Tag Archives: Barcelo

Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe Hotel – Dominican Republic – a poor arrival experience

02 Sunday Dec 2018

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5th December update: I didn’t hear anything back from the hotel director – it’s not clear whether my messages have been passed on or not. The Club Premium desk won’t confirm receipt of my emails. On a positive note we now have the complimentary bottle of rum were also given a late checkout to 6pm without charge – I thought it might be $50. The hotel grounds and beach are beautiful, the staff (with a few exceptions) friendly and helpful, the restaurant food is good quality although there are plenty of flies around and I’ve tended to stick to fresh-cooked dishes rather than those left sitting uncovered.

I’ll be reviewing this hotel (which has plenty of positives) when I return from my holiday, but wanted to describe the poor experience when we arrived on Thursday 29th November.

Summary

We booked and paid in full for an Ocean Front Junior Suite with Club Premium, direct with Barcelo where I’m a MyBarcelo mid-tier member. This was our second visit to the hotel and we’d previously booked the same level suite.

On arrival, we were pressured to accept a lower-grade ‘block 1’ ground-floor room. It took over two hours before a suitable room was provided and then only after I googled the name of the hotel director and told staff that I was going to call him. We eventually got to bed at what was for us 4am.

I’ve written to the hotel director with a link to this article and will update with the response.

Full Story

The Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe Hotel is all-inclusive and ‘Premium’. ‘Premium’ hotels also have a ‘Club Premium’ that provides a separate guest lounge, high-end drinks, free use of the al la carte restaurants and some other benefits.

We’d previously stayed at this hotel in March 2014 for five nights, all-inclusive, Ocean Front Junior Suite with Club Premium – I wrote a glowing review at the time and copied the same to my trip advisor account.

This time I booked the same but for seven nights. We flew BA Prague – London – Punta Cana and got to the hotel at 20:15 Thursday evening. I’d booked the hotel direct with Barceló where I have their mid-tier status (doesn’t offer that much) and paid in full in advance.

We were tired but relaxed when we arrived – it was nice to be back at a familiar hotel we’d previously enjoyed. We headed straight for the club premium check in.

I explained to the lady on the desk that we were returning guests, last time stayed in suite 5370 and hoped to be near that location. She said that they had an ‘ even better’ room in block 1 (the closest block to the lower-level adults-only Bavaro Beach hotel) with a king bed instead of two doubles and we’d benefit from being away from the kids. I replied that if I’d have wanted to book the adults-only Bavaro Beach sister hotel then I would have done that – but we liked the block 5 location. Then we were told dismissively that there weren’t any suites available in those blocks.

After some more discussion, we reluctantly agreed to take the keys – although I said I’d be back if the room wasn’t suitable.

It was a ten minute walk to the room in block 1 – our porter led the way. As soon as the door was opened we could see the room was a lower standard – it was also a ground floor room (which I should have guessed by the number if I wasn’t tired) – with the sea view blocked by a hedge and a shower facility. There were several mosquitoes on the ceiling. I don’t even believe this was a club premium room – but even if it was ‘officially’ a premium room, it didn’t look like one and certainly not like the one we’d previously enjoyed, nor the picture from the Barcelo website.

I went back the next day and took this picture of the view from the room – and yes I’m sure you think it still looks lovely, but that isn’t what we paid for.

We told the porter that the room wasn’t right and he called the club premium reception – I spoke to them and they said they’d see what could be done and they’d call back in a minute.

We waited ten minutes – I realised that any room change would require new keys and so I asked the porter to take us back. Another ten minute walk later and we were sitting with a friendlier lady who really seemed to be trying her best to accommodate us.

We’d lost maybe an hour – so for us it was now 2:15am.

Another 30 minutes past as the lady tried to sort out suitable accommodation for us. She was on the phone but nobody seemed to be doing much for her – or us. It seemed that a room had been found but was being ‘cleaned’.

Another 20 minutes and I said that we really needed to speak to a manager. We were desperately tired and nothing seemed to be happening. I searched on Google for the name of the hotel director and found ‘Javier Cordero Gilsanz’. I showed his name and said I’d like him to speak to us and if the hotel wouldn’t do that, I’d call him myself.

