Grand Decameron Panama: great resort

grounds beautiful; lots of bars and restaurants; bathrooms plenty and convenient; great new years party. Major issue was with saving beach chairs on the beach every morning. Saw people at 5 am taking towels to beach chairs every day. If you were not out by 7 am there would be no shade. The problem being that if you looked up and down the beach area there would not be a person at these saved spots for hours. No security to check and stop this. People would not be sitting at these spots all day li [... read more]ke some of us...a big disappointment from my last visit. Also now there is "premium spots" that I guess you need to purchase from the lobby. The resort seems to cater to the French Canadians now, since there are no longer direct flights from Alberta....also disappointing. Overall love Panama and the resort is awesome but felt that as English speaking over looked or not important. Also lots of small children from babies to toddlers and up. Travelled with my children ages 18-32

Grand Decameron Panama: Challenging vacation

The best feature of Decameron is the proximity to the airport. It is literally about five minutes away. Check-in was great. We received our room assignment and keys at the airport and our bags were taken to our rooms right away. It was done fast and efficiently. In general Decameron is run very efficiently. Even the weather was great! Our room was spacious and spartan. There was no coffee maker, no clock, the fridge was working but empty. We had to pay for the safety deposit key as well as for a [... read more]n extra key. The keys were the old fashioned kind with the room number engraved in the key, so do not lose it!!!! The faucets from the shower were probably "from the last century". But the place was kept clean and we had fresh towels and water bottles for drinking daily. The main problem was with the staff is their general lack of knowing English. It is probably the result that most guests came from Columbia and other Spanish speaking countries. Often we felt ignored. The layout of the resort can be a challenge for guests with mobility problems. There are about 100 steps up and down from the beach up to the lobby. One can avoid the stairs but still must navigate the incline. There may be a shuttle service but it is hard to figure out how it works. The food was less than mediocre. I lost 3lbs!!!! Thanks God for the grill on the beach as they had awesome hamburgers. Salads and fruit were good but avoid the evening buffet; it was terrible. Some of the specialty restaurants were not so bad. Would I go back probably not but it was a pleasant break from winter and our trip to Panama city and the Canal was pleasant

Grand Decameron Panama: Good value

Beautiful spot, beach good, but can be rough although no stones so enjoyable. One of the better beaches I've been too. Only annoying that they pull you out at 530pm, but probably wise because the current is stronger and tide comes in. Accommodations and food good. Golf was great. We received a sell off price and for this I was totally satisfied. Yes It could be better but then expect to pay twice the price. Warning the young adults from Columbia and Panama like to party at this resort. But this  [... read more]only bothered me at 3 am! Go enjoy, I'd go back and I don't say that about many of the resorts I've been too!! So close to airport this was a bonus.

Riu Playa Blanca: Not What We Were Expecting From A RIU Resort

Lovely beach with lots of loungers available for guests ( we were there in November). Overall buffet restaurants had a good selection of food but the Asian a la carte was disappointing, since it was just another buffet. The room was fine, but the local area humidity was an issue causing a musty smell in our room, which we noticed upon our arrival. Pool maintenance needs to be addressed, such as water cloudiness of the poolside bar and missing pool tiles in the main pool area.

Grand Decameron Panama: Great family resort

The pools and bars were great lots to do for kids of all ages especially 20 somethings. Rooms were clean but needed some repairs. Sliding door didn't work transat rep was very helpful to have on sight all staff were very nice

Riu Playa Blanca: Great resort

The staff are all pleasant, helpful and accommodating. The grounds are well kept, clean pleasing to the eye. The pools and beach are clean and maintained. The food was good, there weren't breads or desserts for celiacs.

Riu Playa Blanca: Good Family Resort!

