Palmar Beach Lodge

Panama , Bocas del Toro
Isla Bastimentos, Playa Segunda, Isla Bastimentos, Bocas Del Toro...
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50 reviews shown

10/10

Exceptional

17 Feb 2026

Lynete

Incredible location and facilities.
Restaurant food was excellent and very friendly, courteous staff. Loved how the accommodations blended into their surroundings!

10/10

Exceptional

08 Feb 2026

Craig

The location was fantastic. The rooms were nested into the jungle and they were very comfortable. The staff is amazing, they look after your every need. The restaurant served some the most delicious food that we ate anywhere in Panama. I would highly recommend anyone to choose this hotel.

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

18 Jan 2026

janell

All was ok. Service in the restaurant was poor. Very slow 2 hrs to eat breakfast

10/10

Exceptional

29 Dec 2025

Denisse

A beautiful, comfortable, and modern place in the heart of the jungle, perfect for truly disconnecting and recharging. We loved the peaceful atmosphere and the excellent food and drinks at Selva. Special thanks to Lea and the entire team for their genuine care and attentive service, which made our stay truly special.

Partner

8/10

Excellent

24 Dec 2025

Minna

Shared hostel rooms were great. Location is beautiful but isolated and beach is too strong to swim. But very pretty.

Self

10/10

Exceptional

22 Nov 2025

Richard

Great staff. Nice room. Great beach. Bring insect repellent! It's a bit of a hike from the pier to the room, so call ahead and they will help with your luggage.

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

15 Oct 2025

Christoph Max Gerhard

Nice Beach Resort.....enjoyed the stay!

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

28 Jun 2025

Ashley

The food the accommodations the staff particularly mathieus ameths and grehory
Was all amazing. Highly recommended

Leisure Partner

8/10

Excellent

29 May 2025

Nancy L

Near the beach, friendly and helpful staff.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

10 Apr 2025

Ethan

Beautiful place with the most amazing staff!

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

04 Feb 2025

Miranda

Wonderful place for wildlife spotting and red frogs! Comfortable room, super helpful staff. Beach is lovely although sea was rough. Quiet, good food, very laid back.You do need to walk through the jungle to get there, good path!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Dec 2024

Janie

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

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

05 Aug 2024

Katya

Nice hotel in front of one of the nicest beach in Bocas del Toro (Red Frog). Staff is friendly, food is good and at a fair price, and amazing breakfast! They have different options of rooms for every traveler, I traveled with friends and we chose AC rooms with private bathroom and they were very comfortable. They also offer tours which are usually better quality than if you get it in town (Isla Colon). Would go back to El Palmar.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

01 Jun 2024

Ricardo

Enjoyment of nature without distraction of devices. Time to de-stress and re-energize.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

06 Oct 2023

Nadhinka

One of the best places I stayed, the grounds are breathtaking and the staff is amazing

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

04 Jun 2023

James

Our Little Secret

you can't help but gasp when you enter this property. places like this do not exist! it's something out of a movie. from the time you get off the boat until the time you have to leave with the guys taking your luggage back to the dock in wheel barrows.... Wow! Exactly the kind of vacation spot that I was looking for. Beaches with no vendors and very few people... Amazing...

Self

10/10

Exceptional

16 Apr 2023

John

Beautiful property on a beautiful island. Alongside this the food is fantastic!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Mar 2023

matt

Fantastic spot. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The food at the restaurant and bar are top notch. Beach and accommodations all very clean. Overall Palmar was above our expectations. We will be back again and would highly recommend to anyone looking for a quiet spot off the beaten path and away from the crowds and noise of the towns.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