This had some effect and a surly manager named Elvis presented himself. I explained our issue, that we had arrived two hours ago and still didn’t have a suitable room. Elvis said “well you were offered a suitable room and just didn’t like it”. I was pretty angry. Elvis advised that they were working on cleaning the room. I asked how much longer and he shrugged. I asked how long room cleaning took – he said up to one hour. I said, well it’s been that already so it must be ready.

Eventually 5264 was made available. The porter, who had been waiting all this time took us there – I tipped him for the second time.

We eventually got to bed at what was for us 4am.

Here is the view from 5264.

I’m outraged that any customer would be treated this way, particularly a returning customer who booked direct with Barcelo. Let’s see what Mr. Javier Cordero Gilsanz says.

I also forgot to mention that there is normally a welcome bottle of rum in the room – I think on our last visit we also had some cava and glasses. Our room didn’t have this, maybe because of the late cleaning – but nobody fixed that yet and I must ask about it.

We’ve avoided the Club Premium lounge since as it just brings back bad memories.

If you are visiting this hotel, I’d recommend contacting them in advance to specify the room and block you want.

The best and worst Christmas travel videos of 2016

24 Saturday Dec 2016

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A number of airlines, airports and hotels have created Christmas videos this year. Here are my top 12:

Number 12 – Delta Airlines – a little disappointing for such a large airline

Number 11 – Finnair – slightly confused

Number 10 – Air New Zealand – not bad, but we all get that it’s summer there

Number 9 – The Silver Tassie Hotel & Spa, Donegal, Ireland – just a small hotel, so well done for a nice video

Number 8 – KLM Airlines – clever idea that just about works

Number 7 – WestJet Airlines – almost trying too much for a tear-jerker ad

Number 6 – Pestana Hotels – unusual heads-up display, but professionally done

Number 5 – Air Berlin – very Christmassy

Number 4 – Barceló Hotels – just the right balance

Number 3 – EVA Air – clever idea from an airline I’ve never flown with

Number 2 – London Heathrow Airport – a great ad but sadly doesn’t reflect the actual shambolic experience of arriving at London Heathrow

Number 1 – RyanAir – well who would have guessed that RyanAir would win with this funny and realistic ad

And here are the worst:

Number 1 – Hawaiian Airlines Christmas Luau

Number 2 – RIU Hotels

ryanair

Barceló Hotel Group (messily) adds status levels and benefits to ‘my Barceló’

17 Thursday Sep 2015

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I’ve stayed at several Barceló hotels over the years and most have been pretty good. Here are some links to my reviews:

I’ve also been a member of their ‘my Barceló’ program, although the only benefit was a discount when booking at the Barceló website. I’ve written to them previously to ask why ‘my Barceló’ wasn’t a loyalty program, with points, free nights and status benefits. I’ve now noticed (despite the dozens of emails they send me, this was never mentioned) that the program has been updated to include status levels and benefits.

There are three levels:

  • my Barceló – available to anyone
  • my Barceló Intense – after two or three stays (some benefits only available after three stays)
  • my Barceló Unique – after four stays

Barceló don’t define what constitutes a stay, but I assume that a stay can be one night or two weeks. That’s odd as Barceló run city hotels as well as resorts – so if I stay four separate nights in a city hotel (such as Prague EUR68 per night), I’ll gain Unique status, but if I stay two weeks at the Bavaro Palace Deluxe (US$7000) I’ll still be at the basic level.

Only stays booked direct through Barceló qualify. However, they don’t say what happens if you are already at ‘Unique’ status and then arrive as part of a package – I suspect they’ll refuse the benefits.

The following table shows the benefits:

There doesn’t appear to be any points system whereby you can earn free nights.

The worst part of the program is that they haven’t looked at previous stays:

Your my Barceló level is based on stays you have enjoyed that were booked through Barcelo.com and/or the Call Centre, over a period of 24 months from 26 March 2015 (all bookings made before this date are not used when calculating the level). 

I wrote to Barceló:

I notice that you have added status levels to the my Barcelo program but haven’t recorded stays prior to March 2015. I’ve been a regular visitor to Barcelo hotels for years and I’m disappointed that you can’t find my stays and set my status accordingly. For example, I stayed in Fuerteventura Club Premium last year. The year before in Dominican Republic in Club Premium.

