Grand Decameron Panama: A Great Vacation

We had a great time at the Royal Decameron in Rio Hato, Panama! We really enjoyed the resort. The only negative I’d have is that the resort was very spread out. It required a lot of walking - especially uphill.

Grand Decameron Panama: Beautiful resort mediocre service

Check in was quick and smooth done at the airport , our room had an actual key lock not swipe card . You can get a second key with a $15 deposit which you get back when you hand in the key . Safety deposit box costs $25 for a week . Free wifi in lobbies - very slow early morning or late night best signal strengths can purchase internet for your room for $16 for 24 hours which as long as you log in and out your 24 hour lasts . Grounds are very well taken care of . Lots of walking lots of sta [... read more]irs if you suffer from mobility problems this resort is not for you . Ocean view rooms were nice , dated but they were ok , cold a/c worked well Pools were kept clean , and had life guards which was nice Good quality liquor at bars , food was less then appealing to us however if you like seafood then this resort is for you Water sports most of the equipment was in bad shape and the staff were less than enthusiastic for you to use any of it Staff not overly accommodating polite but not overly happy to help

Grand Decameron Panama: Great Resort!

The pools, rooms, & grounds were clean. The food was good and the staff was friendly. There was security and lifeguards. No issues while we were there. The Disco can get a little loud. We had a great experience there.

Grand Decameron Panama: great time

grounds are well maintained and spacious. several pools and water slides. buffet dinners and a la carte restaurants were all good. Plenty to do including neighbouring golf and casino. Rooms were quite comfortable. We had a great time and it was great value.

Riu Playa Blanca: Riu

Hotel is clean but to white no colours in it has an upscale downtown feel with the gray and red interior.The food is better than most places except not a lot see food like lobster ,beer should be better than tap for a 5 star ,Ron abuelo exelent .Chairs at the beach is hard to get need to reserve it early in the morning. The most complains I would have is the airplane hours departing from Toronto to often delayed .Montreal and Quebec have same day more convenient departures and on time to

Grand Decameron Panama: Very nice nice resort

This was a first experience for us and we really liked it....it was awesome..took us a few days to adjust but felt like family afterwards....so many choices of restaurant and bars, the organized activities were all top notch....although the ocean is not the greatest but the amount of pools available sure makes up for it...we loved it

Dreams Playa Bonita Panama: dreams delight panama

the resort was good probably a 3 and half star pros: grounds were nice and clean, the staff very good, very relaxing you dont get bothered by merchants on the beach, 15 minutes from panama city and the canal cons: under staff some bars only have one waiter and u had to wait for for food because they would run out. the buffet and breakfast were always the same.the beach was not the best

Dreams Playa Bonita Panama: Quality Resort

Pleasant atmosphere, good service and a relaxing location. Staff are hard working. Location is private but not too far from excursions. Overall not too commercialized and noticeably no pressure sales.

Grand Decameron Panama: a solid 3 star resort

The beach, pools and grounds , location - not to mention the weather were great. The hotel itself was dated and a bit wore out. This is all about expectations of a 4 1/2 star hotel. this hotel is a solid 3 star. The small 'extras' that we have come to associate with a great resort are not there.... no coffee maker, a mini fridge is there but empty, you have to pay for a safe in your room, there is a deposit required for a second key to your room etc. The shower in our room leaked so much that [... read more] we had a 'stream' of water through the bathroom that went out the front door. This is especially dangerous because of the tile floor- easy to slip and fall. The food was 'good' but for the most part,it was average - but there was lots of it at the buffet restaurants. The specialty restaurants were not really that special. We went to the ' steakhouse' but they had no steak - you could get beef kebobs. At the italian restaurant it was hit and miss for the pasta, but they had good pizza. The 'beach' restaurant served pizza at lunch but it wasn't the same - it was more like frozen pizza. This is really what the resort is all about- inconsistency. Some meals were really good -one of us had sea bass one night - fabulous - another one of us had the chicken, but it tasted like it had been frozen. The 'fruit' juice at the breakfast buffet was ' pasteurized' ( which to me meant it came from a tetra pak container) -it was not fresh. There were not enough 'beach umbrellas ' for the number of guests. This is a big beach (i heard it was 1.5 km!). There were horse rides on the beach. I don't know much about horses but it can't be very humane to have horses standing in the blazing sun all day with no water or sun shelter - we wouldn't stand for that here The staff were mostly friendly and responsive. The attitude puzzled me a bit. When we first arrived in our room the balcony door would not close properly. I called the front desk and they sent someone up right away- so far so good - but when he opened the balcony door a screw fell out of the latch and all the repairman did was screw it back in and left - the door never did close properly... and security is an issue. So all in all - if you are looking for great weather, great beach and lots of sun - this is the place for you.... but if you are looking for more than that- upgraded food, premium drinks, upgraded rooms etc - then you might want to look elsewhere.

