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About
3.5
#8 of 11 resorts in Bavaro
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Value
Located in front of the beach, whala!bavaro is the ideal place to enjoy the summer heat. Bavaro Beach is part of the Dominican Republic most exclusive coast resorts, thanks to its fine white sand bathed by the beautiful Caribbean Sea with crystal clear and emerald tone waters. Located in front of the beach, whala!bavaro is the ideal place to enjoy the summer heat. The hotel is located in an excellent location that offers a wide variety of sport and leisure activities.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Quiet
Family Resort
Languages Spoken
English, French, Russian, Spanish
Location
C. las Olas Los Corales, el Cortecito, Bavaro, Punta Cana 23000 Dominican Republic
whala!bavaro
1,044 reviews
Getting there
Great for walkers
Places to stay are graded on a 0-100 scale. The higher the grade, the easier it is for travellers to find restaurants and things to do within walking distance.
This summary was created by AI, based on recent reviews.
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The Whala!Bavaro hotel boasts a prime spot near the beach, a location that's a hit with many guests. While some visitors highlight the hotel's affordability, others are less impressed by the value, pointing out steep costs for certain amenities and food that didn't meet expectations. Amenities receive mixed reviews, with accolades for the beach and entertainment yet flak for maintenance woes.
Service quality varies, with reports of both commendable and lackluster staff interactions. Room opinions are polarized, noting both comfort and upkeep issues. The atmosphere is lively, if sometimes noisy, and cleanliness levels are generally high but occasionally patchy.
Location
Beachfront
Atmosphere
Rowdy
Rooms
Comfortable
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Mixed
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First time in the Dominican Republic, and first all inclusive holiday ever! Check in was a little slow, but there were a few bigger parties checking in, so this may have not been a usual occurrence. We were shown to our room and our baggage was carried for us. Our room didn't look as though it had been finished off by the cleaners, ie, used soap on the sink, bed crumpled, and it appeared that the security man, who showed us to our room, picked up on this. We still entered the room, but this was rectified when we went down to dinner, as when we came back, the room smelled of bleach, new soap, clean sheets etc. We didn't feel the need to speak to reception about this, as they had sorted it.
Not having been all inclusive before, we were unsure what to expect. Once we got our heads around the 'routine', (ie, watched what the seasoned all inclusivers did!), it was all very easy, and the selection of food was pretty good. Lots of local Dominican foods, with some Western options. All food appeared to be freshly prepared, and the staff worked tirelessly to keep the selection restocked. Lots of yummy fresh bread at each sitting, and the desserts were little show pieces.
The complex was very clean and tidy, and once again there were staff working tirelessly to keep up the standards. All staff were smartly presented and were as helpful as they could be, with the language barrier, although most of their English was much better than our Spanish!
If you use the 'onsite' shops, make sure you use the Jellyfish shop, everything is priced individually and you can pay in USD or Dominican Pesos. Stay clear of the 'minimarket' next door, nothing is priced, and the owner/assistant uses this as free reign to 'rip off' tourists! We assumed that it was part of the complex, but we're pretty sure that it's not, as they only advertise the Jellyfish shop, at Reception. He saw us coming the first time, and charged my husband the equivalent to about £25 for some cigars, and that was after we had bartered, but hey ho...Once bitten etc. We realised this after we went into the Jellyfish shop and paid a fraction of the price for the same cigars! He also tried to charge us 600 pesos (approx £8.00) for a bag of tortilla chips! So, you have been warned!
A small tip, bring travel mugs with you, so that you can keep your beer cold and take coffee back to your room, or just bring your own travel kettle and supplies etc. My husband and I like to have a coffee on the balcony, whilst we wake up, before breakfast, which is obviously still possible, but you have to draw straws as to who is going downstairs to get the coffee, looking like a swamp creature! All in all, would recommend!
