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Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort: Traveler Reviews


Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort
PO Box 8437 Zone 7, Playa Blanca 8437, Panama
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Traveler Reviews

82% Recommend
3.5 of 5 stars 187 reviews
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Pleasant, Enjoyable Stay

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

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4 of 5 stars
amwiva7 1 contribution
Texas
Jul 7, 2009 | Trip type: Family
1/1 found this review helpful

My family and I stayed for three days during the low season.
The beach was beautiful, clean, and relaxing. We had no problem finding chairs with beach umbrellas, it was not crowded.
The shows are in Spanish, but the MC tries to incorporate a couple words of English, so the Americans feel comfortable.
You can always find something that you like at the buffet, whether it's the pasta, or fish, or fruit, you will never go hungry! I give it a B-
With the specialty restaurants, you must make reservations in the morning time in front of the buffet, there is no extra cost, just better quality food !!!
The specialty restaurant, "El Velero" was my favorite! The fish was amazing, and service was great. I give it an A !
The specialty mexican restaurant wasn't my favorite, a little too "frou frou" for my taste, but enjoyable.
Everything is "All Inclusive", you can eat as much, and have as many margaritas and cokes as you wish !
The rooms are nice, a little old, but nothing to complain about. Cable TV, comfortable beds, cool air conditioning, warm shower, balconies, complimentary water bottles each day, and space to move around!
The pools are very beautiful and refreshing, and the swim-up bars were very convenient.
You must pay extra to rent the jet-skis and 4-wheelers, etc, of course; but the kayaks are free to rent, and very fun !
Entertainment: there are many daily activities to do during the day like water aerobics, dance classes, soccer, etc. At night there is a show for the ninos, a family show, then an adults show. The dancing was surprisingly very good! and the dancers work very hard every night, so make sure you clap! Though in Spanish, still enjoyable.
If you do not know a word of spanish, you will be okay, but it may just take extra time to get your point across, since most of the staff only know a little english. But, the people at the front desk speak good english, so that shouldn't be a problem.
We over-all had a very enjoyable time at the Playa Blanca Resort, and would recommend it again, especially for the very affordable price!

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 4 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay July 2009
  • Visit was for Leisure
  • Traveled with Family with Teenagers
  • Member since July 07, 2009
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $152 (year-round)
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Safety is not their priority

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

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1 of 5 stars
TheBergs 2 contributions
Texas/Minnesota
Jul 3, 2009 | Trip type: Family

This is our 5th time to Panama. We love the country and the people. Playa Blanca has such great potential, beautiful pools and beach, but was a big disappointment. To make an internet reservation you end up using a 3rd party travel agent, so if there are any issues, the resort just blames the travel agency. Rooms are average and well worn, buffet was awful. When you could make a reservation for the "real" restaurants", you end up finding out you have to pay extra for some of the menu items. You have to pay for internet and only while sitting in their lobby. So everything is not "All inclusive" .We stayed for 4 nights. Our last night, at 2 in the morning, had a man with his cap pulled down low over his face trying to kick our door in. We called security......twice......5 minutes later, he finally arrived. Security ushered him away and we never heard a peep from security or management, and of course we didn't sleep a wink that night. Will not return.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 2 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 2 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay June 2009
  • Visit was for Leisure
  • Traveled with Family with Teenagers
  • Member since July 01, 2009
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $152 (year-round)
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A wonderful get a way

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

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4 of 5 stars
kristeliz0215 1 contribution
Boston, MA
Jun 17, 2009 | Trip type: Solo travel
2/2 found this review helpful

I am just back from 6 days at Playa Blanca and I had a wonderful time. The beach and the resort were beautiful.

I read a number of negative reviews on this website before I left and I am glad that I ignored them. I have been to Central America several times (Nicaragua, Belize and Costa Rica) and I found Panama to be breath-taking-ly beautiful. People who complain about the service and the lack of English-speaking staff need to bear in mind that Panama is a SPANISH-speaking country and a developing country, at that. It is true that most of the staff do not speak English, but then again, many hotel staff in the US don't speak English either.

