Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort
Posted on June 15, 2014 by Ching under Travel.
Barceló is definitely the largest all-inclusive resort property we’ve ever experienced. We’ve now stayed at a small all-inclusive property with limited amenities, a medium-sized all-inclusive with lots of activities and nightly entertainment, and a large scale property where you actually have to take a train to get to parts of the resort.
The Barceló trains run every 15 minutes from about 8 o’clock in the morning to 4 am the next day. There are several stops throughout the Barceló Resort complex.
Our room is the on the leftmost tip of building 4 (upper left corner of this photo). We felt it was the best room on the property because we were ocean front, had our own private lounge chairs on our lawn, and had beach access from our patio. It was also away from all the noise and activity at the pool so it was a peaceful retreat for us at the end of the day.
The room assigned to us was perfect in every way, including the room number. We got 4013, which is perfect because we were there to celebrate Brian’s 40th birthday and 13 is his favorite number.
When you look at this panoramic photo below, our room is the one that is right next to the La Piña hut on the right.
The pool on the adults only is huge but it’s actually just a fraction of the size of the pool at Palace Deluxe (the family side). It was plenty big enough for me and Brian. The only down side is that there’s not a swim-up bar. They have one at Palace Deluxe.
The best feature of Barceló is the location. The property is on one of the best beaches in the world.
There are ample lounge chairs. The setting is natural and beautiful. The grounds are well-maintained. The powdery, white sand feels amazing beneath your feet.
This is view of the Palace Deluxe beach from a distance.
That’s the biggest downside. You had to ride a train to Palace Deluxe in order to take advantage of the water sports and borrow kayaks etc. You also had to make a reservation in order to take out one of the hobie cats.
The one thing they didn’t have at the Palace Deluxe is Zumba Week.
Yira and Johanna, a couple of awesome Zumba instructors from Santo Domingo, led Zumba throughout the week. This is a photo of Johanna teaching Aqua Zumba.
Here’s a video of us doing regular Zumba at the pool.
I’m so glad I brought a pair of sneakers! They came in handy for Zumba.
Besides Zumba Week there were actually lots of activities throughout the day. The activity coordinators (they call them “animators” at the resort) did a great job of getting people involved. My favorites were Amiley and Julio.
Activity coordinator Amiley led yoga on the beach. That’s one activity that Brian and I enjoyed together.
I also got to play dardos or darts. I actually won against four others and they gave me a small bottle of rum that night during the nightly award ceremony prior to the evening entertainment.
I played beach volleyball with some Russians. I think they were Russians anyway. Some European people too. It seemed like the Americans just wanted to do their own thing and didn’t want any part of the resort activities. The Europeans seemed more social or they were interested in the games at least. There was this one guy (I can’t remember his name or where is he from) who participated in almost every resort activity available. Well, everything but Zumba. LOL.
They had dance lessons on the beach, language lessons, bocce… Lots of stuff. I recommend participating, specially in the individual sporting events, because they choose winners and then the winners get prizes at the end of the day. They’re not cheesy resort knick knacks either. You get a bottle of rum, and who wouldn’t want that? That’s how I won a bottle of rum for Brian.
Another fun activity I participated in at the resort is Zumba on the beach.
The variety of swimsuit styles we saw made me feel severely over-dressed. Seriously. I’m buying a thong bikini and taking it on our next trip. LOL!
Speaking of swimsuits, you could actually tell where people were from based on their swimsuits styles. The Brazilian women wore the skimpiest swimsuits and tended to sunbathe topless. Anyway, the swimsuit theory was even more true for the men. The American men tended to prefer longer surf shorts. The European men preferred Speedo bikinis or tight, skimpy, little swim trunks that left nothing to the imagination. Some younger European guys did tend to wear surf shorts, but they were shorter in length and you can tell they’re not American based on the colors and pattern. Shorts worn by European men were often colorful and wild. Not the sort of prints that American guys go for usually.
Brian’s favorite resort activity was double-fisting beers. Although, he was quite disappointed that the only beer he could get for free was the local beer El Presidente. If you want American or other foreign beers then you had to pay for it. Apparently, Barceló’s idea of all-inclusive excludes all beers except for one brand. I don’t drink beer so it didn’t really bother me. It only bothered Brian the first day. Although he wasn’t too fond of El Presidente, it didn’t really matter much after you’ve had a few. Specially if you’re double-fisting them.
