Gamboa Rainforest Resort

Brad Rogoff Dec 30, 2025, 11:43 AM (8 days ago) to me This is the place to stay for wildlife and we knew it wasn’t going to be a 4 star experience even though it is not cheap. However, the hotel quality is probably closer to 2 stars than 3. The room was pretty grimy. White socks are brown after walking in the room for 15mins. The shower was not cleaned, dirt and hair in it upon arrival. Both toilets are also disgusting with poop stains. The family suite is too hot upstairs and when maintenance came to check they turned the heat on instead. I understand things can get lost in translation but no one would possibly want the heat on when it’s almost 90 degrees and humid out. When we spoke to the supervisor who was trying to help, he said that this is a known issue about the high temperature upstairs in all rooms with this layout. While he offered to swap us to a queen/queen room that doesn’t fit the family need for sleeping and wasn’t what we had paid for. They brought us two cots which was a good compromise and eventually the room cooled enough for the kids to sleep upstairs although with a triangular window up there with no blinds they were up at sunrise. The food was also pretty bad at the buffet but we expected that. There was really nothing the kids wanted to eat. The monkey bar is very limited in menu but a better option and the view is really nice from up there. This hotel is really the only option to see the wildlife but to pay as much as we have the room should at least be clean. On the wildlife front it was pretty amazing that just outside the room we saw Geoffrey’s tamarind monkeys, aracaris and mot mots up close. The parking lot had so many toucan spottings and frequently capuchin monkeys. This is one of the weirdest reviews we have written in all our travels because despite our disappointment with the hotel we don’t regret our 48 hrs there bc the wildlife is so amazing.

It is a beautiful hotel in the middle of the rainforest. The food was good enough for a buffet and my celiac wife was able to find food at every meal, and did not get a reaction - She just had the staff do a quick walk through for each meal. The rooms are nice and I would recommend get the premium room with the hammock on the patio - it was a favourite place to relax for the whole family. The tours are good and I would definitely recommend the night boat safari as well as the river tour to see the monkeys and drive around in the canal. We did 3 nights and it was a good amount of time to see the area - it’s remote, and there aren’t any stores around the hotel so make sure you pack what you need. We did bring some drinks, and they do have a water station in the lobby to fill a water bottle if needed. Great start to our vacation!!!!!! Family 2 adults 2 boys age 7 and 14.

We stayed 1 night, loved it/ hated it all at once. PROs: - Gorgeous drive in, only about 20-30 minutes from Casco Viejo. Got to see ships going through the canal at Culebra Cut- what a sight! - Beautiful property in the rainforest. We saw monkeys, type of toucan, capybaras roaming, etc. Best wildlife spotting. - Some tours were great (night boat safari where we saw alligators and tarantulas, day boat expedition). - Big rooms with comfy beds and nice bathrooms. My teens loved the hammock on porch if sprayed with mosquito spray. - Mosquitoes weren’t bad. We did a light spray before heading out and were fine. Cons: - Way too many people in lobby for tours. Everyone in lines, noisy, etc. It’s so lovely in the resort but I wish there was a separate area for tour management. - Food was just okay. We ate by the pool then two of us were unwell (hit us during a tour!). Not sure what it was as the water was fine to drink. - Sloth sanctuary was more plants than sloth. Set expectations if you decide to go. Overall: great for families (little kids, grandparents). Can see/do a lot in a wonderful setting. Close to the city also.

This is one of the coolest places I've ever been. I'm really glad we came here on a day trip, and sad that we didn't stay at the hotel here. (My 8 year old kid did say "next time we come to Panama, we need to stay here" so apparently I'm not the only one who felt this way). We came with elderly grandparents that have some mobility issues, as well as a 8 year old kid. So we're a difficult group. We all had a great time. We went on a boat ride on Lake Gatun (it was hard for the grandparents to get into and out of the boat, but otherwise it was great). We had lunch in their buffet, and we all loved it. (My husband and I are vegetarians and it was nice to have several good things to eat). We went on the arial tram, and all loved it. The mobile ones of us walked up the observation tower and saw incredible views. On the tram we saw a couple of birds, my son saw a toucan, and I saw a capuchin monkey. Then when we were coming in we saw a family of coati under us at the base. We counted 14 of them! And we saw a trogon bird that was beautiful. We enjoyed the sloth sanctuary and frog sanctuary but by that point we were all overheating, so we impatiently saw the butterfly and orchid area. I definitely want to return here sometime!

This hotel is great. It overlooks the Charges River and boy what a view. The food is great, the drinks are great, the staff is great and the tours you can take from the hotel are so good for families. We loved it (2 adults and 3 kids 16,13 &9). It looses a star as our aircon didn’t work so well and the pool has seen better days.