I would not recommend IFA Bavaro Ocean Village. The food was awful, the A/C in the rooms didn't work, no balconies in the rooms, very big language barrier, plus all of the resort shops are extremely expensive.

My friend and I went to this hotel not knowing what to expect since there had been many mixed reviews. Many complained that there had still been construction, or that rooms weren't clean or damaged, however, we did not experience this. Our room had been very clean, no damage, there was infact an air conditioner. Many also complained that you are only given one room key, and the room key is what powers the electricity, however we were given 2 without even asking.
At the reception desk, there had only really been one main girl that new her English a bit more thoroughly, however with a little bit of explanation, the others did understand. Check in and check out was fast, which had been other another complaint by others.
There are several restaurants; 3 a la carte, 2 buffet that are on the resort, one by the beach, and a delicious pizzeria by the main pool. The pizzeria was the hot spot during the day. Delicious! My friend and I kept going to the main buffet, however when we discovered the other one that is by the quieter pool, we much preferred the food selection at that one for supper. The food did not vary too much from day to day, however, I am a picky eater as well my friend and we had no issues with remaining full on our vacation! The only issue we did have, was booking the a la carte restaurants. Make sure to book as you arrive there or the day that you arrive, because we had only gotten into the Mexican restaurant at 10pm the night before we left. It was a good diner.
Drinks were delicious. A bit too strong at times, however, not something to complain about.
The beach! Depending on which part of the resort you are staying at, it can be a bit of a walk. However if you don't feel like walking for 10 minutes, there is a shuttle that comes every 10 minutes at the lobby to take you down.
For those that are looking for souvenirs, along the beach to the very right there are lots of stands. However, to the left you could be walking for over an hour and not find much. There is a mall that is located about a 15 minute walk away, however everything seemed to be overpriced for items that were not authentic. Souvenirs were just as cheap on the resort as the other shops.
If you need the internet, there are 6 computers by the main pool, and it is $1.00 for every 1/2 hour.
We only went on one of the excursions and it was the Dune Buggies. I highly recommend it.
The only real issue we had was that it was impossible to find a clock! There are no alarm clocks in the rooms.
Everyday the cobble stone walkways were cleaned, and people were by every morning to get your dirty towels and supply you with new ones. Many bottles of water were left in your room each day. There are soap dispensers for Shampoo/Conditioner, and there are infact hair dryers. You can purchase a safe for $3/day.
All in all for a 3 star hotel, it beat my expectations. I had a very enjoyable time, and would recommend it.

Great beach, the best we've seen in Punta Cana. The food is (almost always) the same every day, but the worst of all was the cockroaches we found in our room on the last day...

We booked this trip through USA3000 and Apple Tours... Didn't know what to expect and weren't to concerned because the trip was dirt cheap! We were amazed at how beautiful the resort is and it was so big that we discovered that we hadn't even seen the whole place. Our room was next to the swim up bar pool and the pizza restaurant... the pizza was delicious, fresh and available all day! The beach was incredible, beautiful water and lounge chairs for relaxing. If you get to the beach later in the morning then you have to search out lounge chairs. We snorkeled right from a tour out of the resort, it was inexpensive and the site was nice lots of pretty fish. The all-inclusive package was great the food and drinks were all very good, they gave me the dominican rum when I asked for it on the rocks, we also enjoyed the mama juana... the grill by the beach was great and they had a nice assortment of foods to choose from. The buffet restaurant across from the spa is better than the one by the check in desk. It was less crowded and the wait staff was more accommodating. The room was so nice it looked brand new. We had a stocked mini fridge with sprite, coke, beer and water... some of the other guests said they didn't have that. The people that worked at the resort were friendly and we met one of the managers and we were impressed with how much he cared about the resort and the guests having a great time. We met some great Canadian ladies and enjoyed the days on the beach with them :) We walked the beach and there were no shells, I collect them and was shocked that there were none. The sand was pinkish and really clean. Overall we had a wonderful time and would recommend this resort and go back.