for a great time and doesn't expect perfection every minute of every day.

The Grand Pallidium Bavaro Resort catered to our every need. From extra pillows to the finest drinks. Don't expect the staff to cater to english language, you will have to know a little spanish and you will have a wonderful time. The food at the ala carte restraunts are out of this world. I definately recommend the Brazallian Steakhouse! The grounds and view are absolutely spectacular. The only downfall were the french people, and there sense of entitlement. Nine out of ten were very rude to staff and other vacationers. We have traveled extensivily and never wanted to return to place so fast.

Grand Palladium Bavaro Trip Report

Getting to Punta Cana:

Just returned from a relaxing 5 night stay in Punta Cana. It was our first time visiting the Dominican Republic. We have previously been to the Grand Palladium in the Riviera Maya four times, loved it, but wanted to try something different. We have also travelled to a number of the islands, and this time wanted to try the Dominican.

Flew from Boston to Miami, and then from Miami on to Punta Cana on American Airlines. Ended up having to circle the airport for an hour before landing due to air traffic issues. We exited the plane right on the tarmac, and immediately felt the warm Caribbean sun and breeze. The airport is a charming open-air structure that puts you right into vacation mode. It looked like a giant palapa! There was a little band welcoming tourists as they entered the airport, and your photograph was taken prior to going through customs. Each person is required to obtain a Tourist Card for $10.00 each, too. We got through customs efficiently. Took a while to get the luggage - one bag came through quickly, while we had to wait what seemed like ages for the second. Then, we were off to locate the Apple Vacations rep. He led us on a wild goose chase through the parking lot to find the correct bus to transport us to the resort. The parking lot was rather chaotic with buses and vans backing up everywhere. We circled through a couple of times and the agent finally got us into the correct van. Phew! We were finally on our way! The resort is located just under 30 minutes away from the airport, and it was a pleasant ride.

Arriving at the Grand Palladium Bavaro:

When we first pulled in we were impressed by the gorgeous grounds that were filled with swaying palms. We had finally arrived! There is a small pond in front of the lobby with flamingos, turtles, and fish. Quite nice, and a wonderful first impression of the Bavaro. The lobby is large, open, and very attractive, with rattan furniture, a lobby bar, etc. Received a welcome drink, and there was no line at check-in. We were greeted warmly, given a resort map, etc., and sent on our way.

Our Room:

We booked a Romance Suite through Apple Vacations, and the porter quickly transported us to Villa 29, right by the water! We had requested a room by the sea, and that request was kindly honored. The room was on the ground floor and had a small patio with a little view of the beautiful blue sea. Perfect! The suite had a king-sized bed, jacuzzi, outdoor shower, and hammock. Very nice, and spacious as well. The location was perfect for us, as we are "beach people". The room was well supplied with a stocked refrigerator, coffee pot, hair dryer, iron, and ironing board. There is also a clock with an IPOD docking station. The clock would stop, however, when you'd leave the room, as the electricity went off when the room key card was no longer in the slot, so I would recommend bringing a battery-powered clock along, or simply reset the room clock at nighttime.

The Grounds:

The grounds throughout the Palladium complex are very beautiful. There are palm trees everywhere you look, beautiful flowers, manicured lawns, etc. Amazing! We enjoyed walking to all of the other sections of the resort, exploring each and every area. The resort is very well maintained, and there are pathways that meander throughout each section. As with the Palladium in the Riviera Maya, there are two trains that are available to transport you around the resort. Fun and convenient, especially during the evening.

Pools:

Each of the four sections of the resort has a pool or pools, with the Palace and Punta Cana sections each having two (I think!). Each is different, and beautiful in its own way. Pool activities went on throughout the day, and everyone seemed to have a great time.

Beach:

The beach can be summed up in one word: AMAZING! Wow! It was lined with palm trees, sprinkled with palapa huts, and the water was the most lovely shade of turquoise blue. Each morning we'd join our European friends and play the towel game. We are early risers, anyway, and got up at sunrise for a walk. Brought a couple of old beach towels from home, and placed them out on our lounge chairs. There are lots of palapas and loungers, but if you want a palapa, you really have to get up early. The sand is soft and there are no rocks or coral to speak of. You can walk forever in either direction. If you head to the left, you will find resort after resort. I will say that NONE in our opinion, looked better than the Palladium! The Palladium had tons of palms and was very charming, while many of the other resorts simply had lounge chairs practically on top of each other. Not good! If you walked to the right, you would come to a little village called Cortecito. There were some shops (shacks) on the beach with souvenirs. If you turned right and cut through Captain Cook's restaurant it would take you to a couple of streets where there was a grocery store, and a store called Los Pinos where we got some rum and other things (thanks for the tip, Wud!) I also bought a couple of conch shells at one of the shops on the beach.

Renova Spa:

The spa is new and beautiful! Prices seemed reasonable. Did not have any treatments as we were there for a quick getaway. The gym is located here as well, and had nice equipment. The spa had a sauna, steamroom, hot tubs, different types of showers, and a pool with jacuzzi jets located throughout. The spa also had very relaxing sunbeds to lounge on. Definitely check out the spa when you're there! There are also a couple of Renova huts on the beach for massages.

Food & Drinks:

We found the food to be of excellent quality, with a wide variety in each and every restaurant. Definitely above par for an all-inclusive resort, and we were quite pleased with the offerings.

For breakfast we generally ate at the Cathedral, which was the huge buffet restaurant in the Bavaro section. It had absolutely everything you could possibly want. One morning we ate at El Behique, which was also delicious. It is a newer restaurant, and it had lots of natural light inside, making it warm and inviting.

For lunch we ate at the seaside restaurants. There was wonderful grilled fish, and the roasted chicken was out of this world. It was nice to be able to eat by the water. Arrecife was the name of the restaurant on the Bavaro side. I loved this spot with views of the ocean, huge pretty windows, lofty ceiling, and gentle breezes blowing through. It also had some outdoor seating if you wished. The buffet was plentiful with lots of options. Beer and wine flowed generously, and service was very good. We also ate lunch at two outdoor restaurants down in the Punta Cana and Palace sections. Delicious, as well, and gorgeous views of the water.

Dinners were good, and we ate at the following restaurants: Spanish - this was excellent, and we had the roasted pig and a chicken dish. The appetizer bar at this restaurant was wonderful, and the shrimp appetizer was delicious! Get it! Royal Gourmet - wonderful! Had pasta with shrimp, and shrimp on a bed of plantain pie. This restaurant also had a nice appetizer bar and fine service. Mexican - this was so-so. Service was not as good as the other restaurants. The staff here seemed undertrained, and there didn't seem to be anyone in charge on the evening we were there. The only disappointment as far as restaurants go. Mare Nostrum - this was our favorite, and we ate there twice - wonderful service, nice appetizer bar, good selections on the menu. The red wine was also very good at the a la cartes! Drinks were good throughout the resort. If you wanted more alcohol, the bartenders were happy to add more. Presidente is the local beer, and it was good and light. I especially enjoyed it at lunchtime. Enjoyed drinking Caiparinhas. Refreshing! Went to the Sports Bar on the day we left as it was open and by the lobby while we waited for the Apple transfer to arrive. Had a burger, which was good - different, but good.

Management:

We were fortunate enough to meet Octavio, and he was most kind. He came out of his office to chat with us and answer questions about the resort. He was most gracious, and we were pleased to have met him. (Thank you, Octavio!!) He does a remarkable job, and is very friendly. He hails from Santo Domingo! Workers throughout the resort always had a friendly "hola" for us, and worked very hard.

Tipping:

We brought lots of ones for tipping. Tipped the maid $3.00/day, tipped the bartenders and waiters and waitresses regularly. We unfortunately did not see much tipping going on at all during our stay. The people worked very hard, and were most appreciative of tips.

Sports Complex:

They have a large facility with an artificial turf soccer field, basketball courts, tennis, badminton, volleyball, archery, and mini golf. Great spot, especially for teens!

Entertainment:The typical shows go on each night in the two theaters. We popped into a couple of them, but aren't really into that kind of thing, so had a drink, watched the people, and left. There was a variety of entertainment in the lobbies, which was nice. We particularly enjoyed a very talented guitar player. The disco opened around 11. We dropped in, but didn't stay, as we're old and turned in early! The animation staff worked hard all day at the beach, involving people in beach volleyball, stretching, dancing, aerobics, etc. Lots of fun for all!

Other:

We did not go on any sightseeing tours, which was a first for us. We were only there for a short time though, and it was strictly to relax under a palm tree, swim, read, walk the beach, and take it easy. We did just that! It was a lovely winter break. This vacation exceeded our expectations - the resort is beautiful, well run, food was good, no stomach issues at all, people were friendly - a perfect getaway. Look forward to returning some day!

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My Girlfriend and I just returned from a week at the Grand Palladium Bavaro. It was our first time in the Dominican and we were really impressed.

We checked in at about 4:30 on a Saturday afternoon, Feb 14th. Check in went very smoothly, however when we asked to upgrade to a better room, as some other reviewers had suggested, we were told that it would cost an additional $50 US per night. When we balked at that we were asked what would we be willing to pay, to which we replied we will stay with the room we had. They wanted to bargain with us, but we just felt that we didn't need to spend the additional money since we basically just slept there.

We were escorted to the room which was very adequate. Large room, nice sized bathroom and small balcony. The only criticism I would have is the beds were hard and the pillows were very poor. We didn't learn that they offer a "pillow bar" which would have enabled us to get better pillows (I think), if we had found that out sooner. The part of the resort we were in was made up of many separate buildings with 8 living units in each building. It was very quiet on the grounds in spite of the fact there were many people there.

Pools: There are 3 main pool areas. We didn't spend much time at them because the beach was the main attraction. The pools are a little old and tired, but were clean.

