Resort Review
Catalonia Royal Bavaro Resort, Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
4.5-star all inclusive
Trip Advisor link
Our Cost – $1126.00/person including taxes
Date – October 21-28, 2014
GirlsGetawayTips Rating – 3.5 out of 5
Our annual great girls’ getaway for 2014 has come and gone! As usual, we had lots laughs, food, drinks and R&R and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves in sunny Punta Cana. We love the Mayan Riviera in Mexico, but this year decided to try this resort in Punta Cana.
Catalonia Royal Bavaro is an all-inclusive adult only resort with 8 restaurants, several pools with aqua-bars, a casino, disco, spa and golf course. There is wireless internet throughout the hotel.
Flights / Airport Check-in
We had a smooth check-in with WestJet from Toronto. Thanks to our Ultimate Packing List, we had no problem meeting the luggage guidelines and have significantly streamlined what we bring with us. No annual getaway is complete without our traditional Bailey’s and coffee!
Punta Canada airport was another story. Three planes landed within a short period of time and let’s just say that efficiency is not a strong suit with the custom employees. After almost 90 minutes, we finally made our way to the transportation area where we found our designated van. TIP #1: If your driver doesn’t come back for at least 10 minutes, track him down. He is probably waiting for people that are long gone and already have a drink in their hand at your hotel destination! A short 20 minutes later, we arrived at Royal Catalonia Bavaro.
Resort Check in / Room
We were greeted by a very friendly staff and the Director of the resort, Ivan Cunillera.
Although this resort does not have interconnecting rooms (a miss on our part as this is something we had assumed when booking), we had requested that the rooms be next to each other. When we were given two rooms on different floors, they quickly made a change and gave us rooms across from each other on the same floor which we greatly appreciated. They also provided a third bed in one of the rooms, which allowed us to use one room for sleeping and the other one for storing our clothes and taking advantage of another shower and big bathtub. Speaking of the bathtub, it’s the first time we’ve ever had a room with a gigantic bathtub in the middle of the room!
The rooms were both spacious with comfortable beds, great bathrooms and a large sitting area. The ‘sleeping’ area faced the pool and had a large balcony with a hammock.
The other room faced the sister resort and unfortunately had a very musty smell. This was a complaint we heard from many of the guests during the week, who also experienced mould on the walls and wet sheets. TIP #2: We asked for dehumidifiers for each room (which had to be emptied 4 – 5 times a day) as well as an air purifier, which made a big difference.
The adult-only side of Catalonia Bavaro is very small with only 255 rooms, and it only takes 5 minutes to walk from one end to the other. The sister resort is quite a bit larger and has a more tropical feel with more trees and foliage, and lots of walking paths.
Our Workouts
There is a spa and fitness centre that looked nice, but it was pretty hot from morning till night so we weren’t really interested in spending time there. The beach wasn’t great for our early morning yoga so our workouts consisted of walking to the beach to see the sunrise at 5:45 am, then back to the room for our trusty 15 minute Rodney Yee AM yoga video, followed by 25 push ups, 25 jump squats, 25 dips, 25 jumping jacks, 50 crunches (x2), breakfast, followed by our 10k step hike with our fitbits. Say goodbye to all those extra calories we took in each day!
We found out on the second last day from another visitor that you can run on the golf cart trail on the course from 6:30 am to 7:30 am which would have been great to know earlier!
Food
The restaurants at this resort were a departure from what we have been used to on our previous trips. There are 8 restaurants, including 7 a la carte and 1 buffet. Most had outdoor seating options, and there were no reservations required.
We never had to wait longer than a few minutes for a table, service was excellent and there was never a meal we did not enjoy. Sea Blue was our favourite for breakfast, lunch and dinner – the outdoor seating area had a view of the ocean and the food was amazing (and lots of vegetarian options). One night we had salmon and shrimp which was delicious and cooked entirely on a open barbecue.
The newest restaurant, Tao Cat, had great pizzas for lunch and we also enjoyed the Thai cuisine they offered in the evening. The sister resort had a wonderful open area restaurant near the ocean, but after watching the birds feasting on the buffet at lunch, we decided not to return. It is unfortunate that something is not done to manage this.