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jhoanna Villaman, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Mandyloub2102 Thank you for sharing your comments about our establishment. We appreciate the time you have taken in writing your impressions. We are glad to know that you had a pleasant stay. At whala customer satisfaction it’s really important for us, therefore we do everything in our power to ensure that our guests enjoy their accommodation. Also we want to thank you that have highlighted many aspects of which we are proud of: warm service, nice staff, nice beach and grounds, convenient location, comfortable rooms and good prices. Your comments will be shared with the staff so that they are can be aware of the good service provided. Thank you for choosing us. We wait for you whenever you want. The whole Whala! Team sends you an affectionate and attentive greeting. . Sincerely, Jhoanna Villaman
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We paid $492 for 3 nights and that included ALL of our food, drinks, and alcohol. My one major complaint is that the food was very bland. Lots of variety...seafood, meats, pasta, veggies, fruit, desserts, but all very bland. I was also bummed that they don’t have a jacuzzi and the pools closed at 7pm every night, which is super early!
As for the good things, the staff was amazing once you were there. The front desk people were slammed, but they would answer the phone and then hang up. So don’t try calling.
They have 3 buildings on two different lots and you have access to both. The second lot is the one with the sky pool on the 5th floor and also has beach access.
They have a few new guidelines because of COVID. They ask you to wear a mask at times, except for when at your own table or lounge chair or in the pool. They take your temperature at meal times before you enter the restaurant and ask that you use their hand sanitizer. I was shocked with how many people were visiting during our stay & how much the resort was still able to pull off.
Overall, decent place for a cheap price. Not top of the line, but not bottom either. Very affordable and middle of the line place.
Para Whala, nos encantó nuestra visita con ustedes pero solo tengo dos quejas pequeñas. La primera es que la comida no tenía nada de sabor y no sé si fue porque ustedes no usan condimentos o aderezos por el caso q alguien no va a gustarlo.
También, la gente de la recepción casi nunca contestaron el teléfono o sí lo hacen, colgan rápido.
Pero en total, disfrutamos mucho y fue especial para pasar el año nuevo con ustedes. ¡Muchas gracias!
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Date of stay: January 2021Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guest service, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Jan 13, 2021
Dear Fieldam, We want to thank you for choosing our hotel to spend your holidays and for taking your time to tell us about your experience during your stay with us. We are very glad to know that the service provided by our staff was above your expectations and that you felt pleased with the attentions provided by most of them. We want to ask our most sincere apology for any inconvenience caused, we regret not having been able to impress with our services in the restaurant. Your comments are very important for us. They have been sent to the department involved to take action and improve our services in the restaurant. We hope you give us the opportunity to receive you once again at our hotel and to provide the service you and your family deserve. Best regards Jhoanna Villaman
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The hotel being one of the cheapest in the area is definitely not anything terrible and the pool bar / location to the beach makes up for anything you might dislike about the hotel . However , if you’re a huge foodie I wouldn’t recommend this hotel , the flavour and variety of the food itself was no issue but it was obvious that the food had been left out to go cold or stale . With this being said this is a common theme within all inclusives is expected but ended with me and my friend going out for meals multiple times we were there even though we paid for an all inclusive to cut spending costs . Other than this , the hotel , staff and people around the hotel such as the shop owners were so lovely and friendly and I felt safe here as a female traveller . Side note : The cleaners here were super friendly and were always around throughout the day , came back to a clean room every day and they always added an extra something to the room each time we came back which I really appreciated .