Beach: The beach was the nicest I have ever been too and I Have traveled extensively in Mexico and the Caribbean. It's no wonder that the beach during the day was a popular destination. To some it might be crowded, but there was plenty of space. The sand was a beautiful white with pink mixed in and very fine grained. The weather was mostly sunny with daytime temperatures in the low 80's with a nice breeze and pleasant water temperatures. For those of you who are wondering, yes there are topless sun bathers at the beach and at one of the pools, however that's to be expected since we figured that 90% of the people there were from Europe. The water was never too rough because of the barrier reef a quarter mile off shore. There were water activities included in our package, like snorkeling, kayaking and sailing if we wanted to do them. The beach was great for walking and we did a lot of that.

Staff: For the most part the staff was pleasant. We did encounter a few that were quite indignant about providing information, particularly one lady working near the front desk who was supposed to be there to give information on activities, restaurants, etc. She didn't seem to want to be helpful in any way.

Food: We ate most of our meals at the Cathedral Buffet. We found the service to be the best, selection and seating best and the help the friendliest. The quality of the food was very good (I thought much better than in Mexico) and a very good selection. The restaurants also were very good and we found out that we did not need to make reservations as we were led to believe. You must wear slacks (man) and a dress / skirt (woman) which was kind of nice.

The drinks were good everywhere we went. Some a little better than others and as long as you like rum, you are all set. We tended to tip frequently, which the wait staff really liked. I get the feeling they were not tipped much by the Europeans.

Language and communication was not much of a problem. For those of you who have been to Mexico, the Mexican people speak much better English, but language was not a problem. I would recommend trying to learn a little Spanish anyhow. I think they appreciate it when you at least make the attempt.

We did not attend any of the shows and only went to the disco one time. Seemed to be just too tired after a long day in the sun and walking the beach.

All-in all, I would go back there.

Finally, be prepared to spend most if not all of your time on the resort grounds. There really is not anything in the way of shopping, nor much of a reason to go out of the resort. I did see one of the golf courses and it looked beautiful and a couple guests said it was great.

Likes: Quiet Grounds, Great beach, good food and drink, very few kids

Dislikes: Attitude of a few of the staff, Inconsiderateness of some of the European guests. (apparently taking your turn in line don't mean anything to some). That was the exception, though not the rule.

I would recommend it to couples and groups. There were very few kids there, at least when we were there.

we stayed for 1 week prior to our cruise and we could not have selected a better hotel food,service,grounds,pools.restuarants,beach and facillities on offer where first class we were upgraded to a junior suite with a very large jacuzzi the staff are very friendly which makes a good atmosphere for the rest of the guests this i an excellent five star quality hotel with top class sevice. well recommended

Aside from one trip to Cancun for spring break during my college years, and a few trips to Florida this was my girlfriend and my first serious out of country vacation. We booked Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort and Spa.

We booked the trip through US Airways vacations, and we were both very happy with our overall experience. Flying from JFK we left at 6 am, touched down in PUJ at 2ish. Rushed through airport which can be a bit confusing if you're not used to a lot of hustle and bustle, but being from new york, and with all of the help of friends here at TA I knew exactly where I was going.

We had transfers included with our package, through Turniter. I can not stress how GREAT of a start to our vacation this was. Toni was our driver both ways, and he was the best. Wonderful, friendly driver, who was a great ambassador for the country. Taking us to our resort, he answered all of our questions, spoke to me about Dominican baseball players and local culture. At the end of our vacation he was our driver back to the airport. When he saw me he greeted me and my girlfriend with huge handshakes and hugs. He felt free speaking with us about his family, and asked about ours.

As for the resort. We had 4 days, which we learned was a very short vacation. Check in was a breeze. Our native language is english and are both OK with Spanish so that definitely helped. We booked the Romance suite at the Grand Palladium, which included a Mayan shower and hammock (basically an outdoor addition which is a great little open air hut). I think it was 84$ us extra and we both believed it was worth it.

The beach is great. The atmosphere was great. The staff was friendly, receptive willing to work with our limited Spanish. We're a young couple, both 26 so we were a bit more willing to let the small things go, when it seemed some of the older guests were frustrated. The Casino is a small one room, with maybe a dozen slot machines and half a dozen black jack tables. The food was good, BUT if you're looking for American style food do not do not do not be surprised when it is not what you want. The dominican and spanish style themed Ala cart restaurants were the best.

We didn't do any excursions because neither one of us wanted to give up a day on the beach. The resort has a great soccer pitch, a number of tennis courts that looked GREAT but alas we were glued to the beach each day.

I would recommend this to anyone, especially those who had never been to any all inclusive resort. This is a great place to cut your teeth on. Younger folks might be at an advantage here, because it seemed like the staff gravitated towards us because we were chatty with them, and a bit more friendly than some of the other guests. Waiting didn't bother us, and when we did have to wait we were both eager to learn about the country and the culture.

My boyfriend and I went to Punta Cana in January for 6 days. We had an amazing time at the Palladium! I had a hard time picking between the 3 Palladium resorts, but I am very happy we chose this one. It had the most night life and I really enjoyed the room. Stay in the romance suite! It has everything and is truly romantic (sort of like your own cottage). The hammock is connected to the room by a sliding glass door and is enclosed by a hut. AWESOME! THe shows at night are really entertaining. Get involved in them if you can, it makes for a much better experience. Def go to the night club afterwards. VERY fun, and if you stay late enough they even play American music. Make sure at some point in your vacation stop at the sports bar and grab a slice of pizza with the veggies. VERY good especially after a night at the club. I would recommed going to a different place to eat every night to get a wide variety however, go to the main buffet for the punta cana night. It is very tasty and a good experience. Drink LOTS of water, and switch up the drinks from sweet to bland. We made the mistake of drinking lots of sugary drinks and felt a little sick. Lastly, get to the beach EARLY and save seats. Then go to the breakfast buffet, very tasty and refreshing! Have fun!!

Just got back from our third trip to this resort . June 5-13 , no rain to speak of , a relief as it has been wet down there for over a month . The good , after sending a complimentary email to the resort with a few modest requests we were treated to an ocean front Jr. Suite !!! All requests honored (double beds , second floor , jaccuzi in a seperate room ) We were soooo happy !!! (Bldg. 29 second floor) . We had arrived early and the room wasn't ready unitl 3 PM . This is standard . Having been there before we knew the drill . Off to the lunch buffett by the beach , then change into our suits for the initial baptism of the warm waters of the Caribbean . As usual all the palapas toweled up with no occupants . We drag chairs into the shade of the nearest long palm and hunker in . Just beautiful !!!! As others have said the place is manicured by a team of perfectionists . Took only (2) train rides to locations , some low lying deep puddles to navigate (from past rain) while going through these be advised the water splashes you might get your clothes muddied . Buffetts seemed the same as before with the noticable exception of morning bacon . I know its bad for you however I rarely indulge and look forward to this excess yearly . Only two mornings with bacon and during the American night for bacon cheese burgers. The substitute was a poor version of sausage it looked like salami (just terrible) . Bamboo was good (small portions) . Steakhouse , what can I say it was a T-bone however very tough , and NO AIR CONDITIONING . Sempora show tables full (2) hour wait, less for non show tables . Sportsbar is nice to have for late feeding frenzys , and Hemmingways is by far the best bar , bottomless glasses of champaine and top shelf booze (they have 151) . We only did the speedboats to snorkel right on the beach at the dive center I would recommend this activity it is $120 U.S. plus I gave a $10 tip and bought the video . They want $40 I got it for $35 . Okay enough said .

The bad , our ocean front room was equipt with an indoor waterfall !!! from the ceiling over the entry way water dripped at various rates throughout our stay I think from the A.C. unit . I went the the front desk our first night and told them . They filled out a fix-it card and said it would be addressed . NEVER HAPPENED !!! You might say why didn't you ask to change rooms .....remember OCEAN FRONT . This took up alot of our time getting towels to lay underneath and rendered the closet un-usable as it dripped in there as well . Plus it created a dangerous situation as the floor is tile and became an ice skating rink by morning . Which brings me to the long nights of drip drip drip . The Dominican version of water boarding !!!!.....but remember OCEAN FRONT!!! Along with this water problem came the shower leak (this is standard) we have learned in previous stays to ignore it much like the management . Another bad thing is the fact you can not even look at the Turquesa section without a chaparone, what is that all about ! I wanted to evaluate it for future stays as I have read nothing but bad reports about it . Let me in !!! I won't eat your precious sandwiches !!!! Enough said .

The ugly , Every European has some type of nasty nasty nasty cough cold . Everywhere you see them exporaiting (disgusting) and to quell their symptoms what do they do ? Smoke ,smoke ,smoke !!! Their cigarettes are stronger , they just take your breath away . Then time to discharge the butt , well its the beach of course !!!! Their own private ash tray !!! . This in addition to being rude , which we are painfully aware of having travelled all parts of the Caribbean . Pathway hogs (three across never ceding to oncoming pedestrians) And just overall glum looks on their faces . You are on vacation be happy . Additionally the staff has managed to catch this sickness our maid was out for three days , the towel stand attendent had it and others we saw with visable signs . They are using hand gel at every resteraunt to try to quell the spread . All I can say is good luck . Enough said .

The ugiest , in the Bavaro section pool area there are (twin) hottubs . As we were walking through we saw a 5-8 year old boy standing over the one on the left facing the lobby urinating in the tub . Standing there watching his parents and or grandparents a male and female . When he was done he ran over to them and they continued on their way . With us in full persuit . We caught up to them and attempted to say something they spoke German and basically ignored us . We reported this to the lobby again the fix-it card came out . I can not say if it was addressed or not as I never went into that hot tub or that pool .

