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.

The resort was a great spot to stay. The staff was very friendly and attentive to hotel guests needs. One thing that would be better if there was a wider range of food options for vegetarians. Also maybe some resort activities. The bikes also need to be upgraded. But for a weekend getaway for relaxation this resort is awesome! Glad to have stayed here. The beach club is an awesome addition to this resort.

Really top experience and easy to reach from Panama - huge rooms and great facilities. All a little bit fading at the edges and not new new but very comfortable Beach club was lovely and the staff were all super helpful .. kids enjoyed the activities but there was a lot of confusion about start times. Restaurant quality was very good but also quite expensive for a family of five and it did soon add up - even though we were using a special offer .. Buffet breakfast included in the room was a highlight for the children - especially liked how the staff helped the kids and asked them about hot chocolate and things.. Don't miss the zoo which was small but super interesting Would have been good to have more options with bikes and seas sports All in all a very nice experience but you do pay for what you get .. and the expense for a family does add up

I was so disappointed during our stay here because I had really high hopes. I’d heard this was an idyllic place, but it failed to deliver. LOCATION: The beach is long and unspoiled, and there is plenty of wildlife to be seen. Grade = A PROPERTY: Impressive architecture and design, but it needs immediate maintenance. Dozens of broken and damaged areas, including cracked and missing roof tiles, cracked and peeling paint on walls and ceilings, worn stair railings and doors, etc. Grade = D ROOMS: The room design and execution is beautiful. Unfortunately, maintenance is also a problem here as there were gouges and nicks and areas that needed paint. Grade = B- RESTAURANTS: The food was fresh, and the menu included sufficient variety to please each of us. We loved the breakfast buffet with freshly prepared juices, and the lunch items we tried were good. Grade = A- ACTIVITIES: There are a few activities for adults and children on and off property, but not that many. We did visit the spa, and while they too had staffing issues, the facility seemed nice. Grade = B RETAIL: There are a couple of gift shops that carry upscale clothing and native crafts and a Deli Gourmet convenience store that carries everything from charcuterie quality meats, cheeses and wines to candy and soft drinks. Grade = A SERVICE: The staff was courteous and friendly, and we were greeted warmly in every interaction. This may be the very best thing about this resort. Grade = A+ SUMMARY: While this resort does some things extremely well (service), the physical deterioration around the property is major. We saw rusted out equipment, trash on the grounds, and a lack of proper maintenance. It’s a shame because the bones of this hotel are excellent. But I don’t recommend staying here if you expect an Autograph Collection hotel experience. Overall grade = C-.

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.

The setting and weather were fantastic . However , the main dining area has THE WORST FURNITURE EVER. METAL FURNITURE SCRAPING ACROSS TILE FLOORS MAKING DREADFUL DREADFUL SHRIEKING SOUNDS THAT DESTROY…….conversations and tranquility. Why on earth Marriott cannot invest in rubber caps that last and work is beyond belief. Fix it please. Also got locked in Main floor bathroom for 25 minutes with a broken door handle. I was alone and no one heard me calling out. Wifi wasn’t working. Very scary and a day later management hasn’t approached me or apologized. Not good enough.

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!

Now here’s a place for your bucket list. Panama was never on mine except we came for a destination wedding. A two hour trip from the capital by road or twenty minutes from Rio Hato airport by taxi. $30. Not many places live up to expectations but this one comes pretty close. We were greeted by professional staff at front desk. A slight delay in room availability resulted in an offer of drinks at the bar. Our room was worth the wait. Really lovely. We had chosen a large king size. Excellent bathroom. House keeping tended to last throughout the day, which I personally don’t like. I like one in and out operation. But room was pristine. Public areas of hotel are airy and clean. The restaurant is decent. Friendly slow service. You lose count of the number of pools. Lots of shade provided. The beach is picture perfect. The ocean delightful to swim in if you dare. I did not like the colour and texture of the sand and it heats up very quickly. There can be lots of noisy apparently unattended children. They are not of course. This can ruin your breakfast in the morning if you’re not in the mood. The children’s caregivers seem to thrive on it. This is the only criticism of the whole resort I have. There is a major golf course as part of complex. I’ve played a lot of golf and this course looked boring. This is a really lovely resort. I would definitely recommend it.

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.