Grand Decameron Panama: Not quite up to par

Resort overall looks beautiful- grounds well kept, pools clean, great beach. But rooms are in need of updating and issues with housekeeping. We had mold in the bathroom, shower leaked and friends couldn't get towels or toilet paper. Other things we were surprised by was that you had to pay for the key to in room safe and while there was a mini fridge if was not stocked at all - you could pay $10 us per person daily for that. Also no coffee makers in room - disappointing features we've had at o [... read more]ther resorts. Food is hit and miss- had some very good meals and so not great. Meat tends to be horribly overcooked. Buffets have a good selection of fruit and fresh baked goods. Lots of people complained about the stairs and walking distances but we were aware of that. May recommend the resort but with reservation and disclosure of extras. Weather was fantastic!

Grand Decameron Panama: Fair Resort

The grounds were really good and they are constantly keeping up on maintenance. The air in my room was not working properly and never did get fixed although they tried. Most of the food at the buffets is cold and not that great but we did have some good meals at the restaurants. Beach is nice but snorkeling is not at this bay and watch for the undertow. Pools are nice. If you are wanting to stay away from kids then a room up by the adult pool is a good idea. If I were to go back that would be wh [... read more]ere I would stay. Good service but English is not good with the workers.

Grand Decameron Panama: Mediocre

Old hotel, below average room, food was not that good but beach was great. Would not recommend as there are much better places to visit in panama. Also we expected the food to be a lot better but it was comparable to a place like Cuba.

Grand Decameron Panama: Hot and big

The hotel is very large ,lots of stairs, rooms very clean and are kept that way, staff very friendly some problems with Spanish but you will find a staff mender that does talk English or French, also I have never been check in so fast and even out was just as quick. Beach is great nice and clean and the same as the pools they even have lifeguards on the beach and at every pool. Food average at the buffets the specials where below average, but what we came for was sun and we got it, great holiday [... read more].

Grand Decameron Panama: 3 Star Experience, but great grounds and beach front.

We ate at three a la Carte Restaurants (Mediterranean; Peruvian; Italian). Each one had substandard food and in non of them could we eat more than a couple of bites of the food. In the Italian, the food was smothered in too much sauce and/or cheese; in the Peruvian restaurant, there wasn't much that was actually Peruvian, and again the food was smothered in sauce; in the Mediterranean, the food was actually Middle Eastern: The Babbaganoush and the hummus were watery, the pita was dry and cold, t [... read more]he meat was very dry and chewy (the dog that we threw the meat to loved it however) and the kibbeh fell apart when you put your fork into it. The service was great at all three. The buffet food was acceptable and usually there was a good meat dish available. There were not enough vegetable dishes however, and the fruit selection was lacking (no mangos, and the passion fruit was over the top sour). There are lots of hills. Which was fine for us. But if you drink a lot and are out of shape then the hills will be an obstacle. We witnessed a few groups of people struggling to get up the inclines. There is hardly any water pressure in the showers between 5:30 and 7 p.m. sometimes there was no water running at all. This was probably as a result of all the people taking showers after their day at the beach. There are not enough shady spots at the beach or at the pools. You will need to get a towel and go and save a chair under an umbrella before 7 a.m.; unless you can handle 33C with a high humidity then you'll be fine in the sun. If your fluent in Spanish and can tolerate mediocre dancing, then the night show is acceptable. They do go on for 15 minutes or more just with talk (Spanish) so be prepared to sit there waiting for the mediocre dancing to resume. The resort is approx. 500 metres from end to end, again this was fine for us as we enjoyed the long walks (although sometimes it was oppressively hot to walk at all). If needed they do have a shuttle service that takes you from one end to the other. This was also somewhat annoying as we walked, as we had to smell the diesel fuel of the vans that were passing by on the sidewalks. There is no dedicated road for these vans and you have to literally step off the sidewalk to let them pass. There are a few interesting tours and they were Ok. We took two tours ourselves with a private taxi driver which you can also hire from the tour companies for a few dollars more per person. The only downside to this is that none of the drivers speak English. They can just point you in the general direction that you need to go. Again this is fine for us as we usually tour on our own and just needed the transportation to get us off of the resort to see the amazing sights that there are in Panama. On a plus side the grounds are very clean and well maintained; most of the staff is friendly and pleased to serve you (other than an incident with a very rude security person and a lifeguard that my husband had); the Spa provides great massages; the beachfront is great for long morning and late afternoon walks. Please note that we are NOT resort people so this resort may be perfectly ok for you. The price point was certainly very reasonable. However, for us we would not do a resort again, unless it was to participate in a "family" vacation with my son, wife and grandson.