The conclusion the above comments about sickness and the slobs urinating in the hot tub are not the resorts fault . As well the resort can not control the weather . I read someone complaining they should be compensated for poor weather conditions (this as unfortunate as it is is on you). Repairing the problems in the rooms are the resorts responsibility . We had a great time we will probably go back to Punta Cana however we might try the Bahai next time to spice things up . We have stayed in Mexico at the Palladium and think that hotel is much nicer . No restrictions on access to other areas and they have a secluded adult pool . The Mexicans just need to police themselves better all that drug violence kept us from going back this year . When you travel to this or any resort be vigilent be aware of what is going on around you try to avoid the slobs . Enjoy youself , don't blame the hotel for things they can't control , do blame the hotel for ignoring situations they can control . And take some dollars to pass around for tips these people are poor and even a dollar goes a long way . We went through eighty singles and some fives to special people as well as 20 for the maid at the end of our stay my wife also brought lipsticks and other girl things for the maids . Adios'

We just got back from 2 weeks in this resort. We stayed in room 1438 and it was fantastic. It was a junior suite and was huge, with a 2 person jacuzzi bath in the bathroom. There were a few issues with one of the sinks and the air conditioning wasn't as cool as we'd like but they weren't bad enough to ruin our stay and we didn't even bother reporting them as you just get on with it. We were too busy enjoying ourselves to care. Around the resorts there are loads to do. There is a game area for basketball, football, tennis, volleyball, giant chess boards etc. They also have a spa. We went there twice for a Soft Swedish massage. It was bliss and well worth the money (US$59 each).

In the first week we spent most of our time at the Bavaro pool, it was nice enough, it got lively around 3ish - but as it is in the oldest part of the resort it did need a bit of a spruce up. So we decided to venture across to the pool on the Punta Cana side (the circle one on the map). It was so much nicer with more beds and umbrellas. We didn't have to get up and reserve beds (maybe you would in high season though). We went to the beach a few times, it is harder to get a bed here if you need one with an umbrella. But there are so many pools and the beach is so long no one should have a problem finding a relaxing spot. Also, the drinks at the pool and beach bars where always good..... with lots of rum!! :-)

The staff in all the bars and restaurants were really nice and always there to fill your drink up. We only really found one member of staff to complain about, she worked at the Bavaro pool. On one occasion she just walked away from us when we were ordering drinks and left us sitting there for 15 minutes until someone else came to tend the bar. But hey we got our drink in the end :-)

My husband and I never had any problems with the food. We ate at the buffets on the Bavaro and Punta Cana side. Each night was a different theme e.g. Spanish, Gala, Mexican, so you never felt like you were eating the same thing over and over. We also went to a few of the a la cartes. These too were good. We wanted to try the Italian one night but there was an hour wait, so if you do go there (Mare Nostrum) get there early, around 7.00.

Lastly, the animation team!!! Well what can i say, the guys around the pool and on the beach, work really hard to keep you amused. They have different games everyday and try to get everyone involved, but they can also take no for an answer when you just want to relax. Dalila and Jordan were our favourites. They are both so crazy!!! On the downside to their hard work all day to keep you entertained were the entertainers at night. It was pretty much the same show every night but with different costumes. The only shows at night that we actually enjoyed were the ones that the animation team did e.g. Mr Palladuim show and Palladium Dream Couple were hillarious.

I really enjoyed it here and would definately recommend it. The reason i have given the resort a 4 and not a 5 is that i don't think it quite reaches the standards of other resorts i've stayed at (the Gran Bahia Punta Cana is the bench mark).

Hope you find this review useful. I'm happy to answer any questions.

We recently returned from a 6-night stay at this resort. We went in may and were very concerned about the weather reports but we only had one night of rain and excellent weather during the day. We chose the Bavaro based on reviews and the excellent price we were able to get. Upon arrival we were upgraded to a junior suite (we did not ask), which was very nice with a large Jacuzzi and sitting area. However we were given two double beds instead of a king, which we were okay with as we used the second for storage.

The grounds at this resort were beautiful with amazing pools and one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever seen. We spent our days lounging by the pools/ocean and there was always a lounge chair to be found so we didn’t have to wake up early to play the towel game as we have at other places. The food was much better than I had expected and they had something for everyone. There is a large buffet complete with dessert and ice cream and they grill chicken, salmon, burgers, etc. We loved the a-la-cart restaurants and the fact that you did not have to make reservations with the exception of the hibachi grill. We needed to be in a line outside the restaurant at 6 30 to have our name put on the list for the evening. Its worth it though and very entertaining! There is a wall of menu’s, themes, etc in the main lobby to help you make your decision of where to eat, activities each day etc. There is free wi-fi in the lobby or you can buy a password at the reception desk for 8 dollars US an hour and use one of their computers. The gift shops have anything you could want but the prices of “essentials” can be high so don’t forget things such as sunscreen. We found the staff to speak very little English but very friendly and did everything they could to find a way to communicate with you. We spoke some Spanish, which helped a lot. They were all VERY had working and appreciate tips. You can take a train between the palladium resorts and visit all the pools and restaurants. We never ran out of things to do.

My only complaints about our time at the resort were all the sales men/women on the beach, lobby, and pools consonantly trying to sell you their service or excursion. They were all very friendly people just doing their jobs but after 5 days of politely saying no thank you it got a little annoying. This is not something I’ve experienced on other islands. Also our beds were extremely uncomfortable with very uncomfortable pillows but for three extra dollars a night per pillow, you could rent one from a pillow menu.

We had a terrific time and would recommend this resort!

If staying in this hotel, DO NOT use the Dolin Dive Center for anything. Went snorkeling with them, and it was worthless. When we got back to shore, found that my wallet was missing $100.00. Only time I did not have wallet on me is the 10-15 minutes of snorkeling, in which the Dolin Dive Center worker was only one in the boat waiting for us. Went to office of Dolin Dive Center (RED BUILDING BY BEACH) but they would do nothing. Went to hotel and Marino, customer service, and Carlos Mota(manager) were not able to help either, saying Dolin Dive Center was not the hotels responsibility.

So, hotel was fine, as was the food. However, due to lack of ability to regulate business that is ON their property, I would not go back. Have been to Mexico many times and have never had a problem with either the workers or the hotels we stay at (PALACE RESORTS).

First trip ever, nothing to compare to. I've enjoyed our trip to this location in general. The beach, the ocean and weather was excellent. The property was well kept and clean. Our room was very clean except there was little bed bugs which was resolved quickly with insecticide. Our A/C was great but some of our friends A/C was not working properly, too cold or too hot in different rooms. The resort staff was great. We did not have good luck with the a la carte restaurants and went back to buffet style heating which was good, steaks were hard and impossible to cut with butter knives, we could have asked for steak knives. I would recommend this place to anyone except for the fact that there are too many sales people going around selling stuff on the beach (every five minutes) and one day blocking the all entrances to the pool area. I have a good heart and have a problem with saying no! So the sales people take advantage of this. I guess I'm going to have to learn to deal with this. Theme decorations were great. Food and wine was plentyful.

We stayed at the Grand Palladium for 6 days, 5 nights.

We booked through Apple Vacations. Deal was great. Watch out for the $10 "entry fee" into the country. Wasn't prepared for this. Take lots of cash b/c the ATM's only give out peso's and NO ONE will give you American dollars. We took about $250 cash, half in $1 and $5 and it was plenty. If you consider we used debit cards to pay for our massages (watch out bank charged $5 international fee for the two times our debit card came out. Do not use debit card anywhere outside of resort!). We bought $50 in souvenirs and the rest was our tip money.

Arrival: Go to your Apple or whatever agent in the lobby of airport. Do not go up to men offering you a ride. They try to get you before you get to travel service people. Be prepared that the drive is a little scary. No speed limit signs, yielding and I did think I would die before getting to resort. :)

Also, meet with your agent in the lobby of hotel at set time. They give you a card at airport about this. It's not mandatory but SO HELPFUL. Like everyone, we were anxious to hit the beach for pina coladas, but thank God we met with her for the 30 minutes. She explained everything to us about the country, resort and we would have been dumb not to meet with her.

ROOMS: We had a romance suite ON THE BEACH ...you couldn't get any closer and it was PERFECT. It was large and spacious, and the bathroom was twice the size as the room. We loved this. My husband loved the outdoor shower. Totally worth every cent just for location and accomodations alone. STEAL space for the price! only problem -- the hallways outside the doors are LOUD...major echoe so you hear voices outside your door at night CLEAR AS DAY. The first night we were there a German guy was screaming outside our door. It woke us out of a sound sleep and I thought we were under attack. LOL! Was a little frightened on my first night in foreign country. I tried to call the front desk for security b/c he was banging on several doors including ours (no peephole in door so we never opened it) but the first THREE #'s I called on the phone (cust service, front desk and concierge) no on answered. I got a little panicked that my husband and I would be killed . The guy outside the door was really loud and scary. Needless to say, I finally found security and eventually it stopped, but I don't know if the security took me seriously. They say Dominicans take about 30 min to respond to anything which scared the heck out of me. Just don't open the door. Other nights we just heard doors slamming and people talking outside the door all night. I recommend bringing an Ipod with ocean sounds or something if you are a light sleeper like me. Noise fans are essential! There is an Ipod adapter in the room. The Euroes are LOUD.

FOOD: I picked this resort b/c it had OPTIONS. If you are a picky eater and are looking for an all-inclusive STAY HERE. I've heard nightmare stories of people who got bored with food at all-inclusive. This resort has 10-14 options for meals. You can not go wrong here. Breakfast buffet had many options right off the bat.. If the meat scares you, or you hate the large fruit display and you're not into croissants & breads (only 20 different ones to choose from!) than you can always go to the trusty omelet station. Made to order and always reliably good. Fresh squeezed OJ and other fruit drinks were delightful. One day I found a dead mosquito on my bread plate and lost my appetite for the morning. However, you have to expect that will happen with every window and door wide open in a building and all of that food out so I don't think the restaurants aren't clean or anything. It happens.

