Enjoyable,friendly, we'll keep resort

We had a room just off the pool area and stage. This was very convinent. The stage shows a little loud if you wanted to go to bed,But they did shut down at 11:00 so tolerable. Grounds we'll keep and attractive. A big beach area and the shade and trees was great! The buffet itself seemed a little crowded but always enough to eat. Staff in buffet and a la carte friendly and helpful, working hard. Overall, would return if the price is right.

Great value convienient location

beach is great rooms were good value we stayed in building 12 close to the beach and pool ,alacartes were good if not the buffet always had something good on the menue all the staff were allways there to help out and very freindly would definetly return to this property.

Except no wi-fi resort was okay.

If your on a budget this resort was okay. The rooms are clean food good. Went on a mother daughter vacation and needed to stick within a budget. The staff were friendly and helpful. Hard to get towels for the beach. And had to go to edge of resort to get free wi-fi from other resorts.

Marvelous

I have stayed at this hotel before and returned as I know I can rely on the eagerness of the staff at all levels make your stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible. The grounds, pools and beach are well kept and clean. The rooms a quite large and comfortable. The main dining is full of variety at all meals and I found it had something to satisfy all appetites. Good selection of al a carte dining and the wood fired thin crust pizza is particularly popular. I unfortunately had booked a room w [... lire plus]ith a friend I did not know too well and she turned out to be the roommate from hel-l. I did try to make it work but after a few days of stress and lack of sleep, I contacted the manager to arrange for another room. She was wonderful and arranged for a new room for me at a very reasonable price and in the area of the hotel I favoured. It made the difference between what could have been a miserable vacation and which instead turned out to be a great trip. I will definitely return again.

Great Trip

The bartenders were great always willing to make u something special good section of food so you could always find something to eat and well the beach was awesome and warm weather what more could u want..

Good solid 4*

Grounds very well kept. Clean resort. Nice size so you are able to find your way around. Food was your basic buffet food. Good, no one in our party got sick. Buffet is not set up very good. Gets a little conjested especially on the week-end when the locals come.Brazalian and Italian a la carte were excellent. Mexican was okay. Didn't try the other ones. Rooms were very spacious. Outdated but very clean. Always had hot water. Air conditioning worked great. Mini bar refilled every day. Beach was b [... lire plus]eautiful. Nice wide beach with shade if you like. Pools were nice.

Wonderful resort

The check in was smooth and very quick. The rooms were very large and spacious. When we were there it was windy the beach was great on the days it was to windy but the pool was awesome and the entertainment staff were wonderful. Would definitely go back.

Lovely holiday!

I just came back from the Barcelo, I travelled July 16-23 2013. I was a bit nervous having read all the reviews and honestly, there is a bit of truth in ALL of them but you just have to figure out what you are willing to tolerate. We went in the low season and I encourage travelling then...any resort or place in general that is really crowded is always uncomfortable. I had no issues finding a lounger by the pool or beach in fact several were unoccupied and unreserved. That was great. It was easi [... lire plus]er to get a reservation in the restaurant you wanted, the buffet wasn't crowded either. We did go Club Premium just based on the reviews...having experienced it, I'm not sure its worth the added cost. Our shower and safe were hard to figure out, our room was big but the lighting was quite poor. (Again, lighting not an issue since I only used my room to sleep in.) A premium upgrade in north america vs dominican doesn't equate to what you think so reconsider that. The resort in general is lovely- the perfect size, very clean, 2 larger pools. The beach was actually really nice...I used it quite a bit.The buffet was actually really good...it does vary every night so ppl who say it doesn't are mistaken. The alcoholic drinks were great, they really don't hold back or dilute them which is nice. Ask for a bahama mama if you're in premium..so good! I travelled with my sister but wound up forming a group of 7 in total and I really think the group of ppl made the trip the gem it was. The resort was good but the company you have outweighs where you are....that goes for life in general I guess. I did 2 excursions- Paradise Island and the Freestyle Catamaran. I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND both esp Paradise Island. It was the most GORGEOUS place I have ever been and it was so inexpensive. The island is just this white sandbar with some huts on it and they have unlimited rum and fresh fruit and snorkelling for free. The snorkelling is actually really great, they have some beautiful coral and fish around there. The water is crystal clear and the sand pure white silk. It was phenomenal. You feel like you're in the Maldives! The catamaran was really relaxing, you're on a boat for a few hours and you stop at 2 different points to swim and snorkel. Pack that sunblock, you will burn on that trip. For both excursions, I found the infamous Felix on the beach...as he likes to joke that is his office. He is a man of his word and all the reviews about him are right...book with him, we did 2 and he gave us a deal. Its quite cheaper vs through the hotel. Both were great and we had no issues. Find Felix. My only major complaint with this resort is that on weekends, they open it up to locals for a cheaper price so the resort is flooded with all these locals and now you are fighting for a lounger or a drink at the swim up bar. Due to the huge influx of ppl, the resort is dirtier (the pool especially) and it was cramped and uncomfortable. They are fairly rude and I got knocked into a few times in the pool without any apologizes. Doesn't cost anything for manners. That is truly my only complaint with this resort. Everyone was friendly, met some great friends, had lots to eat and drink and got a nice tan. For the price of this resort, I'd do it but because of the locals on weekends rule...I would probably opt for a more exclusive resort next time around. Enjoy your trip if you go...the resort itself is great and you can't go wrong but like I said, there are little truths in all the reviews and if you're nervous..pay the extra $300 and go to Punta Cana to put your mind at ease. ENJOY! And go to Paradise Island!! :)

