Reviews of JOIA Bavaro by Iberostar - Adults Only All Inclusive Resort 5 stars

Pool hours 7 pm closed

Beautiful property. Great staff.

Food could be slightly better in desert and meat categories.

The staff are awesome a humble people an always looking the best to help and provide the good for their guests

At soon I came in was a girl with name INGRID, to trying to sell membership, but she’s a complete liar she offered $300 on gifts and never was provided to us. We didn’t go for a seminar or conference we went only to relax and enjoy our time on vacation. This lady is the only one that not belong in the staff, the remaining staff are the BEST I have see in a long time this resorts it beyond 5 start

Clean and beautiful!

Nothing

Service here is Fabulous. Everyone was friendly and always helpful. Especially our butler Armando. Beach is beautiful. Loads of tiki huts to sit under at the beach. Pool is huge. Towels are huge. There is a beach tote in your room to use. Food is good. Lunch was the best. Great Wifi and lots of tv channels. Celebrated my birthday and they did some really nice surprises .

The room has all glassware and ceramic with TILE floors. Drop a glass which we did not and there would be glass everywhere. Pool temp this week was very warm. Our room was spacious but only 2 drawers and 1 lounger for tv viewing. Not a comfy layout for us. Jacuzzi tub in bath we never used. Balcony was only usable in the am. Too hot the rest of the day. We upgraded to have a butler and beachview. Really a waste of .it was a slight view.

It is a very nice hotel, amazing food, amazing people, pool area is nice and the breach is breathtaking. I was there for my birthday and the hotel prepared a very nice surprise for me which was very much appreciated.

I book an ocean view suite and the room we received first was on the 3rd floor and there was no ocean view. The air con smelled like mold and we couldn't keep the air con during the night because of the smell. After the first night I asked for another room and they didn't had one, we had to stay another night in this room which wasn't good. Once we received a new room, the view was amazing, it smelled fresh, even some of the equipment in the room was better than on the old room. The old room was 7247 (no ocean view) the new room was 7314 which was as we expected. I think I should have received a refund for the first 2 night as the standard was below what I paid. If you get a nice room than you will have a very nice stay at this hotel.

Staff were great; location is superb.

Wine and bourbon were not up to Grand Bavaro standards.

Pools were spacious with ample cabanas included. The beach was beautiful with sand easy to walk on and warm aqua water. Grounds nicely manicured. Easy walk or shuttle to on site golf course.

Dinner reservation system can be aggravating. A la carte restaurants were a solid good but not great except for the French venue which very hard to get a reservation in.

Good food, big rooms, nice beach and swimming pools

Average service, lazy and less English understanding

Great job on the food in the various restaurants but the deserts were not good. And that is the last impression when you leave. Make only one or two good deserts per restaurant. Get a french pastry chef.

Great job on the food in the various restaurants but the deserts were not good. And that is the last impression when you leave. Make only one or two good deserts per restaurant. Get a french pastry chef.

like the service

not all restaurant is tasty

Beach dinners

service of front desk and security were not good

the space not too crowded

the butler and mini bar was very hit and miss which was a shame

Weather, beach, no bugs, no kids, clean, safe/secure, lots of attentive staff, all inclusive, pools, cabanas, ducks and koi. Transport to the airport was on time, but not free. Spa (overpriced) and fitness center (free). Lots of fruit.

Food options were disappointing. We are vegan. There were very limited options for us to eat. Not even one item on the room service menu either. We spoke with staff multiple times about this, but they couldn’t get it right. A couple of times they served us meat or dairy and they thought that was OK for us to eat. Each and every dinner of our eight day stay was very stressful as the staff didn’t seem to know we were coming despite our daily dinner reservations and promises that they’d be ready for us. It was always a spectacle and we didn't appreciate it. We came to dread dinner time. It was an awful experience. While the other guests were getting gourmet meals, we were supposed to be impressed with vegan mac and cheese! Thanks to the buffet, we did not go hungry, but even that was limited to cereal, salad bar, rice and beans, buns, and occasionally French fries. They did have an amazing amount of fresh fruit, but that did not balance out the poor eating experience we had here. Aside from the food, it was often very loud at the resort. Unsolicited beach vendors would bug us multiple times per day. Staff did nothing to discourage this. There was also no non-smoking section and there were a ton of smokers. We had to keep moving around to avoid smoke, but could never find a spot that was peaceful. A guest repeatedly exposed himself at the pool, changing into his bathing suit in public several times each day. The management was dismissive of us and we were gaslighted. No one ever said simply "I'm sorry."

Location and hospitality! Great vibe

I put in and paid for a water-view room and received a lake-view. I spoke with the butler and the front reception and was told it was a request not a guarantee - none of those rooms were available and had 2 beds when I purchased a room with a king.

Great staff. Tobias at the beach, Juan at the pool grill. Amazing people and excellent service