The lunch buffets were hit or miss. we had a day or two where I hated one, and then one day where I loved one. Twice we skipped lunch b/c breakfast was so filling. Stay away from the hamburgers and hotdogs -- God knows what is in them and my husband who will east ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING said they tasted weird. Also, the tomatoes are a greenish color and looked not ripe, but that is how they grow there. I ate a lot of rice (kind of stale) and cucumber salads.

Dinner - We only ate at a la carte's b/c buffets are not my thing. First night we did the seafood place, and it was okay. After eating at the other places though, I wouldn't go back to that one. The next night we ate at the Italian. Again, salad buffet was sketch, but the main course and pastas were good. the chicken parm is awesome. Not what you expect like in America -- cheese was cooked into it ,not gooey. it was good. Third night we did Brazilian -- loved it. MOST FRIENDLY waitresses (mostly girls) at this place. Stay away from red meat -- the chicken and turkey were awesome. So was the guy who came to the table with the drink cart. Fourth night we did the Japanese Steak house...AMAZING!!! Make sure you sit at a station where the food is cooked in front of you or you will get scary Japanese food. At the "show" stations you get fresh fried rice, chicken, steak, shrimp and it is EXCELLENT. What a fun, fun time. WE loved that so much we went back the second night. Sorry to say we never hit the Mexican place b/c we only had 5 nights and LOVED the Japanese so much. Get there at 6:30 or be prepared to go on a wait. We went to Italian at 7:15 and waited until about 9:30 to get sat. It sucked. Our schedule was eat early, have after-dinner drink at bar and go to bed. We never had the energy for the shows (start at 10pm in the theater) b/c we enjoyed being up on the beach. We hit the casino for slots and that was a fun time. Didn't win though.

SERVICE: Everyone that worked at the hotel was sooo nice. We did have a couple complaints -- no one explained the towel cards to us, but we brought our own beach towels and heard rumors they were out so it didn't matter. however, we didn't know we were given 2 cards at checkin to exchange for towels. They were tucked behind a stack of papers, packets, maps etc they gave us. So, regardless...check-in was easy and everyone friendly. Second tiny complaint -- on the third day our room didn't get cleaned until 5pm. We came up from the beach and wanted to shower, but had no clean towels. That sucked. My husband left $5 on the nightstand, so when they finally cleaned the room THEY FORGOT TOWELS! so, we had no new towels that day and the one's from the day before had never dried b/c it's hot even though we hung them up.

STAFF: We had our personal favorites -- Jose at the Sports Bar. Speaks very little English, but is the nicest person in the place. Couldn't help but tip him. Don't expect a lot of sports at the sports bar. The TV's are small and only have soccer on. We got them to put the masters on, but it was too fuzzy to see the ball. Oh well..not essential to our happiness on this trip (I work in a sports bar so whatever) The vendors on the beach weren't terrible. Reading, listening to Ipod was enough to keep them away, or saying "no thanks" before they got there worked. My husband is large built man, so maybe they were scared of him. LOL but they didn't hassle us too much. We took pictures with the monkey and birds brought around by the resort photographer. It's $10 to buy them in the lobby, but worth it b/c they were beautful shots even with a monkey on my head. :)

We got massages at the spa on property. Let me say, The Spa is wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Clean and refreshing and relaxing. LOVED IT. The best place for my husband and I to unwind after a day on the beach. Don't book your massages from the states through your agent b/c the 50 minute swiss massage were only $59 at the resort, versus the $100 to book at the time I booked the trip.. So glad I didn't do it ahead of time. I wasn't into the beach massage b/c I can't relax with topless smoking europeans everywhere.

Oh, and if you aren't already aware many of the Europeans are topless, despite this resport being on a NO TOPLESS BEACH. Regardless, boobs didn't bother me and my husband stopped giggling after 1 day. Trust me, not all of them are pleasant so I think he was over it too LOL. Pools were awesome too by the way. And the Grounds were LOVELY. WE loved walking them. Every day and night we took a different route and it never got old.

The sports rec center looked awesome. Soccer, tennis etc. Never got to it though. Definitely loved these 3 resorts side-by-side. Great concept. Great place. Great food. totally relaxing. Do the parasailing. And enjoy the sunshine.

We thought you'd appreciate a review of the Grand Palladium Bavaro written by a pair of unseasoned, unbiased travelers. On our return trip home to Michigan, we thought about what we'd like to "put out there" so that other travelers might know what to expect when visiting this all-inclusive complex. There's nothing in our review that should discourage you from booking the GPB but, hopefully. a bit of information that you'll find helpful. When we deboarded in Punta Cana Airport, we were photographed with Dominican dancers and then hustled through a line where we were each required to pay a $10 "airport usage fee". It's a good thing we had cash, and you'd be wise to plan for this occurrence - we had no idea there was a fee upon entry. All of the vacation package specialists' booths were easy to locate (psst...the airport is very small). We had a short wait before beginning the 35 minute mini-bus trip to the resort. Check-in at the GPB went very quickly and smoothly (15 minutes). The property is large and the walkways are confusing to newcomers - if you stick to the covered walks, you'll have better luck finding your condo later that night when you've enjoyed the pleasures of the bar. The Grand Palladium Bavaro is actually the first of 3 side-by-side-by-side resorts along Bavaro beach. You move from one property to the next without really knowing it! Each of the three has at least one pool and several restaurants, including at least one giant buffet restaurant. Most of the pools have swim-up bars. The drinks are distinctly weak in alcohol and sweet. It takes a real effort and about 5000 calories to feel any effect. You'll have one choice of beers - El Presidente, a pretty non-presidential beer if I'm to be asked. The food in the sit-down-and-order-from-wait staff restaurants is very likable - nicely cooked and presented and served by professional staff. The food in the buffet restaurants is suspect, and I'm a guy who selects his food like a goat. "Something" gave each of us a 24 hour bout with "the plague that attacks the bowel". But, with a little Immodium AD and a certain sense of adventure, we ventured back to give the giant buffet hall a second chance with no further ill effects. I suspect the salad, my wife is suspicious of the lunch meats. Being a teacher, it's helpful for me to communicate in terms of grades (before grade weighting - let's say the 1960's). I'd have to give the buffet restaurants a C+ and the Ala Carte restaurants an A-. The soft serve ice cream, available at several buffets, is dynamite! The tropical fruits (esp. the pineapple) are wonderful. Let's go to the beach! The beaches are everything they're raved up to be - clean, alluring, gorgeous. I cannot imagine a more picturesque beach (presuming the absence of the topless elderly European women). There are beach bars located along the length of the beach, so you won't have to stumble any farther than 100' or so to get a fresh drink. People compete (translate - "fight") for beach lounge chairs. You'll have to rise with the mockingbirds and sleep walk to the beach early in the morning to lay your towel out and lay claim to your chair. Don't get too attached to it though - we experienced lounge chair theft. The beaches (and swimming pools) are the hawking grounds for an almost unlimited number of vendors desiring to sell you rides, excursions, experiences, cigars, sea shells, jewelry, hats....we couldn't find 5 minutes of private time without having to wave off a salesman. Walk down the beach - it's just as bad. Avoiding eye contact doesn't work - these are salesmen who are not to be denied! Claim to be the only person on the planet to speak a certain language - they'll still come after you. Nobody warned us about this intrusion, but we're warning you. The venders are not rude, but they are persistent in a "won't take NO for an answer" sort of way. We selected Bavaro Beach because we were told we could snorkel "right off the beach". Well, nobody ventures out beyond the roped-in swim area because it'd be suicidal! Boats winding in and out of each other provide part of the day's entertainment from the beach, but you wouldn't want to be swimming out there unless you had it in mind to visit the local health care facility (located right on the property!). We booked a $30 per person (for one hour of snorkeling) excursion to the local reef where the coral are dead but there are plenty of fish to view (because the guides feed them with bread from the buffet restaurants). No matter what snorkeling tour you book, you'll end up on the same reef about 15 minutes south of the Grand Palladium Bavaro, so book the cheap one! Our room was nice and clean, and the clean staff showed up everyday and did a very nice job (be sure to tip them!), but we never knew what time to expect them - one day they cleaned the room after 5 o'clock! Our TV never worked (we missed the UNC-MSU game, dang it!) in spite of our friendly inquiries to the maintenance staff. In our room and at certain sites on the grounds there was the "backed up sewer odor" Whew, baby! We got rid of it quickly by opening the patio door to a fresh breeze and some lovely scenery. The staff at the GPB was very friendly and helpful (except for maintenance - they were just friendly). We were definitely in the minority - Americans and Canadians constituted only about 10% (just a guess, not a fact to be taken literally) of the persons visiting the resort. Most of the travelers were Spanish and German, and we also noted that there were many French and Italian guests. We enjoyed listening to their beautiful languages and trying to figure out what they found so funny when they looked at us. It's a small world after all!!!! Well, it seems as though I have reached the limits of your patience and should wrap this review up. In spite of the minor criticisms that dominated the bulk of this treatise, we had a terrific 6-night vacation. I feel that the resort has enough positives (the beauty of the grounds, the cleanliness of the entire property, the effort made by the staff, the gorgeous beaches and clean pools, the relaxing atmosphere) to outweigh the criticisms I've cited. We both feel that the resort deserves our "4 out of 5" rating, and that to achieve the perfect 5/5 would have required an improvement in the buffet restaurants and a reduction in the number of salesperson assaults we were forced to tolerate. Oh yeah, and I'd like to see them ramp up the drinks...a lot.

