Just got back from spending 1 week at the Catalonia Bavaro with my mom and her hubby. Had a great time and even though the weather didn't cooperate too much, we all left very happy.
Originally she had booked for the Royal Catalonia but since the idea was that I stay with them in their room, we accepted to be downgraded to the Bavaro Catalonia with Royal amenities for a better rate. In the end, I think it actually worked out better since we like to be on the beach and the Royal is a good walk away. Yes, it's newer, rooms are bigger and since it doesn't have that many rooms it doesn't feel that crowded but for us the Bavaro was a better deal.
Room at the Bavaro: Standard room with king size bed in the first building on the beach. They call the buildings villas but in reality they're you typical 3 story, 24 room unit. We were on the second floor with some view from a nice balcony that had a hammock and 2 chairs. The bathroom was ok with the toilet and shower on one side with a door for privacy and on the other side of the hallway was the bath and good sized vanity. Only problem there was that there was no privacy to take a bath. Ok when it's a couple, not so ok when it's not... Water was pretty hot most of the time. I had it on full and never risked getting burned but it was enough to fog up the room a bit. The furniture was pretty nice, the king size bed comfortable and although my roll away twin mattress sagged a bit in the middle, I managed to stick one of the sofa's cushions underneath and slept very well.
Food: We had breakfast every morning at the buffet on the beach. Your standard international buffet with a bit of everything. Sure did miss freshly squeezed orange juice though. They had the concentrate available and fresh pineapple, melon, banana and others but never saw orange. We had lunch at the same restaurant and I can't say we ever got tired of the food. There's also pizza a chicken available by the pool which is very good. Dinner was at the big buffet restaurant by the Bavaro lobby and I think the only thing I didn't like was that it's really big and gets really crowded. But food choice was ok with a good rotation so there's a bit of everthing for everyone, even vegetarians. We also had dinner one night at the Thalassa on the Royal side but I can't say we were really impressed. It is much quieter, more relaxing but half the stuff we ordered arrived different (I ordered an appetizer with langostines and got shrimp instead). The service was very good however and the employees were very happy to get some spanish speaking clients.
Drinks: Your typical all inclusive fare. Softdrinks were pretty good, not all mixed up like you sometimes get and the beer was cold. House wine wasn't too bad either. We had plenty of water and softdrinks every day in our room and never had to request more.
Beach: Good size for the amount of people there. Reserve your chairs early in the morning if you want shade or you won't get any. Plenty of huts on the beach and around the pool but as always not enough to go around.
Activities: Plenty to do for everyone. The activities team is at it none stop during the whole day, getting everyone interested involved in the activities. Then in the evening they're dancing with the guests and putting on shows. I really admire their energy and they always had a smile on their faces.
Shows: Your typical all inclusive shows although they didn't have the men vs. women or crazy games, etc. which was a relief. The dancers really worked hard to entertain people and I would say they were slightly above average compared to what I've seen. Only downside was the daily kids show which is comprised of 7 kiddies songs played every single day. By the third day I could have gone up and done it with them...
Check-in/check-out: These were done through the Royal side and were totally pain free. No credit card required on check-in, no surprises on check-out.
I think that the only down side of our vacation (which in the end actually worked in our favor) was the distance we walked every evening to and from the buffet. This place is BIG. We literally had to cross from one corner of the resort (on the beach) to the other and it took us about 15 minutes walking at a good pace. But like I said, in the end it worked out ok because it kept us from piling on pounds! lol
Would I go back? Probably, if I got a good rate. Would I recommend it? Sure! To pretty much anyone since they've got a bit of everything for everyone.
Originally she had booked for the Royal Catalonia but since the idea was that I stay with them in their room, we accepted to be downgraded to the Bavaro Catalonia with Royal amenities for a better rate. In the end, I think it actually worked out better since we like to be on the beach and the Royal is a good walk away. Yes, it's newer, rooms are bigger and since it doesn't have that many rooms it doesn't feel that crowded but for us the Bavaro was a better deal.
Room at the Bavaro: Standard room with king size bed in the first building on the beach. They call the buildings villas but in reality they're you typical 3 story, 24 room unit. We were on the second floor with some view from a nice balcony that had a hammock and 2 chairs. The bathroom was ok with the toilet and shower on one side with a door for privacy and on the other side of the hallway was the bath and good sized vanity. Only problem there was that there was no privacy to take a bath. Ok when it's a couple, not so ok when it's not... Water was pretty hot most of the time. I had it on full and never risked getting burned but it was enough to fog up the room a bit. The furniture was pretty nice, the king size bed comfortable and although my roll away twin mattress sagged a bit in the middle, I managed to stick one of the sofa's cushions underneath and slept very well.
Food: We had breakfast every morning at the buffet on the beach. Your standard international buffet with a bit of everything. Sure did miss freshly squeezed orange juice though. They had the concentrate available and fresh pineapple, melon, banana and others but never saw orange. We had lunch at the same restaurant and I can't say we ever got tired of the food. There's also pizza a chicken available by the pool which is very good. Dinner was at the big buffet restaurant by the Bavaro lobby and I think the only thing I didn't like was that it's really big and gets really crowded. But food choice was ok with a good rotation so there's a bit of everthing for everyone, even vegetarians. We also had dinner one night at the Thalassa on the Royal side but I can't say we were really impressed. It is much quieter, more relaxing but half the stuff we ordered arrived different (I ordered an appetizer with langostines and got shrimp instead). The service was very good however and the employees were very happy to get some spanish speaking clients.
Drinks: Your typical all inclusive fare. Softdrinks were pretty good, not all mixed up like you sometimes get and the beer was cold. House wine wasn't too bad either. We had plenty of water and softdrinks every day in our room and never had to request more.
Beach: Good size for the amount of people there. Reserve your chairs early in the morning if you want shade or you won't get any. Plenty of huts on the beach and around the pool but as always not enough to go around.
Activities: Plenty to do for everyone. The activities team is at it none stop during the whole day, getting everyone interested involved in the activities. Then in the evening they're dancing with the guests and putting on shows. I really admire their energy and they always had a smile on their faces.
Shows: Your typical all inclusive shows although they didn't have the men vs. women or crazy games, etc. which was a relief. The dancers really worked hard to entertain people and I would say they were slightly above average compared to what I've seen. Only downside was the daily kids show which is comprised of 7 kiddies songs played every single day. By the third day I could have gone up and done it with them...
Check-in/check-out: These were done through the Royal side and were totally pain free. No credit card required on check-in, no surprises on check-out.
I think that the only down side of our vacation (which in the end actually worked in our favor) was the distance we walked every evening to and from the buffet. This place is BIG. We literally had to cross from one corner of the resort (on the beach) to the other and it took us about 15 minutes walking at a good pace. But like I said, in the end it worked out ok because it kept us from piling on pounds! lol
Would I go back? Probably, if I got a good rate. Would I recommend it? Sure! To pretty much anyone since they've got a bit of everything for everyone.