They replied pretty quickly:

You can import bookings made exclusively at Barcelo.com or through our Customer Service Call Centre from the last 12 months. To import the booking to your my Barceló account, first access my Barceló with your email and password, then go to “Bookings” and add the necessary booking information. Remember, the information must be identical to that shown on your Booking Voucher (including spaces, characters, upper case, etc.) for you to be able to search for and add the booking to your account.

My last two bookings are shown but the Barceló website shows this message:

You are only 2 stays away from upgrading to the my Barceló Intense level.

So neither of those stays qualify. I’m going to write to them again and ask that they at least upgrade me to the mid-tier level.

My opinion is that this is a poorly thought out loyalty program that should be revised. However, I don’t expect this to happen any time soon as the entire Barceló online presence has always been a bit of a mess, with discounts hard to find and the search facility a mess. Barceló is still a family-run concern and I suspect that the website and the loyalty program are managed by a family member.

A round up of 2014

29 Monday Dec 2014

Posted by in Hotels, Insects/Bugs, Restaurants and Bars, Sightseeing, Travel News & Tips

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Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and prosperous new year! My thoughts also go out to those missing on AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 and their friends and families.

I thought I’d look back on some of my posts from 2014. Just in case you missed them first time around:

The search that brings most people to bugadvisor.com isn’t related to bugs, hotels nor airlines – it’s about the key lock boxes manufactured by the Supra lock box company. The last post I wrote about these boxes was back in August 2013. So I hope everyone knows by now that the combinations are less than you would initially think. Although I still haven’t published the list of all possible combinations, I have sent them to several people who were able to provide enough information that they had an honest need for the list.

Barceló Castillo Beach Resort, Fuerteventura, Canary Islands

27 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by in Hotels, Insects/Bugs

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I’ve written before about the Canary Islands and how there doesn’t seem to be any wasps or mosquitoes, although there are cockroaches. That was from my experiences in Lanzarote and Tenerife. My visit to the Canary Island of Fuerteventura in August 2014 was very similar – no wasps or mosquitoes and very few flies (mainly at lunchtime). We were able to have breakfast and dinner outside without any bug issues. There were cockroaches, although I didn’t see the first one (in my room) until one of the last nights of our stay. It was about two inches long and crawled up the front to the fridge before I smashed it with a shoe. On the day of departure we emptied all our bags, shook everything and re-packed – didn’t find anything. But with bags packed and ready, I lifted one to find a one-inch cockroach hiding underneath. This met a similar fate to the previous night’s bigger brother.

The Spanish Barceló hotel chain (I think based or originated in Mallorca) is huge. They offer a wide range of properties, many all-inclusive, some branded as ‘Deluxe’ and with a ‘Club Premium’ option. We’d previously stayed at the Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe Hotel, all-inclusive and ‘Club Premium’. When we booked the Castillo Beach, there wasn’t a Club premium option so I booked a junior suite, sea-view, all-inclusive.

This was planned to be an all-inclusive holiday with a group of friends, one couple have a seven-year old Son – hence the school holiday booking. Sadly they weren’t able to make it due to illness. So we arrived on Saturday and another couple on Wednesday.

We arrived on an excellent Air Berlin flight from Zurich. The hotel was only a €12 taxi ride from the airport. We checked in without any queue and headed to our suite.

The resort design is a little weird as each group of rooms is surrounded by a fence with access doors that require a room key. This is because it isn’t really one area owned by Barceló, but a series of areas separated by public walkways. Our enclave was between reception and the pool.

The suite (5021 ground floor) was huge; full kitchen, small bathroom area, two single beds (sadly), a large lounge area, another large lounge area outside and a Jacuzzi and two sun loungers on the final terrace. The air conditioning worked really well. The terrace had various blinds that could be used to create a roof shade and also screen the terrace from onlookers; there is a path that runs between the fence that surrounds the enclave and the beach. You can see this fence in one of my pictures below. I’d avoid rooms 5029-5030 as their terrace is very close to the fence and passers-by. Our friends had a first floor suite (5120) and that had much better views of the sea, but slightly smaller room, no Jacuzzi, nor sun blinds. I took a picture from their terrace and include it below.

But I was honestly quite disappointed, the fridge was empty (a few bottles of water would have been nice), there were no bathrobes or slippers, no tissues and the toiletries were pretty basic. After all I’d booked a premium room and apart from the size it didn’t feel like that. In fact it got worse.. The safe wouldn’t work and I called reception who said I’d need a key which would cost €3 a day plus €7 deposit. I’d also need to pay €10 deposit for a beach towel and €2 to change it. I was annoyed at being nickel and dimed and also annoyed that I wasn’t offered a safe key at check in.