We thought you'd appreciate a review of the Grand Palladium Bavaro written by a pair of unseasoned, unbiased travelers. On our return trip home to Michigan, we thought about what we'd like to "put out there" so that other travelers might know what to expect when visiting this all-inclusive complex. There's nothing in our review that should discourage you from booking the GPB but, hopefully. a bit of information that you'll find helpful. When we deboarded in Punta Cana Airport, we were photographed with Dominican dancers and then hustled through a line where we were each required to pay a $10 "airport usage fee". It's a good thing we had cash, and you'd be wise to plan for this occurrence - we had no idea there was a fee upon entry. All of the vacation package specialists' booths were easy to locate (psst...the airport is very small). We had a short wait before beginning the 35 minute mini-bus trip to the resort. Check-in at the GPB went very quickly and smoothly (15 minutes). The property is large and the walkways are confusing to newcomers - if you stick to the covered walks, you'll have better luck finding your condo later that night when you've enjoyed the pleasures of the bar. The Grand Palladium Bavaro is actually the first of 3 side-by-side-by-side resorts along Bavaro beach. You move from one property to the next without really knowing it! Each of the three has at least one pool and several restaurants, including at least one giant buffet restaurant. Most of the pools have swim-up bars. The drinks are distinctly weak in alcohol and sweet. It takes a real effort and about 5000 calories to feel any effect. You'll have one choice of beers - El Presidente, a pretty non-presidential beer if I'm to be asked. The food in the sit-down-and-order-from-wait staff restaurants is very likable - nicely cooked and presented and served by professional staff. The food in the buffet restaurants is suspect, and I'm a guy who selects his food like a goat. "Something" gave each of us a 24 hour bout with "the plague that attacks the bowel". But, with a little Immodium AD and a certain sense of adventure, we ventured back to give the giant buffet hall a second chance with no further ill effects. I suspect the salad, my wife is suspicious of the lunch meats. Being a teacher, it's helpful for me to communicate in terms of grades (before grade weighting - let's say the 1960's). I'd have to give the buffet restaurants a C+ and the Ala Carte restaurants an A-. The soft serve ice cream, available at several buffets, is dynamite! The tropical fruits (esp. the pineapple) are wonderful. Let's go to the beach! The beaches are everything they're raved up to be - clean, alluring, gorgeous. I cannot imagine a more picturesque beach (presuming the absence of the topless elderly European women). There are beach bars located along the length of the beach, so you won't have to stumble any farther than 100' or so to get a fresh drink. People compete (translate - "fight") for beach lounge chairs. You'll have to rise with the mockingbirds and sleep walk to the beach early in the morning to lay your towel out and lay claim to your chair. Don't get too attached to it though - we experienced lounge chair theft. The beaches (and swimming pools) are the hawking grounds for an almost unlimited number of vendors desiring to sell you rides, excursions, experiences, cigars, sea shells, jewelry, hats....we couldn't find 5 minutes of private time without having to wave off a salesman. Walk down the beach - it's just as bad. Avoiding eye contact doesn't work - these are salesmen who are not to be denied! Claim to be the only person on the planet to speak a certain language - they'll still come after you. Nobody warned us about this intrusion, but we're warning you. The venders are not rude, but they are persistent in a "won't take NO for an answer" sort of way. We selected Bavaro Beach because we were told we could snorkel "right off the beach". Well, nobody ventures out beyond the roped-in swim area because it'd be suicidal! Boats winding in and out of each other provide part of the day's entertainment from the beach, but you wouldn't want to be swimming out there unless you had it in mind to visit the local health care facility (located right on the property!). We booked a $30 per person (for one hour of snorkeling) excursion to the local reef where the coral are dead but there are plenty of fish to view (because the guides feed them with bread from the buffet restaurants). No matter what snorkeling tour you book, you'll end up on the same reef about 15 minutes south of the Grand Palladium Bavaro, so book the cheap one! Our room was nice and clean, and the clean staff showed up everyday and did a very nice job (be sure to tip them!), but we never knew what time to expect them - one day they cleaned the room after 5 o'clock! Our TV never worked (we missed the UNC-MSU game, dang it!) in spite of our friendly inquiries to the maintenance staff. In our room and at certain sites on the grounds there was the "backed up sewer odor" Whew, baby! We got rid of it quickly by opening the patio door to a fresh breeze and some lovely scenery. The staff at the GPB was very friendly and helpful (except for maintenance - they were just friendly). We were definitely in the minority - Americans and Canadians constituted only about 10% (just a guess, not a fact to be taken literally) of the persons visiting the resort. Most of the travelers were Spanish and German, and we also noted that there were many French and Italian guests. We enjoyed listening to their beautiful languages and trying to figure out what they found so funny when they looked at us. It's a small world after all!!!! Well, it seems as though I have reached the limits of your patience and should wrap this review up. In spite of the minor criticisms that dominated the bulk of this treatise, we had a terrific 6-night vacation. I feel that the resort has enough positives (the beauty of the grounds, the cleanliness of the entire property, the effort made by the staff, the gorgeous beaches and clean pools, the relaxing atmosphere) to outweigh the criticisms I've cited. We both feel that the resort deserves our "4 out of 5" rating, and that to achieve the perfect 5/5 would have required an improvement in the buffet restaurants and a reduction in the number of salesperson assaults we were forced to tolerate. Oh yeah, and I'd like to see them ramp up the drinks...a lot.

My husband and I stayed at this resort from March 28-April 4, 2009 with another couple and had a fabulous time! The beach is truly amazing - one of nicest I have ever seen. The food was plentiful with lots of variety and selection. The rooms were lovely and were cleaned daily and rechecked every evening to replenish towels and be tidied. The staff were wonerful. We communicated easily with most of them. Almost everyone speaks spanish and atleast some french. English is definitely spoken less but we certainly had no issues with language. All in all, the trip was amazing and we would definitely return to this resort and Punta Cana! For everyone who has an upcoming trip to this resort, be assured that you will not be disappointed. I wish we were back there now and we have only been home for a little more than a week!

Ola, from Nova Scotia. We have been to several resorts over the last 9 years and this one would be in the top 3...........We stayed here the week of March 23rd and the weather was fantastic. The grounds were well kept , with lots of greenery and flora. We stayed in one of the junior suites which was quite nice with a very large bathroom............everything was clean and well maintained. The food was excellent at the specialised restaurants and very good at the buffets. Service at all restaurants was very good........

Other items that were not so great which we managed around, was;

A few mosquitos during the evening. Entertainment compared to our other resorts was mediocre. Beach was very busy with people and you had to put towels out early if you wanted a lounger. The local vendors selling their trinkets and the resort staff selling excursions was continuous, on the beach. The plus side was if you said, no thank you, they were off...The internet cafe that was established in the main lobby had very poor lighting and would suggest you take some sort of light with you if you wished to use during the evening hrs..

We had a very relaxing and enjoyable stay and would recommend ths resort with the knowledge of the above items..................

We travelled to the Grand Palladium Bavaro from Moncton, NB the first week of March 2009. Our group was very large (49 people, which included 6 small children), and there were 2 wedding parties.

The flight times were disappointing, they flight was delayed 26 hours and we didnt arrive until 1:30am the next day. I'm sure the resort was aware that our large group was arriving, but they only had 1 person at the desk to check everyone in.

There was some confusion with our room, and were moved around 3 times before getting the romance suite as promised to the bride and groom. The room was amazing, a canopy bed, outdoor shower, next to the beach etc. and it was really neat there was an i-pod docking station beside the bed that works with the i-phone to have music in your room.

The bavaro section was nice, but some of our guests were in rooms in the Punta Cana section and they seemed like nicer rooms, closer to the restaurants, and closer to our favorite pool in the middle of the punta cana section.

Our wedding was fantastic, we met with Carolina 2 days before, and the meeting lasted probably only 25 minutes. She is very well organized and was able to make every detail special. We had our wedding in the Bavaro Garden, they set up a sun tent over our guests to shade them. The flower decorations were great, the bouquets were gorgeous, and everything went so smoothly. We cut our cake in the garden for pictures but it was served at dinner, and there was a gentleman who served red wine and champagne to all the guests after the ceremony. The photographer did an excellent job, he was very professional and took amazing pictures.

Our ceremony was early in the afternoon, so we planned a pool party with our guests after the ceremony and before the reception dinner, this was really fun, nice and relaxing, and we had fun "Mr." and "Mrs." swimsuits and tank tops made for the party.

Our wedding reception dinner was at the El Arricife restaurant and was really well done, the tables were set up nicely, the food was great, and we were able to do speeches and songs without disrupting the other guests.

The resort is very large, and we did a lot of un-necessary walking to get anywhere, but it was nice for such a large group. Nightly entertainment was really fun, there was always a show at the theatre, dancing at the disco, and food at the 24-hour sports bar.

I highly recommend this resort for a large wedding group, but it's a little too large for couples or small families.

I have just arrived last night from a week on a gorgeous white sand beach, with great staff and services. Food was plentiful and with great variety for meat eaters as well as vegetarians. Lots of super great restaurants to choose from, and if you travel with Transat for your holiday, I received complimentary no reservations cards for 5 specialty restaurants.

My one suggestion before you go... do not forget to pack a bug spray for the feet and legs. I couldn't figure out if the flea like unseen pests were in the sand, the bed, or the ones tickling me in the theatre during the evenings entertainment. Very disconcerting as I did not pack bug spray, nor calamine lotion and the itching, scratching and general discomfort ruined what could have been an exceptional time. Of course those bite marks and huge welts that came with scratching them returned home with me and is still very bad.

I have made a suggestion to the hotel about them, but better be warned then not!

Also, if you are single and going "solo" like I did, remember that this is a family resort with lots of little children and babies... be forewarned!

I would try another Fiesta Group hotel for sure.

We spent two weeks at the GP Bavaro (March 19 to April 2). Suffice it to say this resort has to rate near the top of the list (it is #6 at the present time) in Punta Cana. Reviews that criticize staff, food, and other amenities must result from the odd bad experience but this place simply does not deserve some of the one and two star reviews that occur periodically on here. You will not be disappointed if you choose to stay at the GP Bavaro.