Nice in appearance but extremely old buildings, a/C doesn’t work in rooms, water stops from 11:30PM to 7AM (!!!), smells very humid inside, laundry team messed up all my white clothes (everything came back greyish-blueish). Extremely disappointing.

Enjoyed a 7 nights stay at the resort and I must say everything was almost perfect. The staff was more than friendly, although for foreigners language barriers could prove a hassle from time to time (very few of the staff speak English). Restaurants quite good in the resort. I strongly recommend El Faro, which my wife and I enjoyed a lot. Room is spacious, very comfy bed, amazing view. Unfortunately it rained a bit in our room and the shower curtain had a bit of a bad smell, but nothing that would actually bother us. Beach is very beautiful, can get quite noisy especially during the weekend. For some unknown reason the beach bar opens at 11:00, so if you want to enjoy that morning sunlight, be sure to bring your own drinks. We also recommend the Palapa Bar for evening drinks and one of the few places where smoking is allowed. Reception desk people all speak very good English and are always ready to help. All in all, a very beautiful resort, almost perfect everything.

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

We love this hotel ! Especially for relaxing time. Great Service. I’m not big fan of swimming in the Pacific Ocean ( I prefer the Caribbean side) however here the atmosphere on the beach area is nice. It’s one of the Best hotels in Panamá

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.

Stayed here and the weather was awful, no fault of the hotel I know but wanted to cut my losses and come back another time. Spoke to reception and they told us that they would happily fund us our remaining days. I thought that was brilliant and it meant I could return later when the weather improved. Well guess what. No refund and ignoring all emails. Absolute scum bags.

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.

Tropical paradise, in the midst of rainy season (October). Lush and green grounds. Located about 2.5 hours from Panama City, but definitely worth the trip. Lobby is well adorned. Not ornate. Very welcoming as are the staff. Note that there's about a 5 minute walk on a lovely trail from main hotel area to beach and second pool area, where there are plenty of seats and umbrellas for everyone this time of year. Some spots like the pool near hotel and tiling can use a bit of a facelift, but the grounds are quite relaxing nonetheless. Staff is super friendly and accomodating. Hotel also willing to cater to dietary restrictions and will help where they can. Adjacent to the hotel are several villas and homes that are part of Buenaventura, lots of green tropical trees etc. Within walking distance is also a tennis court, and beach volleyball area that guests can use. There is also a zoo on the grounds that I have not yet visited but hope to do so before we leave. Horseback riding and boat rides from nearby marina are also available. It's a great spot to visit for relaxing and activities alike.

we did not stay at the hotel, but stayed on property with friends. we cannot comment on the hotel rooms but we are writing to comment on the common spaces: PROS: outdoor areas are beautiful, on property areas feel safe. plenty of wildlife to watch (iguana/crocodile/birds/etc) on site restaurants were adequate for our group of 8, however service tends to be slow CONS: be aware of the travel time/conditions from Panama City to Rio Hato. pool areas need to be serviced. they are not outdated but they are NOT maintained (broken and dirty tiles/exposed metal bar at the pool) toilets in many common spaces were 'out of order' there were no towels available for hotel guests spa was open but not staffed to support services for the week local on site shops were closed and not open/available for customers to shop during normal business hours while at the pool bar, we ordered frozen cocktails. I observed the bartender making drinks with a simple syrup which appeared to have several floating objects in it. I watched as he made several more drinks for other customers and finally asked him to show me the bottle which was full of flies. He laughed and told me 'flies like sugar water'. After he knew I was disgusted, he dumped the simple syrup out. I could not bring myself to order another drink for the rest of our stay. Often during our stay, we questioned if this is an actual Marriott resort. What an embarrassment. Would not recommend. Would not stay again.

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.

Great property. Comfortable, spacious rooms with classic design. Nice pools and beach access. Very kid friendly if that’s your thing. Good breakfast and superb staff.

Amazing hotel, Grate value for money! The stuff is great and everything is just perfect! They even have a gluten free section in breakfast!!

This is not an upscale hotel. It is maybe a 2 star. Rooms are dirty and dated. We had cockroaches in our room. The curtains were falling off the wall. We had to ask for the room to be cleaned. The restaurants are OK but not 4 star and not clean. There was hair in our kids breakfast. Service is nice, but slow and they seem confused. We left well before our stay was supposed to end. We are Marriot members but they should be ashamed of this location, the service, etc. We loved the Hyatt we stayed out in old town, clean, great service, up to date, really wonderful.

