Visit the unique destination of Panama, where you can experience beaches, rainforest, mountains and city—all from Dreams Playa Bonita Panama. Located on Playa Bonita, the closest beach to Panama City and literally meaning "beautiful beach," Dreams Playa Bonita is perfect for special romantic getaways and memorable family vacations. Our 11 seaside towers offer 307 luxurious guest rooms and suites with jungle walkways and stunning views. Gourmet à la carte restaurants, bars and lounges are all included in our Unlimited-Luxury®—where all your vacation essentials are included. Nearby, guests can visit the Panama Canal, Panama City's colonial district, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site or the largest mall in the Americas. Everyone has their own idea of a Dream vacation, and it can all be found at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama.
Star ratings are intended to indicate the general level of features, amenities, and services to expect. This property is classified according to Giata.
HOTEL STYLE
Harbor View
Bay View
Languages Spoken
Spanish
Location
Camino A Veracruz, Km 7 Distrito De Arraiján, Panama City Panama
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Dreams Playa Bonita Panama offers a picturesque setting that guests appreciate, though their experiences are dampened by a variety of issues. Many reviewers enjoy the natural beauty and activities but are frustrated by the need for property upgrades and inconsistent service. The ambiance of the hotel receives mixed reviews, with some charm overshadowed by dated elements and a lackluster entertainment scene.
While some travelers commend clean rooms and grounds, others are troubled by maintenance and cleanliness lapses. Room comfort is compromised by mold and outdated features, and although the location boasts scenic views, it's criticized for its distance from urban conveniences. Disruptive noise is a common complaint, and many guests feel the hotel does not provide value for money due to the various shortcomings.
Location
Remote
Atmosphere
Uninspiring
Rooms
Neglected
Value
Expensive
Cleanliness
Mixed
Noise level
Noisy
Service
Inconsistent
Amenities
Underwhelming
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I visited this resort with 5 family members from Feb 21 to 28, 2020. I have been to many resorts in the past, so decided to structure my review as to what I liked and disliked about it. I must note that due to it's location, this is an EXTREMELY hot resort and if you enjoy running or walking, it is unbearable after 9am in the morning so the only thing to do is to go in the pool or exercise room. Also, many resorts now have implemented a VIP surcharge which is not worth it and restricts the use of certain pools to those who pay extra. This seems very unfair to me, as we pay a lot of money to stay at a resort, then get there and are restricted from certain areas.
PROS: Beautiful grounds and views of the ocean, attractive pool area, large variety of mixed drinks, relaxing cafe in the main lobby servicing specialty coffees, cakes & sandwiches, good (although expensive) tour of the rain forest and panama canal.
CONS: Air conditioning in our room and the hotel lobby was poor, food mediocre most of the time (especially some of the lunch & supper buffets), although breakfast and the Italian restaurant were good (did not try the French restaurant), some staff were friendly; others were apathetic, public washrooms did not flush well at times and smelled, lack of activities (ie. it seemed that you could only use the kayaks & paddle board at scheduled times, but this wasn't really clear), restricted VIP areas.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Value
Service
Sleep Quality
Room Tip:All rooms appear to be ocean view - ours was 427 and had a great view.
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Guest: Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed overview of your stay through this mean. Our guest’s feedback is truly appreciated in our constant commitment to improve our service levels.
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I thought the negative reviews were just those people who complain about everything, but unfortunately I have to agree. I have done a lot of all inclusives and honestly am not that picky. I can see management is trying and there is plenty to like if you can keep expectations low. The service is very slow or non-existent; the bars were actually good but the restaurants were terrible. They are slow to seat you, slow to get drinks, got all our orders wrong every time (not once did we actually get what we ordered and even when we requested the correct item, didn’t always get them). Our room was on rainforest side with an ocean view however was blocked by the one giant tree on the property. This is only an issue for maybe 4 rooms but this giant bushy tree was literally the only thing we could see. There might have been an ocean but I have no idea. Housekeeping didn’t come 2 days and when we called for clean towels they were tough to hunt down. The sustainable practices (which I love) actually mean you will have a lot of very dirty towels and linens if you don’t specifically ask for new. Check in was slow and disorganized. The beach is not great, but there is nothing Dreams can do about that - it is the location. The pools are nice; The chairs and shaded cabanas are very comfy. The buffets were good, lots of variety. I loved the pool bar staff. We went into old town 2 nights but taxis and ubers don’t love coming out to playa Bonita so they overcharge to do it. But definitely go into old town - we had amazing food and drinks! Overall, I can see the new management is trying (they just need more staff and higher service standards) and we still had a great time. But this place is just ok. Keep expectations low and maintain your sense of humor about it and you will be fine.