We went for dinner. There were a lot of kids, but we knew it would be that way in school holidays. The food quality was pretty good and there were plenty of tables outside. Wine, beer, water and soft drinks were on tap – there was no waiter service for wine unless you ordered a paid for bottle. Cava should be available (all-inclusive) from the waiters although we didn’t try. I saw bottles available for pouring during one breakfast.

The evening drinks and entertainment are in a new harbour side theatre; leave the restaurant, cross the pool area, walk along a public beachfront path to get there. The theatre has seats inside and outside (with nice views of the harbour and a sea lion exhibit). The acts are all terrible, but that is typical of almost all Spanish resorts. There are queues for the bar but the waitress service was quite quick. Top-shelf spirits weren’t part of the all-inclusive offering. The outside seats run parallel to the harbour wall. There isn’t anything to prevent anyone falling down onto rocks and into the water – just an illuminated line at night. I mentioned to the hotel that there was an accident waiting to happen and they were aware already and negotiating with the harbour owners to erect a barrier.

We soon noticed that there was a ‘Club Premium’ room to one side of the main restaurant. This also had its own dining area outside. I was a bit annoyed that having booked what I thought was one of the best rooms, I wasn’t part of this Club Premium offering. I went to the ‘Club Premium’ desk in reception and had a chat with a really helpful lady called Ina. It emerged that the Club Premium offering was very new and that there were hardly any guests on that package –  like a soft opening. I also found out that a new Premium restaurant was due to open that evening. I was keen to sign up for Club Premium and was sure my friends who were to arrive on Wednesday would feel the same. Ina investigated and came back with a very reasonable upgrade price which we took. At the time I thought this was just for use of the Club Premium room and new restaurant, but soon found that it meant that all my previous misgivings were resolved…

Cleaners visited our suite and took the single beds away, replacing with a double bed. They left a bottle of Cava, bottled water and soft drinks in the fridge. Bathrobes, slippers and upgraded toiletries appeared. We were given two pool towels and our safe rental and deposit refunded. Our red wristbands were replaced with gold. We were given free Wi-Fi codes. Our room keys were re-swiped so that we could access the Club Premium pool, which is in another area of the resort where new Club Premium rooms have been furbished. We were given two day passes to the Thalasso Spa (part of the nearby Barceló Thalasso Spa Hotel). Apparently, the beach view suites are due to become Club Premium by November. The current Club Premium rooms look out at another part of the sea (the beach is around the other side of the resort in a cove), with lava and strong waves – spectacular but not suitable for swimming.

We visited the new Club Premium restaurant, which is on a first floor level behind the theatre. The indoor terrace has spectacular views of the lava and rough sea. The outdoor terrace has good views of the harbour. A friendly waitress took our drink orders and we were able to choose from a wide range of good quality all-inclusive wines by the bottle. The food is still buffet style, but with a couple of chefs standing by to cook items to order. There isn’t the variety that you would find in the main restaurant, but this is more than made up for by the quality. We really enjoyed our dinner there – don’t forget that the food is only available until 9:30pm. The restaurant is currently only open in the evenings.

We had drinks in the theatre bar. Our new gold wristbands meant that we could consume a variety of top-shelf spirits, such as Bombay Sapphire Gin.

The next morning we had breakfast on the Club premium room outdoor area. A waitress took our orders for coffee, tea, juice and Cava. The coffee was better than the main restaurant, where there is a queue for the machine each morning. The service was a little slow, but I think this is all part of the move to Club Premium; staff not quite used to waiting tables yet. We still had to visit the breakfast buffet in the main restaurant, but that was fine and nice to return to the peace and quiet of the Premium area. Lunch was very similar although we ate inside – room was air conditioned.

The beach is wide and covers the entire cove. The sea is calm and shallow. When the tide is in, you are walking on sand. When out, there are quite sharp rocks and water shoes are recommended. Plenty of local fish swimming around. But the beach is public and there is no Barceló presence there; no bar, sun loungers are chargeable etc.