Grand Decameron Panama: Great Little Vacation

We stayed at the Royal Decameron Feb 1-5. The grounds are beautiful, although keep in mind this is a large resort, and lots of stairs, steep walkways to climb. We did not travel with children, but one concern I did have would be that the majority of the walkways have "rainwater basins"...that are not all covered. I could imagine my kids tripping into them very easily. Quick 10 minute bus ride from the airport! The rooms and food were average compared to other all inclusives we have st [... read more]ayed at. Appeared that the majority of the rooms would have an ocean view from the balcony's since the resort is built up into the hills. Free Wifi available at all 3 lobby's. The pools on the upper level of the resort are lovely, small and quiet if you can find a lounger! The main pools on the lower level next to the beach are large, and busy. We did find it hard to find loungers in the shade and we were out by 7:30/8am. (lots of towels/items placed on chairs to reserve them) The resort could add more umbrellas around the pools in my opinion. A few small river like pool areas; where there were always chairs available in the water and you could position into shade from the trees. It was generally quiet quiet in these areas as well. We did not spend a lot of time at the beach. The sand is course and dark. And the water is known to have a strong undertow. If you are looking to spend much of your time at the beach; there are much nicer places to go to. We went for a quiet vacation just the two of us, and we did enjoy ourselves without disturbances from noise/late partying at night. So I cannot comment to the nightlife at this resort. Good value for the price we paid. Thanks to our travel agent Nicole! :-)

Grand Decameron Panama: Fantastic holiday!!

Royal Decameron resort is a well maintained vacation paradise. We spent 11 days with great weather everyday. Food was very good at all the restaurants. We would go back in a heart beat. Best part was the beach and the ocean.

Grand Decameron Panama: Great Beach

The Royal Decameron is an immense resort with an incline to the beach (75 stairs) so be prepared to walk. Rooms were clean and the staff friendly. Food was OK, not spectacular, but very good. It is hot in Panama, bring lots of sunscreen. There are many lounge type chairs, but the ones in the shade are at a real premium. We would certainly go back.

Grand Decameron Panama: Pros and Cons

Nice resort and beach that is in need of some upgrades. Food quality was very poor in meats and the rest was just ok, even the a la carte restaurants were nothing special. Very few staff members fully understand common English requests, this was extremely disappointing cause if you want to be a tourist location, you must have more English speaking staff.

Riu Playa Blanca: nice resort

Smaller resort with everything you need. It has a nice long beach, perfect for walks, the pools are amazing and overall everything is well kept. The beach kiosk's offer a good selection of souvenirs at great prices and without pressure. The food is good and with a good variety. This was our first 5* hotel and I would compare it to some of the 4* we have visited. The temperature was great all week (32C). This is a statement not a complaint: other than the Steakhouse the other 2 ``à la car [... read more]te`` are not quite à la carte, the Asian is totally buffet style and we had practically no service and the Italian is semi buffet style (the main course is served but the appetizer and dessert is buffet). There was a moldy or sewer smell in the Asian and Italian restaurant which was not to appetizing.

Grand Decameron Panama: Great resort

Nice resort Mostly white beech, clean. A great beach for a long walk. In my opinion there ware not enough umbrellas on the beach. Mamy people reserved their spot early morning so they could enjoy nice shade during sunny and hot days.