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Date of stay: January 2020Trip type: Traveled as a couple
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Jan 4, 2020
Dear Guest: We appreciate the time that you have invested on writing an overview of your stay with us. There seems to have been several deficiencies encountered which are not very typical and not reflective of our brand experience; if this stay was marred by irregular circumstances, we can only renew our apologies and assure you that we have in the meantime briefed the team at great length of your comments. We are working on a daily basis to exceed our guest’s expectations and would love to have the opportunity to host you again in the near future to offer you a remarkable stay.
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The beach view is lovely, the facilities are pleasant but dated. The service at the restaurants was wonderful but the room service was terrible. The wait time was long and no one in our group of 8 people ever received an accurate or complete order in our 5 day stay. One of our rooms had broken AC (They did mthis couple was relocated to another room half-way through our stay) and one couple didn't receive housekeeping until the last day. Those of us who did get housekeeping often didn't have our necessities replenished. There was very little shade available near the pool, which made it difficult to enjoy it prior to 4 pm when the sun sank behind the hotel. It was a decent deal for the bargain price, but we probably won't be returning.
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Date of stay: March 2020
Rooms
Location
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Mar 13, 2020
Dear Guest: We regret to know that we have not fulfilled your expectations during your visit. Please be certain that we have taken your feedback seriously and we will work in our opportunity areas in order to deliver better service to our guests.
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Really loved this resort and honestly it was so much better than the pictures showed. When we arrived we were speechless at how beautiful the property was. The little cove down on the beach was a favourite of ours to walk at night. The staff were absolutely incredible always so willing to help and had smiles on their faces. The property was very clean, easy to navigate through and had everything we needed for a week stay. We loved that the Dreams offered a free shuttle to Panama City that is a great opportunity to get into the city and see the culture! The only thing we struggled with was getting towels in our room - when we arrived there was no towels in the room and it would take hours for them to arrive. When we needed a refresh they didn't replace them so we would have to call each time we needed them. Room service menu is pretty limited compared to previous Dreams we have stayed at and the late night menu is pretty much nonexistent. Otherwise an incredible place!
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Feb 12, 2020
Dear Guest: We appreciate you have taken the time to write a review about your stay with us. Thank you for sharing your feedback through this mean. Your comments are truly valuable for us, as this allow us to improve our service levels and product.
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I am a Global traveler, I have never resided in a resort this bad in all of my years of traveling. This resort is a huge disappointment. The customer service is poor, none of the offered incentives were granted outside of the covid testing which was only provided from 10 am-3pm and not offered on Sundays. This limitation creates a barrier for my group since we had plans for an excursion that created a time/availability conflict. We were assigned a room, we asked the bell boy 3 times to take our bags and my friend literally had to place her bag on the trolley before he actually took the bag. He did not pre-sanitize our bags as I observed him performing this duty to the bags of other guests. When we asked Allen information relating to the location of the room we were given incorrect information that led us to the wrong tower, into a malfunctioning elevator that stopped on random floors. Once we actually made out of the elevator and found the correct tower, our room had a thermostat that was actively leaking and the bathroom and towels smelled like mildew. After complaining our room was changed. The maid service was extremely slow, no one answers the phone when you try to contact housekeeping, to receive daily clean towels was a delusion. We were told before the traveling to the resort that the spa was open and fully functional, that was a lie. They were offering minimal services and we signed up for a massage on a Sunday afternoon. On Sunday morning I went to the spa to verify the time and our names were whited out. The overall customer service was horrible. I observed senior staff greeting certain guests in the lobby and approaching them to inquire if they had any needs. This process was not extended to me or the members of my group. The food was bland and the restaurants are limited. My friend spoke with the General Manager Mario about the horrible experience we had, he offered a voucher for a future stay, our answer was no thank you, and requested a partial refund for the stay. The reservation number was provided to Mario, but he has yet to follow up on his word. I sat in the lobby and observed the difference in treatment of non melanated guests. I will not recommend this resort to anyone. When you pay your money for a service you have a level of expectation, this organization failed to provide even sub-par customer service. Save your time, protect your peace, and create a enjoyable trip by not booking with this resort.
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Date of stay: July 2021Trip type: Traveled with friends
Room Tip:Hard to get an uber, resort is outside of the city
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel Eleta, Promocionar at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Aug 12, 2021
Dear Guest: Thank you for sharing your feedback through this mean. Your comments are truly valuable for us, as this allow us to improve our service levels and product. We have taken your comments very seriously and you can be assured that the necessary re-training measures are being instituted to prevent recurrences in the future.
