Amazing weekend out with family and friends.
The amenities of this hotel are so good. There is a refurbish going on which will become this hotel in a 5 star hotel soon cos it's a huge construction at the moment but it doesn't affects the quality of the service. There is an acceptable buffet salon for breakfast, lunch and dinner and another restaurant available with previous reservation for nights. The food is unveliable tasty and really good in my opinion. It's not too much alternative, however you can get fresh and healthy food and drinks. Our room was tidy and clean. The staff, very friendly and professional, we felt privileged to have that kind of attention and help all the time. We spend a lot of time by the jacuzzis and the bar next to, we really enjoy it. The beach is like 10 minutes walk from the reception but a carry car is available every 10 minutes to pick people up by the reception or rooms and take people to the beach, rooms, etc. The staff on reception is high qualified, friendly and cheerful.

This resort is amazing. It's so beautiful with a pool and a beach. It also has a club if you wanna get your party on! The the rooms are like houses and it is so cool that they have people driving around to take you places. I also personally love the animals there. It has peacocks, chickens, and flamingos. 10/10

A good place to spend your holidays in the Dominican Republic. Corresponds to the price quality. It is possible to visit with children here there are no restrictions on age. Also from the advantages that the hotel is nazoditsya not far from the coast and you will not have long to go to the beach

Under going major construction, not too noisy dough. The food is ok/good but choices are a bit limited. Staff very pleasant and outgoing. Pool superb. Beach wholesome but concerned when the thousands new rooms will be finished that it would make it crowded. Animation 11/10. Perfect with young kids. Some what perfected resort.

Would not recommend this hotel to anyone. Looks nothing like the pictures, not beach front, requested a room with king size bed and was given 2 double beds. When brought to staffs attention they shrugged shoulders said there was none available and there’s nothing they could do. Also, have bites all over which appear to be bed bug bites. The toilet had a door that was open on top like a cabana giving you absolutely no privacy. Food was crappy. We only came back to DR because of the great experience we had at the Catalonia hotel. This did not even compare. Would definitely not go back.

The place is huge. One side is villas and other side is the hotels. There is 2 beautiful pools. Hot tubs in the villa section. Several bars and restaurants. The food is good and there is such a wide variety. Disco for the night time. Theatre for evenings. Shuttle service to and from the villas ad well as shuttle service to the ocean side restaurant. Just an amazing place. Well kept and very inviting.

We had a wonderful experience there. In reading some of the reviews, we found that the complaints were either self indulgent or flat out wrong. Yes, if you're going there to eat burgers and fries, the food won't live up to your expectations. However, if you're willing to explore, you'll be pleased. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful, the shows were fun, and there was enough variety in terms of pools and accommodation that you would find something right for you. We loved the high bar and were pleased with our villa accommodation. And the presence of flamingos, and chickens and peacocks walking around just amplified the experience.

We are currently staying at resort. It’s nice resort with nice pools, Bars and restaurants. Staff is little rude, maybe it’s because of busy season.
But the service is really outstanding. Never had to wait more than 1 minute at any bar or restaurant. Room are clean, serviced everyday just missing couple amnesties: like iron, mini bar, bath tub etc.
They need to work on hotel staff’s English skills, most of the people staying in resort are from Canada and Usa. We are from Canada as well, people were having hard time in communication because of lack of English in most of the staff.
Also they need make designated places for smoker. There are people smoking everywhere, in bar , restaurants public pool, I mean almost everywhere.
We are no smoker and there are people with breathing problems. Management need to work on this problem ASAP.
Overall our stay is going very good. Enjoying this pools, beach nice selection of food.
I would recommend this resort.

It is a beautiful resort with a lot to do. The people are very friendly. The food is great as well. It's clean as well. It's a wonderful place. I'm hoping to go again. Soon!

Food sucks, pizza bar had the only good food! Room service rude and would just walk in you. Nice place though.

I was just there and had a great time. Just an FYI there are a few more people that have hook worm! I was there with everyone and I'm fine . I'm thinking the one place people may have got this from was the volleyball court on the resort. So a heads up to anyone who is going or is there already. I truly believe it's the volleyball area. Be safe and cautious always!!!!!!!

Nice place but customer service needs alot of improvement. They dont spray the rooms from bugs. They didnt have a crib for a baby. Had a hard time geting one. Hard to book restaurants.

I rated this resort with 4 stars only for one reason.WiFi.weak and just doesn't work in some buildings(as example in 3201) . All other sides were good and perfect accordingly 4 star resort. I have been in IFA before and I didn't like the lines in the buffet to get a meal and crowded swimming pool. But the first week after new year celebration (2018) I was surprised to see minimal people in a beach, swimming pool and buffet. That's good for me but didn't get why it happened. So, if somebody are coming in high season you might be at the same situation as I have been at my first visit. Crowd's everywhere.Thanks all employees for their service, good attitude, doing their best.