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Date of stay: March 2022Trip type: Travelled with friends
Room Tip:If you have high standards with food maybe choose another hotel.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guest service, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Mar 20, 2022
Dear Jennifer We sincerely appreciate that your stay regarding prices and quality has met your expectations, we are glad to know that despite other opinions, you were able to appreciate and enjoy your stay with us . Thank you for highlighting that you have enjoyed our bar and pool, and the beach area has been to your liking, as well, the good service our staff. We appreciate that you have mentioned some points for improvement, which will be discussed with the departments involved to take the necessary corrective measures immediately. Best regards, Julissa Gonzalez
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The hotel was perfect for our taste being not too big and over-crowded over the Xmas & New Year period. The food was OK, we could usually find something but replacing empties was slow. Gala dinners were excellent if a bit chaotic. We tried the a la carte once but never went back as the food was awful, in particulr the grey mashed potato shaped like an emoji poo with raw broccoli stuck in it, considering the mash served (only at breakfast!) In the main buffet was the best I've ever tasted. Had a couple of room issues, cracked loo seat (ouch) and broken coffee machine were quickly resolved. I just couldn't figure out why they had to take the bolster & decorative pillow away the second week! I use the pillow to lean my kindle on! My biggest niggles were: there is no quiet bar at night, not everyone wants to watch karaoke or a loud entertainment show at night but the smaller bar near the a la carte had no tables that were not set up for eating. The main bar is small and under-staffed with seats around it blocking access. The design of the hotel is such that finding sun to lie in is impossible, even on the beach after about 4, my favourite time of day! Towels not always available at reception (come back in an hour). The staff were, in the main, very friendly and helpful, there were a couple we were sorry to miss on our last day to leave a tip for. We enjoyed our stay but it was far from perfect and not one we would choose to return to.
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Date of stay: December 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Whala1612, Guest Service at whala!bavaro
Responded Jan 20, 2020
Dear Blenkinsopb, We greatly appreciate that you have chosen us as your vacation destination but we regret that your stay at our property has not been to your satisfaction because honestly our main objective is based on the complete satisfaction of our visitors. We are glad that some aspects mentioned have had a solution quickly and that there are other good comments such as that of our friendly and helpful staff, we will let them know so that they continue to strive day by day. Again we apologize for the inconveniences and we will do everything possible to improve it and to get the expectations of our customers. Kind regards, Fiona Ximenis
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This resort is exactly what you would expect to receive for the price, the upgraded room had a few flaws, but nothing a quick call to reception can’t fix. The food was a bit bland and be prepared to survive off of French fries, but the turning point was the amazing staff. I’d like to give props to private security guards Isidro and Rolfi, always keeping a look out and patrolling constantly. They also went out of their way to make sure we felt at home as soon as we walked out on to the beach. Jairo is in charge of the activities and events at the resort and man, he is just non stop running around getting people involved in many games and even puts on a show for the kids before bed time. A very special thank you to Ana Carina, she is superb and is such a hard working individual. She constantly checked up on us and would even make sure we ate and stayed hydrated throughout our vacation, that girl deserves a raise! Jhoanna at reception seriously keeps everything running, it seemed like she was the go to person for anything you might need. Overall a great vacation. I’d also like to add that they greatly implemented social distancing/face masks/and sanitation stations everywhere. I’d definitely return just to visit these wonderful employees! ♥️
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Date of stay: November 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guest service, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Dec 13, 2020
Dear Adriana C, I would like to thank you so much for taking the time to share your comments about your recent experience in our Whala!Bavaro.. It is so gratifying to hear that you enjoyed a fabulous vacation at our premises. We truly appreciate your review concerning the outstanding experience you lived at our paradise Whala!Bavaro and we are grateful for the trust you have placed in our staff. At our Resort, guests will always feel like being in the paradise, where they truly are pampered, and where our attentive staff will show them a sanctuary of lavish tranquility. Thank you so much for recognizing our efforts and your compliments about our services. I am pleased to hear our efforts don’t go unnoticed specially for Ana Karina, Jhoanna, Jairo and Rolfi. We hope to see you back any time soon, of course, we will be doing an extra effort every time you come, so that every visit is by far, better than the previous one. Kindest regards! Jhoanna Villaman
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I wish I had just paid more money and stayed somewhere nice. This place is outdated. The bathroom water cut off while I was showering and did not come back on. The water in the bathroom is salty. They do not have face towels and they only change the big towels on Monday Wednesday and Friday. There is only a sheet on the bed so I had to use my beach towel as a blanket.
The buffet is disgusting and I actually found hair in my food on more than one occasion and it was not possibly my hair. If you do not speak Spanish then everyone seems rude .