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This resort was the perfect place for our much needed winter get away. The room was spacious and had a great view. The room was always cleaned and was well stocked with toiletries if you had forgotten any. The staff was very welcoming when we entered the resort and Vanessa, the hostess assigned to us when we arrived, was always available for any questions we had or assistance we needed. Staff was very friendly and quickly learned our sons (ages 7 and 10) names. The staff made them feel very safe in this small resort, as they were able to navigate themselves to games room and pool without worry.
It was really nice to be one of two resorts in this area of Panama. Many of the resorts we have been to in other countries have been one of many lining the beach. It also felt like a more genuine Panamanian experience. The resort offered great entertainment during the day and some free excursions. Our boys took in most of the activities like archery, volleyball, kayaking, the giant blow up slide into the pool (huge hit!) and the outdoor movie nights. As a family we went on the Jungle walk, which was a 3 hour experience into the Jungle around the resort, led by Alexander, who was very knowledgeable in traditional medicine and historical uses of the land.
Elvis Cortez, makes a mean cappuccino and was a very important person in our sons experience, as they would visit him for gelato daily. He was always friendly and willing to share any information we needed. He also greeted us in the evening as a server in the lounge. I need to give a shout out to Rafael, as he was all over the resort cleaning and ensuring we were having a good experience. I am pretty sure he is the hardest working person at that resort.
We also had the opportunity to leave the resort for a couple of tours with Panamazing Tours (which had agents in the lobby of our resort). The tour guides were very charismatic and knowledgeable. They offered fun and informative tours. We went into the Gamboa Rainforest and on the Panama Canal tours, which I would highly recommend.
Thank you very much for the great experience. We will definitely recommend this resort and the tours it has to offer. The weather was also a very predictable 32 degrees Celsius daily, which also helped us escape the cold Canadian winters.
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Date of stay: February 2020
Rooms
Cleanliness
Service
Room Tip:rooms on the 4th and 5th floor offer the best views of the ocean
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Guest: We appreciate you have taken the time to share such an enthusiastic review about your recent visit to Resort name. We are overjoyed to read that you’ve enjoyed your stay with us. Please be confident that we’ve shared your kind comments with our team as motivation to keep up with our commitment to offer truly remarkable experiences in our guests. We thank you on behalf of our team and Management. We sincerely hope we can have the honor of being your hosts in not too distant future.
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I would give this resort 3.5 stars but you get what you pay for. The price was good and we stayed for a week. Check in was standard for all inclusives and they had put our two rooms together as we requested in the reservation. Room was older and in need of some new things. The couch had huge old stains on the cushions and some of the walls were dirty from a spilled drink? The door wasn’t flush with the room floor so you had to force it after halfway. That said the bathroom was clean and spacious. The balcony was nice and the bed was very comfortable. Mari Cruz was a great housekeeper and even put a sheet over the couch for us after noticing we had covered it. Grounds were nice there are definitely repairs needed but overall the flowers, trees and bushes were all well kept. Bars were always good the staff there was great but the pool bar was usually unable to keep up with orders during the days and poolside service was not the best. Pool they were nice but not connected so if you wanted to drink at the pool bar you either stayed in that one or got out and crossed over for a drink. We were very disappointed when it apparently was an open pool day and (I’m assuming) local residents paid to use the pool, restaurants and bar for the day. If you stood up you lost your chair and it was crammed with children. Even on other days where they had a lot of guests checked in there were not enough chairs to go around and you had to settle for the stack of broken ones. Beach was very nice to walk on but the swimming area can be greatly affected by the tides. Good area to kayak unfortunately only during their activities time that day. Food was standard during the buffets, breakfast food was not the warmest even if you went early. Lots of options but not nearly as many as I’ve seen for other resorts. The Ala Carte was very good lots of options and we visited a couple of them twice. Staff were always friendly and said hello. Everyone was happy and did their best to meet requests. I have a very basic understanding of Spanish and this worked against me but google translate was my friend. I knew it was not a big English speaking resort and will never hold that against them in their own country. Elvis at the cafe was awesome! Always smiling and singing while getting people treats or coffee. Caesar and others at the pool bar (sorry I forget) were always serving with a smile even being crazy busy. Overall it was a nice place that needs some work and streamlining but still an enjoyable time with issues that can be overlooked if you don’t get hung up on the small things.
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Date of stay: February 2020Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Guest: Thank you for taking the time to share such a detailed overview of your stay through this mean. Our guest’s feedback is truly appreciated in our constant commitment to improve our service levels.
