Wish you were here?
Hotel overview
Visit a tropical paradise, where lagoon-style pools shimmer beneath swaying palm trees, just steps away from the sugar white sands of Playa Bavaro and the crystal blue Caribbean water. Iberostar Dominicana offers the ultimate family vacation, with incredible dining options, spa, casino, separate children's pool and activities for every member of the family. The resort is a relaxing and vibrant escape, with days full of sun and laughter and nights filled with music and shows.
Location
Punta Cana - BeachProperty information
{{title}}
Hotel details
Hotel advisories
General policies & fine print
Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.
Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.
Hotel Spring Break Policy - This hotel cannot guarantee a spring-break-free environment.
Transfer Policy - A price may display when children stay free, if your vacation includes transfer to your hotel.
General Information - Room taxes and service fees are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.
Ratings & reviews
TripAdvisor traveler rating
10149 reviews
-
Jan 07, 2025SPANISH ONLY PLEASE
The name of the resort says it: WAVES . It should also say strong winds, rain, and not so Caribean weather at the end of December and into the New Year. POSITIVES: very good food and many choices mostly at the buffets, very flexible with seating in the bufets and generally self-serving.Extremely hardworking people starting with maids, bellboys, and waiters although the language barrier is still there and most of them just nod because they don't understand English or French or anything else other than Spanish.Very fast check-in and check-out. NEGATIVES: room keys need daily recharged because you run into the surprise of being locked out even when you have 2 cards/keys on you. Rooms are dated and in need of a redo starting with washrooms with no fans and a toilet behind the door slamming your face each time a second person walks in.Doors during cleaning are left open and mosquitos will live in your bed for the rest of your stay bitting your legs, arms cruelly. A la Carte restaurants ARE ADVERTISED WITH HUGE PANELS EVERYWHERE ON THE PROPERTY AS NO RESERVATIONS NEEDED WITH FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS, ARE ACTUALLY HAVING LINES OF 20 PEOPLE EACH NIGHT AND ENTERING THEM MEANS YOU STILL NEED A RESERVATION EVEN IF THE RESTAURANTS OPERATES AT ONLY 50 PERCENT CAPACITY MOST OF THE EVENINGS. MANAGEMENT CHAGING RULES WITHOUT INFORMING ANYONE EVEN IF THE RESORT HAS AN APP. THE BEACH is extremely popular and it was this time of the year full .YOU CANNOT ENJOY ALMOST ANY FRESH SEA BREEZE AS MOST OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN FAMILIES WHO TRAVEL WITH ANYWHERE BETWEEN 3 TO 4 CHILDREN MINIMUM DECIDE TO SMOKE WEED ON THE BEACH BESIDE THEIR NEWBORNS, WITHOUT CONSIDERING ANYONE ELSE. FAR FROM BEING BIAST BUT MANAGEMENT NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS ISSUE. There is no beach service YOU ARE THE BEACH SERVICE unless you are in the PRIVILEDGE SECTION WHERE YOU ARE TREATED LIKE YOU HAVE MORE MONEY. We entered the first day in their ba,r did not order anything and my husband asked if WE ARE ALLOWED TO BE HERE. He was screamed at and told to get the F OUT FROM THERE.So much for respecting guests and being polite . The reception told us that this does not represent them. And to conclude our negatives, we were left at the resort AND NOT PICKED UP AND TRANSFERRED TO THE AIRPORT AS WE PAID AND PROMISED BY FRITZ THE AC AGENT WHO WAS EAGER TO SELL US THE VACATIONS AND CALLED US BUT DID NOT RETURN OUR CALL WHILE WE WERE WAITING TO BE PICKED UP AT 7.30 ON JANUARY 6 IN THE MORNING. IMAGINE IS ANYTHING HAD HAPPENED TO US AND WE NEEDED HIS HELP. NOT TO RELY ON ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU TO ALL THE HARDWORKING PEOPLE TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE. NO THANKS TO MANAGEMENT WHO DOES NOT COMMUNICATE APPROPRIATELY AND ORGANIZE THINGS PROPERLY UNLESS YOU SPEAK SPANISH.WE HAD TO WALK FROM CONCIERGE TO CONCIERGE AS WE WERE TOLD THAT THEIR ENGLISH WAS NOT GOOD. YOU WONDER BASED ON WHAT THEY HIRE THEIR STAFF. THIS WAS OUR FIRST AND LAST TRIP TO ANY IBEROSTAR RESORTS.
