Lopesan Costa Bávaro Resort, Spa & Casino
Lopesan Costa Bávaro is big, handsome and tiered. It is a 1,042-room property on Playa Bávaro built around seven freshwater pools, including a two-level infinity pool that is the image the resort sells itself on, with Spanish-influenced architecture and gardens that photograph better than almost anything else in the area. The unusual piece is The Boulevard, a leisure district on site with an eight-slide water park, a bowling alley, an arcade, bars and a nightclub, which means the resort has somewhere to send you when the beach is not cooperating. Bear in mind that tour operators flag The Boulevard and the casino as chargeable, so the entertainment is there but not all of it is included.
Traveler Insights
Pros
- +Seven freshwater pools, the signature one being a two-level infinity pool with a water blade, plus a separate adults-only pool with its own La Perla bar
- +Serious dining breadth for a resort this size: eight a la carte restaurants and two buffets, backed by eleven bars, four pool bars and two beach clubs. Named venues include The Valley (American grill, open through the day), Góndola (Italian), Inari (Asian with teppanyaki tables and a sushi bar), El Charro (Mexican), Mareas (Mediterranean) and La Boheme (French)
- +The Unique by Lopesan tier buys a genuinely separate resort inside the resort: its own Unique Pool, two Unique bars, the Unique Beach Club with a grilled lobster and seafood dinner, and butler service that guests single out as the best part of the stay
- +Even the entry-level room is a junior suite of about 43 square metres with a 12 square metre terrace or balcony, and every category comes with 24-hour room service and Wi-Fi throughout the resort at no charge
- +The Boulevard is a whole leisure district rather than a token kids' area: an all-ages water park with eight slides, a bowling alley, an arcade, an ice cream parlour, a coffee shop open until 1am and the Chia Lounge nightclub
- +OM Spa by Lopesan runs to 2,900 square metres with multiple treatment rooms, a beauty centre and a salon, which puts it among the larger resort spas in Bávaro
- +Beachfront on Playa Bávaro with a private white-sand stretch, Spanish-influenced architecture and landscaped gardens that guests consistently call one of the most photogenic properties in Punta Cana
- +Strong evening program: live shows, an on-site casino, an English pub, a sports bar and a wine bar all in walking distance of each other
Cons
- −The a la carte system is the most repeated friction point in recent guest reports. Every specialty restaurant serves dinner only, roughly 18:30 to 22:00, reservations are made on property rather than before you arrive, and guests report a surcharge at Mareas
- −Buffet and standard-tier food quality draws mixed reviews from travelers used to higher-priced all-inclusives, and entertainment is the weakest of the tour-operator guest sub-scores rather than a highlight
- −Check-in bogs down badly during peak arrival windows, with guests reporting multi-hour waits and room assignment errors. Unique guests have a separate, faster desk
- −A surprising amount of The Boulevard is chargeable. Tour operators mark the complex itself with a fee flag, and the escape room, axe throwing and the Baco wine bar all carry extra costs. The casino is also marked as pay to play
- −Water sports included are modest: kayaking, snorkeling gear, an hour of catamaran time and an introductory diving lesson in the pool. Open-water scuba, sailing and windsurfing are nearby operators at extra cost, not resort amenities
- −Service quality tracks what you paid. Unique areas get praise for staff who learn your preferences, while standard-tier service can feel indifferent, and upselling to Unique or the Adults Only Club can feel persistent
- −Playa Bávaro faces the Atlantic, so sargassum is a real seasonal risk from roughly May through August. Crews rake the beach every morning, but conditions change daily with wind and current. Beach chairs in high season also go early, so plan on being out before 9am
The experience splits along the Unique by Lopesan line. At Unique level you get a dedicated pool, two bars, the Unique Beach Club with a grilled lobster and seafood dinner, and butler service, and those guests tend to come home enthusiastic. Book the standard Resort tier and you are in the same 43 square metre junior suite footprint with a terrace, 24-hour room service and Wi-Fi throughout, but with buffet-heavy dining and more variable service. Dining is wide rather than flexible: eight a la carte restaurants and two buffets, with named venues like Inari for teppanyaki and sushi, Góndola for Italian, El Charro for Mexican and El Asador as an adults-only steakhouse, but every specialty restaurant is dinner-only and reservations happen on property rather than in advance. Buffet Caribe is also adults-only, which trips up families expecting both buffets to be open to them.