The à la carte restaurant which is by reservation only was nice to sit down and have someone bring my mail to me after ordering but it is through a maze around the property and being a single female traveler that was a little bit unnerving.
The best thing about this property is the pools specifically the rooftop pool on one of the buildings. The location is not in a good area and you have to walk around in the streets to get to different parts of the building so that was not a good.
I’m glad that I booked tours every day so that I could get off of the property for a while. At the end of my time I was ready to go home. I really just did not enjoy this property and I would never book it again and as a travel consultant I would never refer anyone to go here. It’s outdated the staff is rude the drinks are watered down and it’s noisy from the pool and the entertainment at night and early morning depending on your room location.
The lady at guest services was nice and Errik at the check-in desk was very nice also but that is about it. Also be prepared to be harassed by locals who set up to sell items such as cigars and trinkets and I do understand that tourism is the primary income but it is annoying to be harassed every time you walk anywhere.
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Date of stay: June 2022Trip type: Travelled solo
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guest service, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Jun 28, 2022
Dear Guest Greeting from whala, We truly regret any difficulties you may have experienced when communicating with our staff. We have a compromise ahead of us concerning this issue. Nonetheless, I can assure you that all the departments that are directly in contact with our guests have an English-speaking staff. We deeply regret that our gastronomic offer did not meet their expectations. Our hotel offers a wide variety both in our bars (4), buffets (2) and the specialty Tamashi restaurant and Sky Bar (+1 Snack Bar) with the aim of meeting the culinary demands of different cultures who visit us. As a company focused on service, we are aware that it is thanks to the valuable comments from our customers that we can continue working for the optimization and improvement of our services. We are committed to offer the best of service with great products and we would like you to know that your experience is definitely not reflective of the high standards we usually strive for and pride ourselves with. We will be looking into the concerns you have expressed in regards to our level of customer service immediately. Once again, please accept our apologies for the unsatisfactory experience you had onsite. Sincerely, Johanna Villaman
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We stayed for three nights over MLK weekend and it was not long enough. Thankfully we had amazing weather, we legit only got up from the beach chairs to go back to our room for a shower at night, and back out again for dinner. The hotel is SO clean, its one of my "things" when traveling, I am the girl who travels with her own Clorox wipes and cleans the door knobs and telephones in the room before really relaxing, so I know what clean is! Another thing that really set this hotel apart from others was the fantastic service, the staff actually looked overjoyed to see us and works so incredibly attentive. We are absolutely coming back!!
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Date of stay: January 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jhoanna Villaman, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Feb 25, 2020
Dear Samirmelii, First of all, thank you very much for your stay with us in Whala!Bavaro and that you have taken your time to share these beautiful words in TripAdvisor. We greatly appreciate that you liked our facilities, the comfort of such and the attention of our staff, this motivates us to keep our staff doing their best, every day. The objective we wish to achieve is to go beyond the expectations of our guests. We hope to have her back again many more times and to make your vacation unforgettable. Kind regards, Jhoanna Villaman
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food was what I expected - average however you were lucky if you actually got anything hot... reception staff were rude and unhelpful. restaurant mangers were also rude - if you were Spanish or Russian they could not bend over enough for them there were some good people that worked there but not a lot cleaning staff did a great job and always said good morning would I go back - NO and the sad thing is they could have done so much better quite easily.
