We stayed in a very colorful junior suite at Iberostar Bavaro. The grounds are gorgeous, along with the amazing beach and beautiful landscaping. It is situated next to Iberostar Dominicana and Iberostar Punta Cana. I'm not sure of the price per night because we booked a package of hotel, airfare, and transportation to and from the Punta Cana airport through Apple Vacations. The hotel was completely booked during our stay.

The Rooms:

The rooms are arranged in villas of eight junior suites in each, while in Punta Cana and Dominicana the rooms are in large buildings. In each room there is two full beds and two futon/couches that were made up so someone could sleep on them, but they were very small. There is also a TV with about 25 channels, mostly in English, and a mini-fridge that is always stocked with water, soda, and beer (don't drink the tap water!). Air conditioning and a ceiling fan kept the room pleasantly cool, especially at night. There is also a balcony with a small table. One drawback is that there isn't a lot space to store clothes. In the bathroom, the shower is slightly narrow and the curtain is not quite wide enough. The toiletries were very good.

Activities:

There is an activity every half an hour at various parts of the hotel. They range from bingo to dancing, from horseshoes to vollyball. The activities coordinators were very friendly. On the beach, which is gorgeous, there is a place toward Dominicana were you can rent snorkels, ride the banana boat, sign up for diving, and many other things. At the pool, there is a stand were children can pick out an animal and glaze/paint it. They fire it and you can pick it up the next day.

*To get an idea of the dining see my entry "Dining at Iberostar Bavaro"*

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Very Good
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Very Good
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

Iberostar Dominicana is situated between Iberostar Punta Cana and Iberostar Bavaro. Dominicana and Punta Cana look almost identical with their motel-style buildings. Bavaro has villa units. Each of the three complexes has a pool, a show area, restaurants, bars, a reception desk, beach access, and other facilities.

The resort was beautiful and always clean. There are palm trees, a big pool, and a gorgeous beach to name a few. The evening breeze off the ocean was magical. One thing that was strikingly different than the beaches I've been to in the US is that many of the women at this resort go topless - even with children playing on the beach.

To add to the atmosphere of the beautiful resort, there were flamingos, peacocks, roosters, and other birds that roamed the grounds. There were other animals, such as frogs and turtles, that swam about contently in the various fountains on the property. The animals generally do not bother the guests; however, there were one or two mornings I could hear roosters doing what roosters do at sunrise. Also, if you sit near the water in the main dining area of Dominicana and Punta Cana, there is a good chance a flamingo will come along and peek over the railing at your plate.

Our room, a standard garden view, was a nice size and had a balcony. It had a refrigerator filled with free soda, beer, and water. Housekeeping always kept our room spotless. The one thing that did seem to be a problem, however, was the lack of washcloths. With the exception of 2 days, housekeeping always seemed to be out of them that week. There are no irons in the rooms, but the front desk will bring you one if you ask.

There is a daily list of activities scheduled at half-hour increments from 10am to 5pm. The activities were lead by the energetic activity coordinators. These coordinators were very personable and hardworking. I was impressed that some of them had managed to memorize our names despite the huge number of tourists they come in contact with daily. The activities included exercise classes, dance classes, volleyball, ping-pong, mini golf, bingo, and many other activities. They even offered a daily Spanish class, which I enjoyed attending each morning.

The shows normally got started around 9:45pm. The emcees spoke Spanish and immediately translated to English. Audience participation seemed to be the main focus of the shows, so sit in the back if that's not your thing. There was an excellent stage band that played everything from merengue to Top 40. Despite this, the shows rarely kept our attention for longer than the time it took us to finish our drinks.