We stayed in Block 13 in a junior suite which was perfect for us. It was right between the beach and the reception area where a lot of activities take place, i.e., eating, theatre, drinking, etc. Wherever you walk in this facility the beauty will astound you.. Here is a quick summary of our experience:

FOOD - There will always be something to eat that suits your taste in the buffets. We ate at the the Cathedral, the Arrecife, the El Behique and Los Torres as far as buffets were concerned. Los Torres was our favourite for atmosphere and food. Each night had a different food theme, Mexican, Chinese, Italian, etc. Never got sick even though we tried just about every type of food offered.

There are about eleven restaurants you can visit including a number of a la cartes. We had Imperial service so were able to reserve at the a la cartes. But you can also go and wait for a table as they become available. Our favourites were the Brazilian, the Japanese, the Mexican and the Italian. All had a good variety of food and very good service. The wines are definitely better at the a la cartes. Wine in the buffets was not particularly great.

Overall we found the drinks were weak but if you asked for more "fuel" they were happy to oblige you. Make sure your visit Hemingway's bar which is a first class bar with premium brand liquor and liqueurs.

We always tip at the AI's we visit and we found that definitely helped in getting better service. A buck or two for the servers and room attendants should not blow you budget and the staff can really use the extra money.

ROOMS - We were first placed in a Jr. Suite in the Puna Cana section which we did not particularly like. A request to change was honoured the following day and we got a suite in the Bavaro section which we loved. The suites are large, well equipped and the fridge was always filled with pop, beer and water. As many have said the bathrooms are huge with double sinks, a big shower and a jacuzzi bath.

BEACH - One of the best we have experienced and my wife and I have travelled extensively in the Caribbean. White powder sand and beautiful warm, blue water in the ocean. Every day was spent on the beach for us. The beach vendors are aggressive but usually take "no" as an indication to move on. Not a problem for us. Make sure you bargin if you intend to buy. We found the quality of jewelery was better in the shops, but more expensive of course. The chair reservation problem is alive and well in Punta Cana as it is in more Caribbean resorts and unless you go with the flow and put towels on chairs at 6 or 7 am, you will likely be out of luck until later in the afternoon. Same at the pools.

POOLs - All were clean and well kept. We did not spend much time there preferring the beach but it is a good spot to hang out and participate in the entertainment provided by the entertainment crew at the resort.

STAFF - We found the reception staff, bar and food service staff, room service attendants all to be friendly, helpful and communicative. Of course, the language in the DR is primarily Spanish so try to go with some words and phrases you to use to communicate. They appreciate it and will be obviously be more responsive as English is not the the norm there.

The question for us always is "would we go back to the resort again"? In the case of the Grand Palladium Bavaro the answer is a definite "yes". It is definitely a 4 or 5 star resort as far as Caribbean standards are concerned.

Feel free to contact us if you have specific questions or concerns.

This review is long, long overdue.

We have been to this resort three times: February 2003; February 2005 and February 2007. We are sad that we have not been able to keep the every other year tradition going this year. We absolutely love this place and would go back in a heartbeat.

When we first stayed at the Grand Palladium Bavaro in 2003 (then the Fiesta Bavaro Resort), very few Americans had heard of Punta Cana. We choose the DR and this resort because it was very reasonable; looked very nice; and would accomodate our large family, which at that point numbered five (5). We were blown away.

We stayed in a junior suite, which easily accomodated our group, including our children - then ages 8, 6 and 4. The resort grounds are unbelievably lush. The beach and the pools are breathtaking. The staff was incredible - everyone from the manager to the groundskeepers and everyone in between, were always quick to offer a smile and an "hola". We felt that the food was just "ok". We probably felt that way because it was spiced for the European palate, and was a bit different than what we are used to. However, we never had any problems finding something we liked - either at the buffets or at any of the a al carte restuarants we tried. They have a great kids club. We didn't want our kids to go because we wanted them to hang out with us. However, all of the friends they met at the pool were there, so we let them go one day, and they insisted going back every day for the rest of our vacation. That ended up being nice for Mom and Dad. We spent our days lounging on the beach and getting massages. We also got involved a bit with the hotel "animation crew" - participating in various events. Very nice indeed.

When we returned in two years, we were very surprised to see how many of the hotel employees we met two years earlier were still there. We had the same bellman, who remembered us. Most of the bartenders were the same. Most importantly, Isabel, who runs the kids club, was still there. This worked for us because we felt comforable enough with Isabel to have her babysit for us on two evenings, so we could have a romantic dinner and go to the casino. Babysitting for Isabel did not mean sitting in the room watching tv. No way. She took the kids to dinner; had them participate in the "mini-disco"; took them back stage for the show so they could see everyone getting ready; took them to the show; and then out for ice cream.

Everything was still wonderful in 2005, and we felt the food was even much improved. Again we were blown away by the beauty which surrounded us - the lush grounds and the deep, deep colors of the foilage. The only disappointment, and it was slight, was that they changed the configuration of the junior suites. They turned the area that had been the "sitting room:, and where there was a pull-out sofa bed, into a large bathroom - taking the bathroom out of the main room area, and putting two beds and the sofa-bed in the same room. The huge bathroom seemed like wasted space, and the five us of were a bit cramped all in the one room of what had been a two room suite. However, this was not enough to keep us away.

In 2007 we returned, this time with my wife's sister, her husband and their two kids. Our third time back it was like going home.

We arrived at the hotel about 11:00 a.m., having caught a 6:00 a.m. direct flight out of Philadelphia. My brother-in-law was a bit skiddish about leaving all of our luggage, including a lap top, with the bellman, until our bellman from our previous two visits came over to great us - hugging us all, saying how wonderful it was to have "his friends" back to the Paladium, and commenting on how big the kids had gotten. When he said he would "take care of everything for his friends", the newest members of our group relaxed.

He was not the only one still there from our previous visits. Isabel was still there too, as were many, many servers in the restaurants and many of the bartenders from previous years. We discussed this with Isabel's former assistant, Rosa, who told us what a wondeful company the Fiesta Hotel Group is to work for, especially by DR standards. She was just back from maternity leave, and explained that on her days off, she takes a bus over 3 and 1/2 hours to her home village. The stability of the workforce does speak volumes in the hospitality industry.

Do remember to tip these folks. They all work very hard, and probably don't make much money. Yes it is an all inclusive, and technically is not required. Also, they are glad to have these jobs. However, if you tip them they are very appreciative, and a few dollars spread around here and there throughout the resort goes along way to help them, and to insure that you are well taken care of (Remember: TIP stands for "To Insure Prompt Service).

Again everything was wonderful. This time, in addition to enjoying the beach, the pools and a few massges on the beach, I also got to golf and go deep sea fishing with my brother-in-law and a few of our crew. We also went horseback riding on the beach. We arranged all of these trips through the Apple Rep at the Palladium, and each was great.

I was sad that we were not able to go back this year in February. Fortunately, my family of 5 is now a family of 6. Unfortunately, the maximum number of guests allowed in a junior suite at the Palladium is 5, and getting two rooms for the whole crew was a bit cost prohibitive, at least this year. Perhaps next year things will be different. In the meantime, we have a bunch of great pictures and even more great memories.

If you have the chance to go, don't hesitate.

We stayed at this resort from March 2-March 9, 2009. We went to this resort to be married (along with another couple that travelled with us) and we had a total group size of 49 people. This resort was good in some instances and great in others!

Check-in: We arrived at the resort at approximately 1230am. In our group that travelled together there were about 30 of us that arrived all at once. There was only one guy working at the front desk which was discouraging as it took over an hour to get everyone checked in. It would've been nice if they had at least one other person there to help move things along. Our flight had already been delayed by a day, so alot of people were getting impatient with the waiting around. We were upgraded without asking to a romance suite (had booked for a jr.suite) and it was the closest building to the beach which was nice.

Room: The romance suite was awesome! All done in white with a canopy bed and the bathroom very spacious. We also had a jacuzzi tub in the corner, and off the main bathroom there was an outdoor mayan shower with a hammock which was nice! There is a safe in the room to use and a big double closet with a few shelves. The lights are all turned off around all the buildings and walkways around 4am so the first night it was a little tricky finding the room again so keep that in mind. Maid service on most days was a little later in the day cleaning the room but was not an issue as we were out of the room most of the day anyway.

Overall resort/restaurants/staff: The resort overall is quite large. We may not have noticed as much but due to having such a large group, it sometimes required alot of walking around to find people if we needed them. Be careful if it rains...the walkways are very slippery when wet! They do have a train that goes through the whole resort which was nice as you get to see lots more of it too. The grounds are very well kept and very clean! Our favorite hang out was typically outside the lobby bar at night, they have a great seating area. Hemmingway's cocktail bar was also really fabulous! They have nightly shows as well...I never made it to one, but several members of our group went and said they were pretty good overall. The disco and casino were fun as well...maybe not to do each night, but good to go to at least once. The sports bar has amazing pizza and is open 24hrs which was nice. The buffets are all very large and typically tend to serve the same kinds of food. A la cartes don't necessarily require a reservation, but its best to make reservations if you really have your heart set on eating at a particular restaurant. Walk ins are also welcome at the a la cartes which is nice as well. We ate mostly at the buffets as it was easiest with a large group. The staff at the resort were very friendly...occasionally we would talk to someone who knew very little English which was tough but most everyone can communicate on some level. You may want to have a converter with you. They sell them cheap at the store on site, and there is one in the room that the ipod player is plugged into. I had no problems using my hair straightener in the plugs, but not everything would work in them. During our stay the resort lost its power at least once during the day on 4 different days. One day it was out for about 3 hours which was somewhat inconvenient.

Beach: It was BEAUTIFUL! As is the entire beach in Punta Cana. It is not a very wide beach and there were a couple of mornings that the waves would push water up really far on shore and would soak our beach bags. It was always easy to find a beach chair though, no matter what time of day it was. The beach vendors were very annoying. It seemed someone was trying to sell something every 5 minutes.

