ROYAL TREATMENT, PEASANT'S PRICES
Written: May 22 '02 (Updated May 09 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Fantastic property and great food.
Cons: A long ride into the city for excursions etc.
The Bottom Line: Last word, we'll be going back and soon.
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| JAMES23's Full Review: Royal Decameron Costa Blanca |
This time I had to get it right. It was our third vacation getaway together and while the first too hadn't been complete disasters they were close. The kind of trip that someday we'll chuckle over while sitting in our respective rocking chairs, but not anytime soon.
It wasn't that the trips themselves were bad just the hotel/resorts I'd chosen. The first place was a small luxurious resort on Mexico's Mayan Riviera just south of Cancun. It was the perfect romantic getaway, first impression type of place I wanted, or so the brochure suggested.
That brochure didn't note just how isolated we were, several miles from anywhere and surrounded by a festering alligator infested swamp. It also didn't mention that all of the guests aside from us and most of the staff were Italian, and for the most part rude Italians at that.
Trying to find someone who spoke Spanish let alone English to complain to was almost impossible. Oh yeah great first impression, marooned on an island in a swamp doing an imitation of Survivor with a tribe of Euro trash.
Round two was almost as bad. Mind I guess I should have been lucky that she was still willing to stay with me let alone go off on another trip. I chose Cuba because it's a place I know very well. I also chose a resort I've stayed at over a half a dozen times in the past. It's a budget place and nothing fancy, but easily accessible, read no swamp, and I knew most of the staff there, including the assistant manager.
The place is also a favourite among middle class Canadian families and couples so there would be plenty of people to interact with should we choose to do so. In fact in previous trips there as a single I'd been kind of the odd man out. not that I'm odd mind.
Murphy's luck is like lightning. It strikes twice. The hotel, never the best of places to begin with, was under renovations. When we arrived my friend the assistant manager was away so we got the crappiest room in the place. When she came back and got us moved to a better room, my better half discovered she was a rather striking Cuban woman and that old green eyed monster reared briefly.
Oh yeah that hotel full of couples and families, none. The place was full of single men that week whose main goal was to drink all day at the beach bar and head into town at night in search of willing Cuban bar girls. The only other couple that showed up that week it turned out were swingers. Naturally to make things worse they were also Italian, and rude.
That trip was save only by the diamond engagement ring I'd brought along. Ok that, a horse and carriage ride, and a private lobster dinner in the nearby city's most exclusive, read expensive, restaurant. Third time had to be the charm, or like in baseball I was facing elimination., or at least a trip to the showers, alone.
The trip was to be an Easter week getaway. It fell between both our birthdays and was to be a kind of mutual present to each other. It was also a bit of a reward/break as all the major planning for our upcoming wedding had now been done. In addition to set date constraints, there were also financial ones. I was given a budget to work with and got the "look" which suggested an eternity of misery were I to exceed it.
Destination was left to my discretion, with of course the feminine veto if needed were I to choose say Amsterdam's red light district or some obscure war zone. I wanted to hit a country I'd never been to, but was resigned to just about anywhere with a beach and working plumbing.
Searching through the travel sections of the local papers and the Internet for last minute sell offs I discovered what appeared to be the near perfect deal. There was an Easter special at the Royal Decameron Costa Blanca in Panama. It wasn't a full week, just five nights but the price was unbeatable.
I was familiar with the Decameron chain having stayed at three of their properties in Venezuela and Colombia. I've also visited their property In Juan Dolio in the Dominican Republic and after a tour was also impressed with it. Basically this South American company specialises in good quality medium range, three star all inclusive properties. Nothing overly fancy, but nice value.
I also checked out the resort on the company's web page and surfed about for reviews. I found one through the Lonely Planet's site by someone who'd stayed there soon after the property opened. Overall there appeared to be nothing wrong so we booked it.
With the Royal Decameron Costa Blanca the company seems to have moved up a notch. Their properties in Colombia, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, the Venezuelan one is no more, are as I said nothing spectacular but comfortable. The newer resorts, this one and a couple in Mexico appear to be a little more upscale.
We were met at the airport by the standard reps who whizzed everyone off the charter through the brief formalities that are Panamanian immigration and customs. We were then separated from our luggage which magically appeared at our rooms. The hotel is a two hour drive from Panama City and the airport. It's a bearable drive though in air conditioned buses with snacks and beverages provided. There's also a brief rest stop about mid way to stretch your legs or attend to any other tasks that come to hand.
The hotel reps on the bus kill the time giving the normal briefs on tours and excursions available and general information about Panama. There is also sufficient time to complete the registration forms that are provided along with maps of the resorts and other pertinent info in a convenient envelope.
On arrival at the resort the check in process is quick and efficient. One exchanges the completed forms for your room key and all inclusive wristbands and head off to your rooms. As noted your bags are already there as they were tagged with your assigned room numbers at the airport. On checkout, bags are left out before going to breakfast and not seen again until the check in counter a the airport. The hotel makes pains to point out that they are never left unattended. This procedure of course applies only to those on air/hotel package tours.
That map in the welcome envelope is really required it seems. The property is immense covering several acres of prime beach front and a nearby hill just east of the tiny fishing village of Farrillon. The property was actually an old World war Two era USAF base, later turned over to the Panamanian military. The massive runway still lies between the resort grounds and the main highway, with the access road paralleling it.
The base, Rio Hacho, gained some notoriety during the US invasion in 1988-89. It was here that stealth fighter bombers were first used to attack the barracks of Noriega's soldiers. They actually bombed empty barracks hoping to scare off the troops prior to a parachute landing by a battalion of US Army Rangers. It was presumed Noriega was in the vicinity. The remains of his beach house are a five minute walk along the beach from the resort.
