Palmar Beach Lodge

Great hotel, beach but bevare of no beach chairs My review should be seen in relation to the fact that it is an expensive hotel. The room and the staff were very good. The food was okay. What bothered us the most, unfortunately, was that the hotel did not live up to the rules regarding beach chairs. According to the staff, beach chairs were supposed to be reserved for hotel guests, this was absolutely not the case. Every day after lunch, half of the beach chairs were taken by other people, in addition to this, ordinary chairs from the restaurant were moved out onto the beach. It felt a bit like a hostel with lots of day guests, completely unacceptable. One of the days I complained and asked who was responsible for the policy to be followed, unfortunately I got a vague answer that the person was somewhere. The owner of this hotel needs to address this, I would like an answer.

Amazing experience. Our family of 6 adults stayed here for a week. We stayed in the hostel cabin Cacao. It has individual beds each with their own fan, light, blackout/privacy curtains, and a window. It has a big bathroom with two showers, sinks, and toilets. The AC was cold and appreciated! It is extensive to get there from Texas and we experienced some hiccups: our flight in Atlanta was delayed and we had little time to make our connection, our flight in Panama City to Bocas Del Toro was delayed and then we had to turn back to let some ppl off, once on Red Frog Beach the ppl in front of us took our scheduled wheelbarrow men so we had to drag our suitcases to the front desk, and upon check in our credit card didn’t work (fixed w a phone call). The cabin was clean, large, and a new experience! The employees are the pearls of the vacation. Everyone was kind and helpful. The beach itself is the kind of beach to spend all day playing in the waves. The waves can be smooth and then there are three in a row that can be ridden to the shore. There are no shells to cut your feet, no itchy seaweed, nor jellyfish like at the other hotel. There is an active lifeguard who will blow his whistle if he sees something! The food is upscale and delicious! The waitstaff are very kind and efficient. Breakfast starts at 8 but there is help yourself hot coffee at the bar. I was surprised at the police being there. Not doing anything but making their presence known. We met numerous solo women from Germany. We had a lot of cash we left in our room and not a penny was missing. We felt safe. Try and get an excursion. We went on a jungle hike, offshore fishing, swimming with the bioluminescence plankton, and a day trip to Zapatilla. Use the Palmar dock. If you use the other hotel’s dock during the day, they charge $5 each person/each way. The other hotel has a little store that sells a few drinks and snacks. Make sure to count your change! The Palmer has wonderful massages available. We had them during a rainstorm. It was magical!! There is a long walk to Polo beach. The walk is enjoyable but Polo beach isn’t that great. There is a very strong current and sharp shells. I’d recommend bringing strong flashlights. You’ll need one at night. It’s pitch black and the stars are bright and plentiful. We looked forward to a walk every night to the other hotel. It’s about 20 minutes and fun to look for nocturnal creatures. Your phone’s flashlight won’t be enough. I hope this helps somebody plan your trip. Expect a hiccup and then let it goooo.

Licht und Schatten Direkt am schönen Strand gelegen, die netten Hütten mit Veranda und Hängematte liegen im Wald, direkt von der Veranda lassen sich tagsüber sehr gut die kleinen Frösche beobachten. Momentan wird wohl ein Pool gebaut, aufgrund der Lärmbelästigung spendierte das Hotel das Frühstück, das war eine angemessene Reaktion. Das Personal an der Rezeption ist freundlich und bemüht. Vielleicht aufgrund der Baumaßnahmen wirkte einiges ungepflegt (Matten lagen wild durcheinander an den Bäumen u.ä.). Nichts mit dem Bauvorhaben hat aber der schleppende Service im Restaurant und am Strand zu tun. Teilweise wirkt das Personal unmotiviert, sogar unfreundlich. Nach Regenfällen braucht es lange Zeit, bis die Stühle, Tische usw. zum Frühstück oder Abendessen benutzbar gemacht werden....wer möchte sich schon auf einen nassen Stuhl setzen? Das Essen morgens und abends ist durchschnittlich. Es gibt aktuell viel zu wenig Liegen für die Hotelgäste, vielleicht wird es besser, wenn die Poolliegen dazukommen?! Strandhandtücher können an der Rezeption geholt werden.

Endroit magnifique, personnel très sympathique, nous avons adoré notre séjour sur le bord de la plage, c’est à faire rêver!

My family and I had a lovely 4 day stay at the Lodge. We stayed in one of the bungalows. The bungalow had two queen sized beds and a small bathroom with a shower. The shower had a large window looking out into the jungle and each evening a red frog and lizard appeared on the window! The room was large enough to accommodate us and very comfortable. We spent most of our time at red frog beach or on excursions. The room was cleaned daily and fresh towels were always provided. This was critical since no matter how much you tried to keep the sand out of the room it became a near impossible task. The various accommodations at the lodge are within the jungle environs surrounding the beach. It was lovely to go to sleep and wake to the sound of nature each morning. The restaurant at the lodge was consistent and produced excellent meals although the menu was small and remained consistent. If I had one suggestion it would be to add a daily special to the dinner menu in order to provide a bit of variety since there are not many options to obtain a meal elsewhere. The staff at the hotel were always friendly and accommodating. They assisted with water taxis into Bocas town and various tour options. I am so happy that we chose Palmar Lodge versus a stay in town. The seclusion and calm of the island really helped us detox from the day to day and truly get away. I would recommend Palmar Lodge to anyone seeking some time away.

Interesting experience to say the least. getting there was an adventure via water taxi, walking there was an adventure and took awhile during the day, don't go at night. It was a fun experience in this tent, clean and super simple and bathroom/shower accessible. Shower only provided cold water if your into that. Weather was permitting, we had mostly rainy weather well covered in this domain otherwise not much to do . There was a small tour to polo beach, which was enjoyable and thankful to be otherwise turned away to visit the rest of the area and jungle. We are remote and should be careful where we go in general. Then there was the construction, it was extremely loud and in the way, so made the visit unattractive. Luckily stopped in the evening. Hopefully will be more to do in the near future.