Barceló Bávaro Palace - All Inclusive

“Great trip”

This place continues to be a place for me and friends to come and relax and share great food and drink. The staff here is so friendly and helpful.

“Fantastic place, do not let the negative reviews taint your views before you try it!”

It took me a while to think about the resort to offer a comprehensive review that was not peppered with immediate unthought reaction. At first, we were a little nervous about our choice due to a few negative reviews that were recent. However, I've now come to the conclusion that those folks who w… more

It took me a while to think about the resort to offer a comprehensive review that was not peppered with immediate unthought reaction. At first, we were a little nervous about our choice due to a few negative reviews that were recent. However, I've now come to the conclusion that those folks who wrote those reviews would not be happy with many things, so tend to focus on the negative. Our experience was almost always positive! First the room. The rooms at Beach, which is the adults only side, are a little dated, but were kept clean and tidy by the staff. Sometimes extra towels were somewhat difficult to obtain, but if you caught the staff nearby, they were always willing to assist. Staff was generally happy and supportive. The bathroom sink area was spacious and well lit. However, the bath itself was slow to drain. I think the maintenance staff need to snake the drains on the tubs to keep them faster flowing, as hair can create some very slow clogs and it doesn't fix itself fast, unless using harsh chemicals. A bidet hose next to the toilet would also be a VERY welcome addition! We opted for the premium experience and really felt that was money well spent! The check in experience was air conditioned and overall nicer. As we were staying for 10 days, we wanted more options for al-a-cart restaurants and we were not disappointed! The only restaurant that we really did not enjoy was Santa Fe steak house. The amount of horse statues with their asses facing you, was foretelling of the place. Service there was the complete antithesis of what we experienced at other al-a-carts. We had to ask for more wine, ask for water, and they placed our table near a door where the wind would whip in and lift the tablecloth, etc. Our entrees took over 1 hour to arrive from ordering and my wife's steak was cold. Mine, which was supposed to be medium-rare, arrived as overcooked tough shoe leather. That, coupled with the wait, and lack of table service for wine, made us go down to the buffet for dinner instead. The buffet was much better than Santa Fe! Heck, the tableside service at the buffet was worlds apart from Santa Fe! Now with all that said, that was really our only negative experience. All other Al-a-carts were wonderful! Chez Gourmet was fabulous, and we ended up there twice! La Comedie could only be described as the most wonderful cheese fest! La Fuente was wonderful with the best creme brulee we had as well as very nice olives as an appetizer! Kyoto had us having excellent sashimi appetizers as well a very entertaining teppanyaki chef! La Dolce Vita was equally excellent, as was Coral, which offered very fresh fish. We didn't get a change to go to Mexico Lindo, but the menu looked great. La Brisa was very nice in the evening, but during the day, it was the latest open for those who like a later lunch, and the food quality at La Brisa during the day was over-the-top excellent! We very much enjoyed lunches there over the Caribe buffet, which was also quite good! We spent the larger amount of our time around the pool on the adults side as it was quite a bit quieter over there. The beach was wonderful and was kept well groomed. There was only 1 day where the water looked gross due to the sargassum bloom, but that was still minor. Evenings having cocktails at the various bars around the place was also quite nice and relaxing. In short, we had a wonderful stay, and felt that the premium experience was truly premium! Try the spa services as well! The hydrotherapy was wonderful!

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