This Hotel is fairly new. The staff keep it quite clean. There is however mold in the showers... Their are 4 choices for restaurants for dinner. All were really good! Japanese, Italian, Steak house, or Buffet. You have to book your choice every morning, kind of a pain, but it makes it more fair. The resort was decorated really nicely for the holidays, and they put on a fabulous Christmas Eve dinner! There is never a problem finding seats around the pools or at the beach. The trees on the beach a [... read more]re still pretty small, but they give off enough shade, and they'll only get better over time. The drinks at pool bars were good, but cups are small, so bring a travel mug of some kind! The gym was average. We would have liked more choice for nitely activities. We booked the pool tables for an hour, but it was difficult to get, and there was only one. The rooms were

Riu Playa Blanca: 3-1/2 to 4 star

I've stayed at several riu resorts over the years and they have been either 4-1/2 or 5 star resorts The Riu Playa Blanca didnt meet up to the 5 star rating it was given, not that it was a bad resort but didn't have the bells and whistles (coasters under your drinks on tables, no waiter service around the pool or beach, food was ok but nothing outstanding to tell my friends about, pools were all wading pools ... Nothing deeper than 4 feet For the most part it was good overall with pleasent staff [... read more] but 4 star rating at best Short drive 10 minutes from airport with minimum $15 PP fee to exit country

Riu Playa Blanca: reat place for a rest and peace of mind

Not to big and not to small , got all youneed Good food , great beach , lots of pools and about a hour ride to canal . Panana a great city to see, the people are not hanging on to your coat tails . had a great time . safe place to go, air port next door.

Grand Decameron Panama: Excellent Value

This is my second visit to Panama's Royal Decameron and I have enjoyed myself both times. Staff always friendly and helpful and the rooms are always clean and tidy. There is good variety at the buffets and the al a carts have choices for everyone. A very hilly resort though so not recommended for those with restricted mobility, but because of its size it provides space for both families and singles to enjoy themselves. The beach is well maintained with very few vendors and in one of the pools th [... read more]ey are building a huge slide/water park. And the opening of the new airport, just minutes away, enables travellers to make the most of their holiday. (Note: this airport does not yet have any cafes or duty free)

Riu Playa Blanca: Good resort

Service was excellent. The grounds where well maintained. Rooms are pretty good size and well kept. Food was great, specially all the sweets and fruits:) will come back next year again for two weeks...

Tryp Panama Playa Coronado: great conference centre, not so good for tourists,

"The hotel was clean, presentable. General MGR is great,very good will the staff & guests. I would give Glen a 10+.The hotel was very busy with many functions. I would advise your agents " this hotel is way out " Slums close!

Bijao Beach Resort: Amazing resort

Very friendly, nice and professional people, Rooms are very clean, no smell and dust, you have everything whatever you need. Front desk and manager are so helpful .If you don't like your room, they will change right away. Restaurants are wonderful. all personnel needs reward for customer service. Nexus representative: Omar, is the best person for set up and do your trips to Anton Valley, Panama Canal and more.

Gamboa Rainforest Resort: Great place for natural history

A place for enjoying the natural history of Central America. Don't go for luxury or gourmet food, but if you want comfort while exploring some of the most accessible tropical rainforests, here's your place. Enjoy on-site outdoor activities (several free), the Pipeline Road, and the Rainforest Discovery Center.

Riu Playa Blanca: great holiday

The Riu was a fantastic resort. The food was great, rooms were clean. The grounds were kept nicely. The only draw back was no washroom close to the pool. Staff were very friendly and understood English pretty well. They tried very hard to understand and respond to our requests. Food was plentiful, lots of variety and all in all tasted surprisingly good. Being on the pacific the ocean was pretty rough and made it hard to swim there, not to worry there are 3 large pools + one kids pool so not real [... read more]ly a loss that the ocean was not inviting.

Riu Playa Blanca: Truly Wonderful

Fabulous time here, all staff welcoming and very friendly. Food plentiful and good variety. Grounds, restaurants, washrooms etc are kept very clean. Staff always cleaning and wiping. Bar staff terrific, as is restaurant staff. Room very spacious, kept immaculate and lovely big bathroom with huge walk-in shower. lovely resort to relax but nothing much going on as far as activities are concerned and too far from town. Only beach vendors to shop at as plaza is not yet opened.

Riu Playa Blanca: Good resort

Great view 75% or more had a good view of ocean and pools, food was excellent good variety, most of the staff spoke English. Hotel was clean, we were greeted with drinks with Rum as soon as we got off the bus, The airport was 10 minutes away and very small, almost perfect, on the return trip we could not hear the person calling out the row numbers to board the plane . They need to invest in a PA system at the airport. On our excursion to the Panama canal it was good but we spent too much time on [... read more] the bus and not enough time at our actual destinations, Oh well so its not a perfect world . The shows at night were 90% Spanish, its to be expected being in Central America.

