Top Reasons to Choose Hotel Riu Playa Blanca for Your Stay in Panama
Buenas! ¿Que sopa? Just wanted to share some quick greetings that you will hear on a common basis in Panama, which is a Spanish speaking country.
During my recent visit to the country of Panama, I stayed at two RIU Hotels & Reso properties. Today, I will be sharing my experience with Hotel Riu Playa Blanca. Hotel Riu Playa Blanca is an all-inclusive, beachfront hotel located on the Playa Blanca beach along the Gulf of Panama, on the Pacific coast of Panama. This resort offers ocean view and suite rooms; which includes a flatscreen tv, minibar, safe, private balcony or terrace, housekeeping, and room service. The all-inclusive package includes meals, snacks, and most drinks are free. The property has 4 restaurants, including 3 specialty restaurants: Asian, Italian, and a steakhouse eatery, along with 5 bars and 4 outdoor pools. There is also a night club, a gym, a spa, a kids' club and a playground, plus sun loungers on the beach. Live entertainment is provided at night and daytime activities at the pool.
There are several reasons to choose an all-inclusive resorts:
Great value for money
Stress free
Affordable luxury
Lots of facilities and entertainment
Good for families and groups
Hotel Riu Playa Blanca is surrounded by a few other beach hotels along with a lot of greenery, I think i even saw horses grazing nearby. Upon arrival, the lobby greets you with a huge, breezy entrance. Front-desk reception was very prompt with checking-in. The hotel guests were a range of tourists and locals. Walking around the hotel, I did notice there were a lot of families with children - I am not sure if this property allows kids to stay for free, but there were quite a few.
The below are just my personal rating of a few categories of the hotel accommodations:
For this trip, I went with a group and we all presumed this hotel was located near Panama City' where we all arrived at the Tocumen International Airport Panama (PTY). If you choose this hotel, please note that it about a 2hr drive from the airport, you have to make travel arrangement wisely. You will need to coordinate airport transfers to and from the airport to allow sufficient travel time.
During my stay, several people I spoke with had some issues with their rooms. I don't believe this was a RIU issue because I have stayed at a few of their other resorts and the quality is top notch. However, there were a lot of oversight of some of the room cleanliness and maintenance. With the hotel located in a tropical climate and humidity is dominated, ensuring proper air circulation is essential to prevent mold, especially on curtains or any other fabric in the room. Also, another key is ensuring room on the ground floor are closely properly to prevent critters from entering before guests arrive.
Having sufficient bathroom supplies is another important key. Upon entrance to the room, I had very cute towel swan animals - a very nice touch. But later on, I went to take a shower and there were no towels in the bathroom, like no spare nor extra. The towels on the bed were the only towels! This was my first time being in a hotel that didn't have extras in the bathroom or closet.
At this resort, the room came with an in-room liquor dispenser. A good tip when you have mounted drink dispenser in your room is checking the color of the liquor by the tap. If the color does not match the liquor, you will know it have not been changed and fermentation has taken place. Avoid drinking if colors does not match or if the taste is off; and ask for housekeeping to replace.
One of the things I look forward to at all-inclusive hotels is the variety of food; which generally will include a chance to sample a culture cuisine. What are iconic Panamanian dishes?? I should have done my foodie research before going. I will be honest, I was not excited for any of the dishes during my stay - but isn't that the curse of buffets? But the lunch buffet was good! There were only a few items I liked during my stay - I would recommend taking advantage of the specialty restaurants.
Things to note for the beach - it located on the Pacific side of Panama. The waters run a little bit colder than the Caribbean Sea. Keep that in mind for my people at cannot handle cold water. The beach isn't a pristine white sand beach - their sand looks like a mixture of sand and dirt. The beach is lined with chairs and multiply of coconut trees for shading. The beach does have public vendors that not associated the hotel. I did not feel harassed by the vendors, they were very casual with their sales approach. There were items such as clothing and souvenirs to purchase, as well as horseback rides. Go prepared if you chose to purchase.
There are 4 pools on the property - options are great to have, but I spent my time in the adult-only pool. Listen, there were a lot of kids at this location, so this pool was my sanctuary! Can we say, "Bartender, keep them coming?" My bartender kept me very happy with the swim up bar - the caipirinha were flowing. It is traditional a Brazilian national cocktail, but it so light and refreshing. It's made with made with cachaça (sugarcane hard liquor), sugar, and lime - highly recommend it!
The hotel staff did a good job at providing a variety of activities for their guests. Whether you joined them for their daily pool activities, evening shows, or partied at their onsite nightclub, there were options. There were excursions that can be booked with the hotel for nearby locations, mainly water activities. Again, note that the popular sightsee activities for Panama is located in Panama City, which a couple hours away. If you plan to go into the city, please take into consideration the drive time.
My personal favorite activity I definitely indulged in was the spa. There was an outdoor gazebo for massages. Listen!! The massage was everything!! I did consider getting a massage for every day that I was there - they put in that work - highly recommend.
My overall rating of this hotel ⭐⭐⭐ out of 5 stars. Would I revisit this location? I don't see myself immediately doing so. During my travels, cultural experiences and the food are my biggest excitement for me personally. This location is more for relaxing and not doing much. Next time, I would prefer to stay closer to Panama City to learn more about its history, sightsee, and discover more.
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