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Intercontintal Playa Bonita Resort and Spa

(4 votes)

Written by Matt Landau

Sunday, July 02 2006

The name Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort and Spa is a mouthful and I am always weary of hotels with the word ¨Continental¨ in their title, being that they, like men with nice cars, are usually trying to compensate for some serious downfall. Turns out though, the hotel is alright.

First off, its location is silly good: about 20 minutes outside the city. Other than its sister hotel Gamboa Rainforest, it´s pretty much in a league of its own. When I visited for the first time, only a few months after the hotel´s opening, it reminded me of a nicer, larger version of my bedroom, in that there were lots of little things broken. Missing tiles on pool floor, wires hanging out of wall, and loose doornobs to name a few.

According to the German-transplant manager, the entrance is ¨known¨ for its giant wall of orchids--a very overrated flower in my opinion. ¨What´s so special about the orchid?¨I often ask people, in response to which, the best answer I´ve ever gotten is because ¨they´re rare.¨ Well so are albinos but you don´t see me making a wall out of them, now, do you.

The lobby leads out to a sprawling pool/beach/restaurant area that looks almost Cancun-y. The food was quite good, and being that I am essentially a professional-level chef, that comment really means a lot. I´ve worked in culinary rings that would blow your mind. (Just to give you an idea, I once prepared a beef consume for David Kellerton, the famous Jazz musician, and he said it was the best soup he had ever eaten. ¨Hands down the best soup I´ve ever eaten,¨ he said.

The infinity pool is neat ´cause you can see boats waiting to go through the Panama Canal. If we can see them, then I guarantee they can see us, and I´m guessing they´re pretty jealous. I know I would be if I had to wait in a line while people jumped and splashed and played in a pool.

The spa is pretty posh, complete with meditation room, saunas, and massage tables with ocean views. The staff at the spa dress like samurais, with their loose robes and sleek belts. In fact, the more I think about it, the spa itself reminds me of a ninja or kung foo movie set, lots of bamboo and sliding paper doors.

I don´t know how clean the ocean water is because, as I mentioned before, there are ships out back twenty four seven. Among the other facilities are a beach soccer field, ocean-front air mattresses, and a bunch of staffers who all wear the same, silly tight blue shorts and white polo shirts.

At the end of the visit, as I was being escorted off the premises, I mean leaving under my own free will, I saw a small farmer man setting fire to an old bridge--engulfing this bridge so that none of his cattle would try to cross it and fall into the river below. The pyro/metaphorist in my enjoyed the bridge burning immensely. Intercontinental Playa Bonita Resort and Spa takes a long time to say, but unless I´m on a submarine where air is precious and long sentences are forbidden, I´d recommend it to anyone.

INTERCONTINENTAL Playa Bonita Resort and Spa

Sales & Reservations

Bern Hotels & Resorts Panama

Tel. +(507) 206-8800

Fax. +(507) 206-8870

U.S. Toll Free 1-877-800-1690

Website: playabonitapanama.com

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