Playa El Estero, 00011 Santa Catalina, Panama
#19 of 26 hotels in Santa Catalina
Guests' ChoiceBased on 229 hostel reviews
8.0Cleanliness
7.9
Comfort
7.9
Location
9.2
Facilities
7.4
Staff
8.1
Value for money
7.7
Free WiFi
5.7
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End of dialog contentReviewed: 29 April 2024
Wendy
BelgiumNo comments.
The cabins were lovely at the beach. Location was top!
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 24 April 2024
Petra
GermanyThe gastronomy is bad organized. In the bar they have a menu but they don’t serve food. The food you have to order in their restaurant, what isn’t a problem. As it is directly next to each other. But for bringing it they charge extra. So the waiter of the bar was willing to pick it up. But this didn’t really work and instead the waiter of the restaurant stood in front of me telling me to pick up my plate now. The hostel is quite a walk from the village.
Nice location at the beach.
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 12 April 2024
Ype
NetherlandsThere is no kitchen and stores to buy food are aprox 20 min walking, so can be a little expensieve to stay Here for a longer time
The Beach is so beatiful
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 12 April 2024
Jennifer
United StatesRestaurant was closed more often than it was open and same with the beach bar. So everyone had to walk across the river to eat elsewhere. Kind of a wasted opportunity for the hotel
Great location on the beach
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 10 April 2024
Ionut
Romaniathe driver was supposed to come after us but one day before he wanted to charge us for private transfer from Panama city. Luckily the staff gave us the accurate bus timetable (I didn't find it anywhere on internet) and we managed to get in Santa Catalina on time
we stayed right on the beach
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 3 April 2024
Rob
CanadaThe beach location is amazing, and the newer individual casita's at the far end of the complex are wonderful.
Stayed in April 2024
Reviewed: 10 March 2024
Sabrina
GermanyNo supermarkets are close and there is no fridge - that means you drink either warm water or buy 0.5l for 2$ at the bar. That is just money making. I see that is might not sustainable to equip each bungalow with a fridge, but then they should provide a shared fridge or drinkwater, like other accommodations do. Beside the water, the prices at the restaurant/bar are okay. There could be more and better surfboards for rent. The sun desks are very nice, but could be equipped with mattresses. The personal is friendly, but not very cheerful.
The beach view (from the bed!) is amazing! We stayed at the new deluxe bungalows and they were super nice, clean, comfortable and beautiful. There is a nice beach bar, and even there is sometimes party at night, it’s super quiet at the bungalows. It’s dark enough there at night to enjoy the stars at the beach. You are directly at the perfect spot for beginner / intermediate surfing. You can rent boards for 10$ a day (but only few and in a bad condition).
Stayed in March 2024
Reviewed: 16 February 2024
Jana
BelgiumThe restaurant had a few vegetarian options but when it came down to it, they often said it was not available.
Beautiful domain on playa Estero! You can take surf lessons, go to Coiba (booked a great tour with them), chill... I stayed a week, even without surfing and I could have stayed longer! It's so unique to be able to sleep in a cheap dorm in such a place! I heard many people who had a completely different (as in: worse) experience with Santa Catalina when they stayed in the center.
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 7 February 2024
Fabian
FranceOne should be aware that it's difficult to get there if you don't have a suv, you need to park on the other side and cross a river by foot. Almost no insulation in the cabin, it seems like sleeping on the beach with 60db all day..
Great wood cabine on the beach Beatiful beach with warm water
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 5 February 2024
Roberto
ItalyStunning location
Stayed in February 2024
Reviewed: 2 February 2024
Michelle
AustraliaThe bedroom was tiny and they squeeze 2 beds inside when it should have been 1 double bed maximum. You cannot book a triple room for 3 people, it's way too small; or arrive with large suitcases. You can just about have 2 small suitcases...
Amazing location right on the beach! Super easy check-in, very nice staff and other guests, good vibes, everything was clean.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 27 January 2024
Edward
NorwayThe remote to the ac was gone, so it got quite cold. The restaurant was not good, being quite expensive and the one older server having a really bad attitude towards the guests. Luckily there are other restaurant options nearby, so don’t worry.
The location is perfect and the bungalows are aldo really nice, especially the shared bathroom.
Stayed in January 2024
Reviewed: 18 September 2023
2000885
PanamaWould have been nice to have a broom to be able to sweep sand out of the room.
Great location right on the beach with a shady sand area.