26 Feb 2023

Joy

Was wonderful

Leisure Family

8/10

Excellent

24 Jan 2023

Nora

Palmar Beach Lodge is truly a jungle beach paradise! This property definitely takes some effort to get to. You must take a boat from Bocas del Toro town to Isla Bastimentos to a remote pier for Red Frog Beach. They drop you off and there's nothing around, but if you WhatsApp the hotel, they will assist with your bags. You must hike through a jungle on a dirt path to get there - keep this in mind! Once you are there, it is tucked into the jungle and is situated right on the beach. This was exactly the vibe I was looking for, but if you're looking for something with more around or a more luxury experience, I would look elsewhere. I stayed in a private room with air conditioning which made my week there very nice. the bathrooms in these rooms are very nice, but keep in mind that they are on an island and use rain water, so sometimes the water shuts off throughout the day when they change the filters - I wish the staff had shared this with me when I checked in. We had some issues with the lock on our door that was addressed the day before we checked out, but I also understand they must bring parts from other islands on a boat through the jungle. The restaurant and bar is lovely, but keep in mind they get busy so have some patience. It's one of two places right on the beach so a lot of day visitors come to the bar/restaurant, as well as hotel guests. The lodge also has hostel accommodations so you get a good mix of people. Overall, a nice experience.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

11 Jun 2022

Erika

The beach was beautiful and within walking distance of two more beautiful beaches. Jungle atmosphere, including sloths and red frogs , was a highlight. Food was delicious!

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

16 May 2022

Peter

Great spot. Super friendly staff.

Leisure Self

10/10

Exceptional

25 Apr 2022

Harut

Piece of paradise

Beautiful property on beach front. Authentic experience in a serene environment. Highly recommend it.

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

15 Jan 2022

Alexey

bring cash. they will charge 5% for any card trans

Amazing beach. Nice property overall. Good restaurant on site.

The only thing: you pay though Hotels.com. It is not actually the payment. The property just put your money on hold. And then when you come they will charge again with 5% credit card processing fee.

Whatever you pay by card at this property. Will be 5% extra. So take cash.

But again. I had a very lovely experience. One of the best beaches in Bocas.

Self

4/10

Poor

04 Jan 2022

Yotam

A poorly run hotel on a nice island

This hotel could not have been q bigger letdown. I don’t even know where to start. Oh, right; NO HOT WATER. That’s right, $330 a night but no hot water in the shower, even though I complained several times.

What else?

Reception closes at 4:30 and even until then it’s almost never staffed.

Restaurant stops serving food before the advertised hours and you’re left with nothing to eat. When it’s open, they are always out of everything.

Service is terrible, especially the single mom who leaves her crying baby between the tables and goes out of her way to avoid customers and be rude to everybody - Ana I think her name is.

The wall from the pier is a real hike - not fun when carrying suitcases.

Want to hop over to Bocas? Good luck with that - you’re on your own and getting back at dark is basically impossible.

Avoid this place. I recommend Bambuda lodge which was a thousand times nicer and half the price

Self

10/10

Exceptional

15 Sep 2021

Verified traveler

Excellent location beautiful beach

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

23 Mar 2020

Jane

Jungle oasis

Wonderful exotic environment with friendly staff. Loved the place!

Friends_and_family Friends

10/10

Exceptional

12 Mar 2020

Janine

Stay in the Sloth room if you can!

Perfect stay - upgraded to a room with A/C and a TV at check in and had a great view of the jungle from the balcony (we were in the “Sloth” room). Bar staff was amazing, fast service, super friendly, and all of the food we ordered was very good. They have a good happy hour from
5-7 as well! Seemed like the best option for sure on Red Frog and I think the only restaurant on the beach open Monday’s?
Absolutely recommended!

Partner

10/10

Exceptional

05 Mar 2020

Verified traveler

unique and amazing. i am blown away by the quality that has gone into this place. Rustic but also sustainable in its presence.

Leisure Partner

10/10

Exceptional

24 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

Very cool place to relax and spend some time connecting with nature. Great food and drinks, very modest prices.

Leisure Partner

2/10

Poor

01 Feb 2020

Verified traveler

This property contracted with a 3rd party that allowed us to book a room as a family, then when we showed up refused to let us stay there. Not only did they turn us away, they still made us pay for our reservation. These outfit is HORRIBLE and do not deserve your money. Find your flow with some truly good hearted people.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

23 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

My experience at Palmar exceeded my expectations. It was a great experience surrounded by nature. The staff was friendly and very welcoming. Food was great and service was quick. Highly recommended. I will definitely be coming back for more days.