Pools: Also very awesome...we spent alot of time at the pool bar on the Punta Cana side of the resort in the afternoons...lots of seating around the pool and very clean.

Now for the wedding!!! It was more then I could've ever asked for!! Carolina (wedding coordinator) was amazing! We had a lot of communication for the last year with her and she was always very quick to respond. We met with her for 20 minutes the day before the wedding. She had pictures of different flowers, cakes and wedding set up that we had to choose from...was as easy as pointing and saying you want that! She books all necessary appointments during this time and speaks to the florist and photographer then too! For having such a large party, we had 2 choices of where we had our reception so we chose El Arrecife (a la carte in the evening) which was very spacious. All of our guests had to eat the same appy's and entrees, however they were very accomodating to a couple of people in our group who didn't eat red meat. She took care of everything and called our room 5 min before they needed us. She also did the translation at the wedding (as it had to be performed in spanish) The photographer was also awesome! He was alot of fun and will take as many pics as you want. We were able to meet him the next day to choose the pics we wanted and then buy our package.

Ok...so I have rambled on for a long time I realize and surely I have forgotten to mention some things. Feel free to message me if you want more info! Overall I was quite satisfied with the resort, but not sure I would go back.

A group of 21 of us stayed here from Feb 21 to 27th for our wedding. We have been to a few locations already, our first to Punta Cana.

Overall the resort grounds are beautiful. Our room was right by the beach, near the Arrieffe restaurant for lunch, and at the opposite end from the main buffet but we didn’t find we had to do much walking. We booked the romance suite. A nice room but the most uncomfortable we’ve ever stayed in. It’s a junior suite with basically a hut attached to the bathroom containing the outdoor shower and hammock, so not worth the extra money. None of the windows or doors had screens and we had an issue with lots of bugs coming in. (our friends didn’t find this an issue where they were) The air conditioning adjusted poorly. The maids were great for cleaning the rooms and even returning in the evening to touch up the room. Unfortunately the beds were hard and the cover old and stained.

Food – There was always something for everyone and no one got sick. The Brazilian restaurant was fun as they come around with skewers of meat to carve at the table. The food at the 24 hr sports bar could use improvement but the other restaurants are generally open.

Wedding – The ceremony time changed when we arrived but the judge showed up early for the ceremony. They lost our hair appointments but did a great job anyways. The musical trio were great, liked the photographer, cake and flowers. Watch out they bring rice to throw and try to have the trio walk down behind the bride.

Service – We found all staff pleasant even with the language barrier. None of the staff could help you with anything outside of their actual job which was a little frustrating. All of the correspondence we received during our stay seemed to be in all languages except English.

The pool at the Bavaro had very few lounge chairs. The beach is long and beautiful, the salespeople were fine with a simple no thanks. We had a great week our biggest complaint was the fact that it seemed almost impossible to get a clean beach towel.

Trips – We went on the Bavaro Runner would not recommend it – especially for the horse riding part - the poor horses all kicked and bit one another. We also went on the Marinarium which was a bus ride to the ocean just down from the resort to swim with the sharks, and then a stop in a shallow part of the ocean where we could basically see our resort.

Just returned on 24th Feb after spending a week there. 1st time at an all inclusive resort and in Dom Rep.

Grounds of the complex are absolutely beautiful and well cared for. Stayed in standard room and was ideal size. Only problem was air conditioning didn't work properly and a couple of nights was too hot! Made it uncomfortable to sleep some nights. Informed hotel on a couple of occasions but nothing was done. However not serious enough to continue complaining as it did not stop us enjoying our holiday. Our room was near the main lobby and was not disturbed by any noise. The view from our balcony was lovely. I enjoyed sitting there enjoying the view and peacefulness early mornings and evenings. The room was cleaned daily and the free mini fridge was stocked daily with water, soft drinks and beer.

The food in the buffet catered for all tastes and was really good. We tried two of the a la carte but preferred the buffet. I am a fussy eater and always found something different and tasty to eat. My husband will try anything and thoroughly enjoyed the different themed food each night.

There were very few english people there and mainly canadians, french and german people. This did not affect us at all as we went for some quality relaxing time for us. Most of the staff spoke only a little bit of english but after all this is a spanish speaking country. We managed to get by with the little spanish we knew and it added to the charm of the resort.

One thing I did find hilarious is the practice of people going out at dawn to reserve their sunbeds round the pool and on the beach. If you wait until after 10 am you won't get a bed around the pool and will have to search on the beach.

We did find that the excursions and souvenirs were expensive . Even if the exchange rate was better it would still be on the expensive side and I am used to London prices! If you intend on doing lots of excursions you will need plenty of dollars!

We went on the outback safari which was 89 dollars each but included lunch and free drinks all day. I would recommend this trip as you actually see the real Dominican Republic.

If you like staying in large complexes and sunbathing round the pool and beach then this is for you. You are not really able to venture out of the complex on your own as there is not much to see nearby except for a couple of local shops etc and need to rely on the excursions.

We went specifically for a relaxing time and some sun and were not disapointed. Would certainly return again to this resort.

We spent a week at this resort at the end of January. We were a group of 14, 9 adults and 5 children. We had a great time. The resort grounds are well maintainted. We were in a junior suite, which was huge. The bathroom was great, but the bedroom area needed some updating, not sure how this is classifed as "renovated". The food was pretty good here, much better than the resort we were at in Cuba, but not as good as Jamaica. We ate at the buffet the majority of the time because of the large number of people in our group. It's so big that there are lots of choices, and each night is a different theme night. However we did make it to the Italian,the Brazilian and the Mexican a la cartes. The Italian was ok, I was disappointed as I had read on here it was the favourite. The Mexican was pretty good, I had the beef fajitas and they were really good. The Brazilian was fun and left you very full!

The beach is beautiful and we didn't find it hard to find chairs, and we never went down early. There are however many people that put towels on chairs and don't come back all day. It's a great beach to walk on, you can walk forever. If you go to the right when facing the ocean, about 5-10 minutes down, just on the other side of the Royal Suites beach is a whole bunch of shacks selling everything you could want to take home. Prices are good, you can definitely barter with them.

The most frustrating part of this resort is the constant barrage of people coming up to you trying to sell you something, whether it's souvenirs, day trips, even the spa services of the resort. It got to be a bit much. The other negative was that there were a large amount of very rude Europeans. I've never experienced this ever before in the places we've been. I'm not sure if it was just a fluke the week we were there. But I have never been pushed, shoved, hit and stepped on more in my life. They also have no concept of waiting in lines or don't care, because they were constantly cutting in line. As a Canadian this was very foreign to me.

The staff were friendly, but many couldn't speak English. This could get frustrating when you were trying to communicate. I wish I knew Spanish, it would have been helpful. It's strange because I've been to Mexico and Cuba, and both had staff with better English comprehension.

Also, we booked through Air Transat and were Imperial Club. This was a nice bonus, as we got free internet (30 minutes a day) and were able to make reservations at the a la cartes. Ohter than the Royal Suites guests, the rest had to just show up at the restaurants and wait if there were no tables available.

Oh, just a tip, if you plan to pick up some Dominican rum, don't wait to buy it at the airport. We made this mistake, and it was double the price.

We stayed at the Grand Palladium Bavaro from 2/8-2/15. We traveled with another couple and we are all in our mid 30's-early 40's.

This is our 6th all inclusive resort - our third in Punta Cana. I will catagorize my review as I think those are more helpful.

I won't comment on traveling to and from Punta Cana as I don't think that is why people read these reviews, but I will say that we have been using Apple Vacations for 10 years and have not had any issues getting to and from our hotel/destinations.

Hotel - we checked in very late in the evening. Check in - smooth. Be sure to ask if you can get upgraded to a Junior Suite (no additional charge). We asked and got upgraded - we tipped the guy $10 for the upgrade. Be sure and get TWO keys at check in time. They only gave us one key and it took us three days to get a second key as they kept saying their key machine was not working. Room was great (even though I don't think the rooms have to be that great since we spent so little time in them), clean, very large bathroom and beds were a little hard (but that has been true for every all inclusive we have ever stayed at). We stayed in building 3 - very close to the Cathedral buffet and Lobby Bar. If you ask for a oceanfront room, you will be making a 2-3 minute walk to the lobby/buffet so keep that in mind when requesting a certain type of room. As others have said, this resort is extremely big (compared to others like the Riu or Iberostar), you will be walking a lot to get from place to place. They do offer a train, but we found that we preferred the walk. The walkways are VERY slippery when they are wet and you are barefoot. My brother-in-law fell multiple times one night - the 10 beers he had probably didn't help the situation, but do try to wear some sort of shoe when walking on the walkways.

Restaurants - we ate at two al la carte restaurants - Asian and International. We liked the Asian the best. I ordered the stuffed chicken at the International and it was raw in the middle. I ordered something else, but they forgot to bring it, so I just at the salad and the appetizers. I have found that I would probably just stick with the buffet. They typically have a good variety and we never left there hungry. We only ate breakfast one morning as we are night owls and it was very good. We ate at the Beach Bar/Restaurant most days for lunch and I got a grilled chicken sandwich which was tasty. One day we ate lunch at the beach bar on the Punta Cana side and thought it was better than the Bavaro Beach restaurant. Since Americans are definitely the minority, I felt like the food was more catered to Europeans which is ok, just an observation. There is always good pasta, pizza and french fries so Americans shouldn't complain too much. There is a 24 hour sports bar where you can order grilled cheese, burgers, hot dogs, pizza, etc... We took advantage of this each night. Bars were good and typical with most all inclusives - nothing big to mention with those.