The hotel has some animation team, but there weren’t any premium activities, such as rifle shooting, that we were offered in the Barceló Lanzarote and Tenerife hotels. There are two mini-golf courses. Both are chargeable, although all-inclusive guests receive a small discount. Our Club Premium wristbands didn’t mean any additional discount – I would recommended that Club Premium guests get in free as the program matures. The mini-golf near the Premium rooms is in a state of disrepair and closes on Sunday and Monday. The mini-golf that is close to the Barceló Thalasso Spa was nicely landscaped and maintained.

The main hotel pools are in front of the main restaurant. There is a pool bar with beer, wine and soft drinks on tap, plus a small buffet of burgers, chips etc. There is also a barman who serves cocktails and spirits. The pools are both sea water which means they are very buoyant. The pools weren’t too crowded and seemed well maintained. Sun beds were all reserved with towels, despite signs advising that this wasn’t allowed. The Club premium pool was quieter, smaller and chlorinated. It looks like a bar is planned there, but this wasn’t open when we visited. There were quite a few children in the pool and I wonder if this pool should be made adults only.

Some more about our suite and hotel facilities: There is only one mirror and it isn’t suitable for shaving or applying make-up. There were no tissues. The laundry service is slow and haphazard; no Sunday service, 48-hour standard turnaround, laundry not returned to the room as you have to visit reception and pay directly. I didn’t even know that was the process until I called to ask where my shirts were. The pricing is strange; costs more to have a shirt ironed than it does to have it washed and ironed. But €2.40 wasn’t a bad price. I took one laundry bag and the appropriate forms to reception on the Tuesday (cleaner hadn’t taken the bag from my room) – just a cheap t-shirt in the bag. This never came back and I thought it was lost – but I just received an email to say it was found and they would post to my address.

Club Premium also includes late checkout, when available. Sadly this wasn’t available when we asked to keep our room until 3pm – but it was a Saturday (traditional changeover day). Our friends were given late checkout until 6pm on a Monday, but charged € 35 – perhaps 3pm would have been free?

I’d also like to say how impressed I was with Ina, the Club Premium manager (who incidentally looks like Cameron Diaz). Her business card says ‘Public Relations’ and I assume that she’s been given the additional task of rolling out Club Premium. But I’ve also seen her behind reception, checking in regular guests and in the main restaurant picking up stray plates. The only downside to her dedication to the hotel is that the Club Premium desk is often unmanned. I’m assuming that when Club Premium is fully rolled out, a permanent Club Premium receptionist will be appointed.

I’d certainly stay at this hotel again, although only in Club Premium. It would be a difficult choice as to whether I stayed in the same suite, first floor suite, or in the dedicated Club Premium enclave. I think if the Club Premium pool was heated, adults only and had a bar, then I’d be tempted to try the Club Premium enclave.

Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe Hotel – Dominican Republic

25 Tuesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Hotels, Restaurants and Bars

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I’m glad to report that despite my previous article about someone finding a tarantula in a Dominican Republic hotel room (not this hotel), I encountered very few bugs (beginning of March). I did find two really small cockroaches in my room and had to close the terrace doors of an evening to keep out mosquitoes. We were able to have lunch outside all week without many bugs bothering us and sit outside in the evenings without being bitten. I’ve heard reports of sand fleas on Caribbean beaches, but found nothing on the hotel beach.

The Spanish Barceló hotel chain (I think based or originated in Mallorca) is huge. They offer a wide range of properties, many all-inclusive, some branded as ‘Premium’. The Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe Hotel is all-inclusive and ‘Premium’. ‘Premium’ hotels also have a ‘Club Premium’ that provides a separate guest lounge, high-end drinks, free use of the al la carte restaurants and some other benefits.

We booked five nights, all-inclusive, Ocean Front Junior Suite with Club Premium so expectations were high.

After the chaos at Punta Cana airport, we were found by the hotel rep who took us to our pre-booked minibus ride. We were the only passengers and it took a short 20 minutes to get to the hotel.

There was a security barrier at the entrance and then another two-minute drive to the main hotel entrance. The entrance lobby was impressive. A porter took our bags, but we almost went to the regular check in desk by mistake until I noticed the Club Premium sign further back into the lobby. The Club Premium check in was within the Club Premium air-conditioned lounge. We sat at a table with sparkling wine, while (I think it was) Muriel took our details and arranged evening restaurant bookings. Club Premium includes all the al la carte restaurants, including the one in the adults-only resort, so it makes sense to book a different restaurant every night and have buffet lunches. More about the restaurants and which to choose later. Muriel was really helpful and we had good reservation times for each evening – Club Premium also has priority when making reservations.

