Eco Venao — Hotel in Los Santos

This place was great! The staff are amazing communicators, and that’s what I was worried about coming from Canada but everything was incredibly smooth and they’re super responsive. Everyone spoke English and everything was taken care of through WhatsApp. I highly recommend starting a chat thread with them asap, before anything else, do NOT book on Booking.com or go third party…go to their website, add them on whatsapp and start asking questions, they’ll get back to you in no time and you’ll find that all logistics to do with accommodation will be settled in no time, you’ll get better rates, and they can tweak things and give you more definitive answers on availability of rooms etc directly so…no Booking.com or Expedia in this case…completely unnecessary and it might work against you. Plus they don’t want to pay fees to third party apps and neither do you. Moving on, the place itself, the grounds, are very nice, the overall vibe is very cool, aesthetically pleasing and if you’re into board culture and surfing you’ll be right at home and inspired. Even if you don’t surf I would still stay here…if you’re solo or family or a couple…this place is still the spot as it’s away from the EDM music and party scene of downtown Playa Venao, the strip…it’s a 15-20 min work on the beach to the party without the party being in your backyard…at let me tell you, the EDM sometimes starts at 6am so if you’re a boomer, Gen X/Y you don’t want to be woken up or have to deal with that vibe/culture at all. Maybe if you’re Gen Z that side of the beach is your thing but Eco is tranquility, green, environmental, health/wellness, active, rustic…it’s a healthy vibe that’s one with nature…it screams positivity, and as you get older, that’s the type of environment you want to be around. The rooms are great, over 12 days I stayed in the beach cabana, casita and casona, so I definitely got a well rounded experience to space. Overall, if you’re a couple or solo I definitely recommend the beach cabana. It’s worth the extra money, $86 USD vs $115 USD is not a big price difference and the beach cabana is wayyyy better than the Casita. The Casita is actually overpriced in my opinion, the room is very small, the mattress was two singles vs a queen, not as comfortable, the AC didn’t work as well as the Cabana, there’s no mini fridge/freezer in the Casita (huge factor if you want to keep drinks/food cold) the shower had no hot water and the taps were not intuitive, bit of mystery really…great if you like cold showers. The lock of the door I was finicky, the door sweep was loose (more insects, geckos) the ONLY things that were positive about the Casita over the Cabana was the outdoor area is nicer, the front area has a hammock, and a nice table/chairs with a nice view…and second, it has storage, shelves and plenty of space to unpack and store your belongings…the Cabana has next to nothing in terms of storage…like it’s actually kinda shocking. You get a tiny metal rack that looks like a shoe rack for storing anything foldable and then a rod with a couple hangers for hanging clothes…if you’re a couple you’ll basically be living out of your suitcase (if you stay in Cabana #5) as there’s no place to put your stuff. BUT, that’s about it….the Cabana is about 90 percent better than the Casita for around $29 more a night. The Cabana is massive in comparison, get AC, great mini fridge, huge high ceilings, the layout is awesome, with a step down area where the bed is, huge front window for natural light but also good privacy from the trees, two showers, one outdoor for sand, and one glass/stone rainfall indoor shower that actually has HOT water, and taps that are intuitive, the bathroom is split in three parts, shower, rink area and toilet in a separate room with a door, so convenient for couples, one person can be showering while the other person does their business, puts on makeup etc…way better design than having the entire bathroom in one room. The outdoor bamboo shower with feet sprayer -amazing! Overall, stay in the Cabana,...

Just got back from a four night stay here to surf and relax.. we had a wonderful time and it was really hard to leave! We stayed in Cabaña 2 and it was right on the water, and very private, and really clean and comfortable. Cabanas are well worth the splurge, but we went off season in May and got a deal.. everything felt very private and romantic so if you’re here for a couples retreat, the off season is a great way to go, plus the surf is better during their winter.

Eco venao resort is actually lots of small, very local businesses making up one big eco- focused resort.. it’s truly a magical place and everyone there cared a lot about their role in keeping it that way. It’s a very small team so it felt like we met everyone that worked there and they were all so warm and helpful.

Surf Dojo Is connected to the resort and we were able to just saunter over and snag an instructor when we were ready to go out, but if you’re new to surfing check in on the best times for the waves because it’s not a constant option all day long with the tides/ seasons. Instructors were great, very knowledgeable and focused on your safety. There’s no sharks in the areas, or coral/ rocks so it’s a really safe place to learn for first timers. It was my first time on a board and I had a blast.

We’re SO glad we stayed here as opposed to any other resort in playa venao. Almost all of them were tightly packed together and had house/ pop music constantly playing even at breakfast.. so it was a party hostel vibe at all times. We couldn’t even hear them at eco venao so it was just waves, reggae at the surf shack and locals chatting with each other. Truly paradise especially if you’re escaping a big city for a few days. Stay longer than you think you should, there’s a ton to do in the area if you have a car like national parks and hiking, and also just so many cool spots to lounge around, plus given it’s the jungle you will have rainy days! We wished we stayed for a full week at least.

Suggestion: We drove here ourselves from Tocumen airport, but there are shuttles for like $100 pp available if you contact the hotel via what’s app. It’s a beautiful drive but if you do it yourself we HIGHLY recommend you don’t do it at night, roads are poorly marked through the mountains and it was really stressful at times, plus you miss all the views.

Personally, I’d skip the massage. It was $70 USD and felt rushed and much of it was just light touch vs...

I don't know where to begin.. first, rwe had booked a cabin in the woods to get the full experience in nature, but upon arrival they told us it wasn't available(apparently they had demolished it already) and we were booked for a room in the main hostel. There was no email or any sort of communication prior to arrival to let us know of this and give us the option to agree to this change or change our plans. We took the room since it was last minute of course. |We were told that the wifi wasn't working because there was a problem in the area not just our hotel, which turned out to be a lie. We went to a neighboring hotel for drinks and their wifi was working just fine.|We were also told that breakfast is included and when we asked about coupons etc he said we don't need them. Our room was not sealed and we slept with thousands of moths flying around. They had screens on the windows but gaps in the ceiling. I wouldn't have minded had it been for the initial booked cabin in the woods, but this was at the complex. The restrooms and showers are shared, but are old and dirty. They need to be renovated and cleaned more often. Thankfully, we had our own wipes and were able to clean them a bit. |Next morning around 9ish we went to the cafe to have the promised breakfast, but the guy asked us for coupons and wouldn't give us anything without them. Fair enough, but there was nobody at the reception that was supposed to be open at 8am to help us sort it out. We asked if he could call them and he said they might be busy and he doesn't want to disturb them! Come back later for food..which was awful and rude.|Later we were told that there was a misunderstanding and bfast isn't included, when he had clearly told us otherwise.|Overall, awful customer service and lying and rude employees made for an awful experience. We couldn't wait to get out of there! Spent most of our time at a nearby hotel called Selina's. I highly recommend that one! It will be my choice next time. My friend is local Panamanian and is livid with the treatment...