Comparison of Baseband simulation results and experimental results at Passband
Most of the time there is no good reason to simulate at passband, as long as you simulate the signal's and the channel's low-pass representation. Furthermore, assuming that you're using a modern radio such as an SDR, most of the hardware is operating at baseband anyway -- frequency up- and down-conversion are performed as close to the antenna as is feasible.

Also, be aware that, most likely, your simulation and experimental results will be hard to compare directly. For example, it is hard to find exactly what the SNR at the receiver is; you'll have to estimate it. Also, it's hard to determine the exact channel parameters. Other factors are non-linearities in the power amplifiers, synchronization imperfections, etcetera.