Riu Playa Blanca: Very nice resort

This is my very first review. We travelled in Nov (13-20) - the rainy season so we didn't have great weather. Rainy and overcast most of the 7 days. We still had a good time. We travel in a group of six so we were able to keep entertained when the weather was bad. The hotel was modern and most of the ladies would using the facilities would say that they decor was very nice (great pics of handsome men in the rest rooms) (Many women commented on this heehee :) They do not have may water sports. M [... read more]y husband is a diver and they wouldn’t go diving the second or third day we were there due to the tides, the next few days they wouldn't go because they only do shallow dives and the water was too churned up so visibility would be very low. He was extremely disappointed. They do not have windsurfing or sailboards - very few water sports. They are still new with the all-inclusive resorts in Panama so I suspect this will get better. The rooms were very nice and very clean. We had no issues. The in room bar was full, fridge was full. They only refill every second day but if you ran out of water, reception gave you what you needed. Rooms were completed early each morning although there was one day that the cleaner hadn’t been to our room by 2:30pm. I used the gym everyday - everything was in working order and there were multiples of the equipment so you didn't have to wait long for a machine. (Three treadmills) It was clean and tidy. I only coded the beach and pools as average but really - the pools were great - the beach was average. It was a lovely long walking beach but the water - when we were there- was all dark and murky due to the weather. We never swam in the ocean on this trip. The sand was marble - black volcanic sand and brown sand. It was pretty on some occasions – sometimes it just looked dirty. We were there in what they call low season – so there were plenty of chairs around the pools – mind you – we were at the pool early each morning (7am-ish) We didn't see people wandering looking for a place to sit. The food was good – basically, I was told to expect "Cuba" type foods - bland etc. We were all quite surprised and pleased. The only disappointment was that dessert was the same everyday even in the a la carte restaurants - no specialties. We were disappointed with the fact that the hotels catered to many local Panamanian people on weekends. Unfortunately – we struggled at the pool with them. There were multiple groups and each of them felt they had to compete with their music. The pool bar played music and three other groups thought theirs was better. It was quite annoying and very loud. On the Wed (our trip ended on Friday) there were approx. 900 people that came in for a reunion – they were not as loud as the Panamanian people were. One evening we were having dinner at the Steakhouse – after dark - and one group was still in the pool hooting and hollering while we were all trying to have a nice dinner (7-8pm). We struggled to get a late check out – you have to be out of your room by noon but your bus to the airport doesn’t leave till 3. They really need to plan better for those situations – we were finally able to get one but only after insisting. We were given 1:30pm. We took one excursion – to see the Panama Canal. It was a very long day – left at 4am and took 3 hrs with traffic to arrive at the boat. We arrived back at the resort about 5:30pm. To me it was exciting – I love the history of it all. To some others – it was boring and long. Bring some snacks – the breakfast they offer is terrible (bun with butter, banana and cut up pineapple – they call is continental – of course this is not how we know it!) Lunch was very good. They had lots of water and pop (soda). Recommendation: -- not sure if I would recommend anyone to go to the pacific side – I think I would go back but this time I would look for a resort on the Caribbean side. I would go back again in Nov – but you take the chance of the weather – the week before us – the temps were in the 40s and it was all sun. You never know. Overall we had a great trip – relaxing. This is what we were going for!

Riu Playa Blanca: Lovely resort

Everything was very clean and staff very friendly, only bad thing was the entertainment was terrible and the lack of things to do. Ideal location for just relaxing. Beach was not very good but you have to consider where we were.

Riu Playa Blanca: Solid 3.5 star

Overall we had a great time st the resort. Some things to note; Rooms are big and very nicely decorated, if u plan on watching tv, there is only 2 English Chanel's, we didn't, so didn't care. Bars are great, with a lot of different options, they even make Canadian Caesars! Pools are spacious and nice, lots of availability of loungers and spots with shade. Beach is not white sand and the water is murky so not great for swimming, lots of jellyfish. we traveled during their Independence Day, so the [... read more] resort was absolutely packed with locals, and quite loud and crazy... Wouldn't recommend traveling there during this time (Nov 3). Good was decent, you won't starve, but not as good or as much variety as other Riu's we have stayed at. Would rate a 3.5. We have stayed at 4 stars that were much better. Was worth the money we paid.