Gamboa Rainforest Resort

The location and property are amazing! So peaceful, clean, friendly staff. It seems like a real missed opportunity though because the food is terrible! There is no coffee option before 8am and then you have to pay $25 for a very mediocre buffet. At 9am the monkey bar opens so you can get a coffee or espresso there. We ate one breakfast buffet and one dinner in the restaurant and both were enough to convince us not to eat there again. What you can eat: Caesar salad at the monkey bar was totally decent. Yuca fries were great! French fries were pretty good. We loved hanging around in our balcony in our hammock. The view was incredible. The pool is also very nice. Clean, great service at the pool bar. We did the complimentary night time safari and saw a lot of wildlife. Wild boars, caiman, sloth, turtles and some cool birds. We also did the aerial tram which I world not recommend. It was okay. Not worth the money at all though. Just go for a walk. Our visit to the local indigenous village was interesting, but strange. It felt contrived and awkward. Our guide didn’t speak very much English and was supposed to be our interpreter for the excursion. The fish they made us was though! Other animals we saw on property included monkeys, agouti, frogs, lizards and iguanas and so so many parrots and other birds.

Pros: the hotel is large, with a swimming pool, integrated into nature, spacious rooms with comfortable beds, balconies overlooking the mountains and hammocks, friendly staff, and pleasant meals. Cons: on one of the days we were informed that the water supply would be cut between 10 pm and 4 am. We adjusted our routines accordingly, but in the end, the lack of such an essential resource had a real impact on us. When we raised the issue, the manager dismissed our concerns, acted with disdain, and refused to make any adjustment to the final price. I filed a complaint with Booking, which eventually solved the problem. I would not return to this hotel due to the manager’s lack of consideration—she was rude and unfriendly.

Made a reservation for 2 connecting rooms since June. We got separate rooms with the excuse that one of the connecting rooms was out of service due damages. We then realized, the room was occupied. No electricity for more than 5 hours upon check-in. No backup power for the rooms. No air conditioning. We had to use the shower with mobile phone flashlight, as there were no candles or flashlights available. The Monkey Bar was the only a-la-carte restaurant for lunch. Requested a table for 12, and were rejected with the excuse that food was taking more than 40 minutes. Rooms were moldy and dusty. Balcony was unsafe, balcony rail was falling apart due to rust. Costumer service was horrible overall, except in Don Caimán restaurant. Staff was very nice and helpful.

We loved our stay at Gamboa Rainforest Resort! The view of the Chagres River is simply beautiful, and the hotel staff were very kind, attentive, and helpful. We brought our dog along, and everyone was wonderful with him, which made our stay even more special. The food at the resort is very good, and the rainforest activities are truly unforgettable. We visited the Sloth Sanctuary, along with the butterflies, frogs, and orchids—it was a lovely experience. But the absolute highlight was the boat tour to see the Panama Canal and Gatún Lake. It was amazing! We spotted three different types of monkeys, a Panamax ship crossing the canal, countless bird species, and even iguanas. The swimming pool is also very nice and relaxing. We are already planning to return so we can try the fishing trip and the aerial tram, which was under annual maintenance during our stay. Overall, it was an incredible experience from start to finish. I highly recommend this resort to everyone looking for nature, adventure, and relaxation in one place.

I was on this trip as a special trip with my 15 year old son. I wrote the resort prior to the trip and had no response from resort. I should have known than that something was up. When we arrived they did not have our reservation. i should have known than. We were locked out of our room THREE times and had to wait an average of 20 minl before someone let us inl We were locked out of the patio once and could nto open the door My son was stuck on the patio on the third floor and I could not open the door to get him out. Nobody spoke any English to help us out. I asked for a manager to speak to me and they took down my information but nobody reached out. The toilet in the unit leaked and flowed over the balcony onto our floor. When someone came to fix it they did not clean up and we had towels everywhere trying to clean it up. The Fridge leaked. We still tried to enjoy the stay but this all made it very tough. Coming back each time and not being able to open the door was crazy. Overall this resort needs alot of work on maintanance and repair.