After check in, a porter took us and our bags to our room 5370. That’s block 5, third floor room 70. I’m always a little stressed when arriving at a new hotel as I have no idea if the room is in a good or bad position and I really don’t want to go back to check in and ask to change. After a few days, we decided that our room was perfectly located. The Barceló Bávaro Palace Deluxe and the Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort are really one large hotel complex that stretches along a 2km beach. The Barceló Bávaro Beach Resort is adults only, but all the facilities are shared between hotels. Even though we were just a couple travelling without children, I’d still prefer to be in this location as the beach is better – the adults-only hotel beach is next to what looks like a public beach or at best another hotel’s beach. There were two mornings when we could hear some kids upstairs, running around in their room. So maybe 5470 is a better choice – although I have a feeling that it’s a full suite and more expensive.

The suite was large, clean, well-maintained, with a large balcony, with Jacuzzi, overlooking the beach. A bottle of sparkling wine, ice bucket and two flute glasses were left on the table, together with a nicely-boxed bottle of Rum. The mini-bar was stocked (daily) with water, soft drinks and beer. The bathroom was open, with only doors to the shower and toilet. So for those who would like more bathroom privacy, this suite isn’t for you.

The beach was clean, )we saw hotel staff cleaning the beach each day) the sea was warm and calm. There were almost no fish – so snorkelling was pointless. We did encounter some large harmless starfish, laying on the sea bed. We walked away from the hotel (turning right with the sea in front) and the beach was classic desert island stuff, with palm trees extending down to the sea’s edge. There were signs to say that you are leaving the hotel secure area, but there was nobody around except other hotel guests. After maybe a kilometre there was another sign – this one stressed the fact that you would now be leaving the secure area and there was also a security guard wandering around there. We turned back, but only because we didn’t want to walk further, as the continuing beach seemed as safe and peaceful as the one we just walked along.

Our first dinner was in the Seafood restaurant. There were tables outside but were all full. Inside was a little too bright. The main course was à la carte, but the starters and deserts were buffet style. Water and house wine, by the glass, were served at our table. The seafood buffet was extensive and really good quality. The main course also good. The house wine was okay but not anything special. We were happy at the time, but I probably wouldn’t choose this restaurant again as subsequently found that some others are better.

Breakfast, for Club Premium, is served at a small buffet in the Club Premium lounge. There were only a few tables but it was never busy. The food quality was very good. Sparkling wine and various quality juices were also available. The toilets were well-maintained, but the light timer meant that you were left in complete darkness if you weren’t quick with your ablutions. Take your mobile to find your way out!

We took out two kayaks for a paddle around the sea. The kayak seats didn’t have any back support and so it was quite a workout sitting upright and kayaking around.

Lunch is served buffet style for all guests. The main restaurant was big and busy, although the food looked good. We found a smaller buffet of really good quality at the adults-only resort in a restaurant called La Brisa. There were plenty of seats outside, table service for all drinks and no kids running around.

The laundry service had an offer; $70 for unlimited laundry. It wasn’t quite clear if that meant, one large bag, or laundry for the entire stay. After checking, it is entire stay (maybe up to 21 days) and so we laundered everything we needed for $70. Laundry was returned each morning. My only complaint is that every item has at least seven plastic tags attached and you need to fiddle about cutting these off. But I’d rather that then them lose my clothes.

The swimming pools were clean, warm, with a good bar service. I could see sunbeds reserved with towels, but we don’t really hang around on a sunbed all day and so it didn’t matter to us.

Dinner 2 was the La Comedie French restaurant (exclusively for Club Premium guests). This was small, perfectly themed and the entire menu was à la carte. There was a little more expectation that we would order wine from the wine list, but no complaints when we continued with the inclusive house wine. It’s a pity that this is always by the glass rather than bottle, but the refills were frequent enough. The food was good quality and a good attempt at French cooking.

We watched the Michael Jackson show in the hotel’s main theatre. This was the best performance of the week and was almost as good as a professional stage show.

We tried the mini-golf. The course was large, well-maintained and fun to play. We had another round a few days later. The mini-golf is also close to the waterpark (free to Club Premium guests), the park had a few slides and would appeal to kids, but I’m not sure I would pay for entrance – there is an excellent kids pool nearby, that has similar slides for free.