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jhoanna Villaman, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Mar 8, 2020
Dear Bored1965, I would like to apologize on the behalf of the entire team if we did not impress you during your valuable vacations. We want guests to enjoy their stay at our Whala!Bavaro, so your report of an unpleasant experience is a serious concern for us. We regret to hear from your review that your expectations were not met on this occasion and wish we could have done more to make your vacation more comfortable. Because if there is something that disturbs our guests satisfaction we are able to address right away while on property. I have taken the liberty of sharing all your feedback with the relevant Heads of Department to ensure that your points are addressed, we truly appreciate the time you took to inform us about those several points and I guarantee you we will work on them immediately. We look forward to serving you more efficiently in the future… Cordially, Jhoanna Villaman
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Absolutely fantastic you're on a 40 foot boat it only holds 34 people the seats are very very comfortable we have a marine biologist with us I have learnt a great great deal on the life of Humpback whale's and Orca whales. A very small breakfast is served Lunch was croissant sandwiches ham and cheese, fruits. Drinks are plentiful. Water, bubbly water whatever soft drink you want, orange juice, beer, pina colada with liquor or without liquor We saw 34 whales. The tour was between 3 1/2 and 4 hours. . When you get to the marina it's where the cruise ships come in you will be charged 20 pesos immediately. After that, you go to another booth and it's a $600 pesos when you're leaving the boat you're going to want to leave a tip. I left a 200 peso tip for one person as I went by myself. I found out most people leave a hundred pesos per person.og well. I. Forgot to mention that you have a marine biologist on board with you. She was unbelievable. I will be going again the week of March 7th taking guests. This all takes place in Puerto Vallarta. Not to be missed.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Jhoanna Villaman, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Feb 25, 2020
Dear Lesly310, Wow, Thank you so much for your nice words, but very especially, thank you for the trust you have deposited in us. After having read such a wonderful review, I just want to tell you much we appreciate your loyalty and every opportunity you have given us to host your holidays. Please notice that for all of us it is a great pleasure to be your host and better yet, to know that you consider us part of your family. We are su blessed for such privilege. We would be happy to welcome you back again. Please be sure to inform in advance so we can work hard to prepare for your stay and offer you a warm welcome again. Thank you for everything, we can´t wait to welcome you back. Best Regards, Jhoanna Villaman
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We had a great time at Whala. The staff was amazing. We made the best of it. It's a good place to go if you want to save a bit of money and plan to go out and do excursions. If you like to stay in the hotel, you might want to look elsewhere. If you're picky about where you stay THIS IS NOT the place for you. I can tolerate and I don't complain while I'm away.
The positivea: 1. There was only two entertainers, Jairo and Jon who were exceptional and did the best they could. 2. The staff in the buffet did a great job and were very attentive. 3. The hotel is in a great location to walk to the beach and up the street at night there's a few places to eat, listen to music and dance. 4. Rooftop pool is beautiful and I thought it would be so hot up there but it was actually the coolest place to be!
The negatives: 1. The food was just ok but it lacks a bit more flavour and variety. 2. There is a sewer smell throughout the property and we also felt it in our room at times. 3. The water in the shower and sink is salty. It was like showering in the ocean. 3. My husband said the beer was not very good.
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Date of stay: October 2020Trip type: Travelled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Guest service, Atención al huésped/Recepción at whala!bavaro
Responded Oct 14, 2020
Dear Guisellav2017, Thank you so very much for your lovely posting; we appreciate so much your time and your feedback. What a great pleasure to hear you say so many wonderful things about your recent experience at our Paradise. You can´t imagine all the effort we do each day, with only one goal in mind, your satisfaction. So, hearing from you how much you enjoyed our resort, makes us very proud and happy because we have reached our goal. Of course we have also taken note about your remarks in order to take the corrective measures for improvement. As in any business, there will always be room for improvements, that is why we value so much our guests feedback, because through them, is definitely the best way to reach and keep the highest quality of service. Thanks once more for your lovely comments, we would love to welcome you back sometime in the near future and show our best services and improvements in general. Sincerely, Jhoanna Villaman
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Probably not as they are up dating the hotel but it doesn't affect the stay there.
They were working on the beach front hotel part.
Have a lovely time!
Huntington Station, New York4 contributions1 helpful vote
no fue incluido el momento de la reserva. ¿Has llamado directamente al hotel para reservar con ellos? En caso de que el viaje desde el aeropuerto a Whala no cueste más de $30-$35 para dos personas.
Huntington Station, New York4 contributions1 helpful vote
There is no disco at the hotel. They had a two person entertainer nightly and some nights a few more. After 11:00 pm there is the sky bar (drinks are not included) with music which stays open till 12 midnight after that nothing else.
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