Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort Spa & Casino

So here is a non-Karen honest review (and I say that in part because I’m so tired of seeing reviews that trash a place because there happened to be seaweed that weekend, or it rained, or the water in the shower wasn’t as scalding hot as they want, or the buffet wasn’t a Michelin Four Diamond meal. Geez people, you’re at an AI resort, not a private home with a chef and personal staff) Lopesan Costa Bavaro was great. Fantastic even. We’d all come back and we don’t say that about everywhere. My wife and I and our 4 children ages 21-25. We’ve been to 10 different Caribbean destinations, over the course of probably 20 trips in the last dozen or so years, and have enjoyed all (or most) to varying degrees. The resort at Lopesan was as nice as any we’ve been to, easily top 3. Beautiful, large, well maintained, beautiful grounds, gorgeous beach, easy towel exchange, plenty of chairs, casino, plenty of pools, plenty of restaurants, great attentive staff, peaceful but fun, very solid food quality. You won’t have time to do all it offers unless you’re here for a week or more. Granted, we did upgrade to the Unique experience, and I highly recommend it as being worth the cost difference. Our butler, Fermin, was awesome and attentive. I’m not going to write a four page, 5 scroll review, but between me and my wife, and our four adult children, everyone absolutely loved everything about this place. Highly recommend. Were there any downsides? Not many. 1. Yes, I wish you could turn the AC down below 18°C, because we like it fairly frigid. But it was plenty comfortable enough. 2. Yes, I wish the water pressure was a little stronger, but have you been anywhere in the Caribbean where they had fantastic water pressure? 3. Do I wish the adults only pool/bar had some sort of food service? Yes. 4. Do I wish our “ocean front” room was a 180° degree view off our balcony vs the 90° view? Yes. 5. Finally, do I wish we could control the seaweed? Yes, 3 great days, last day was terrible. But honestly, that’s about my only five complaints, all very minor. We were in the Dominican nine years ago, and the island seemed so much more trashy and rundown. They’ve made great strides! Book it! Enjoy it!

Beautiful hotel. I’ve been to a few resorts in Punta Cana where the food was not great but that was not this case at this place. The buffet was amazing and the restaurants were great. The pool and hotel grounds were gorgeous. Ronald, our butler was so kind and very helpful. We did not have to make a single restaurant reservation on our own and while I was trying to surprise my girlfriend with a proposal, Ronald help coordinate the details. Thank you to everyone at this resort.

Worst customer service from start to finish! If I could give less than 1 star, I would. My family booked a week vacation at this resort and immediately cancelled our stay after 1 night because the customer service was so poor. From the moment we checked-in we were met with arrogance and rudeness by a desk clerk (Daniel B.). He even argued with us about our reservation and was completely unprofessional. We complained to the supervisor who was not accommodating and nothing was done. Don't waste your money at Lopesan and make sure to read the poor reviews. We don't typically leave reviews, but our experience at this resort was so terrible and disappointing on so many levels we had to. There is definitely a culture of rudeness at this resort that makes you feel unvalued as a guest and unwelcome. Go elsewhere!

Luis and Yojanny were the best bartenders of the whole resort!! They are the casino location on the resort, they make the best drinks and are amazing people!

I rarely leave negative reviews, but our experience at this resort was extremely disappointing from start to finish. After check-in, my family waited a long time for our luggage to be delivered to our room. When we finally asked about it, the staff had no idea where it was. They had completely forgotten about it and eventually found our luggage sitting in a cleaning closet. I requested a crib for my one-year-old, and after waiting for hours, I had to go to the front desk twice because they kept forgetting to bring it. One of the most frustrating parts of our stay was trying to make restaurant reservations. During a 5-day stay, we were only able to get one reservation. When I went to the staff for help, I was told they were only there to show me how to use the app, not to assist with reservations. That is not the level of service I would expect when I’m already having trouble using the system. The buffet was another disappointment. The food was often cold, and one day while I was helping my toddler with her food, a waitress cleared my plate without even asking if I was finished. When I told her I was still eating, she seemed annoyed. She had also taken my silverware and ignored my request for more. I ended up getting up myself to find silverware at another table and get more food. The one restaurant reservation we did get wasn’t much better. We ordered our meals, then waited forever for our drinks. Our food arrived, but after that, no one checked on us, offered refills, or asked if we needed anything. We eventually gave up and left. The final straw was our last morning. At 8:00 a.m., hotel staff and security came pounding on our door. It honestly felt like there was some kind of emergency. Instead, they were there because we had a drying rack on the balcony with a towel and swimsuit. The written rules state that items should not be hung on the balcony railing, which we had not done. We were using a drying rack. Even more confusing, it had been there since the first day of our stay, but they waited until the fifth day to make an issue out of it. What surprised me most was the attitude of some of the staff. On multiple occasions, we overheard employees complaining about guests and making negative comments about them. We even heard staff members saying that guests should not speak to them harshly because they do not own the hotel. While I agree that everyone should be treated with respect, hearing employees openly complain about guests is unprofessional and reflects poorly on the hotel’s service culture. Based on our experience, I would not consider this a 5-star hotel. A true 5-star property is not just about the facilities—it is about exceptional service, attention to detail, professionalism, and making guests feel valued. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. The staff often came across as rude, unhelpful, and lacking basic customer service skills. Overall, the resort seemed disorganized, communication was poor, and guest satisfaction did not appear to be a priority. Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, but this experience was frustrating and stressful. Unfortunately, I would not stay here again and cannot recommend it to others.