The hotel is OK, clean, nice. There are ongoing renovations. But if you don't rent a safe it is sure that your money will be stolen. We stayed there 2 weeks but in the first days somebody stole 330$ & 50€ from our room. And we know 3 other family who was in the same situation during the period we stayed in the hotel. The hotel security didn't do anything. They said that only the authorized persons entered in our room and they trust them.

This is a great Resort I got to stay in the newly renovated Villas that they had it's quite nice inside. The one thing I will say about Punta Cana is that it is so hot it's kind of ridiculous, but you have to beach to cool you off which is not far away at all. The Japanese restaurants and all those fancy restaurant they have there the food is absolutely disgusting. The only thing that is good is the buffet and that's it the French toast is to die for, but other than that this is a great Villa and I would actually recommend going here.

We were very skeptical of this place after reading the reviews but we decided to give this place a chance since the reviews were either really good or really bad. Rest assured, it was the best money my husband & I spent!
The staff-They were competent, very friendly, answered any questions we had, the language barrier was a little rough at first but the longer we talked with them, the easier it became. The room service was impeccable! They cleaned our rooms every day before 11am. We purchased a safe lock during our stay which cost $17 for a 7 day stay. Over all, the wait staff, guest service, front desk service, housekeeping, spa workers & shop tenants were all amazing & friendly people!
The spa-CHEAP for an hour couples massage!! We only paid $65 per person for an outdoor romantic garden area & the services were phenomenal! Elizabeth is the one that sold us the package. She gave us a "mini massage" by the pool. Once she did that, we were hooked. I highly recommend seeing her if you're wanting to purchase a massage package!!
The Food/Bars/Wait staff-The buffets are...well buffets. Nothing much to gloat over. They offer a wide variety of foods. Our favorite was the Mexican restaurant. The only downside is you have to make reservations for those restaurants at guest service. So be sure to be early in line at 8am otherwise you'll end up eating at 10 at night! The bars were fun. Dominican café is a relaxing bar to be in before your dinner. They poured great drinks! A large variety of drinks to choose from.
The rooms-we were put in the villas part. Which we absolutely loved! We were much farther from the beach but was ok because they have golf cart shuttles that take you back & forth. It was quiet on our side of the hotel. Overall the rooms were modern & very clean. The ONE & ONLY problem I had & why I rated it a 4 star is because the entire week we were there we had no hot water. First world problems right? Iit can't be a legitimate complaint as Hurricane Maria literally hit the day before knocking out power so our hotel was running on generators thus making it impossible for hot water.
The activities- My husband, father & mother in law & I decided to do the adventure boogies for $100 per couple(CHEAP) & FUN excursion that took half a day. We went to a swimming cave, a cocoa & coffee plant, & a beautiful beach. However, once you go off the resort you will see their way of life & the way they make money is off tourists. They definitely hustle you for your money & are VERY aggressive at selling you their items. The first mistake we made(I wish someone with experience would have told us this) is first & foremost NOTHING is free. We stopped off at the beach first & there were locals attempting to sell things. Necklaces, weaved hats, photo ops etc. A teen ran up to me & put his 2 exotic parrots on my shoulders & asked if I would like photos. Automatically assuming this was part of the excursion, I delightfully said sure! We took photos with his birds & then he said "that will be 1000 pesos" not knowing we had to pay & not having any cash on me I told him I don't have any money. He said "fine I'll take 500 pesos" again I assured him I have zero money & didn't realize I had to pay him to take photos with his birds. He then pulled me away from my husband & quietly said "fine, you & I can go over there (pointed to a secluded area) & give me a little something" meaning a sexual favor. My husband then got angry & told him we'll delete the photos & what he said was inappropriate. The teen then said "FINE" turned around angrily & took his parrots to another couple. I was completely baffled when this happened. So for future people that go on excursions, NOTHING is free & you have to be firm with people when you don't want to buy anything. Just tell them "I SAID NO" in a firm voice & they'll leave you alone

Overall our experience was good & it's one we will NEVER forget. Punta Cana was an amazing adventure and the IFA Villas made it a great one!

I have never met a more amazing group of employees who all love doing their job. The large variety of cuisine (Mexican, Caribbean, Italian, Japanese) and with the culture diversity it felt like we were traveling far beyond just the Dominican Republic. The night shows are also incredibly entertaining and you can tell that the crew loves dancing. The workforce made Ifa feel like home and brought together people from different backgrounds. It is also very clean! Not to mention the fact that food is UNLIMITED! We will choose Ifa no matter where we go in Latin America.