-
Dec 03, 2024All About the staff.
Amazing staff. The staff really make this hotel. Everyone we met were so happy & friendly. The beach is lovely as are the Swimming Pools. Food is Good in the Buffet Restaurant Idalisa was an Excellent waitress so helpful , kind & happy, We also Enjoyed the French A la Carte restaurant and received excellent service from Arismendy and Wilma who also gave us great service in the buffet restaurant. . The Asian A la carte was also Very Good and once again all the staff were outstanding. We had a Gourmet meal on the beach and our waiter Angel was Superb. The Rooms are perfectly adequate but are all being renovated, so should be amazing when finished. The Fantastic duo Mauricio & Rosiela on the Concierge Desk were so kind & helpful and made our stay so enjoyable. We then Joined the Iberostar Club and from then on it just got even better. The Ladies in the Star prestige lounge were so Helpful led by the Lovely Jiaha. ( Sorry if we spelt Your name but we lost our list.) Every detail was expertly dealt with and the Lovely Mia in the bar made our nights special every Night. Jose Angel took us under his wing and made every day extra special with his kind service and suggestions and tips on the best wines. Felix and Genesis on the star prestige beach area were also truly excellent so kind & helpful. We would also like to give a special thanks to Beethoven the guest service manager for organising an accessible room for my wife. All the managers especially the Food & beverage manager were so hands on and led by example, that is why I believe the hotel staff are so good. We were a bit spoilt after joining the Iberostar club and were truly treated like family. This Hotel is so Amazing because of the wonderful staff and you can't fail to have a wonderful Time. Thank You All from Andy & Elizabeth, See you again soon.
-
Oct 27, 2024Solid 4 Stars
We had a great trip at the Iberostar Dominicana! Overall, it was a good experience. The beach is beautiful and the waves are pretty calm! You can use non-motorized beach equipment for free for an hour a day! The pools are a perfect temperature and were perfect for cooling off. Most of the staff were very very friendly! The only time we had a couple unhappy people were at the pool bars when they were getting through lines of guests. A couple things to note: - The Dominicana is the non-renovated one and we had traditional room keys (the Punta Cana and other Iberostar’s have the key card on a bracelet. The traditional cards got demagnetized two different times which was annoying. - Our room was fine for us… a lot of open space and tall ceilings. Only issue was the shower drain didn’t work well so by the time we finished showering, we were in an ankle deep pool. - The food is fine. I thought the dinners were great (Italian was our favorite). Breakfast and lunch were not great… we stuck to pizza and fries every day. - There were A LOT of kids. Great for families, but if you aren’t looking for that vibe, either upgrade to the Selection or Bavaro or find another hotel. If we stayed here again, we would try to upgrade to the Selection or Coral Level. They got nicer rooms, other dining options, private pools and beach chairs.
-
Oct 24, 2024Avoid!