Dinner 3 was La Dolce Vita Italian restaurant. Another small, nicely-themed restaurant. The antipasto buffet was excellent – as good as you would find anywhere. The primo à la carte pasta was a little too thick, but really these meals were so much better than we expected and I’m struggling to find anything to criticise. Secondo, I think I had a steak, was delicious.

We tried the casino (roulette) – free entry for Club Premium. There were two US-style double zero tables operating with a $5 minimum (total $5 inside and $5 outside). The table was a bit more easy going than those in Vegas; you could place and collect bets during payout. I prefer that and most punters know that they shouldn’t bet near the marker (dolly) during payout. The tables weren’t so busy and the spins were a bit too fast for my preference as it was a bit of a rush to figure out my bets. There is also a nightclub, also free to Club Premium, but we never made it in there.

We tried a pedalo. We managed to pedal all the way out to a small man-made island, maybe 700 metres from the beach. Here, although we weren’t able to disembark, it appeared that large fish were held in a large pen so that tourists could snorkel with them. I’m not sure who owns this island. There didn’t seem to be any mistreatment, but it seems a shame that snorkelling tours are arranged in captivity, rather than just in the open sea, It took over an hour to pedal to the island and back.

Dinner 4 was the Kyoto Japanese restaurant & sushi bar. Here guests sit around teppanyaki tables, each seating around 12 people maximum, while a well-trained chef entertains everyone with cooking skills and encourages interaction. The food was good, although this restaurant is all about the show.

We watched the Magic show in the adults-only theatre. It was entertaining with some classic tricks, although not lavish.

Dinner 5 was the Santa Fe Steak House restaurant. This was large and noisy. There was a large, good quality buffet and we found that we could also navigate our way through to the Seafood Restaurant buffet. The steaks were good, but I probably wouldn’t choose this restaurant again as the Italian, French and Japanese were better. I would have liked to try the Mexico Lindo Mexican restaurant, La Fuente Spanish restaurant & tapas bar and maybe the al la carte restaurant in the adults-only resort as they all looked smaller and maybe offered a similar experience to the French or Italian – sadly our five nights of dining were over.

We watched part of a celebration of musicals style show in the hotel’s main theatre, but didn’t stay as I’m not really a fan of musicals. If you are then it probably wouldn’t disappoint.

So my recommendation for restaurant reservations is; French, Italian, Japanese, then, although I haven’t tried, Mexican, Spanish and the adults-only al la carte. Then even if you are staying for longer, just repeat at least the French and Italian. It was difficult to know how much to tip in the restaurants and it looked like many people didn’t leave a tip due to the all-inclusive nature of the place. I left $5 each evening and they seemed happy with that. At the bars and theatre I’d tip the waitress $1 each visit and $1 at the bar every now and again.

There were Russians at the resort; typified by stunningly-attractive women and bulky mafia-style men, but they weren’t really rude like we’ve found in other hotels.

We arranged a few hours late checkout and then left in the pre-arranged minibus to the airport. This time there were a few more passengers.

Leaving the resort, we realised that we’d never been outside and that’s something we’ve never done while all-inclusive. But with only five nights and the Barceló so perfect  we didn’t want to leave. I’d thoroughly recommend this hotel, particularly Club Premium and I’m hoping to be back there soon.

http://www.barcelo.com/BarceloHotels/en_GB/hotels/Dominican-Republic/Punta-Cana-Beach-Bavaro/hotel-barcelo-bavaro-palace-deluxe/

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The Canary Islands

22 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Insects/Bugs

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I just wanted to write what a great place the Canary Islands seems to be for those who hate mosquitoes and wasps. I’ve only visited Lanzarote and Tenerife, but there didn’t seem to be any of either of these evil insects on the island. That means we were able to sit outside and have lunch and dinner without being bothered, stung or bitten.

However, we did find large cockroaches there :(. So I guess it depends which bugs cause you the most worry.

Link to Canary Islands on Wikipedia. Link to the Barceló Lanzarote Resort hotel where we stayed in Lanzarote. Link to the Barceló Santiago hotel where we stayed in Tenerife.

If you have visited any of the other Canary Islands; Fuertenventura, Gran Canaria etc then please add a comment to describe what bugs you encountered there.