Beautiful hotel, pricey. Secluded so options for food are limited. Grounds are gorgeous. Villas are spacious and comfortable. Staff are polite and friendly. Very peaceful and relaxing.

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.

The resort is ok, pleasant for a couple but not up to 5 star standards. A room for 2 nights is $526 with breakfast and I needed $200 a day to eat and drink (2 people). The service is very attentive 👌but the food is disappointing and expensively priced 🤌💰 😭No fridge in room! At this level of resort this is inexcusable meaning you can’t cool your Prosecco (or drink cool water during the evening and night) 🤦🏻 🦈 Ocean swimming isn’t possible on low tide (red flag) because sting rays will kill you (this is true). The pools are nice, clean but with many children. What is truly amazing is the gated community of villas all around the resort which deserves a bike ride.

One of my fav places in Panama, unfortunately the pandemic has damaged the quality level, but seems they are working to improve ... As an example I was never able to find a good Cappuccino (in a country known by it's coffee) or never received sugar with my coffee without asking and waiting, or salt with the food.... I move to another room due to an A/C damage, or need to call twice for the same request after 25 min waiting.... Having said that, The older staff member are the key to recover their standards ... Staff members like Juan Carlos, Irina, Iris among others did the extra mile.... is clear they are doing and effort to return to a 5 stars service... Right now is a 3.5-4 star level

Beautiful grounds, pleasant service, spacious rooms, comfortable beds

Amazing installations and great service. Seafood was excellent, steak was ok, but happy with the overall experience.

The hotel is not as well maintained as it should be; rooms are a bit ignored and passages floors dirty. Supposedly a pet friendly hotel but pets are not allowed inside the restaurants! Check in was a nightmare; they take very long to give you your room. But pool & beach is pretty. Food is very average. Breakfast options were good

Beautiful. We will be back.

Buenaventura has become one of my favorite places when I am in Panama!! Beautiful place with the friendliest staff, it has entertainment for everyone!

Quiet, relaxing specially on low season. Nice rooms, various pools, have its own beach, staff willing to help. Food a little expensive for what it is. Its the área that needs to be improved in my opinion

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

Very nice, great staff. The beach is nice. The time of year I went there were not many people around. Very peaceful and fun.

Overall very nice resort in Panama, with a good staff. Definitely caters to more of an older crowd than younger, felt a little out of place being in our early 30s. The pricing was reasonable per night, the restaurants on site were amazing although the bars were a little pricey per drink, found myself just going to the super 99 store in town to grab some drinks for the day. Roads were very good driving condition wise from Panama City, just be careful of the police speed traps that are every 10-15 minutes. Found driving very comparable to the states, as long as you keep a watch out for reckless drivers. Wouldn't come again to be honest since but it was a nice experience and vacation, if you enjoy the beach I recommend going to a resort somewhere on the caribbean as the water is nicer. But if your older and looking for a nice resort to spend your time at thats safe, has a good golf course, good food, and pools this is the place for you. Recommendations for the hotel: The TVs in the room are smart TVs but because of the hotel settings, every app is disabled, pretty annoying for a 5 star hotel. Would be nice to be able to connect my netflix account instead of watching local TV. The hotel billing is also strange, not sure what happened but for some reason it does not code correctly with Marriott credit cards issued in the US by Amex, normally marriott resorts code a certain way to trigger points/credits by Amex, so not sure if because this resort is using a different CC processor it causes this error but it doesn't charge as a typical marriott resort causing issues for me when it billed to my account. Not sure how they fix that but I haven't experienced it at other Marriott resorts. So note to anyone using a Amex Marriott credit card to double check their CC statements for correct points.

Pretty place. Golf course is beautiful. Lots of pools. Beach is nice. Beach staff is friendly and make a great Pina colada.

We spent only three nights in this hotel but it was great stay. Hotel is beautiful, staff is very friendly. Pools and the beach amazing. Highly recommended

Installations are old, WC did not work properly, same as shower. A lack of maintenance is evident specially on the rooms. Staff is very friendly. Dinning options are not what you would expect.

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!