This resort makes the most sense for families who want a water park and a bowling alley within the gates, and for couples willing to pay the Unique premium for the beach club and butler. Note that OTAs sell two separate premium products here, Unique Club and an Adults Only Club, so there are two different ways to upgrade and they are not the same thing. It competes with Hard Rock Punta Cana and Barceló Bávaro Palace on scale and with the Catalonia properties on grounds and quiet, and at Unique level it holds its own against any of them on service and food. Swim-up junior suites exist in both the Resort and Unique tiers, so you do not have to buy the top tier to get one.
Common Questions
Is the Unique by Lopesan upgrade worth the extra cost?
What is The Boulevard, and does it cost extra?
How family-friendly is it, and are there age restrictions?
How do dinner reservations work at the specialty restaurants?
How bad is the sargassum here?
How does Lopesan compare to Hard Rock Punta Cana?
Restaurants (12)
| Type | Restaurants |
|---|---|
| Buffet | Atlántico Buffet, Caribe Buffet |
| Mexican | El Charro |
| Italian | Góndola |
| Japanese & sushi | Inari |
| Steakhouse | El Asador |
| Seafood | Mareas |
| French | La Boheme |
| American & grill | The Valley American Food, Yolo Fast Food |
| International & fusion | Unique Beach Club, Goldfish Beach Club |
From the resort's own dining pages. Only restaurants the resort lists are shown.
What's nearby
Bávaro Beach11 min drive · 1.9 mi
Macao Beach30 min drive · 15 mi
Cap Cana Marina35 min drive · 15 mi
40 min drive · 18 mi
More things to do (23)
- Playa Blanca · beach30 min drive · 12 mi
- Juanillo Beach · beach35 min drive · 15 mi
- Scape Park · adventure park40 min drive · 18 mi
- Punta Espada Golf Club · golf40 min drive · 18 mi
- Higüey · town55 min drive · 37 mi
- Arena Gorda Beach · beach25 min drive · 6.2 mi
- Cabeza de Toro Beach · beach40 min drive · 5.0 mi
- Marinarium snorkel cruise · excursion40 min drive · 5.0 mi
- Laguna Bávaro · nature40 min drive · 5.1 mi
- Los Corales · town9 min drive · 2.3 mi
- Cocotal Golf & Country Club · golf10 min drive · 2.2 mi
- Barceló Bávaro Golf · golf14 min drive · 2.4 mi
- White Sands Golf Course · golf20 min drive · 5.1 mi
- Catalonia Caribe Golf Club · golf20 min drive · 6.2 mi
- Dolphin Island Park · adventure park20 min drive · 3.1 mi
- Iberostar Bávaro Golf Club · golf20 min drive · 7.3 mi
- Vista Cana Golf Club · golf25 min drive · 8.1 mi
- Dolphin Explorer · adventure park25 min drive · 8.3 mi
- Cana Bay Golf Club · golf25 min drive · 8.9 mi
- Indigenous Eyes Ecological Park · nature30 min drive · 13 mi
- Deep-sea fishing charter · excursion35 min drive · 15 mi
- Hoyo Claro · cenote45 min drive · 19 mi
- Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia, Higüey · historic site55 min drive · 37 mi
Amenities
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Style & Rooms
Atmosphere
Room upgrades
Seaweed & sargassum
Punta Cana gets sargassum, typically worst May through August.See the month-by-month guide →Google Reviews★ 4.9 · 55,664 reviews
“We had an amazing time at Lopesan Costa Bávaro! From the moment we arrived, the service was outstanding and the staff truly made our stay special ( shoutout to our butler Andreas). Everyone was friendly, attentive, and always willing to help with a s...”
“I had an amazing experience at this resort in the Dominican Republic. From the moment we arrived, the staff made us feel welcome and taken care of. The property was beautiful, clean, and well maintained, with great attention to detail. The food was...”
“We had an amazing stay at Lopesan. The resort is beautiful, very clean, and well maintained, with great food options and a relaxing atmosphere. Everything felt organized and high-end, and the staff truly made the experience special. A big shoutout t...”