Brian turned double-fisting beverages into an olympic sport. He was even double-fisting at breakfast. This time coffee on one hand and beer on the other.
We did a lot of laying around at the pool also.
This is my favorite chair at the resort. It’s so comfortable that you could sleep in it, which makes me wonder how many people have gotten drunk and passed out in it.
They really should have added mango-picking as a resort activity. The mango trees throughout the property were overflowing with fruit. Check out this tree.
Anyway, now that we’ve stayed at a variety of all-inclusive resorts, I’d have to say that a medium-size adults-only all-inclusive resort like Couples is more my style. We loved staying at Barceló and had a lot of fun last week but the resort was just too big for us. We wanted water sports to be more accessible and we hated having to go over the crowded Palace Deluxe side.
Comment on This
Adventure Boogies
Posted on June 14, 2014 by Ching under Things to Do, Travel.
Brian and I went on this dune buggy adventure. They spell them as boogies in Punta Cana. I thought that was funny because boogies here are dried snot hanging from your nostrils. LOL. Their boogies are the kind you ride.
The excursion was through Wild Tiger.
This photo was taken before we got really dirty. If you go on a similar excursion we recommend wearing sunglasses (though Brian thought goggles would have been better) and bandanas to keep the debris from getting into your eyes and nose.
My handsome dune buggy driver. Too bad you can’t see his face.
This is how you get dirty and why you need a bandana.
Brian tried some freshly rolled tobacco. He said it was delicious. We should have brought more cash so we could have purchased a box of them to bring home.
We also got to drive to Macao Beach. One of the best beaches in the Caribbean.
This was taken right before we left Macao Beach. This is of Brian with our hilariously funny tour guide, Chico, who speaks seven languages: Haitian Creole (he is from Haiti), French, German, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English.
La Cueva Taina was a bit of a disappointment. I thought it would be a bigger cave. This one was small and there were way too many people trying to get down there to dive.
Chico expertly maneuvered our group down into the cave past the long lines of people.
This is a video I took of Brian diving into the dark abyss.
Dune buggies parked by the cave entrance.
Street vendors set up shop by the cave to entice tourists.
Here’s a group photo we took at the end of the excursion on our way back to our respective resorts. What a fun group of people!
Some tips for when you go:
- Negotiate the price of the excursion. Don’t pay more than $60. I think the web site had the price double that. When you get to your resort, talk to the tours rep. They’ll usually let you know what kinds of deals are available. Brian and I only paid $50 each. Another group we met who came from the Melia Caribe Tropical paid $45 each for the excursion.
- Don’t wear your best clothes because you will get super dirty. At worst you’ll have to throw the clothes away at the end of the adventure. At best you’ll have to hose yourself off before stepping foot in your hotel room. That’s what we had to do. We’re not just being pansies either. You drive over mangoes and the guts splash all over you. It’s also hard to avoid the cow pies. The wheels kick them up and some may land on you. The mud puddles are the least of your worries.
- Wear sunglasses and a bandana. The sunglasses will protect your eyes from dust and debris. The bandana will help you breathe while keeping dirt out of mouth. If you did not pack a bandana you can buy one at the adventure site for $5. They sell some souvenir trinkets and stuff, but I bet it’s the bandanas that they make them the most money. If you’re resourceful like Brian and me, you’ll buy some from the resort gift shop for half that. We got two bandanas for the price of one.
- Bring lots of singles for tipping. You’ll need cash to tip the driver that gets you to and from your resort. You’ll need cash for the tour guide, the tobacco guy, the guy who sells the coffee grounds, the guy with the docile iguana, etc. Just bring lots of cash because you may want to buy stuff from the local shops too. And, if you want to purchase photos and videos, that costs too. The pricing they gave us was $40 for photos, $42 for video, or $60 for both. We didn’t have enough cash but I took enough photos and videos for us.
- Driving the buggy requires a lot of effort. It’s not a smooth ride and these buggies aren’t in the best shape. There’s only one gear that works — drive. We know park didn’t work because the buggy continued to move forward even when you put it in park. We didn’t get to try reverse but I’m sure that probably didn’t work either.. There’s also a lot of play in the steering. Brian said it took a lot of strength and effort to overcompensate for the play in the steering. Brian said he was sore the next day.
