The Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort Panama, Autograph Collection

We love coming to this hotel. Sure, a few things can use a bit of spit and polish. Sometimes a light hasn’t been replaced in the room or the restaurants can be busy in high season. But we love to come here to relax. The pools are nice and so is the beach and the service is attentive.

One of the best hotels/resorts in all of Panama. The facility is really a dream, the staff are very friendly, attentive and helpful. Despite the low occupancy, the entire facility appears to be very well maintained. The restaurants are very good, although a bit overpriced.

My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary at the Buenaventura and were very pleased with our stay.

It started with Eduardo who was our driver from the airport to the resort. Even though the drive was long due to traffic, Eduardo provided great information as we drove through the different Panamanian towns.

At the resort, everything was very beautiful - from the landscaped grounds and open air lobby to our large and nicely decorated suite. The customer service of the hotel staff was excellent. Daniel, the lobby ambassador, helped arrange a surprise balloon bouquet and champagne for our room when we arrived. Eida, the event planner, arranged a private beachfront anniversary dinner for us. Alberto at the Corrillo restaurant and Ozwaldo at the El Faro beach club were very friendly and provided great service.

We enjoyed the many poolside cabanas and Juan Carlo provided excellent service for our food and beverages. We were surprised that the beach had black shiny sand, which we were told may have come from a volcano, but the beach was clean and we were able to walk and enjoy the Pacific ocean views.

We also did a bike ride around the property to see the nice homes, condos and golf course that surround the hotel, and took a tennis lesson with Luca the local pro at the sports center.

Unfortunately there wasn't any night time entertainment scheduled when we were there, but if you're looking for a beautiful, peaceful resort with great customer service, then we highly recommend the Buenaventura!

Fantastic hotel, property, and service. Do I want to live here permanently? Yes, yes I do. The beach is lovely. So many pools. The grounds are phenomenal and the service is next level. I will be coming back again and again. One of the best deep tissue massages I have had in 15 years. Multiple different restaurants all serving delicious food. I went heavy on the ceviche at lunch and dinner and was not disappointed.

Amazing hotel, Grate value for money!
The stuff is great and everything is just perfect!

They even have a gluten free section in breakfast!!

I am somewhat surprised at the negative reviews. Undoubtedly the hotel is not brand new, but only the cosmetics look worn - functionally everything is good. The food at El Criollo was excellent, every member of the staff was extremely attentive, and our overall experience was wonderful. We will definitely be back.

Loved staying at Buenaventura. The hotel is beautiful and worth the price. I will recommend my friends and family to stay here when they visit Panama.
My feedback to improve would be to have a mini bar in the room, provide slippers to go with the robes in the room and the spa, adults only pools if possible, towel should always be readily available for guests we shouldn’t have to wait for towels. These are just small things that didn’t disrupt our experience there. It was truly amazing

Excellent and Comfortable room. This is why Marriott Autograph Colltection is all about.

Absolutely wonderful experience! Everywhere we went was beautiful and perfect.

The service might make you think this is a legit 5-star resort. And the beautiful setting, well-designed layout and amenities will make you think it could have once been five stars. But alas, the fraying exteriors and deferred maintenance will remind you that this is at best a four star. Who stays here? It is perfect for those who want a beautiful resort experience on a very nice beach, but are looking for lower pricing options and very good overall value.

When we decided on a day trip to Santa Clara and El Valle, I needed a spot that was relatively midway to stay. None of the beach side resorts by Santa Clara and a little further south sounded too appealing, but then I found the Buenaventura Golf & Beach Resort.

I checked in via the app while sitting in a hammock on the beach at Santa Clara and was notified around 2pm that our room was ready. Since I'm a Gold Bonvoy member, they upgraded us to a lagoon view!

Check in was a breeze and I used mobile key the entire time. The entire property is quite large and we did get lost in a few roundabouts before we found the actual resort. But the property is beautiful and very well maintained.

Our room was fantastic. It was huge, clean, and so bright. There was even a little treat left for us in the room of local Panamanian sweets. They recommended that we make a reservation via the QR code for dinner and breakfast, but I really didn't think it was needed as we were one of maybe 2-3 other parties dining. It might be different during busier seasons, but I got the sense that we were there during low season.

Dinner at Criollo was great, service was impeccable and the food was actually very good. Breakfast was good too - the buffet selection was quite varied and they have a made to order juice bar!

The pool was big and nice, pretty deep, so you can get a proper swim in. Honestly, it was a great stay and I wished we had more time to spend another few nights.

Very nice resort hotel with attentive staff, good food, and nice amenities! The pools and beach are lovely. We visited the Criollo and Tai Kai restaurants, both of which were great. The location is nice, within a luxurious gated community, but it makes it difficult to venture out if you don't have your own transportation. Overall, a very good and relaxing experience!

If I would need to pick the only one thing that I’m impressed with at this hotel that would be the pillows! Yes, that’s true!
I’ve traveled a lot. For my entire life I have stayed at more than 100 different 5* resorts and hotels and must tell you The Buenaventura has the softest and comfiest pillows I have ever had at any hotel!

Edit:.March 2021. Revisited the property property everything is in a very good condition.. they've improved a lot and no longer have the issues mentioned below. I would recommend this property. You'll have a lovely time.

Original post: Very bad experience. Rooms were not properly cleaned. There was a towel in the bathroom with black spots all over it. Found some hair on the shower floor. There were scratch marks all over the floor. But the worst part was breakfast. They made us wait for over 2 hours to get some food and even then, the food had to be returned to the kitchen twice due to not preparing what I ordered and not being cooked. They also "ran out of" many of their food items. We ended up waiting 2 hours for 2 eggs.
The location is beautiful with nice pools. But don't be deceived by the pictures.

Very safe and inclusive resort ❤ we loved our stay here. The staff are the friendliest in all of Panama! Please visit this place for the complete Panamanian experience ❤
Food is delicious, they have events and the view is heavenly

Excellent customer service, everyone who works there is extremely friendly and helpful.
Grounds are beautiful, good long beach walk, plenty of lounge chairs both at beach and by pools.I would highly recommend this place.

Beautiful property just walking distance to the clean beach. Warm, not too rough water great for swimming. Several pools, great Asian restaurant, breakfast was ample even during Covid restrictions. Staff with the exception of one front desk employee very friendly and welcoming. Only 1.5 hours from Panama City.

There are no words to describe how beautiful and relaxing this Hotel is.

The restaurants have Excellent quality and prices balance.

Don't hesitate in coming for a luxury vacation.

Visiting here is like visiting a totally different world. Impeccably designed. Spacious. Excellent service and attention to the details. Time moves differently here.

Located on a hill overlooking the Pacific, this resort offers romance, good food, and spectacular views in addition to a fabulous golf course, exquisite pools, great spa, and a lovely landscaping. We stayed five nights (Sunday through Thursday) and enjoyed every minute of our stay. We savored our long walks on the beach, excellent massage, pool swims, and bike rides. The resort was never crowded. My husband and I, although American, speak fluent Spanish. If we hadn't, we would have problems. Most of the staff spoke very limited English or none at all.