I had NO problems whatsoever with my room, they give you a free liter of bottled water each day and the room was very clean, with a balcony and beautiful view of the beach.

My one complaint is that I wasn't able to go to the Panama Canal because the on-site tour company was never open during it's advertised hours or often decided to close early, however this is typical of how time works in Central America per my experience.

If you want to experience the beauty of another culture, go here. If you want to experience US culture on the beach, go to Florida.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 3 of 5 stars Location
    • 5 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay June 2009
  • Visit was for Leisure
  • Traveled with Solo Traveler
  • Age group 25_34
  • Member since June 17, 2009
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $152 (year-round)
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A Beautiful Waste

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

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2 of 5 stars
clayto7 1 contribution
clayto7
May 27, 2009 | Trip type: Family
3/4 found this review helpful

The hotel is just as beautiful as it looks in the pictures. However, that is where the resembelance ends. Service is terrible, and I mean extremely terrible. Once you're checked in, forget any help from the front desk. People are very nice, but completely unresponsive.

When we checked in we were on the first floor with a view of the beach. however, the sliding glass door had such huge gaps between it and the frame not only could every imaginable bug get through, and there are a lot of bugs there, so could medium sized lizards. After waiting an hour, they moved us to the second floor. The sliding glass door fit but the entry door did not. Again a giant gap between the door and the door frame. We had to stuff the gap full of toilet paper to keep the flying bugs out.

The food--what a joke. The meals are the same for every meal from day to day. And it ain't very good. I'm no food snob, but at least 50% of what was offered is inedible. The remainder was just bad. I spend a lot of time in Panama, and this is the worst food I've ever had there.

The drinks are free--but I'm not sure there is any alcohol in them. I don't drink a lot, but I had about 10 margarita's in three hours time and didn't even get a buzz. The Pina Colada's tasted neither Pina or Colada.

The pools are beautiful, but there is no shade. i counted only five umberellas at the pools and none available they are not movable. So if you're at the pool, be ready to either get there very early or to spend your time completely exposed to the tropical sun.

The beach is very nice with lots of shade for those who want it.

The rooms are stark. Totally white with little decoration and minimal furniture. No internet, little cable TV, no frig or other immenities. One of the two full size beds broke the first time I sat down on it. No one ever came to fix it.

They do have pretty good nightlife. Though don't expect to get to bed early while you're there. You can hear the pounding music throughout the complex until 2 or 3 am. And it is very LOUD with lot's of base.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 1 of 5 stars Value
    • 1 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay May 2009
  • Visit was for Leisure
  • Traveled with Family with Young Children
  • Age group 35-49
  • Member since May 27, 2009
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? No
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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Average price*: $152 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
It was like in Paradise

Playa Blanca Hotel & Resort

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5 of 5 stars
whiteskins 7 contributions
Finland
May 26, 2009 | Trip type: Family
1/1 found this review helpful

The best holiday ever. Food, nature, weather, Pacific, staff, beach, peace... Our 12 year old daughter wants nowhere else never again. The best was the really quiet beach and the great buffet, all-inclusive means you don't need money anywhere. And all those exotic birds and plants, really marvellous. Only some other tourists didn't have good tablemanners in the buffet. If you want to eat good food, rest well, enjoy sunny weather and friendly people, Panama is your country.

  • My ratings for this hotel
    • 5 of 5 stars Value
    • 3 of 5 stars Rooms
    • 5 of 5 stars Location
    • 3 of 5 stars Cleanliness
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
  • Date of stay October 2008
  • Visit was for Leisure
  • Traveled with Family with Teenagers
  • Age group 50-64
  • Member since August 31, 2008
  • Would you recommend this hotel to a friend? Yes
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Was this review helpful? Yes No
Check Rates ABS:HotelCheckRates-d305420?ext=true&src=ShowUserReviewsHotels&fromServlet=ShowUserReviews&Action=QC_Button_Reviews
Average price*: $152 (year-round)
Call now to book: 1-800-45-HOTEL from hotels.com
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