Thread: Playa Blanca vs. Decameron

My family and I are planning a trip to Panama in June of 2009. We are trying to decide between Playa Blanca and Decameron. Has anyone been to one or both that can help us decide? Our group consists of 18 people with three kids ages 4, 8, and 10 and the rest of us are adults from 20 to someone in their 70s.

Any help would be great!

Originally Posted by candipinki

My family and I are planning a trip to Panama in June of 2009. We are trying to decide between Playa Blanca and Decameron. Has anyone been to one or both that can help us decide? Our group consists of 18 people with three kids ages 4, 8, and 10 and the rest of us are adults from 20 to someone in their 70s.

Any help would be great!

Well, i have been to Decameron and it was good enough for 3 days. Wouldnt go for any longer than that though. But it suits all ages. Plenty of entertainment and a late disco. pool and table tennis and shows.

Hi candipinki,

My wife and I recently spent 2 weeks at the Decameron. While there we visited (but did not stay at) Playa Blanca.

The Decameron is a very large complex - now nearly 1 km long after recent additions. Lots of nice pools and activities. We've stayed at nicer All Inclusives, but this one was nice for the 2 weeks we were there. While there we explored Panama a bit, using Decameron as our 'base'. The food wasn't quite as nice as other places but adequate and fairly varied. Someone told us that it had been purchased by an American company recently and that the attention to details had slipped a bit. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our stay there and felt that we were well treated.

Playa Blanca is newer and perhaps a bit more subdued. Fewer facilities and things happening but clean.

So it depends if you want a lively, bubbly place or a quiet vacation.

If you read the reviews on Trip advisor http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotels-g2...on-Hotels.html

or
http://www.debbiescaribbeanresortrev...panrevind.html

There you will find people who are happy and people who are frothing at the mouth because they're so mad about the bad things they experienced.

Try to average out these comments. Our experience in reading reviews is that every resort has good and bad points. If you are looking for bad things, you will inevitably find them and if complaining about them makes you happy, you will be smiling.

If you look for the good and positive things, you'll find a lot of them too.

Just go and enjoy and look for the good stuff!

(the above probably didn't help your decision making much did it?)

I have stayed at Playa Blanca twice and I have eaten at Decameron. The food at Playa Blanca is excellent. Decameron, the food was only average. Playa Blanca is more of a relaxed atmosphere.

It really depends on what you want. Decameron was fun, had lost of activities and is HUGE. Food so-so but plenty of it. Playa Blanca is smaller and more subdued - a somewhat higher level of service and facilites. For kids who want activities, I lean toward Decameron.

I last time I was at Decameron was 5 years ago and my family had a great time.

We were at Playa Blanca in December and it was horrible. As soon as we entered our room there was a strong smell of bug spray; later when we found huge cockroaches in our room we realized why. In addition to the foul smell, the room was very shabby, the food was mediocre at best and we actually saw rats running around the property at night. To add insult to injury, we were there between Christmas and New Year so we paid the highest room rate possible. Bottom line, I'll never return to Playa Blanca.

I would much rather go to the Melia Panama Canal in Colon than Decameron or Playa Blanca.

Hello Mikes

Sorry, I didn't understand fully your comments. You say the last time you were at Decameron was 5 years ago and you had a good time. But you wouldn't stay there again? What would be the reason for that?

The bad experience you had at Playa Blanca is surprising, since I have never heard that type of expression from anyone who has stayed there. What did the management say when you talked with them about those issues? Did they try to give you another room?

Let me clarify my comments. I would stay at Decameron based on my last experience there, however, it was 5 years ago so things may have changed.

My family prefers the Melia over Decameron but, it's in a totally different part of Panama.

The Playa Blanca management told me they were completely sold out so I could not change rooms, nor would they offer any type of discount for my inconvenience.

Please keep in mind that I live in Los Angeles and I'm married with two daughters aged 6 and 16. Last year alone, we took three vacations between 7 and 15 days each to Mexico, Jamaica, and Panama.
So we travel more than most, the first time we went to the Playa Blanca Resort it was called the Barcelo Playa Blanca and we had a much nicer time.

My family and I stayed at Playa Blanca and loved it! The food was fantastic, drinks were great and my children had a ball. We found it to be well run, clean and the staff was terrific (rare in Panama). We were there in November and we can't wait to go back. (Never saw any rats or bugs in the room.)

I'm glad to you enjoyed Playa Blanca. Did you by chance go to the Mexican Restaurant? I was shocked at the menu choices and portions. We were a party of 4 who shared a small plate of chips for our first course, and my main course was three soft tacos that were so small they were barely larger than three chips with about a tablespoon of rice and about a tablespoon of beans. I had to go to the buffet and eat about an hour later. On the other hand, the steak restaurant near the beach was much better but we only were able to eat there once.

Also, how full was the resort, how much were your drinking and how long were your there? November may not be a busy month which could be why you received better food and service or you could've been drinking a lot and not care about the food as much. When I was there the place was packed and we saw the same food over and over in the buffet.

One thing I'll say is that I don't have any problem with the service staff whatsoever. I just didn't get anywhere near my $1,400.00's worth for four days.

Hi Mike
Sorry you didn't enjoy your stay. To answer your questions- we stayed at Playa Blanca the first week in November which is a vacation week for the Panama schools so the resort was full. It is not however, their peak season so we paid much less than you did. I think it was around $300 something per night for a family of four. It was a great deal for us because my husband and I enjoyed the bar and my 13 and 10 year old sons ate 24/7. I spent time at the bar but I never lost my sense of taste.
We did not try the Mexican restaurant but enjoyed the beach and pool restautants.