The Royalton Bavaro Resort in Punta Cana is an incredibly fun destination for families, friends or couples. There are endless activities like the lazy river, mini golf, flo-rider surf wave and a whole slew of activities every day organized by the hotel. Overall, we had a very enjoyable stay and found the property and grounds to be incredibly well kept.

In the winter, cooler waters make this beach absolutely pristine and sargassum free. Unfortunately, there is no seaweed barrier built up, meaning in the summer, that whole beach does suffer from sargassum more than the gated communities of Cap Cana and Punta Cana Resort Club.

If Sargassum is of concern to you, we recommend checking TripAdvisor photos from the time of year you are planning to travel to compare what it was like the previous year.

There are essentially two offerings at Royalton: Standard and Diamond Club. All the room types are available in both standard and Diamond Club offerings and are the same exact rooms, but Diamond Club features some additional services and a Diamond Club pool and section of beach.

If you’re like me and get anxious about ending up in a “meh” room on vacation, Royalton has a very good option for you. There is a pre-select room option that starts at $60 and I imagine increases based on views etc, but it may be a great option. Having the option to select a room can save you the phone calls to the front desk begging to be moved if you end up in a less than ideal view or configuration to your liking.

Regarding tipping, we would recommend tipping the service people that you do have positive interactions with, particularly if you are hoping for swift service on the beach or at the bars. Carrying small bills is helpful in case you do have positive interactions. In the Dominican, 50 pesos is just under $1.

One note about the Flo-Rider – DO NOT wear anything with strings. Both Max and I ripped our bathing suits, which was a real bummer. Wear only stringless bathing suites – for men, try tucking strings into your shorts. They get caught and rip off! It’s worth it and it’s fun, but don’t wear your best suits like we did. They did say something about how they must have been cheap and unfortunately, they were actually very expensive. Again, a related a service issue where it’s never really their fault, it must be the guest. We chose not to say anything further and not let it ruin the day, but just remember to wear non-string bathing suits!

As a reminder, our COVID-19 rating is not factored into the overall score of the hotel as it is a unique and (hopefully) temporary addition. This separate rating factors in the rules and recommendations the hotel advertises and the follow-through of both staff and guests. Max and I are particularly sensitive to COVID regulations at hotels due to our extensive travel and absolute lack of desire to contract or spread the disease. Overall, the hotel did an ok job. There are no mask requirements for guests anywhere other than the buffet and even that was never disclosed to us at check-in.

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