Thanks to Trip Advisor and so many of the great reviews, we decided on the Catalonia for our vacation, and it did not disappoint.

From the moment we arrived, until the moment we left, we loved everything about the resort and any time we spent outside of it.

If you REALLY want to nit pick (like some people sure do), yes, the bed spreads are a sweet 70's pattern, the water pressure is low and some of the buffet items are a little sketchy looking (but I'm sure very tasty if you're brave enough!), but COME ON! This is a nice resort in a poor country. It's clean, the staff are friendly, the food was really good (buffets had TONS of items for picky eaters, and the a la cartes were quite good- French, Mexi, Japanese and American, in order of our favorites).

We had decided on the Saona beach trip based on reviews, but after we got there decided our beach was nice enough and opted for the Bavaro Runners instead. We'll do a review on that too, but we REALLY enjoyed it. We did a snorkelling trip in the glass bottom boat (best $25 I've ever spent) and the introductory scuba dive was excellent value. I'm certified but my girlfriend is not - I couldn't believe they let her out in the open ocean with nothing more than a 5 minute pool lesson! That being said, it was a great shallow dive for me, a bit scary for her, but still enjoyable.

The beach party was fun, and we quite enjoyed the food, way better bbq ribs than the american restaurant.

Don't miss out on the (included!) crepe restaurant hidden over in the small shopping strip!

The resort is big (as I'm pretty sure they all are in the DR) so get used to walking, especially if you're far from the beach like we were. We didn't mind at all though, needed to walk off all that great food!

One tip- bring lots of suncreen. It will cost you upwards of $20 to buy a bottle on the resort if you run out.

Overall a great, relaxing vacation at a beautiful resort. The only thing I would change, is if they could clean the cigarette butts off the beach- or better yet if people wouldn't toss them on the ground in the first place!

We stayed at the Catalonia the week of April 11th to 18th. We loved it. It’s a great friendly atmosphere. The staff work hard and are so friendly. The Animation team work all day and night and put a huge effort into making you feel welcome. The lobby bar in the evening is a great place to hang out, listen to the live band, watch the shows, meet people and have a drink.

The beach is beautiful no one bothers you and we had no problems saving a chair at the beach or pool. At the beach you get more of a breeze. There is no drink service on the beach. However, we had quick service at the pool bar. Relaxing around the pool there was always a waiter to bring you a drink. We found that the drinks were not watered down!

Our room was always cleaned, we had fresh towels and the fridge was stocked with water and pop.

The buffet was your average buffet that you find at most all inclusive resorts. However, to have 4 a la carte restaurants was amazing and the food was awesome! We ate at the French, Western and the Mexican and I would recommend all of them. Amazing food and great service – can’t say enough. The crepe snack bar was great. Oh and the Pizza at the snack bar by the pool – wow it too was so good.

Only two negative comments - the resort is showing its age especially in the rooms and the pools paint is peeling. However, those aren’t deal breakers for me.

I would return to this resort in a heartbeat!

A girlfriend and I celebrated my 35th birthday at the Catalonia in April. Overall, I would have to say that the resort is just okay. The grounds were absolutely beautiful. Everything was kept very clean. The room was average as far as decor and comfort goes. I didn't spend much time there anyway. The bed was comfy enough. The shower was a bit on the small end. It was a bit challenging trying to shower, wash hair, shave. There was not a lot of room to move around or to store shower gels, shampoo bottles, etc. I wish the tub had been a bit smaller to make room for a larger shower. There were these teeny little bugs that appeared periodically, so don't leave any food or open drinks sitting out. They don't seem to bite, so I guess that's okay! Maid service was cool! If you ask for something and leave a tip, they respond pretty well. Bring wash cloths if you use them to shower, because I never saw any. We did not have an iron either, but everyone looked just as wrinkled, so I was okay with that! I loved the beach, and the disco was fun for dancing and laughing at other people dancing! The drinks were a bit watered down in the beginning, until I learned to ask for "mucho Brugal"! My biggest issue was the food! I wasn't aware until after booking that the food was pretty much outdoor buffet style. If you are a buffet person, you won't have a problem. I am not! It was difficult for me to find things to eat. There were also lots of bugs and birds hovering around. Considering that I am a Microbiologist, this disturbed me greatly. On the upside, I did not have any stomach problems. My girlfriend had the "bubble-guts" though. We did eat at the Japanese restaurant and found it to be decent. The staff was excellent and very helpful. They are always smiling and energetic! I would give the staff and the beauty of the resort 4 stars. Everything else would definitely be 2-3 stars. The resort wasn't terrible, but I will not return!

This review will be a little different than most. We stayed 4/11-4/16 and the resort is truly beautiful. The pictures that you see don't lie. However, the second day we were there, my partner's brother passed away back in Georgia, so she had to leave. Of course, that ruined our vacation. This is not the resort's fault. The staff was very helpful in getting us in touch with the airline and they all showed their concern for us.

We stayed at the Bavaro Princess in 2006 and we liked the Catalonia better. It's smaller and you can walk everywhere with no problem. The room was very nice and I don't understand the people that have said that the rooms are dark. The hammock on the balcony is such a nice touch. I thoroughly enjoyed lying in it and reading.

The pool and beach are absolutely beautiful!! I did the ATV excursion and really enjoyed it. I had to do something with my time! However, it is VERY bumpy on the backroads and I would advise anyone with back trouble to be careful. Otherwise, I highly recommend it. Benny (the man who made our reservation) was very understanding when I told him I had to cancel and re-schedule the reservation for only me. He was a super nice guy!

The food is just average, but it's been my experience that most buffet food is just average. There was always plenty to eat and I'm a vegetarian. We had reservations at the French and Japanese restaurants, but when my partner left, I didn't feel like getting dressed up to eat alone so I can't comment on them.

Oh! On a side note (and again, this is not the resort's fault), be careful using your credit card. I had to buy my partner's ticket from Delta at the airport. They told me that the machine was upstairs and they would have to take the card up there. We were both pretty distraught and I didn't think twice about it. Once I got home on the 16th I was contacted by my credit card company about some suspicious charges on our card. Sure enough, they stole the information. Thankfully, my credit card company was great and cancelled the account and sent out new cards for us immediately.

All in all I would definitely recommend the Catalonia Bavaro Resort. Unfortunately, we only had a chance to enjoy it for one day due to our unfortunate family loss. We know that we would have thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip had we been together. It's difficult for one person to have a good time under such circumstances.