'I left feeling like a better person': in the Dominican Republic with Iberostar

WALK OF CHANGE

We find more opportunities to satiate our knowledge-hungry minds on the resort’s Walk of Change trail. As well as the Coral Lab it takes in a mangrove restoration area, apiary and bird observation deck; all of which can be easily reached by resort buggy. The resort’s surrounding mangroves, we learn, are of the red, white and button variety – three of the four species found in the Caribbean – and though they’re often mistaken by the uneducated eye for solid ground, they have muddy depths of more than a metre.

Communicating via some “Spanglish” with the mangrove caretakers we learn Iberostar’s Wave of Change programme has planted more than 16,000 mangroves in and around its Bavaro resort. This project is so crucial because globally 50% of the “sea trees” – which absorb huge amounts of carbon, release essential oxygen and provide a habitat for marine life – have been lost to deforestation in the past 50 years.

Around the corner we find the apiary, where guests can watch bees at work, seek the queen inside a glass-fronted hive and learn fun facts. Did you know a worker bee will visit around 7,200 flowers in its lifetime to make approximately five grammes of honey? Iberostar serves the honey its bees produce in on-site restaurants such as the Los Haitises main buffet.

PICK THE PIONEER

With mealtimes seeing everything from omelettes, baked goods and fry-ups to pastas, meats and seafood platters plated up at a buffet for the taking three times a day, it’s mind boggling that Iberostar’s Wave of Change Report states the group only sent 0.69kg of waste to landfill per stay (globally) in 2023. By my calculation that’s only around two-thirds of an orange per day, assuming the average length of stay is seven days; and it shows an impressive year-on-year reduction of 40%.

This, along with its resorts being single-use plastic free, is one of the reasons why Iberostar is on track to meet its goal to be waste-free by 2025. But how has an all-inclusive resort brand done that? I hear you ask. It’s down to AI. Clever Winnow technology analyses both buffet and a la carte food waste to advise which items to buy and serve less of, with Iberostar being one of the first hotel companies to use it – others are now starting to follow suit.

The dining options at Iberostar’s Bavaro location are vast and varied. Our favourites fast become El Faro at Coral Level, Casa de la Playa at Grand Bavaro, which serves up classic Dominican dishes, and La Palapita, where we dine wiggling our toes in the sand. Wherever we choose to break bread, seafood makes an appearance on the menu. Advise clients visiting between March and June Iberostar will serve no local lobster in order to respect the crustacean’s breeding season. This is one of many policies the group has put in place to ensure 100% of its seafood is responsibly sourced by 2025. In the Dominican Republic, they’ve so far achieved 82% (as of December 2023).

During a behind-the-scenes tour with the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle) team and a presentation by the sustainability team, we’re told the group is on track to reach its targets, which is no mean feat. When it’s time to check out we leave feeling inspired but above all impressed, to see Iberostar is not just talking the talk, but walking the walk too.

Book it: Gold Medal offers seven nights on an all-inclusive basis at Iberostar Selection Bavaro Suites (Junior Suite) for £1,629pp. Based on 12 May 2025 departure and including flights with British Airways, plus shared transfers; goldmedal.co.uk

Check out Iberostar’s new B2B platform at iberostaragents.com

Responsible excursions

While there is an abundance of activities to be enjoyed on site (recommend Iberostar’s sunrise yoga for adults and the Star Camp kids’ club for ages 4-17), one way clients can travel responsibly is by booking excursions beyond the resorts they stay in. In the Dominican Republic, Iberostar offers the Los Ojos Eco Journey by Grupo Puntacana Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming to improve the well-being of Punta Cana locals and preserve the area’s ecosystem. Visitors to the group’s eco park just south of Punta Cana will see beekeeping in action, a rhinoceros iguana conservation project and the inner workings of a community-run farm before cooling off in a secluded section of the ocean and a tree-lined, turquoise cenote; puntacana.org