Five-star Bávaro, Punta Cana
JOIA Bávaro by Iberostar
The adults-only Iberostar on Bávaro Beach, 272 suites with a butler on call in many of them, and a replica Spanish galleon floating in the lagoon pool.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- Suites
- 272, adults only
- Formerly
- Iberostar Grand Bávaro
- AAA
- Four Diamond, 2024 and 2025
- From the airport
- About 30 minutes from PUJ
The hotel
Iberostar Grand Bávaro, renamed.
This was Iberostar Grand Bávaro, the adults-only hotel of the chain's Arena Gorda complex, built in a Greco-Roman style with art made for the grounds. Every one of the 272 suites has a whirlpool. A dozen Grand Suites stand by the sea, and nineteen swim-out suites open straight onto a narrow pool. In the lagoon pool sits a replica Spanish galleon, which turns into the nightclub after dark.
In 2024 Iberostar created JOIA as its top brand, and the hotel took the name JOIA Bávaro. Behind it lies the Iberostar Bávaro Golf Club, an 18-hole course by P. B. Dye, and on either side are Iberostar Selection Bávaro Suites and Iberostar Waves Dominicana, whose restaurants JOIA guests may also use. AAA gave the hotel Four Diamonds in 2024 and again in 2025.
- Butlers Butler suites come with a butler on call around the clock, and room service runs 24 hours.
- SPA Sensations Two floors on the beach, with the hydrotherapy area included in the stay and a gym open day and night upstairs.
- The galleon Cala Esmeralda, a nightclub inside a replica Spanish galleon, and Larimar, a bar set in the pool.
Rooms & suites
Suites, many with a butler.
Sizes as published by the hotel in square feet, converted by us. Beds are king or two doubles.
- Entry Suite About 33 square metres, with a garden view.
- Swim-out Swim Out Butler Suite About 40 square metres, stepping down into a semi-private pool, with a butler.
- On the sand Ocean Front Butler Suite About 55 square metres facing the beach, with a butler.
Dining
Restaurants on the beach and by the lagoon.
Restaurants as listed by the hotel. Shown for information.
- Le Tourbillon Haute Cuisine Concept cuisine The hotel's fine dining room
- Casa de la Playa Dominican On the ocean front
- El Galeón Surf & Turf Seafood and grilled beef In the hotel
- Hashira Japanese and teppanyaki Booking needed
- La Tentazione Wine Cellar Italian In the hotel
Recognition
Ratings and awards.
- AAA Four Diamond 2024 and 2025
- Tripadvisor Travelers' Choice Best of the Best 2026
- World Golf Awards 2022, best golf course in the Dominican Republic
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Age Adults only, from 18.
- Transfers The hotel includes private transfers to and from Punta Cana airport for stays of three nights or more.
- Extras The Grand Cellar wine bar, with more than 200 labels, and golf are charged separately.
Getting there
Flying to Punta Cana.
Punta Cana International (PUJ) takes scheduled flights and private jets. Golfbreaks puts the transfer at about 30 minutes, and the hotel provides a private one for stays of three nights or more.
- San Juan 40 min
- Miami 2 h 15
- New York 3 h 40
- Toronto 4 h 15
- Madrid 9 h 00 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- Is JOIA Bávaro adults only?
- Yes. Guests must be 18 or over.
- Is JOIA Bávaro the old Iberostar Grand Bávaro?
- Yes. The hotel was renamed after Iberostar created its JOIA brand in 2024.
- Does JOIA Bávaro have golf?
- The Iberostar Bávaro Golf Club is next door: 18 holes by P. B. Dye, with green fees charged separately.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Punta Cana?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Punta Cana, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Punta Cana
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Eden Roc Cap Cana Stand-alone pool suites in tropical gardens, a beach club with an infinity pool, and the only Relais & Châteaux address in the country.
- Tortuga Bay, Puntacana Resort & Club Thirteen villas designed by Oscar de la Renta, each with a golf cart, looking over the resort's courses to the sea.
- The St. Regis Cap Cana Resort Opened in 2025 with 200 rooms, 36 of them suites, and named in the MICHELIN selection.
- Sanctuary Cap Cana, a Luxury Collection Resort Adults only, with 324 suites in buildings laid out like a Spanish colonial town on a cliff above the sea.
- Paradisus Palma Real Golf & Spa Resort Guests play a 27-hole, par-72 course, and The Reserve within the resort admits adults only.
- Barceló Bávaro Palace Four pools on Bávaro Beach, one of them semi-Olympic.
- Barceló Bávaro Beach, Adults Only Next door to the Bávaro Palace, 589 rooms for adults, most with a view of the sea.
- Iberostar Selection Bávaro Suites An all-suite Iberostar on the beach, with a spa and a concierge desk.
- Iberostar Waves Dominicana Set on the beachfront, with spa treatments and an evening programme of shows.
- Grand Palladium Select Bávaro The family hotel of the Palladium complex, which it shares with TRS Turquesa.
- Grand Palladium Punta Cana Resort & Spa Behind a white sand beach, 582 rooms and El Dorado, a steakhouse on the shore.
- Lopesan Costa Bávaro Resort, Spa & Casino Seven freshwater pools, one an infinity pool on two levels, and a casino.
- Live Aqua Punta Cana For adults only, with about 9,000 square metres of pools.
- Grand Sirenis Punta Cana Resort Its Sirenis Aquagames water park covers 12,000 square metres.
Staying at JOIA Bávaro by Iberostar?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Punta Cana, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.