Good week-long stay

The hotel and grounds are nice. The beach is very pretty with the black sand and you could walk a long distance. They had vendors and people selling horse rides on the beach but they weren't pushy. Beautiful view and a nice breeze in the lobby bar. Rooms were fine, unremarkable, no coffee makers in the room and we found the beds a bit firm. Staff was nice, a lot of them didn't speak great English. Milton and Eduardo at the pool bar were our favourites. I really liked the main buffet,  [... read more]the steakhouse was pretty good. The italian was nice, we didn't like the asian place. Don't miss Mexican night at the buffet! We did the Panama City and Canal tour, our guide was great and it was nice to see a bit of the country.

Needs to be repaired

As far as the resort goes. It’s in need of a lot of TLC. The room was clean and comfortable but the thermostat didn’t work properly. Staff didn’t seem to be in any great hurry to fix it. Ice makers on the floors don’t work. The restaurants were ok nothing much to write home about. The sports bar stunk to high heaven and the pool bar is falling apart. If they invested a little and fixed it up I would certainly go back.

Quaint little Getaway

Well maintained beautiful grounds typical of a RIU property... beach sand gets hot during the day so thick sandals or water shoes are highly recommended. Only minutes from the airport in Rio Hato, which has many flights specifically for the hotels in the arel

Definitely a five star resort

It was a very clean resort with spacious rooms and excellent food. Rooms were Nice and cool when coming in from the hot weather. Lots of activities and entertainment every night gave people something to do all day long

Amazing Trip

The hotel was nice and clean, rooms were lovely, food was plentiful and something for everyone. Could of done more themes buffet nights or more stations with fresh meat or fish cooking. The A la cartes were good as well we ate twice at the steak house, twice at the Asian (mmm sushi!) and once at the Italian and wish we would of done the Italian another time as well! They were all delicious! The entertainment was ok and probably do with some additional help but it was still ok. The pools wer [... read more]e great, fun foam party, great kids pool, nice quiet adult pool and of course the pool bar was a nice pool! The beach was awesome with all the shade from the palm trees and it’s a big beach but keep those flip flops on as it’s very hot but a lovely beach!

Beautiful property but read on....

Beautiful property and lots of fun activities however.... it is a very long walk anywhere u want to go. I packed my beach bag for the day so I would not have to return to my room. Two of four elevators were out of service much of the week and elevators took a very long time fortunately I am able to walk up and down the 5 stories each time. Maid service cleaned my room day two and when I returned it reeked! of urine and bleach which must have come from mop bucket. There is indeed four bottles of [... read more] alcohol in the room. We only used some of the half bottle of vodka day two..the bottle was replaced on day four with another half bottle .... annoying. Excursion shopping was NOT as advertised. It was advertised as a tour and shopping and close by. We spent approx 45 mins to go to a little town where there were hardly any type of Panama souvenirs just a tourist trap prices not good on most things. No tour discussion on bus no guide. Pool was great nice and clean ocean too rough everyday and NOT suitable for children due to undertow. Final comment I would not return to this property. Ps I would never travel again with Sunwing either a whole other story there including a plane full of black mould and delays delays delays +++

Overall Great, except for finale!

Overall very pleased with this Riu and our 11 night vacation experience, grateful to our Agent Beth who directed us to Playa Planca when we indicated that long beach walks were important. Twice each day in different directions from the resort the high and low tides provided such an interesting variety display of the power of Mother Nature. The resort cleanliness and care were apparent everywhere inside and out - always some employee cleaning or mopping or gardening - and almost every encount [... read more]er included a nod or smile or Hola! Happy to see 4 pools catering to the different guest expectations (quiet, pool bar, activities, children) and the Entertainment Crew Lookea were certainly entertaining. Food was really good in all restaurants, including the Balboa Buffet - lots of variety and really enjoyed the number of different salads and cold meats/fish. Only one real a la carte restaurant - the Steakhouse, as the other two served appetizers and desserts by means of buffet. A little surprised that there was no table service in the Lobby Bar and the Bartenders were often overwhelmed, but dealt with the demand professionally. Very much appreciated the espresso/capuccino machine in the 24/7 Sport Bar, especially in the mornings! Unfortunately the final memory is less than satisfactory. Flight was a late afternoon schedule, which we were happy to think that we had another day by the pool, however no chance of a Late Check-out and the front desk is misinformed about the Shower Room. Stated there would be towels and soap/shampoo - however there are only 3 small shower stalls, no towels or cleansing amenities - nowhere to place your belongings to keep them dry and only one hairdryer mounted on the wall, quite inaccessible Overall would recommend this hotel and the weather in Panama in February was perfect! thanks!