Leisure Family

10/10

Exceptional

22 Dec 2019

Verified traveler

Lovely place between jungle and sea. Exellent place to stay in Bocas del Toro

Friends_and_family Family

8/10

Excellent

17 Dec 2019

This is a gorgeous property, fun, eclectic and eco friendly with lovely manicured grounds. Food has all been great so far and fair prices. Drinks are good, a little expensive but it’s premium booze. Yoga was fantastic! Staff are great, sometimes a little lax on the cleanliness standards (hand washing, etc) but I think you gotta remember this is a hostel. Overall the cleanliness is pretty great though!
A couple notes: The tents are awesome to stay in, comfy beds but they only give one fan so bring your own mini fan if you have trouble sleeping when it’s warm. They lack things like hand towels after you wash your hands so I find that a little strange. Nothing dries in the humidity here and you are expected to reuse your towel, etc. I feel like they should install hooks all around their tents (and dorms). They have a “hanging area” in the sun but I heard it’s just as bad (i.e. nothing dries) and I prefer to keep my items nearby.

Leisure Friends

10/10

Exceptional

25 Jan 2019

Verified traveler

We stayed in a deluxe bungalow and it was great! Very new and nicely decorated.
At Palmar the staff is really nice and helpful

Leisure Partner

6/10

Pleasant

12 Jul 2018

Vanessa

This island is beautiful, but I think I would have been a lot happier at this hotel/lodge if I was 10-15 years younger (if I was in my early 20's). The staff was very friendly, but all very young and more looking to party and date then service. The bathrooms/toilets were pretty dirty, and trashes were over-flowing (which is extra gross when you don't flush toilet paper). The showers were clean and beautiful, but remember, you're on a small island, so showers are limited rainwater (cold and quick). The biggest disappointment was having the front desk call for a water taxi after checkout, then waiting at the dock for an hour and a half (can't walk back because you might miss them, can't call due to reception) and therefor missing my flight. Did they actually call? Or does the water taxi just not care about that hotels business that much? Either way, it was pretty disappointing. Met some people that stayed at Red Frog Bungalows (neighboring property) and raved about the rooms and staff, I'll definitely be staying there next time.

6/10

Pleasant

07 Apr 2018

Andrew

Reasonable rates for a place on a beautiful beach

We stayed three days here which proved to be just the right amount of time for the type of accommodations we had at this place; the tent rooms. The spaces are quaint and reasonably clean, but it was nice to have a whole room after three days of crouching over all the time. The mattress was also on the very firm end of the spectrum, but overall it was a good experience and I’d recommend this place to others.

Other pros:

-Laid back environment: although the place was seemingly full, it didn’t feel the least bit packed.

-Food is generally good and so are the prices.

-The facilities (eating area, games room, bathrooms) were well kept and nice.

-Staff are friendly.

- didn’t have to wear a silly bracelet, though others were so I’m not sure how that works.

Cons:

- Food service is pretty slow at times, but unless you have somewhere to go, it’s not that big of a deal.

- wifi is ridiculously slow, especially the upstream, so if you need to do more than check the odd email on the internet, this place isn’t for you.

- you pay for your drinks and food upon checkout, and while you do get an itemized bill, there was no verification by staff that I was in the room I said I was in when ordering things. It was actually convenient, but this sometimes had me wonder what would stop someone else from throwing the odd drink on my tab. As it turned out it wasn’t an issue, but maybe something to keep an eye on.

4/10

Poor

26 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Few concerns

Loved the staff except the owner ( Erin) was not reliable at all. One more major concern : we saw couple syringes and needles on the beach in front of Palmar and Red frog beach , don’t walk bear foot at the beach ......The palmar lodge added a 10% “service charge” on top of tax , no one had any explication for that charge??

10/10

Exceptional

21 Feb 2018

Verified traveler

Tartuga

Nice, great room, yoga great, location great. Wish the seating was more comfortable sea side, value was had from food to lodgings.

8/10

Excellent

29 Jan 2018

elaine

Perfect location.

We stayed in a tent which was very comfortable. The down side was that it was much smaller than we thought it would be and it was shared toilets and showers. We thought it would have its own facilities next to the tent.

