Juanillo Holidays from AU$1,306

This resort is beautiful. The views are stunning. However, we have stayed at 2 other all inclusive resorts previously and this was far different than those experiences. Barceló Barvaro Palace boasts it is an all inclusive resort with many restaurants, bars, rooms with mini bars included, etc. The only restaurants that you could go to without reservations for dinner were buffets. The Sports bar had a buffet with a terrible stench and awful food. It was the restaurant which was open 24/7. We got reservations the second day and had terrible times for the restaurants, 9:00, 10:15, 10:15. The mini bar in our room had two liter size water bottles for 4 people, 2 cokes, 1 sprite, 2 small presidente beers, and a club soda daily. We had exactly 4 bath towels, 4 hand towels. We did have robes and slippers. We learned while watching the nightly show that the resort had two levels of all inclusive. Regular and Premium. Premium was the ocean view, probably alcohol in the room, etc. A butler to assist with making reservations to get into the almost impossible to get into restaurants. We had regular all inclusive and were not going to spend an additional $200 plus more per day. The food at most of the restaurants was not good. It was disappointing for the money we spent. The ocean was amazing. The pools were beautiful. My daughter loved volleyball and my son enjoyed the casino, but did not win. The weather was 83 degrees, sunny, and beautiul.

The Pros: The staff was all very friendly and helpful. The rooms are super big and comfortable. The bathroom is also big. My kid loved the kids club. The Cons: The food in general was not very good. The Split Restaurant and Toro where for me the two best options. Buffett was poor and food was always the same, mid. The resort is huge and although there are many restaurants there are not big enough to hold so many people. We had to wait for more than one hour to eat dinner at any of the restaurants. The buildings look like they need mantainence. The mayority of golf cars used to transport the guests look old and not well mantained.

Our expectations were high for this storied resort. But ultimately, we were disappointed. The scene on arrival was chaotic. With our Expedia premium status we were told earlier arrival was possible. But our rooms were not available until considerably past the 4 PM check in time. The overly crowded beach made it impossible to find three beach chairs. The food was OK, but not equal to the cost. Our best time was up at Alto de Chevon, a quiet and lovely village recreation. Bottom line… We were so excited and thinking we would prolong our stay there our final day but instead found ourselves anxious to leave. Too bad. Considering it’s famous past we felt it had lost it magic.

Clean and pleasant Raphael our butler was fantastic!

The hotel setting is pleasant, and the beach is nice; however, the food is ok, the service is poor, and booking a restaurant is a hassle. All in all, this hotel falls far short of five-star standards.