We had a fantastic 3-night stay at the Gamboa Rainforest Lodge. The place was much bigger than expected, so definitely not an intimate feel to it, but we enjoyed it nonetheless. It is nicely located at the mouth of the Chagres River just outside the small town of Gamboa. It is about a 15 minute walk into town where there is a small Panamanian food restaurant and a well-stocked minimart. You can also watch the cargo ships passing by on the canal. Around the resort are numerous trails through the rainforest for both walking and mountain biking. We rented a couple of good mountain bikes during our stay from the onsite Bike Gamboa rental center and rode a number of very good trails. Great place for exploring the rainforest environment! The hotel itself is grand and elegant, though with a definite air of faded grandeur – lots of maintenance issues that aren’t being kept up on, but they are trying. There is ample free parking out front. All of the staff we dealt with at reception were always friendly and helpful. Our room was way down at the far end, so a little bit of a hike to get back and forth to the room. The room was very nice, bright and airy with a great view of the river below, especially from the big balcony. The AC worked great, as did the TV and free Wifi. We were happy to have a good mini-fridge to keep all our drinks ice cold. Everything was clean and well-maintained in the room, and we liked that there was daily cleaning service and towel replacement. The hotel grounds were very nice and the pool area was absolutely amazing – a great place to cool off and relax in the loungers. There is a short mountain biking route that weaves around the grounds which is fun to do as well as some kiddie playgrounds. The breakfast buffet was absolutely amazing – everything you could ever want. We especially loved all of the fresh tropical fruits and fruit juices. We ate our evening meals at the smaller café near reception (not the buffet, which seemed like a rip-off) rather than the main formal restaurant – better prices and food more to our liking such as pizza, burgers, salads, etc. Overall we had an amazing stay and would definitely come back here. Highly recommended to all travelers looking for a rainforest experience.

Beautiful interiors (lobby and common spaces) and amazing view from the bar terrace that you can look at for hours - which we did, having food and drinks from the bar. The rooms have a balcony with a hammock. Our bed was comfortable. The hotel organises some tours which we didn’t do, instead we rented a kayak from a place by the river and that was very nice.

A wonderful lodge on the Chagres River. It was an excellent location to base for Pipeline and river/canal excursions. A huge pool and a couple good dining options. Great birding and lush vegetation. It is near partial canal transit drop off point, Summit National Park and Soberianos, all near by. About a 40 minute drive from Panama City.

We did have a very good time, but I worry about the mold or mildew that was prevalent throughout the resort. Our room seemed to get better as the week went on (or maybe we just got used to it or maybe the room had been closed up for a while before we were there), but the first day or two the smell of mildew was overpowering and concerning. We didn't spend a lot of time in our room and the location was perfect for our family. We hiked, swam and did excursions every day. We ate at the "fancy" restaurant one night which was a buffet and not worth it. Our bill came to $180 for 5 people (1 child) and 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks. We did not get to try many dishes because they ran out and didn't replenish while we were there. The more casual Monkee Bar was where we ate most evenings. It is mostly bar food -burgers, wings, nachos, pizza and their ceviche was never available during the 5 nights we ate there. Everyday we had lunch at the restaurant in town (5 min drive) next to the only grocery store. It was more authentic, delicious and inexpensive. I would reccomend Gamboa, but maybe not if you have asthma or allergies.

It was great time in beautiful place. Nice hotel, great pool beautiful plants. Night safari was too short but we saw caymans they was the best. Restaurants with very good food. Nice and helpful personel, especially Klara from reception! Recommend to see.