Pool - a little small on the Bavaro side, but you have access to 3 other pools at the Grand Pall - Punta Cana and Royal Suites. The pool bar was bigger on the Bavaro side. Not that many pool chairs for the amount of guests. We don't go to DR for the pools so we very rarely need the chairs.

Beach - this is the reason we keep (and will keep) going to Punta Cana. Natural palm trees line the beach and great waves for swimming. Ok, as far as the beach chair situation as many have written on previously, there is definitely a problem with beach chair reservations. I'm not sure how early you have to reserve your chair, but you will usually have to search for 10-20 minutes for a free chair anytime after 10am as that is the earliest I ever went to the beach. I have two thoughts on this. One, the early bird gets the worm and I shouldn't complain if I don't want to get up early and reserve a chair. However, I have witnessed empty chairs covered with towels for 5-6 hours and think it is ridulously rude for people to do that. My husband said they should buy more chairs, I think people should wait until they are ready to actually lay on the beach before they reserve them and we wouldn't have the empty beach chair with a towel on it problem.

Excursions - we did the Maranarium last year (good) and the zipline this year (great), be ready for a good workout if you do the zipline and wear running (athletic shoes).

General Comments - others have complained about the language barrier. This is a Spainsh country so English speaking people should not be complaining - this is a problem many Americans have when traveling to foreign countries. The entire staff understands SOME English. However, I would suggest learning some basic Spainish words before going there - bathroom (bano), beer (cerveza), more (mas) just to name a few. If you try to speak the language, they are very appreciative and will try to help you with whatever you are asking for. I didn't see very many people (like NONE) tipping the staff. Obviously, this is an all inclusive resort so it is not required. However, these people are probably working for a very low wage and I think should be rewarded for good service. I treated it like I would in the U.S. If the service person gave me good service, I tipped $1 or so, if they didn't then I didn't tip them. Lastly, my general comments are going to be about the European visitors at the resort. Maybe not many Europeans are going to read this, but I wish they would. They need to learn not to cut in line and wait their turn. I realize there are culture differences, but rude is rude in any country and you need to wait your turn in line; this applies to the buffet, bar, and any other line people are waiting in. The Canadian people (which is the majority of the people at this resort) were great and super friendly.

We have stayed at the Riu Bambu and Iberostar in previous years. I would rate this one on an equal level as the Iberostar - better than the Riu Bambu. Iberostar doesn't have a pool bar and this one does. This resort didn't have as good of food, but had a 24 hour restaurant that we liked being able to go to late.

I wouldn't recommend this resort for teenagers (unless they like to lay on the beach, there is not much for them to do), people with disabilities (lots of walking),

We will be back in Punta Cana next year at a different resort and let you know how that one is then. I would stay at this resort again, we are just going to try a different resort each year and then go back to the ones we like best.

We have been to the dominican republic 4 times in 5 yrs this holiday is by far the most dissapointing.if you are vegatatians be aware as a lot of food that stated it was vegatarian,contained meat we had problem with a broken drawer in wardrobe when we arrived .we reported it 4 times in total and after complaining to the desk it was finally fixed on day 9 of holiday ,also we had problem with rain water coming through parts of ceiling when it rained,we reported it twice but it was never sorted so when it rained we put bath towels on floor for safety.The staff were friendly in restaurants and bars beach bars were ok too there was always a big problem to find a sun bed on beach or at pool unless you got up early to claim your bed with your towel !!!!! a bit of a dissapointing holiday really dont think we would stay again.

My wife and I just got back from The Grand Palladium Bavaro Resort, and I have to say most of the reviews were pretty much right on. The grounds of the resort are very nice, one of the nicest we have been to, and we have been to many different resorts. The beach is very long and clean, with nice trees and little huts for shade if you desire. There are several different pools to choose from, and they were all in great condition, and very clean. Having swim up bars is definitely nice to have in my opinion :)

Now, on to the problems we had with this resort. Check in took a bit longer than I'm used to. We arrived, showed our reservation form, then waited about 30 minutes. They kept saying there was not a problem, but there apparently was (although we never found out what). We saw several other guests go through this as well. Once we got to the room, we were pleased with it. It was rather large (it was a jr. suite) with a large jetted tub and the beds were upstairs in a loft area. Later that night though, we discovered that the beds there are probably the most uncomfortable beds I have ever slept in. Ever. They both felt like rocks, and the covers looked pretty shabby.

After a horrible nights sleep, we headed off to the pool the next morning. Only problem was, there were NO chairs by any pool. So, we headed out to the beach, and were very lucky to find two chairs after looking for 10 minutes. If you go to this resort, if you want a decent spot by a pool, you HAVE to put towels out to reserve them no later than about 7:30am most days. Some people get up before sunrise (including me one morning) just to get a decent spot reserved. To me, that's not acceptable at a "5-star" resort. Then, after you're annoyed by the chair situation, all day long (especially by the beach), you will be constantly interrupted by locals trying to sell everything from straw hats, to cheap jewelry, to shore excursions, to trying to get you to play a poolside game. Again, I expect this at a party hotel in Cancun or something (don't get me wrong, I love trips like these too), but at a "5-star" hotel where I want to truly relax, this is not acceptable.

Most of the local staff on the resort really seemed indifferent to the guests, and not very motivated to work hard. We have been to many tropical resorts all over, so we are familiar with the laid-back island attitude, but this was worse. Waiters would barely acknowledge us in some instances, instead would be singing or humming a tune to themselves while they took an order. The lack of friendly, helpful service was probably the biggest disappointment of our trip. Also, the bars mixed drinks were typically VERY weak. I have discovered this before at all-inclusives, but this one was the worst for that, in my opinion.

All in all, the resort itself is very nice, the location is great, and even the food was very good (not common at most all-inclusives), but the surly, unmotivated staff, constant interruptions, and lack of enough pool and beach space for people to lounge was enough to make me say that we will not be back. And that's a shame, because this resort has so much potential!

My husband and I selected this resort based on the reviews we read on this website and the photos of the resort plus the 5 star rating.

Service

Pretty much all the staff we came across did not speak english well not even the front counter staff. Service was ok but not to the level you would expect from a 5 star resort. Some of the waiters were grumpy and obviously didn't want to be there.

Room

Room was very clean but it smelt funny...damp. So we kept the balcony door opened to let the breeze through. The bed linen wasn't very good quality and our bed spread stank. I asked for it to be changed and they gave us a very worn blanket. 7 nights we were there and it never got changed. There's a big jacuzzi in the middle of the room which we didn't use because there often wasn't enough hot water. There's a small separate section with the toilet and shower...wasn't really a fan...felt like I was showering in the toilet.

Location and Resort

Location of the resort was lovely. The beach was beautiful, lovely soft sand. The resort grounds was ok too, lots of palm trees and very green. It is very big. They have a little train they takes you around the resort but my husband and I walked everywhere.

The pools were good too but we had a lot of difficulty getting a sun lounge. Most were taken pretty early and most people do put a towel on there while they go off to do something else. Eventhough there are signs to ask you not to do that.

Food

There were quite a few a la carte restaurants and we tried most of them. Oriental, Brazillian, Italian, Steak and seafood, Mexican, and Spanish. Found the buttet and the food at the restuarant average but there were lots of choices and portions were large. My husband found the cocktails pretty good.

Other:

We flew with Thomsons and found this resort with a 5 star rating. We stayed at quite a few 5 - 4 star resorts in the past and this resort is not to that standard. However, what I disliked most about this resort is that they have people that bring around animals for photos. For the 7 nights we were there, we saw a poor baby primate with a chain around it's neck, snake and parrots. All paraded in the hot sun. I'm not sure if they are employees of the resort but they were friendly with the staff and they were within the resort. I found it very cruel!

I would not come back to this resort.

The hotel's staff did not clean the floors and my mother felt and broke her ankle. She became disabled and was never able to work again after our trip to this hotel.

Staff did not even apologyze; nobody cared. It's their fault, they acted so unappropriate.

I would never recommend this place to anybody.

The Grand Palladium Bavaro is a pretty resort with a beautiful beach. That is the positive list.

The negative list is much longer.

1. The staff is terrible. Language barriers always exist but this resort staff took it to a whole other level. Communication was almost impossible. The bartending staff is horrible, they take forever to make even simple drinks, resulting in long lines at the bars. You have to be at the bars though since there is one waitress per ten acres of resort. Every person we dealt with had an attitude as if he was doing us a favour to even acknowledge us.

2. The resort is huge and sprawling with a single pool. If you are in one of the far cottages then be prepared for long walks to get anywhere. The resort is designed to make every location as from any other location as possible.

3. The upgraded elite status is a waste of time and money unless you REALLY want to have a different coloured bracelet. The room delivered beach towels showed up one day out of the seven we spent there. The five guaranteed a la carte meals were a joke. We went to book them on the first day we were there (saturday) and were told that nothing was available until friday at 9pm. We were helpfully told that if we wanted to get a buzzer and wait we would eventually be seated.

4. Our room leaked water from the air conditioner all week. I called everyday and was told everyday it was going to be fixed. Water was still dripping as i rolled my suitcase out of the room on the last day. The TV was also broken and i had the same help as i did with the leaks.

5. The food was average. The sports bar ran out of food twice while i was there. They still had popcorn but anything hot was out. It must have been impossible to get supplies from anywhere else on the resort because the guy behind the counter couldn't have cared less. All of the buffets close in the afternoon in order to be converted to sit down restaurants at night. This left a few hours each day when you could not eat a meal on the resort.

6. The maids made up our room anywhere from 2pm until 6pm. They might as well have just doubled as the turn down service.

There were many other instances of less than five star quality. A ladder left out all day leaning on a tree and so on. All small things but when taken into account with all of the other inadequacies it just leaves a sense of uncaring sloppiness. No complaints were handled in a satisfactory manner. Even with all of these issues it would have been fine for a three star resort, but we brought eighteen people and each paid for a five star resort. This is nowhere near a five star resort.