Stayed in September 2023
Reviewed: 26 August 2023
Elena
Cayman IslandsOk so the place is nice and it has great views but this is what I think: - staff friendly enough but somewhat disorganized. Didn't give us a total bill: we had to pay 2 drinks at the the bar separate, one dinner at the restaurant and the room all separate. We got no receipt for anything BTW! The told us to pay cash otherwise they would charge 10% extra for credit car transactions so bring plenty of cash. - cabana (called junior suite) on the beach was nice but for 100+$ a night I expect a hair dryer. Went to the reception to ask for one and apparently they don't even have one you can borrow. - unless you have a 4×4 car do not drive over the river, no matter the tide. Before I arrived they told me you can drive through on low tide no water the car. Lie! You will damage your car, they should just say it. We paid $3 a night for a parking spot right by the river crossing. Be prepared to get wet every time you go back and forth from the hotel. Bring flip flops/sandals and no long pants. - for 2 nights was perfect but wouldn't have stayed more (3 at most if you surf). - beach is nice and you can rent surf boards. We loved the coiba island snorkelling tour with unlimited adventure. You can book from the reception when you arrive (before 6pm, $85) - takes a long time to drive to Santa catalina from sona, allow plenty of time and day light.Road is bumpy, 1h30min from sona - room was clean and tidy with Ac but there was no room cleaning or towel changing (I expected this for 100$ a night to be honest). - you need a car really Here otherwise you always have to eat at the place only restaurant - few vegetarian options for dinner, we eat early so didnt wait long and food was good - only bring a small bag (due to small rooms and river crossing) All in all it suited us.
Stayed in August 2023
Reviewed: 23 August 2023
Tommy
United KingdomOwner
Beach view
Stayed in August 2023
Reviewed: 18 August 2023
Yvonne
NetherlandsThe kitchen could be better equipped with more plates, glasses, bowls, pans etc. it was very limited to make your own breakfast or an easy lunch.. Please note the park is accessible by car only when tide is low, at high tide you need to leave car at the other side of the river/sea. So you need to be aware when you can cross also when walking over..
The location was a paradise! We stayed in the 2 bedroom suite and loved the location of the house and house itself. The staff was great and supportive, the vibe in the park was excellent. The restaurant at the park was also OK, we had 1 lunch and 1 dinner there.
Stayed in August 2023
Reviewed: 9 August 2023
Andrew
United Statesrooms were smaller than advertised in the pictures. a little basic. restaurant didn't have much local cuisine--more american fare than anything.
location was amazing. restaurant was very good. rooms were comfortable with A/C!
Stayed in August 2023
Reviewed: 31 July 2023
Simone
ItalyIf you offer dorm option to solo travellers, you should provide them with a common area with fridge and cutlery at least (a kitchen would be even better). They provide surf lessons but it’s not really a surf camp (no group classes, no social activities for the guests)
The location is brilliant, right on the beach and ready to surf. Very clean and people working there are nice!
Stayed in July 2023
Reviewed: 27 July 2023
Éléonore
CanadaNo kitchen to cook or fridge to keep food, need or strongly encouraged to pay cash for most of the things you buy on site
Very good location straight on the surf, good food at the restaurant and nice rooms (6 people dorm).
Stayed in July 2023
Reviewed: 17 June 2023
Ilse
NetherlandsNo kitchen, shops are 15-20min walking, restaurant is overpriced. The showers and toilets that are meant for people camping, looked pretty bad
Right at the beach, big and place, nice receptionist. Dorm is nice and clean, beds fine, shower in the dorm nice (hot water)
Stayed in May 2023
Reviewed: 14 June 2023
Thiago
South KoreaThere are times that the tide is high which makes it hard to cross the water to go to restaurants in Santa Catalina at night. There was no curtain in the bathroom which we had to improvise with some plastic bags in order to have some privacy. The room also had many insects, but was expected given the type of accommodation.
The location was the best, right in front of an amazing beach. We also liked the style of the room. The food was tasty with a generous amount too.
Stayed in April 2023
Reviewed: 29 May 2023
Madeline
United StatesWhile most of the staff was friendly and accommodating, one of the receptionists we met was quite rude. However, luckily we didn't need to interact with him much and the pros far outweighed the cons. Some may consider the location to be a "con" if you'd rather be near the little village center, but honestly it's not that far of a walk and the beach is more important anyway! ;)
The location is to die for. Right on the beach, you can hear the waves crashing and the breeze blowing as you're falling asleep. It was kind of funny because you have to cross a little "river" or inlet on foot to get there, and depending on the tide it can be a bit of water to wade through (roller bags not recommended!) but it just added to the sense of adventure and seclusion. It was very easy to book a day trip to Coiba Island via reception, as well as sign up for surf lessons.
Stayed in May 2023
Reviewed: 8 May 2023
Nora
PanamaWe didn´t have soap in the bath but we asked in reception and they gave us
Very good location, restaurant and an amazing beach
Stayed in April 2023
Reviewed: 5 May 2023
Wendel
PanamaRooms should have some sort of feet rincing system at the entrance. This would prevent a lot of sand to get into the rooms. Although most staff is very friendly, owners or their family are not always. The way they have been talking to the personnel in some occasion is disrespectful if not shocking.
location, rooms
Stayed in May 2023
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