Family

2/10

Poor

20 Dec 2017

Verified traveler

Amazing location but hugely let down by the customer service.

8/10

Excellent

07 Apr 2017

denise

Paradise on the water!

This place is amazing. You have to be ok with bugs and flexible on cleanliness. It's hard to keep open air bungalow type places clean with all the wildlife and rain then sun. The sand everywhere is also ever present. If you want to feel like you are living in a jungle this is it! You dock at this place that charges you $5 just to lug all your stuff to your hotel (this is really annoying) and you have to walk about 1/2 mile, then you never want to leave. Amazing food! Amazing bar! Ok service (if I was 25 and cute I would have received way better service). Picture perfect beach- plenty of chairs. Lots of activities and nice people!

10/10

Exceptional

27 Dec 2016

Fran

Great spot

Wonderful quiet resort with nice beach, good restaurant, friendly staff.

Family

6/10

Pleasant

05 Nov 2016

Shreesh

Good Adventure.

A good adventure trip to Bocas.

Family

8/10

Excellent

21 Apr 2016

Rok

Comfortable jungle experience plus great beach

Eco resort in the jungle and next to the beautiful beach. Tents are ok, there is only bed inside + box to store things. Food in the restaurant is very decent, drinks as well. Plastic chairs are disturbing eco orientation. Overall very nice, with little more effort it could be fantastic.

Partner

4/10

Poor

18 Apr 2016

Ross

Too dark and dingy.

We stayed three nights in the Banana tent which was not very appealing, I found it dark, dingy, uncomfortable and damp. Our tent was actually heavily stained with mold (the mold has been removed but not the stains) which is very off putting and the tent location is pretty dark and there was no mosquito net when required, as such the advertising does not accurately reflect our tent. Having said that many of the other tent spots did look much nicer, care should
be taken to reserve a tent close to the beach where the foliage is not as dense. The island is actually really nice, the bar of the lodge great and overall the staff good. The tents could be improved.

8/10

Excellent

03 Jan 2016

Sergei

Place for adventures right on the beach

Please keep in mind it is a tent lodge. Hotel located right on the beach in a rain forest. It's the best beach in Boca's. Every day many visitors come to the beach for a day visit from other islands. Place gets very busy from about 10 am until 5 pm. Hotel staff is great but service is very slow. Everyone is very laid back. There is no sense of urgency. Keep in mind you are sleeping in the tents. Expect level of comfort as you go camping. Also it's a rain forest. There is lots of insects. Ants and moscitos will bite even you shower yourself in a bug repeller. And it may rain heavily. Showers and toilets are communal. There is no hot water. All water supplies are rain water. There are no outlets in the tents and no cellular service nor WiFi. You can charge your devices at the restaurant during day time when electricity is not used for lights.

4/10

Poor

13 Sep 2015

George

Just for backpackers looking for adventure

The tents are near the beach, however, the port is located on the other side of the island. This means you have to walk and carry your luggage on a muddy trail for 15 minutes. The beds are satisfactory. However other facilities like the public toilet and shower could by improved. Pumping water with your feet and waiting for the water to come out is not convenient. The toilet door broke down. The rain made everything dirty, specially the bathrooms and didnt see anyone cleaning for 2 days. Maybe the staff was waiting for the sun to come out to clean. Our tent had some holes letting rain come in. Some parts of the beds got wet. Add the mosquitos and you will not have a very pleasant experience.

10/10

Exceptional

21 Mar 2025

Verified traveler

Sehr schöne Unterkunft an traumhafter Lage

Die Unterkunft liegt direkt am Strand und ist schön. Unser Zimmer (Beach Cabana) war in gutem Zustand und sehr sauber. Die Mitarbeiter waren alle freundlich und haben sich sofort um jegliche Anliegen gekümmert. Der Baustellenlärm war etwas störend, hielt sich aber in Grenzen. Das Restaurant ist direkt am Strand, was toll ist. Wir wären gerne länger geblieben

Partner

8/10

Excellent

17 Jan 2025

Stefan

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.

Partner