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Rooms: Elevator; slow but functional. We were in preferred section. Clean , large. Balconies large. Bathrooms: clean. Toiletries provided and plentiful. Pool: we used the preferred pool; quiet, full of sunscreen film toward end of day. Plenty of chairs at this pool.The other pool was boisterous and full. Bartender Sanchez friendly . Food; This is the strange part of this resort. Breakfast was fine typical buffet. Lunch was horrid absolutely horrid. There was a burger and fries place that many people used for lunch. Ala cartes were really delicious and no reservations required; but food was cold. They enforced dress code ( closed toed shoes and long pants for men at one collared shirts for men at both) Staff: everyone was very friendly
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Date of stay: February 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Ana Raquel E, Director de Relaciones Públicas at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Mar 2, 2020
Dear Guest: Your comments will serve as an inspiration to our team to continue working with passion, ensuring our valued guests have an enjoyable and memorable experience with us.
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The grounds were beautiful, clean, & well-groomed. The resort should provide more garbage cans, however, as that would help keep the trash to a minimum. We found it sad to see plastic glasses blowing into the ocean.
Breakfast & lunch were served at the same location each day, buffet-style, but had a lot of variety. The a la carte restaurants in the evening were very good, Service was very good at breakfast & lunch & excellent at the nightly restaurants.
The resort could offer more daily activities and encourage guests to get involved.
There was nightly entertainment a few evenings but it was very short, no grand productions as some resorts do. However, this may have been due to Covid. As we haven't stayed at a dreams resort previously, we were not sure what to expect. Some resorts have spectacular evening entertainment & sometimes offer game shows, dancing, etc. which involve guests. Many guests like to get involved in these shows, especially if there's a chance to win even a small prize.
Our hotel room: There were some areas that required attention/cleaning when we first walked in. We brought those issues to the attention of one of the resort staff but they were never taken care of.
Additionally, our hotel room had a mini bar but was only restocked once. We happened to come across the staff person who did the restocking & had the opportunity to ask for what we needed.
As far as the coffee service in the room, we weren't given a stir stick for coffee all week & rarely received clean glasses or coffee cups.
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Review collected in partnership with RCI
Date of stay: February 2022
Value
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Staff Dreams Playa Bonita, Director General at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Aug 24, 2022
Dear Guest, Thank you for sharing your feedback through this mean. Your comments are truly valuable for us, as this allow us to improve our service levels and product.
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This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I will start this review by saying that my family and I will definitely be returning to this resort.
My family and friends (7 total, 3 rooms) visited this resort from 29 June - 3 July.
The resort has 5 star potential and my rating is solely based on two things 1) Housekeeping and 2) Room Service.
The first few days housekeeping was GREAT and then on Friday, 7/1 the refrigerator wasn’t restocked (not really an issue because of room service), but 7/2 really frustrated me. We went on an excursion from 8am to 330pm returning to the room as we left it. I called and they sent someone right up, but my son was in the bathroom so they left and didn’t return. I called back and asked for towels only because at that point I was over it.
Room Service which is included in the All Inclusive rate provides delicious food options, but orders are often met with attitude when ordering (confirmed that others in our party had the same issue) and our orders arrived incorrect 2 out of the 4 times we ordered.
If these two things above are corrected, I’d rate the resort 4 stars. Also, one of the elevators was out of order for most of our visit (not really a big deal as there was another one across the hall).
The resort itself is beautiful and the staff (other than mentioned above) were exceptional.
Side note: I had a hard time getting an Uber on the resort so a $10 Uber fare will cost you a standard rate for the first two and $10 for each additional passenger. In my case a $10 Uber ride turned into a $50 taxi.
Tip - While other sites may provide excursions at a cheaper rate, I’m glad we booked through the resort as pick up and drop off were included and on time.
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Date of stay: July 2022Trip type: Traveled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Response from Staff Dreams Playa Bonita, General Manager at Dreams Playa Bonita Panama
Responded Aug 22, 2022
Dear Guest: On behalf of the staff and Management of our resort we would like to thank you for taking the time to post a review of your experience with us. Please be certain that we have taken your feedback seriously and we will work in our opportunity areas in order to deliver better service to our guests.
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There are more places to choose from in the Panama City area.
PRICE RANGE
$203 - $256 (Based on Average Rates for a Standard Room)
ALSO KNOWN AS
intercontinental playa bonita hotel panama city, intercontinental panama city, intercontinental playa bonita resort, playa bonita panama
FORMERLY KNOWN AS
Secrets Playa Bonita Panama
LOCATION
PanamaPanama ProvincePanama City
NUMBER OF ROOMS
307
Prices are the average nightly price provided by our partners and may not include all taxes and fees. Taxes and fees that are shown are estimates only. Please see our partners for more details.
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What are some restaurants close to Dreams Playa Bonita Panama?
Conveniently located restaurants include Restaurante El Nacional - Sabores de Panama, La Pulpería - Casco Antiguo, and Lazotea Jorge Rausch - Restaurant & Rooftop.
