Why I LOVED My Time At Grand Palladium Bavaro!
When booking the Grand Palladium Resort & Spa Dominican Republic, it can get a bit confusing when you are trying to figure out which resort to book at. Honestly, wherever you book, you will enjoy yourself! It just depends which kind of room you want. The Grand Palladium Bavaro, Grand Palladium Punta Cana, Grand Palladium Punta Cana Palace, and Turquesa are all on the same property and that is part of the reason why I loved my time here! You get access to 3 resorts in one (or 4 if you book with the Turquesa)!
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I have a lot to cover as I go over these all inclusive resorts, so instead of talking about them separately, I’ll make it easy for you and go over each topic broadly. I’ll divide it up into rooms, food, pools, beach, and entertainment. And by the end, just to warn you, you’ll probably be booking a week!
- ROOMS
The Grand Palladium has a number of room choices to enhance your experience while at the resort. They have suites, romantic room set ups, swim up room options, and they even have rooftop jacuzzis available – depending on how much you want to spend! We just got the basic package at Grand Palladium Bavaro and we really enjoyed it. We had told them it was our birthdays when they asked if we were celebrating anything and they gave us an upgrade! We ended up with a jacuzzi in the room! (We never used it though because we were always in the pool!)
Room 1822 Highlights…
- Quiet Room in a Villa set back from the action
- Walk out Balcony
- Comfortable Beds
- Huge Shower
- Super Hot Water
- They gave us a Birthday Cake!
- Spacious Suite
- Plenty of TV Channels
- Medium sized Safe that easily fit my laptop
- The Fridge had Snacks & Drinks (so nothing was melted)
Downfalls…
- Bathroom not private
- Housekeeping just remade beds, not fresh sheets (we probably had to ask for that since everything is green these days but missed the memo)
- They replace Shower Towels but not face clothes and medium towels (again probably had to ask for them, we wrote them a note and they started leaving us some)
- If we had water left in our bottles they did not give us new ones (but again once we wrote a note they gave us extra)
I wanted to note that they keep the rooms cold due to the humidity. It’s a bit confusing to figure out the air conditioning control, but once you do set it it will take some time to warm up the room. Usually housekeeping will reset it back lower due to the humidity (so mold doesn’t grow in the rooms), so maybe before you go to dinner, reset it to warmer and it should warm up by the time you get back. Bring warmer pjs just in case or I used a shower towel as a blanket before we figured out how it worked. We found that just turning it off worked best.
I also want to remind you that you’re on an island so there are mosquitoes around. To keep them out of your room, enter your room when all the lights are off and close the door behind you quickly. Same with the balcony door, keep the curtains closed and be sure to close the door to the room behind you. If you do end up with one in your room, leave all the lights off except for the bathroom. The lights will attract it and you should be able to spot it flying around and kill it.
- FOOD
There are so many options for food at the Grand Palladium Dominican Republic! There are over 30 restaurants and bars across the resorts! They range from 24 hour snack bars & beach bars, to a la cartes & buffets!
Food Highlights…
- My Favorite A La Cartes were La Paisana and Portofino
- My Favorite Buffets were Behique and Arrecife
- You can hit the 24 Hour Sports Snack Bar 24/7
- Wide Variety of Options
- Wide Variety of Venues
- If you don’t like an A La Carte you can always go to the Buffet or Sports bar
- They take Allergies Seriously
- Really Yummy Food!
Downfalls…
- You have to Reserve a la cartes When You Arrive to get your ideal time.
- What you Order May Not Be What You Expected
- The Buffets always Rotate so you may not get the same meal option twice (Good thing but it’s a Bad thing if you Really Liked what you Ate.)
- The Grand Palladium App is NOT 100% Effective, a lot of times you have to Wait For a Reservation Confirmation but it never comes which means you don’t have a reservation (even though it says the reservation time is available)
While you’re here, make sure you try all versions of plantains, including mofungo, and drink some Mamajuana and Presidente! We really enjoyed the fresh Pork from the Barbecue, the late night Fried Chicken, and the Paellas!
- POOLS & BEACH
These are parts of the resort you will have to take a look at for yourself! Bavaro Beach is a beautiful beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic with some of the bluest water you will see. Meanwhile, with 5 Swim Up Bars, you’ll want to hang out at a different pool every day! Good luck choosing where to tan!
Pools & Beach Highlights…
- 6 Pools with 5 Swim Up Bars!
- A Beach Swing!
- Each Pool is conveniently located within each resort
- You have access to any pool except Turquesa
- They have a Kids Pool and an Adult Only Pool options
- They have a Kids Club so a lot of kids stay around there
- The Beach goes on Forever
- The Water is super Blue
- The Pools have Hammocks
- The Pools have a number of areas with a Mix of Shallow Water and Deep Water
- There are Lounge Chairs in the water in the Pools
- Both the Pools and Beach have Tiki Huts for Shady Options
- White soft Sandy Beach
- They rake the Beach so Not Many Stones
Downfalls…
- This part of Bavaro beach doesn’t have a good view for Sunrise or Sunset, you just get a partial view
- You need to Reserve Your Chair before 9am or you’ll have a hard time finding a seat
- Not many Seashells on the Beach
- Beachside Vendors
- ENTERTAINMENT
Every night at the Grand Palladium Bavaro side, there is a show at the Sunset Theater. There’s also nightly live entertainment in each of the lobbies. Depending on what you’re in the mood for, you’ll find something for everyone including a small casino!
Entertainment Highlights…
- There’s Different unique Entertainment Nightly
- There’s a Night Club that’s open Every Night called Hemingway
- Each Lobby has it’s own Entertainment
- You won’t be able to stop dancing once you start!
- They have a good mix of Musicians Playing Instruments and Singers
- There’s Daily Entertainment Poolside like Dancing Lessons and Bartending Classes
- They do a lot to Encourage Socializing
- They have all kinds of Sports going on
- The Entertainers are Super Friendly and try to get to Know You
Downfalls…
- There’s so much to do it can be overwhelming!
Generally speaking, I think the main reason that I LOVED the Grand Palladium Dominican Republic, was because they remain true to their roots. When you are staying here, YOU KNOW that you are in the Dominican Republic! The food all has a Dominican spin to it, you hear Latino artists playing across the resorts, with the shows you get to see a piece of their Culture, they help you speak Spanish, etc.
The staff here was a lot of fun. Everywhere we went people said hello to us. It was such a huge complex that it was impossible to get bored. In fact, I felt myself at one point so over stimulated by the great time I was having and the beautiful things I was seeing that I had to go back to the room and just chill!
I’ve been to many All Inclusive Resorts, and sometimes you feel like they are just catering to American Tourists. They only play American Top 40 on repeat every day, their cuisine is similar to what you can order somewhere back home, it becomes all very static and stereotyped. It’s like hey I’m in Mexico why does it feel like I’m in Florida? If I wanted to go to Florida, I’d go to Florida.
SO it was REALLY REFRESHING to travel to the Dominican Republic and feel like you are visiting the Dominican Republic! Many Many Thank Yous to Grand Palladium! I had an amazing trip!
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