Great place! Really good food, swimming pools, Beautiful and clean rooms. What I like the most is the theater show, Such an amazing experience.

Beach full of seaweed, so you want to go to pool but pool has no shade??? +35 degrees and no shade what are you thinking
Service is below average
a la carte restaurants are horable waiters are no happy to be there
The only good thing has to be the buffet and the rooms are pretty nice
A lot of better options out there for the price

The resort is clean and modern. The staff is friendly. Don't expect them to all speak English, they don't, but it's awesome. The beach is also clean, blue water, not crowded. Just perfect. Enough things to do but also totally relaxing.

1st time at a resort and I loved it, everyone kept commenting on the food, the food gets a 3 star, sometimes items were amazing, others not so great, great for couples or families, big in size, 3 big pools, 3 minute walk to the clean beach, great entertainment options, sports options. They only downfall... WIFI is awful.

PROS: Decent food. Helpful staff. Beautiful location.

CONS: Constant badgering from vendors. Much time spent walking to distant rooms and beach. On Atlantic side of Caribbean. Beach is noisy.

We stayed at IFA Villas Bavaro Resort for 7 days and for what we paid, had a good experience. The food at the standard buffets was adequate to good, and the food at the a la carte restaurants was excellent. The biggest disappointment was the beach, which was very crowded and noisy. Motorized watercraft and excursion rides (parasailing, powered gliders, helicopters, party boats, etc.) meant there was always the smell of engine exhaust and a lot of noise, making it difficult to relax. For non-smokers, this resort is a nightmare. No non-smoking sections at restaurants or beaches. Also, plan to do a lot of walking. Although there are golf-cart style shuttles that are supposed to run every 7 minutes, they are frequently full and knowing when they will actually show up is unpredictable.

Our room was nice, but amenities were scant. For example, they did not include a travel iron and did not have outlets at the head of the beds, where you might want to charge your phone. In my case, I sleep with a CPAP and had to sleep upside down on the bed so the machine could reach an outlet. Also, the in-room safe cost extra ($3/day).
While the hotel claims to have public WiFi hotspots, we were unable to connect with them and asking for help proved fruitless. We ended up using our cellphone data, though “premium” wifi was available for $10/day.

While the promotional materials state that tips and gratuities are included, be aware that the wages paid to the average Dominican working in housekeeping or wait staff is extremely low. Know that everyone who helps you is looking for a tip. Regardless of what the brochure says, you will want to have enough cash on hand to tip generously, unless you want to contribute to their exploitation as cheap labor. Also – knowing basic Spanish will be very helpful. No one in housekeeping, maintenance, or the wait staff can speak English with any degree of fluency. Only the lobby staff, excursion guides, and tour reps will speak English competently.

My single greatest complaint were the non-stop solicitations for excursions/massages/cigars & jewelry/etc. You will be approached literally from the moment you get off the plane, throughout the resort area (where they are allowed to roam freely) and on the beach. The best strategy I found was to avoid eye contact and firmly say “not interested” as soon as you are approached. A major hassle if planning on a relaxed low-stress getaway.

Anyone who has actually been to a 5-star resort could not possibly give IFA Villas Bavaro that rating for all the reasons I’ve mentioned. It really is a 3 star all-inclusive. That is not necessarily a bad thing if you are on a budget.

This resort has all the amenities you would need when booking a 4 star property. All staff members at the Ifa have top notch customer service from the front desk to wait staff to the room cleaning staff everyone tried their very best, even though English was quite hard for some of them. The food was good, the buffet had a lot of choices and probably the best desserts I've ever had at any buffet. I found that the a le carte restaurants mediocre and just average. The Pikalo pizziaria had some really good pizza, very hot and fresh from noon till about 10 pm. The drinks were good and strong, I think they need more than just 5 frozen drinks they had Miami Beach, Pina Calada, Magarita, strawberry daiquiri. They have a lot of drinks of the menu but since it was so hot I think they should have a section of just frozen drinks on the drink menu (which you can find at every bar). We got the renovated room which was really nice and clean, keep in mind that with this resort that it does not come with a safe, it is $3 USD per day. They have 2 pools at this resort, one they call the party pool (this one has a pool bar) and a quiet pool (This one has 2 bars but not in the pool about 50 meters from pool). Wi-Fi was my biggest issue here, they have free Wi-Fi zones at the Cafe Domimicano and the Teatro Bar if there were a lot of users on both the internet would not work or be extremely slow. They have Wi-Fi passes for the week but it was quite pricey. Lastly the beach was really nice bit fills up very fast and it is about a 5-8 min walk from the rooms and about 10-15 min walk from the villas, but they do have shuttles going back and forth. Overall I would definitely come back to this resort.

