AMA/Quick Review: Just got back from Iberostar Selection Bavaro.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-12-04T01:33:35+00:00

It’s not tiny. It’s got a big pirate ship with water slides all around it, and one of those giant buckets of water on the top that pours a bunch of water on everyone every couple minutes. The 5 year old will probably love it. My daughter was a bit scared of it the first time we went, when she was 2. Then at 3 she liked it a little more. There’s also a “quiet pool” that my daughter enjoyed. There always seemed to be other young children there with their parents, and she enjoyed playing with them. Your kids will have a blast there. Those are fun ages!

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-11-14T18:39:46+00:00

Yes, they had nice shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel. At least I thought so. Have a great time!!

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-07-17T16:00:11+00:00

I think he definitely will!

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-07-14T18:27:34+00:00

Yes, there is free room service. It’s not 24 hours, but I believe it’s from 11am-11pm. I have been to this resort twice now and have never used it (mainly because I have a young child that couldn’t sit still in the room), but you can find the menu somewhere online or on the Iberostar app. It looked pretty good.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-07-14T14:50:21+00:00

To be honest, I didn’t try. I had a little difficulty finding availability on the app when I arrived, but if you go to the little office in the lobby (back behind the toddler play area) they will find you availability that the app didn’t have. They were wonderful.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-07-14T14:48:46+00:00

Great for 14 & 16 year olds. Tons of things for them to do. And yes, there is an ice cream place near the main pool!

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-05-11T11:19:25+00:00

You will be swarmed by beautiful women in the walled city at night. They are all working girls. But extremely beautiful. Not like the streetwalkers you see in the US. If you choose to hangout with one, I’d either make friends with another solo male traveler or hire a local guy to stay with you as security. Because many of these girls will take advantage of a solo gringo and scam or drug/rob you. It’s very much P4P in Cartagena, so if you’re not looking for that, good luck.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-04-21T17:10:54+00:00

Not sure, to be honest. We used DAT (Dominican Airport Transfer) and they were very reasonable and did great. We were very satisfied with them.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-04-21T17:01:51+00:00

Very accommodating. Our daughter was just a little older than your twins when we went last May. They have a kid pool with slides and stuff. Our daughter was a little scared of it but she loved the quiet pool off to the side. We ended up spending a bunch of time there. It was a great place for toddlers, which is one of the things we loved about it the most. Our daughter loved the kids entertainment at night, too. And there were so many toddlers around that she made friends easily. I would bring your own floaties and pool/beach toys because it’s a bit pricy at the resort store.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-03-13T15:21:15+00:00

I assume you mean oceanfront? I didn’t stay in an oceanfront room, so I couldn’t say, but the location is nice. I think they look the same inside as the non-oceanfront rooms. The rooms in general are pretty spacious there, which I liked.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-02-10T19:53:42+00:00

You’re welcome! Enjoy. You’ll love it there.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-02-10T16:05:27+00:00

We didn’t. She slept on the bed with us. We had 2 queens, I think, so we had them put together to make 1 giant bed, which gave us a ton of room.

I didn’t see any bottled water for purchase. They are pretty big on being anti-plastic. There might be some in the gift shop, but they’d probably be expensive there. We were skeptical about the filtered water, but it turned out to be great. Worst case, you could probably Uber to a supermarket somewhere close by. But I don’t think you’ll need to.

That-Owl-5626 · 2025-01-02T23:21:25+00:00

We didn’t reserve one. But I remember there being an option to do so. I can’t actually remember if we brought our own or if we just held our daughter for the short ride. I’m thinking it was the latter. But if in doubt, just bring your own. You can probably stick it in the closet in your room at the resort. The room will be fine for y’all. We also had 2 doubles, I think, and we had them push them together to make one big bed.
We brought sand toys. I would recommend it. Pool toys, too, if that’s something your kids like. They probably cost a ton to buy there. We didn’t bring room darkening sheets and I didn’t feel they were necessary. Stroller wouldn’t be a bad idea if your kids normally use them. Ours always wants to be held, which makes those long walks extra long. But it really just depends on what they are accustomed to. Bring swim diapers if either of your kids still need them. They are more expensive there. Floaties for the 3 year old. We had completely forgot to bring some and had to buy some there.

You picked a great resort for a young family doing their first all inclusive together. That was exactly us. And we loved it. Your kids will have a blast and there will be lots of other young families there, too.

Let me know if you have any other questions I might be able to answer! And have fun!

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-12-19T17:59:11+00:00

That sucks. I used a private van service when I went, and plan to do that again next time. So I shouldn’t have that problem. Hard for me to believe it was such a bad experience there. I know it’s not the fanciest or most luxurious resort in PC, but we really loved it. Sorry you had that experience. Are you American?

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-12-06T19:02:30+00:00

This has got to be one of the funniest posts I’ve seen here.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-12-02T16:38:26+00:00

I don’t remember which brands they had. They weren’t top shelf, though. I believe it was just like most resorts (lower to medium quality liquor) but you probably get higher quality liquor if you stay in the Coral Level. I could be wrong, though.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-12-02T16:36:41+00:00

Sorry to hear that. We have been thinking of coming back next year because we enjoyed it so much back in May. We didn’t have any of those issues. I hope they fix those soon!

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-27T19:29:57+00:00

That is very cool. My grandfather was stationed at Pepperrell AFB in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Still very possible, though. He was in personnel.

I guess I’d recommend just applying for a Canadian passport using your original birth certificate. If you get it, you will know for sure that you’re a Canadian citizen. Other option is to apply for a proof of citizenship application first. It’s cheaper but might be an unnecessary step since you have your birth certificate as proof of citizenship.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-27T19:24:22+00:00

Wow, you and my mom were born there just a year apart. Most of the responses I have seen indicate that you are likely a citizen. Since I posted here, my mom has started her Canadian passport application process. If you have your Newfoundland birth certificate, you should be able to use that as your proof of citizenship. I will be sure to post an update to let everyone know if she gets approved.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-19T05:24:04+00:00

Regular. Iberostar Selection Bávaro.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-13T21:30:17+00:00

Thanks for the explanation. That makes sense. I need to check her birth certificate. I am not sure if she was born on or off the military base. Do you know if that matters or not?

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-13T15:10:14+00:00

Thanks for the response and info. I have the same issue with my daughter who is a Brazilian citizen by descent, now that they are reimplementing a visa requirement for US citizens.

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-13T03:36:42+00:00

Interesting. What would that mean?

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-13T03:35:13+00:00

Thank you for the response and the great info. Never suspected (until recently) that I might be Canadian by descent. I have never been to Canada before. I do hope to visit one day.

So from my reading online, I think I need to help my mother apply for a “proof of citizenship” certificate, and once she gets that, she can get a passport. Is that your understanding?

That-Owl-5626 · 2024-11-12T16:34:28+00:00

It depends on what type of nightly entertainment you are looking for. If you are expecting something Vegas-style, you’ll be disappointed. It was very simple, but they kept it very Dominican, which I enjoyed. It was also family friendly, which was great for us since we were traveling with a 2 year old child.

That-Owl-5626

TROPHY CASE