Won't be going back

First of all, we enjoyed our trip. Just not the resort. The people were approachable and generally grateful for tips and gifts. The biggest sore point for us, was the peddlers bugging you on the beach and other off resort areas. I know they are trying to make a living, but I'm on vacation and I don't want to be harassed to buy something I said I don't want or need.

As expected

First impression..... Beautiful grounds. Layout of hotel was decent, easy too be around. Beautiful beach, but many vendors interrupting your day. Food was amazing with the best staff I have seen in a long time. Pool and daily entertainment was ok, get up early and layout your towel if you want a chair to lounge in. Nightly entertainment.... Great the first night but found the theme changed but the routine was the same night after night. Rooms were amazing. I say rooms because we asked to move af [... lire plus]ter the first night. Due to the fact we had a room facing the town and a local bar who played musoc till 4am local time. Guest services was below par, found that if you were not a premium guest your chances of booking tours through them was slim to none. Thank god for an amazing and wonderful travel agent who booked all our excursions for us. Overall it was an above average trip with your normal ups and downs. I would recommend this hotel, and I will return there next year.

Good Time!

The resort was very clean. Grounds well kept. The rooms and beds comfortable. Really nice pool area. The beach was beautiful. A lot of local vendors trying to sell souvenirs but they were very friendly. Food Was good with lots of variety. The main complaint we had was that the staff were not very happy. They rarely smiled which made us wonder how the Barcelo treats their staff. There was also not much to do in the evenings. We had a good time but we made our own fun. Not a great resort if you ar [... lire plus]e looking to be entertained!

Good time

The check in was slow because we had to go around to the back of reception, waited almost half an hour to be checked in. But they did bring us drinks while we waited. The room was really nice, had the vaulted ceilings on the third floor. Good size bathroom, everything worked except the safe, but a call to the front desk fixed that. We we quite a walk from the buffet ( closer to the bridge that leads to the beach), but no big deal. The grounds were nicely manicured and the main pool was huge. The [... lire plus] other small pool was nice if you wanted to get away from the crowds. The buffet was small and very hot, until the locals came and they opened up another section. Then it seemed to be more open. Not a great selection in food, but we always managed to find something to eat. The beach bar grill could have had more selection as well. The beach area was nice, the water always warm.

Amazing resort...for price

Overall everything was amazing.....however...night life....not that great....great place for the price.....pool was good...roooms..very clean and new.....service...ok....food...good....night life....none...

Great time

The food was beyond expectation, it was an all guys trip, friendly staff, would go back in a heartbeat, beats Mexico and Cuba for sure! Very clean resort, beach was nice with lots of entertainment throughout the day! Have fun

Amazing resort

This is a very nice resort rooms are spacious and very clean the staff is very helpful it is a smaller resort but is very nice food is great many different restaurants to pick from the beach is great other than the locals on the beach coming up to you every two minutes trying to sell you something overall this resort is great

Beautiful and well maintained Resort.

The grounds, rooms and restaurants were immaculate and the staff was friendly, helpful and courteous. Th beach was beautiful and clean and a joy to walk on any time of day. The choice of food was plentiful and delicious.

Barcelo clean and good food, entertainment

Grounds and room were very clean, you could see the maintenace of the facility was very good, the place is a little dated but was expected. Food was very good, entertainment was excellent, every night something new, recommend for the price

Beautiful resort.

Great Beach location. Sand a little gritty compared to Punta Cana, but great to walk on. Great for swimming . Hotel was very nice, clean and food great. Staff very co-operative and spoke great English.

Good but too noisy

Overall it is ok, if you placed far from concert stage - otherwise too noisy, too crowded. Beach is very windy. 500 meters down (next bay) no wind at all. Once water had machine oil..locals explain that it was from river around..Do I care where oil came from? Biggest problem was wind.. impossible to stay on the beach because of blowing sand.