Best place i eva been wonderful time great food good ppl beautiful view everything its great there cant wait to go back alot of thing to do

If anyone is looking for a great deal on hotels you can check it out on HoteIRaven. com Booked a room on there and they had the best rates around...

Honestly had the best week. The shows were great each night. Very well done and very entertaining. I'm vegan and found it hard at the a la cartes, especially with the lack of communication. The food was good though. I found it salty. The rooms got cleaned later in the day which was annoying but the staff we all so nice and so fun to talk to. There was constructiOn going on but they were really fast and you couldn't hear it at the beach. Definitely could be a great week if you want it to be.

Best 2 weeks spent with my best friend granddaughter Kelsie. We had lots of fun good food great entertainment. Days out horse riding swimming with dolphins catamaran sailing the Radikal 😬 Too much to mention 5⭐️ See you next July. We cannot wait 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻☀️

Honestly had the best week. The shows were great each night. Very well done and very entertaining. I'm vegan and found it hard at the a la cartes, especially with the lack of communication. The food was good though. I found it salty. The rooms got cleaned later in the day which was annoying but the staff we all so nice and so fun to talk to. There was constructiOn going on but they were really fast and you couldn't hear it at the beach. Definitely could be a great week if you want it to be.

Is a good resort, got a lot of facilities, spa, bars inside the pool, restaurants inside, and the staff is the best, super friendly. The disco isn't that good but still not bad

We enjoyed our vacation in IFA Bavaro Village many times before. It's been always a positive experience. This time we stayed at the resort in September. I wanted to say special thank you to the restaurant manager Hulio and waitress Aurid. Thank you!

Stayed here for a week, and had a great time. The food isn't the greatest, but we didn't come here for the food - we came for the sun and relaxation. The snack bar has decent pizza, and the à la carte restaurants are bit better quality - enough to get you by for the week. The hotel room was good with great air conditioning.The staff were friendly, and it's just a short walk to the beach.

Good:

Experience: The hotel itself was great! Everything you would need is there. The pool was good, the restaurant were great. Most staff were great too. You take a short buggy to the beach. Guest services are always available or you can wait for them. They do not take too long. Front desk also is available but might take very long to get to your room.

Room: We had a standard room located further away from the lobby but the walk was nice. The A/C was good but it burnt out. The cleaning staff were amazing. The TV controller didn't work and you cannot attach anything to the TV since it is in a box.

Location: The location is in a neighborhood that is under construction so it looks rough when coming inside.

Amenities: The welcoming rocks are rusted really bad so it looks like you are going to a trash hotel but it is not. Everything is nice inside the hotel. The rooms and the venues. The pool can do for re-modeling. The beach was so nice.

Bad:

Experience:

Some men at the hotel are atrocious so if you are women travelling by yourself then good luck. You will be harassed a great deal especially if it's only two woman. My girlfriend and I were asked if we're more than friends on many occasions while we tried to eat or walking around. The music will go until 12am and the bass is very strong but I slept through it. The construction was not bother at all. I won't mention what was said and done to us on our excursion because it's not the hotels fault.

Local Sellers:

The locals that come in to sell things are very aggressive and rude. One of them called us by saying "Hey black girl" or "Babes", "My lovers". There was a seller that held my hand for long and wouldn't let go. I also didn't shake another sellers hand and he berated me and argued with me that I was rude and what if he did that in our country. I was scared at that moment and regret not talking to management.

My girlfriend and I had to avoid passing the sellers due to this so we stayed away even though we wanted to go to the lobby.

Waiters:

We reserved a restaurant and the waiter was looking around to make sure everyone else was good and didn't hear us order. They took a half an hour to ask us anything.

Bus Boys:

The bus boys get really angry when you don't let them take your luggage and thats what we got on our first day there. It set the tone for the rest of the trip regarding the men there.

Wifi:

Wifi is 10 dollars a day there so avoid that by getting a hotel that has free wifi in lobby.
They have free WIFI at the entertainment area and at Cafe Dominicano but you can't really do anything but text through whatsapp.

If you are a straight couple, bunch of guys or family. You will have so much fun here. It would probably be a one of the best times.

I wish we were just treated better. I'm very sadden that we couldn't enjoy this experience being who we are.

Stayed August 2016

Great all inclusive hotel. Spotlessly clean. Comfortable rooms with awesome air con. Friendly hardworking staff and good food