Pool / Beach
There were two pools on the Adult-only side of the resort. The first was located by the lobby with a swim-up bar (not the cleanest..). We spent our time at the second location which was an infinity pool closer to the ocean. It was much more relaxing and we could go back and forth to the beach in less than a minute. We put more than a few miles on our floaties here!
The beach – well you can’t control Mother Nature, and she was not cooperating in this department. One of the main reasons we chose this location was the reviews we read on how wonderful the beach was, with great snorkling right off the shore. The closer we got to departure, the more negative the reviews got on the seaweed that took over the shoreline. Unfortunately, on our first day we walked up to the beach hoping for the best, and but were disappointed to see 4 foot piles of seaweed gathered along the edge of the water right in front of the resort.
There were also several areas with caution tape because of steep drop-offs due to the erosion. However, on the bright side, we found a clear section of beach in front of the sister resort to the left which was much more ‘swimmer friendly’. Also, there was an abundance of chairs and palapas available between the infinity pool and the ocean front.
The waiters were continually walking by to see if we needed anything, but we actually preferred to go to the bar just beside the pool at the Sea Blue Restaurant – the bartenders were a lot of fun and the drinks just seemed to be a notch above the other beach bar where the waiters went to have drinks made.
Since we are all ‘morning people’, we managed to get down to the ocean a few times and take in some gorgeous sunrises. We highly recommend this, even if you’re not a morning person – you can always go back to bed!
Excursions
We booked one excursion with our WestJet representative, the Reef Explorer. Although our highest priority was a beautiful, isolated beach location, we were seduced by the words ’50 minute massage’. The rep suggested an excursion that provided a variety of activities to chose from that included snorkelling along a beautiful coral reef, kayaking, stand up paddle boards, swim with the sharks and stingrays (NOT our thing), and of course the ever-so-enticing 50 minute massage. We headed out in the morning in a small van for the 20 minute ride to the departure point, where we hopped on a ferry that took us 2 minutes out into the water to the location where all the activities were offered – AT A STRUCTURE WE COULD SEE FROM THE BEACH AT OUR RESORT.
Not the quiet, secluded pristine beach area we had originally set out to find. Not to let that deter us, we positioned ourselves to hit the massage table first thing so we didn’t miss out. Turns out, no need to worry – the ’50 minute massage was actually a ’15 minute massage’ so there was plenty of time for everyone to take part (in the small print – only one session per person.) Determined to make the best of it, we made sure to take full advantage of the kayaking, snorkelling and boarding, but all in all, a bit of a disappointment. (See our review from last year on our excursion to Cozumel – no comparison and not much price difference.)
Next time, we will do a little more research before signing on the dotted line.
We ended up purchasing the picture CD in the end and had a lot of laughs that night watching on the TV that night. There had to be at least 100 pictures of us!
Entertainment
There was a small piano bar off the lobby where we enjoyed an after dinner cocktail on a few evenings. There was an amazing guitarist / singer who performed, which was a great way to end the day. A few times we headed over to the sister resort where the ‘big shows’ were performed. Oh my…. suffice it to say, we left after 10 minutes. We were grateful for the small casino (smoke alert) where we had a little fun on the slot machines where we could make $5.00 last 1-1/2 hours.
Departure
Leaving went much smoother than arriving. It did not take us long to get through the line-ups and hit the food court for one last cerveza (always hurts to have to pay after a week of free everything). We were met by the WestJet ‘Disney Plane’. It was fun to watch the kids react to seeing the giant Mickey Mouse on the tail of the plane.
Summary
How can you not enjoy a week in Punta Cana?! The staff was accommodating and very friendly. Ivan, the resort director, was very gracious both when he greeted us on arrival and when he bid us farewell on departure. The food was wonderful and the infinity pool was a highlight. Would we return? I don’t think so, mainly because of the beach area, however, we would still recommend this as good value for your money if the beach is not a huge priority (and don’t forget to ask for a dehumidifier). Bye for now – off to research the next destination for ‘GirlsGetawayTips Trip 2015’. Any suggestions?
Girls Getaway Tips! 