- Bring snacks, specially if you are hypoglycemic. Your tour guide will have water on hand and that’s included. However, food was not included for us since it’s technically a half-day excursion. Lunch is typically only provided on full-day trips. If you want more than just water, bring your own snacks.
Comment on This
Dinner Photos
Posted on June 14, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Here are some photos from our dinners at the resort.
La Brisa
Out of all the restaurants, La Brisa was our favorite. I think it was the only restaurant that we went to with a full bar. The other restaurants offered only regular drinks and wine. The location was perfect. The restaurant had spectacular views and the breeze felt great against your skin.
La Comedie
La Comedie is one of two French restaurants. This one isn’t included in the regular all inclusive package but it’s free to club premium guests. Naturally, we had to give it a try.
Brian was not too fond of this place because he said it smelled very fishy. I couldn’t smell anything because I caught a cold while we were there and I was at the peak of my illness at this point. The creepy puppets didn’t help matters any either.
This is how they served water out of water bottles.
My shrimp cocktail starter was served out of a pineapple cup.
I got the lobster thermidor entree. I’m sure it was very good but I didn’t have much of an appetite that night.
Brian had chicken cordon bleu.
I did eat all of my crepe suzette despite my lack of appetite.
Brian had chocolate ice cream.
Kyoto Teppanyaki
The following night we had dinner at a Japanese hibachi place. Like La Comedie this restaurant is also located on the family side, Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe.
This is their version of miso soup. I thought it was good but Brian didn’t like it because it had a lot of crap in it. He’s used to the clear miso soup that they serve at the teppanyaki restaurants here in Wichita.
I didn’t get a picture of my plate but it looks exactly the same as this with shrimp instead of chicken. I ate a lot of shrimp while we were down there.
I had coconut encrusted flan. Brian had some kind of chocolate cake roll/log.
La Dolce Vita
La Dolce Vita is an Italian restaurant at Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe. It was Brian’s pick and his least favorite of all the restaurants that we tried.
They gave us bread that reminds me of lavosh.
The minestrone was not very good. It was very watery.
The chicken cacciatore was just okay.
Brian fared worse. His spinach and four cheese ravioli was overcooked.
The only thing good, besides the cheesy flatbread, was the tiramisu.
Chez Gourmet
We ate at Chez Gourmet on our final night at Barceló. This French restaurant is included in the regular all inclusive package and the best part is that it’s located in the adults only side so we didn’t have to take the train over to Palace Deluxe. Even though my lobster wasn’t cooked all the way, I actually liked this place better than La Comedie.
Brian said the place didn’t smell fishy and there were no creepy puppets. I still couldn’t smell so I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or lack of fishy odor, but I was definitely glad there were no creepy puppets watching us eat our meal. Jokes aside, the restaurant was furnished nicely and well-decorated. The ambiance of this restaurant is also more romantic than stuffy.
This is the stuffed squid starter offered to everyone at the restaurant. Brian didn’t touch his. I ate mine. It wasn’t bad.
The seafood soup was watery just like the minestrone from the previous night.
This is the martini shrimp. The fried shrimp outside was yummy. The shrimp ceviche under the martini glass was just okay. Cool presentation, though.
I had the seafood trio of shrimp, crab, and lobster. The shrimp was good but the crab was overcooked and the lobster was not done all the way.
Brian had the chateaubriand. He said it was just okay.
I had the crepe suzette again for dessert.
I don’t get to eat crepes very often so I took advantage of it while we were at Barceló. I ate crepes everyday. If not at dinner, at breakfast. I didn’t know there was a crepe station at Caribe Buffet until our second or third day at the resort but after I found out, I got it every time.
As far as resort dining goes, La Brisa and Caribe are your best bets. They’re on the adults only side so you don’t have to ride the train to Palace Deluxe. Lots of options at Caribe (and guys can wear shorts because there’s no dress code) and they have a full bar at La Brisa so you can enjoy cocktails with your meal.