What a complete debacle this holiday turned out to be! First off, we shelled out around three grand for a week during the off-season—seemed like a steal, right? But the organization from Love Holidays and the hotel? A total shambles. Let’s kick things off at the airport. We paid extra for a private taxi, only to twiddle our thumbs for over an hour waiting for the driver. The car was a relic from 2001—scraped and battered, more suitable for the scrap heap than a holiday! The woman who ushered us to the vehicle immediately began hawking tours, setting the tone for the week. I received no less than ten texts about these “fantastic deals” during our stay. It felt like a sales pitch from the moment we arrived! The hotel? Well, it was decent—definitely not five-star material, but a solid four. The rooms were clean, but the reception experience? Absolutely horrendous! The staff barely spoke English or German, which is shocking in the tourism biz. After an agonizing check-in with zero hospitality, we finally got our keys and headed to our room, which, to be fair, was alright. Now, the main buffet restaurant was a pleasant surprise, with a decent variety of food. But the themed restaurants? An absolute catastrophe! We ventured into the Italian joint, and if we were Italian, we’d have been mortified. Their version of lasagna looked like it had come from a nightmare, and the starter? I could whip up something more appetizing at a buffet! And the staff? They seemed utterly uninterested. It was clear they were overworked and underpaid; they even told us as much! When we waited ages for our starters, their response was basically, “Who cares? We don’t get paid enough to bother!” Then there was the nightclub experience—oh dear! The DJ was dreadful, turning what should have been a lively party into a snooze fest. Even the free drinks couldn’t lift the mood; most folks were leaving early, visibly unimpressed. Let’s not forget the hotel staff who approached us with travel tips. One charming fellow named Victor convinced us to attend a timeshare presentation for a “free massage.” My husband talked me into it, despite my better judgment. The presentation stretched into a torturous 3.5 hours, culminating in a pitch for a timeshare at a whopping $27,000! What a ludicrous scam! On the bright side, the pools were lovely, always clean, with plenty of sunbeds. The beach was a short stroll away, which was a bonus. But then, the relentless sellers on the beach became a real pain. One chap even woke me from a blissful snooze to peddle sunglasses! The hotel seriously needs to rein these folks in; they were far too aggressive. Finally, when we checked out, the receptionist didn’t even bother to ask how our stay was. Just a quick “bye.” Really? In a five-star place? So, if you’re after a genuinely relaxing holiday, do yourself a favor and head to Mauritius or the Seychelles instead. This place felt more like a tourist trap, where guests are treated like walking wallets based on their nationality. What a farce!
-
Oct 22, 2024
A mixture of some really good things and some that need improvement
We booked our package holiday with BA with an all inclusive and premium room for 2 adults and 1 child. We were given room 4170 in the older building and we’ve noticed some strong persistent smell of mould so we requested another room. We were moved to 4174 which eventually proved the same so we asked to meet the manager. We spoke with Alex who listened to us and showed understanding of our concerns. He moved us to 5170 in the other building where they’ve done some renovations. The new room is visibly better - recently painted with newer furniture and bathroom. It’s still quite humid, we can feel it in the bedsheets and pillows, but at the smell is not so strong. I guess this is the best we can get in the circumstances, so we appreciate the willingness of Alex to help and resolve as best as he could. The grounds are really beautiful and well maintained - landscaped with lots of palm trees and flowers. There are two pools and a nice beach so something for everyone. There are enough chairs around the pools but we do go there early as we are still on London time. The beach is nice, there is some seaweed but not too much and it doesn’t affect the beauty of the beach. Obviously it’s quite wavy as it’s the Atlantic but that’s OK. So far we have only tried the buffet and the food is as expected for this type of family resort - good choice for all tastes, even if not the best we’ve had in the Dominican Republic. The one thing I don’t like in the buffet is the lack of A/C - it can feel very hot and the lack of ventilation allows some flies to get in. We haven’t been able to try any of the restaurants yet as they don’t take bookings so whenever we went they were full. I think it’s possible to get a table if you go at 18:00 but that’s a bit early for dinner for us. I can’t say much about the entertainment as we are still jet lagged and can’t stay up that late but this is not that important for us and we don’t mind. The staff is a mixed bag - some are more enthusiastic than others, but the cleaning ladies are definitely diligent. Overall this is an average Caribbean resort, I honestly don’t think it’s 5 stars, I’d say more 3.5, and your stay will depend a lot on what room you get. I hope they will renovate all the rooms so that all guests can enjoy their stay.