Grand Decameron Panama, A Trademark All-Inclusive Resort

Customer ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

5834 reviews

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  23rd Anniversary

  We had a great time. Everyone (employees) were very professional and helpful. We do feel that the accommodation are a bid dated and can use some renovation but the environment and food was excellent.

  Sep 15, 2025
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  Average

  Very average, for the price…you get what you pay for. Our room did not cool down to our liking, we tried to make reservations for some of the restaurants but they were not available for the days we were there. Hard to believe I come to a resort for 8 days and unable to eat at the Panamanian restaurant. Service at the buffet was not much better. A few days we had breakfast, no one came to bring us water or coffee. And those items are not self serve.

  Sep 08, 2025
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  very poor safety in the water

  Really nice beach and generally great swimming conditions in terms of weather, but THE SAFETY IS VERY POOR, especially on weekends. JET SKIS (PWCs) and BOATS CRUISE RIGHT BY THE SHORE, just a few meters from swimmers, looking for clients. On three different occasions, we saw jet skis and boats speeding between us (was swimming with my child) and the shore—even though we were close in, well before the buoys. We asked the lifeguard if this was normal, and he said: “Absolutely not, not normal.” But the administration clearly doesn’t care, because the same thing happens over and over again. This is extremely dangerous, especially in the afternoons when the waves pick up and people go out swimming, not to mention snorkeling or diving. A young Canadian was recently found dead in the ocean, wouldn’t be surprised if he was hit by a boat or jet ski. Not recommended until they enforce proper safety rules similar to those in the US/EU. It shouldn’t be difficult - there only seem to be a handful of locals running this nonsense. And the solutions are obvious: put out more buoys, create a designated zone where jet skis and boats can approach the shore, talk to the locals, etc. Nothing extraordinary. But as mentioned above - they just don’t seem to care. Sad. Could easily be a 5 star otherwise.

  Aug 24, 2025
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  Plus - Adult Family Vacation

  Background: Our family of 5 (2 parents, 2 adult children and 1 teen) travelled from Canada to Panama at the end of July 2025. We had 2 rooms - one with a king bed, the other with 2 doubles in the Plus section. We chose to upgrade to the plus section as we believed it would best meet our family's needs. I didn't see a lot of reviews on the Plus perks specifically so I'm including ours here to help others make their decisions. Special Lobby - When we arrived, we were dropped off at lobby 1. It's not clear to anyone in the plus section that there is another lobby that needs to be used. Luckily, we knew ahead of time so we asked for directions to learn that the Plus Lobby (#3) was about 1km away. The bellman was able to track down a van to drive us and our luggage over within a few minutes. - We arrived on a Friday around 4pm and even the Plus lobby was packed. It took quite a while (at least 30 minutes) after a long flight before we could check-in. Based on conversations with employees afterwards, Friday evenings are typically very busy since many locals come to this resort for mini holidays. While the staff did their best, the check-in was the most disappointing part of our stay. As a silver lining, while we waited for our bracelets, we went to the bar and were permitted to order drinks while we waited. That said, the "welcome drink" that we were promised didn't happen. - Check out was easy but lobby #3 was supposed to send a van over right away to take us to Lobby #1 and after calling 2 more times and waiting 90 minutes, no one came so we ended up walking so we wouldn't miss our flight. Rooms - We reserved Gardenview rooms and without prompting, the two rooms we received in building 48 were on the lowest floor and we could walk out on the grass using the patio doors. The Plus bar was right outside our building which was convenient. - Rooms were very large - room with the king bed had 2 couches and the room with 2 doubles also had 1 couch which our teen used as her bed the entire week - she was very happy. - Our first night, we requested that the door between our two rooms be unlocked and it was amazing to have two joined rooms. - Both rooms had a stocked fridge, bottle of white wine and plate with 3 deserts the size of little cookies. (Not sure I would call this a fruit basket but we didn't mind.) - Shower head in one room wasn't working properly but it still had hot water. The other room had a functioning shower head but only cold water. To be fair, we didn't complain and just made due with what we had. - Note: the walls are quite thin. Reserved Pools - The only pool that has cabanas is located in the plus section. If you want to reserve one, you need to be out before 8am or wait for one to become available later in the day. (Other pools have umbrellas for shade.) - We were very grateful to have access to the Plus section during the weekend since the other pools were busy and too noisy for us. The resort quieted down during the week but we stayed at the reserved pool/beach as we wanted to relax. - The adult only infinity pool was nice and the only pool with a swim-up bar. Chairs could always be found. - A section of the beach was also reserved for Plus and beach chairs were always available. Note: There are no activities at the reserved pools so anyone looking to play water polo, volleyball, futball, etc. needs to go to the main pool where the activities are only conducted in Spanish. Restaurants - Generally speaking, we enjoyed the food everywhere on the resort - this is one of the better all-inclusive resorts we stayed at for food. - All restaurants had some food available buffet-style so anyone who came hungry could find something to eat immediately. - Plus members had access to the "Cowboy" restaurant for breakfast/lunch where meals could be ordered and brought to the table. Of course, this takes more time so we would go to the big buffet if we were in a hurry. - It was a huge advantage to have preferred reservations at the a la carte restaurants and we tried them all! It was really nice not to have to worry about fighting for limited reservation spaces. Bars - We don't generally drink a lot of alcoholic beverages at home so we can't speak to the quality of the liquor used. However, between us, we can say that we tried almost every cocktail available (there were several!) and enjoyed them all. - We never had to wait very long at the reserved bars to be served. (Though, we did see long lineups at the other bars when we walked by.) Since our family was looking to have a quiet, relaxing holiday and appreciate sit-down meals together, the plus perks were definitely worth the extra cost for us. If you're looking for activities, don't mind crowds and don't mind buffet meals every night, the regular package would probably suffice.

  Aug 10, 2025
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  More than 20 years loving this place!

  I've been visiting the Royal Decameron Panama since 2003, and every time I return, I feel like the resort has evolved for the better. I've seen many areas renovated, and while some things change, the core elements I love always remain. The buffets have varied over the years: sometimes they combine elements from one another, and that keeps them interesting. Plus, between breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there are delicious snack bars where you can enjoy hamburgers or hot dogs prepared to your liking, which I think is a great touch. It's true that there are lines in the regular area sometimes, especially at the bars, but it's honestly worth the wait. The staff is incredibly friendly and hardworking, always smiling and eager to please. I've never been to the VIP area, but I truly love the regular area. I feel at home, and every visit reminds me why I keep coming back after so many years. Thank you Decameron for so many wonderful memories!

  Aug 06, 2025