After the Invasion the base's buildings were razed and the resort constructed. It opened in December 2000 with 360 rooms. Further expansion over the past year has almost doubled the number of available rooms to over 600 in some sixty odd buildings. The place is huge, stretching over several acres of prime beach front property and the surrounding hills.
These hills incidentally may pose a problem for older guests or those with mobility problems. About half of the buildings and both lobbies are located on the hill top overlooking the beach. It is about 60-70 odd steps down to beach level from the hill. Add in the extra steps if your room is not on the ground floor of one of these "garden view" buildings and you're talking about a lot of steps.
Fortunately there are a couple of paths that don't use steps and connect the upper and lower parts of the complex. On these paths runs the Decameron shuttle service. A golf cart with a large covered passenger trailer roams the entire complex on regular and frequent schedule. There are marked stops at lobbies, restaurants, and other areas. Several other small golf carts move luggage, staff, and the occasional guest around as needed.
Our room was typical of those throughout the resort. Simple but nice and immaculately clean. There was an average sized bathroom with shower only and the usual toiletries. A hair dryer was a nice touch too. Plenty of nice thick towels were provided and changed daily. Extra large beach towels are available form the activities desk at the pool area. Cards to obtain them are issued at check in.
The rooms have either a king size bed or two doubles. A small table and chair, writing desk, and dresser complete the furniture. The furniture is all locally made and makes much use of rattan. There is ample closet space and built in drawers.
A safety deposit box, large enough to hold a small video camera is in the closet. The keys are available from the main desk. Rental is $2.00 US per day. All the rooms are air conditioned although the controls are hard to utilise and adjust the temperature. There are clock radios and telephones with direct international dialling, not recommended, available in all rooms.
Satellite TV is also available with the normal compliment of channels CNN, HBO etc. Of interest is the Decameron channel which shows facilities and features of the resort and some of the various tours one can take. They update it regularly as we saw guests who arrived the same day as we did on one of the tour clips.
Ground floor rooms like ours had patios. All others have balconies. Discrete signs ask guest to refrain from drying their towels and other laundry on the balconies. There is a laundry service available.
My best memories of Decameron hotels in the past has been the food and here was no exception. There are no less than seven restaurants available. Breakfast is served in two buffet style places one on the hill near Lobby one and the second larger one near the beach. Buffet style lunch and dinner is also served here.
The other five restaurants are speciality a la carte places for dinner. Each has two sittings and reservations are required. One reserves that morning for one of the two evening sittings. The five speciality restaurants are Thai, Seafood, Steak, Mediterranean, and Japanese. In addition lunch and snacks (burgers pizza etc.) Are served at three of the restaurants.
The entire place runs on the all inclusive system including food and drink. Three of the restaurants have bars attached to them and there are five other bars available, two lobby bars including a rather nice cappuccino bar, two pool bars and a late night disco.
Both lobbies also have small tuck shops and of course tour and information desks. A wide variety of half, full day, and overnight excursions are available including several to the canal. The larger lobby, number one, also has an Internet kiosk for those who need to stay in touch or are otherwise addicted. There is also a larger electronics store near this lobby.
For those not leaving the property there is plenty to do. There are three main pool areas at the lower end of the property and a smaller one on the hill top near the Japanese restaurant. A couple of tennis courts and horse back riding are available a short walk from lobby one. Incidentally the building beside the tennis courts contains an ATM machine, although credit cards can be used in the stores and to book tours. A rent a car agency is located just outside the main gates.
There is a complete water sports centre on the beach with catamarans, kayaks and other assorted toys to play with. There are two games rooms with pool tables, fooseball, shuffleboard, a selection of board games, and an oversized chess board and pieces. Two animation shacks near the pool areas serve as a centre for all of these activities.
There is an enthusiastic and youthful animation staff on the property. During the day they plan and organise everything from walking tours on the beach, to water aerobics, to assorted games and contests.
At night shows are performed on the main stage area. They are of the usual resort style either local song and dance routines or ones involving guests imbibing large amounts of adult beverages and then making fools of themselves.
The rest of the staff, cleaners, wait staff and front desk are quiet and professional. It should be noted that aside from the multi lingual lobby and animation staff few speak or understand English.
Guests at the hotel are for the most part those on several week package tours. Canadians, both English and French varieties make up a large contingent here. A few Americans usually those form the border states who've bought cheap Canadian packages can also be found.
There's a fair number of Europeans mainly Italians again from organised tour groups. The other large group of guests came from South America, Decameron is after all a South American chain, mainly from Colombia with a few Venezuelans. Rounding out the guests during our stay were quite a few Panamanians mainly up from the capital for Holy Week.
One and two week packages from Toronto are available through World of Vacations and run from $1199.00-1359.00 + $90.00 taxes including air for seven nights. As I said we got a last minute deal and paid $859.00 each for five nights. Overall I'd consider that more than fair. In fact for the quality of service we received I'd have paid twice that easily.
The whole Costa Blanca region of Panama is being developed for tourism. Across from the hotel work has already started on a casino and convention centre. A little farther up the coast two time share complexes are also planned. perhaps someday they'll even reopen the Rio Hacho airfield, build a new terminal and fly tourists here directly.
Further Information:
Address- Calle 50 frenta a telemetro Panama a local 2,PBX
Tel: (507) 21435351 Fax: (507 2143539
E-mail: reservas.pa@decameron.com
http://www.decameron.com/homepage.asp
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Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
JAMES23
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Member: James Smith
Location: Toronto Ontario CANADA
Reviews written: 450
Trusted by: 222 members
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