Seafood was abundant at the resort and you have lot of choices. I took full advantage and ate a lot of seafood, specially shrimp. Brian is not a seafood lover so he ate a lot of pasta. LOL. I hope you enjoyed all the food photos and you found the comments helpful. Until next time.
XOXO,
Ching
Comment on This
Caribe Buffet
Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Brian and I ate at the Caribe Buffet on our first night at the resort. The buffet is nice because you can wear pretty much anything you like. Actually, that’s true for women anywhere you go. However, guys are required to wear pants at the restaurants except for the buffet. They don’t care if you wear shorts at the buffet. As long as you’re not in your swimsuit and have shoes on, they pretty much don’t care.
They always have various fresh fruits.
There are several food stations.
This is the create-your-own-pasta section. It’s was Brian’s favorite station.
This is the crepe station.
They always have all sorts of fish dishes. That first night I was surprised to see these two whole fish, complete with the head and everything.
This is one of the dessert stations.
There are always so many choices.
There’s so much food. If you go hungry, it’s your fault.
This is the view from the restaurant. It’s pretty nice, but there’s actually an even better one. I will show you guys next time.
My strategy at the buffet was to try a little bit of everything first and then once I figured out what I liked that’s all I got for the most part. Brian really liked the pasta and the pizza. I leaned more towards rice, beans, shrimp, and pork.
The buffet has some slightly different options at breakfast and lunch than at dinner. During breakfast there is a mimosa station and a smoothie station. The mimosa station is self-explanatory. They have bottles of wine and orange juice. You make your own mimosa. The smoothie station is really cool. They have a wide selection of fruits and you just tell them which ones you want in your smoothie. It’s really cool.
They also have an omelet station where you can create your own omelet. What I like best about their omelet station is that they don’t assume that you want cheese so they don’t put cheese in your omelet unless specifically requested so I never have to say “no cheese” every time. LOL.
The breakfast buffet is actually much better than getting room service. Even though room service was included for us and, despite the convenience, the wide array of food options makes it worth going to the buffet for breakfast. The room service menu is quite limited. Plus, I don’t think you can get smoothies via room service (but I don’t know for sure since I didn’t try).
The Caribe is a really good option for casual dining. If you don’t really care about trying the restaurants, just plan on eating at Caribe buffet every time and you don’t even have to pack any pants.
Comment on This
Club Premium Perks at Barcelo
Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ching under Food and Drink, Travel.
Since Brian and I figured we would probably pay for internet anyway, we went ahead and paid extra for the club premium perks. Club premium guests get the best rooms at the resort. I think we got the best room at the resort without upgrading to a suite because it’s ocean front and it’s on the most quiet, peaceful side of the property. And, we have easy access to outdoor showers.
The one thing that I didn’t care too much for is having to wear wristbands. I guess that’s the thing here in DR. We didn’t have to wear wristbands when we stayed at Couples. Here, I’ve yet to see anyone without some sort of wristband. Even the folks we met who were staying at other resorts had wristbands on. I guess that’s how they identify you and what perks you get. You wear it everyday, every where you go.
Anyway, if you’re going to have to wear a wristband, you might as well wear a cool, wooden one that says “CLUB premium” on it instead of a cheesy plastic one. LOL.
You also get robes and house shoes. I kept trying to wear mine outside the room because I’d forget to switch my shoes out.
Room service isn’t included in the regular all-inclusive package. You can get room service, but it costs. For club premium guests, it’s free. Brian and I took advantage of this perk on our first couple of days. They give you so much food that they’re practically bringing the breakfast buffet to you.
This is just regular breakfast and they gave us a ton of food. The food could barely fit on our patio table. Seriously.
The next day we asked for the Desayuno Romantico (Romantic Breakfast) with champagne so we could make some mimosas. It was an enormous breakfast. It required two tables. No wonder you have to schedule it a day in advance.
Some of the perks on the list were stretching it (they’re not really that much of a perk), but room service was a real perk. We really enjoyed being able to have breakfast on our private patio.
Other perks we found valuable were access to the hydrotherapy section of spa, access to the club premium lounge, priority dinner reservations, the free bottle of Rob Barcelo imperial rum, etc. One perk that we didn’t really take advantage of and weren’t really interested in is the access to the VIP section of the disco. Their disco club doesn’t open until 11 pm and we’re usually in bed by then.
Comment on This