Great value

We like the RIU hotel chain. You can count on it being great.The hotel it self was great,not so much the food,not that it was bad,it was boring, every not the same thing not what RIU’s are known for. At Other RIU’s the would often be theme nights! Better variety and well Cooked. The fish was often raw not my thing and this was “ of the hot Grill” It was great that the ride from the airport to the hotel was ten minutes 🤓

Not to bad

Every thing was good food was the same every day. This was the only place where the fish was terrible not cooked enough The rooms where nice and the grounds where done nice. Pools kept clean.They rally spoke English when they had games or shows

Great Hotel

The hotel is spotless. The front desk people are good. Our room was on the 5th floor facing the courtyard view, we could see the ocean it was beautiful and clean. There are double sinks and a great walk in shower. There is a blow dryer but bring your own shampoos and body soap. The plugs are the same as home, no adapters required. The airport is 7 minutes away. The bar drinks are all great. You can ask for top shelf liquor. I was happy the bar had clamato, but no cranberry juice. Th [... read more]e pools are great warm and refreshing. The ocean was nice to swim in. The beach sand is hot wear your sandals The food was awesome , from the buffet to the fine dining. The only place the hotel falls short is the night entertainment There is literally nothing to do from when dinner is done to when show starts at 930 The hotel should bring in a piano player or have some sort of dancing

Mixed Feelings

Our holiday was the end of November 2019, 22 - 29 We love Riu, and loved the room - top floor, ocean front. The food was great. The service was great. The set up of the pools are not optimum. 4 pools in front - no quiet pool. We were there while there was a holiday for the area, so the resort was packed and very noisy. The beach and water were dirty. We are happy we went and saw the canal, but we would not go back to Panama.

Excellent Resort

The hotel and staff are accommodating and pleasant at all times. The food is top notch and abundant. Try not to gain weight. Panama is very humid and while the hotel and even a large portion of the dining hall has A/C be prepared feel damp. Luckily there always seems to be a refreshing breeze.

Good value - Nice location

Well maintained resort. Good food. No complaints from us. If you like one RIU, you will probably like this one. We have been to the RIU Guanacaste in Costa Rica, twice. This one in Panama is almost exactly the same.

RIU PLAYA BLANCA

We had a nice stay at this hotel. The hotel is clean and the amenities are beautiful. There is lots of food to choose from and a great salad bar. They could use less oil in their cooking to give guests healthier choices. The hotel is very nice although it could use some upgrading. The rooms are a bit musty as is the smell in the drawers. They could add some shelving in the closet to give guests an alternative to the drawers. The entertainment could use some more variety and be more professi [... read more]onal. They relied too much on guest contests rather than polished shows. They could also put more variety in on a two week rotation for guests who are staying that long or longer. Overall, I would recommend this hotel to others. The Panama sunshine is amazing and there are many sights to see.

Not a 5*

This hotel is not a 5* according to our standards. The hotel is 6 years old and needs some work. The bathrooms require vents as it holds humidity. Our room smelled from mold and very musty. The drawers were very smelly and clothes could not be put in. Sanitized room and tried to fix smell in drawers to no avail. But they did try to move us after 4 days but hat room was no better. The staff are not really engaging if you are not a party animal. The buffet was good with lots of choices. We walked  [... read more]out of Asian and Italian as it smelled fishy and also musty. The Steakhouse was great! Pools were good! Entertainment needs to be upgraded to different shows. We had a great time as we met wonderful people who we will be friends with.

Good Resort

The rooms were nice. The hotel itself was nice and newer. The stair wells could have been kept cleaner, and the entrance to our side of the hotel smelt like a sewer was backed up. Food was good. Buffet was the best which is unusual.

Good resourt

The hotel was nice, service was good, food was ok. The rooms were clean and comfortable. Would recommend for people who love the sun!! The excursions were amazing. Would definitely recommend the jungle boat tour and Panama canal tour!!

Wonderful visit to Panama Jan 2020

We just had a really great visit to the Riu Playa Blanca, Panama in January 2020. Hot hot hot. The room was exactly as advertised. Food very good and all facilities in the hotel met our expectations. Of the speciality restaurants we enjoyed the Italian the most for variety and quality. Staff very friendly and helpful. Would definitely visit the hotel again. Entertainment is not the best I have seen. One comment is that the beds do not seem to suit families as commented on by a guest.

Good resort for the price we paid!

This resort, although definitely not a five star, met most of our needs. Rooms were fine. Food and drinks were okay.The beach was nice, but could be a little cleaner as we found several peices of thick wire in the sand. Boat taxi to Santa Clara Beach was fun and we enjoyed a couple of great beach front restaurants...great lobster and passion fruit margaritas. Beautiful scenery along the way towards Anton Valley in our rental car. Service was good! Donny, the bartender, was excellent! Great New Y [... read more]ear's celebration. Good value for 1680 pp during high season.

Rid Playa Blanca...... amazing resort and facilities

The hotel and grounds were amazing. 4 restaurants, various cuisines. Always somewhere to eat or get snacks. Only downside we found was after the rooms had been cleaned we didn’t always get face cloths and hand towels replaced, when you called the reception desk about this issue it was not rectified until the next day ( it’s like these 2 items were in short supply)