RIU Playa Blanca, Panama
Stayed at this resort in January ‘26.
Resort: The hotel (573 rooms) is in the shape of an upside down ‘squared U’ with a path stretching from the centre block (between the two side blocks) to the beach, passing the 4 pools, including the pool bar, on its way; a very easy resort to navigate.
The hotel reception area was immaculately neat and tidy, spacious and comfortably air conditioned.
Good elevator service
Room: The room had a a king sized bed with a rolled-in cot for our son. Not ideal (his feet dangled off the end), but he said it would do. The room was cool, clean with a great large balcony. The view of the pools, beach and sunrise/set was quite remarkable. However, the furnishings were a bit on the shabby side, which was a bit of a surprise having seen how well furnished the reception area was. The balcony chairs looked as if they were from the Dollar store and, there were only two; a surprise since there were three of us. These little things matter. A scarcity of electrical outlets also required charging and computer time schedules (I know, I know, why are we on our electronics on holiday; well I bet you do the same, so a few more plugs would make life a bit easier; little things) Also only had two cups for morning coffee and two of each type of drinking glass for in-room drinks; small things, get it. Oh, and one more thing, the Kleenex was tucked away in the bathroom in a fixed container, which made it awkward for blowing your nose in the middle of the night, yes, I know, little things. I know we could just as easily ask for these things. We did. But just a bit of thought would have been appreciated.
Please understand that none of these ‘little things’ disrupted our holiday too much, it’s just that the little things can make a comfort of difference.
Restaurants There were 4 restaurants and a sports bar (with snacks).
Balboa: Buffet
XIAN: Asian, table service
Il Palazzo: Italian, table service
Chiriqui: Steak House, buffet
The Chiriqui was to the right of the pools, but the others were in the main hotel next to each other.
The only difference I can make between each of these restaurants is that the buffet ones were cafeteria-style where you just walked in, found a table and then went to the various stations to pick from previously mass-produced food that other guests have been picking from as well. Those with the table service, there was no need for reservations, but you had to line up between 30 minutes to an hour before the restaurants opened in order to be seated. Limited seating, so the earlier you line up, the better. In all cases, the food was not remarkable. Edible, yes, warm no, but still edible In fact, I think three of the restaurants used the same kitchen, since they are annexed. Actually, the only occasion where you can guarantee a hot serving is at the omelette counter where the young lady cooks your omelette to order in front of you. I usually ordered a two egg, cheese and ham omelette. Mmmm! The best. We went to the Chiriqui once for lunch.
Food Generally, the food, although there was plenty of choice in the buffets, was unremarkable, not totally cold, but not very warm either, yet still quite tasty. So work that one out. I avoided any meat because it was always too chewy. I stuck to fish; much better cooked. To be fair, I’m not much of a red meat eater anyway, I prefer fish.
Drinks Yes, plentiful and all inclusive. However, I noticed a consistent method of serving. Each time a drink was made, it was fast, a small portion of alcohol was added to an ice-filled glass or plastic beaker, followed with a top up of soft drink. The amount of alcohol was visibly less than an expected serving and so the guest was really served an icy soft drink with a smidgen of alcohol. I spotted this early, so when I ordered my drink, I was specific on the brand as well as the amount. This made for a decent drink. All bars ‘made’ their drinks in the same way.
Resort Staff Without exception the resort staff were helpful, professional and, above all, pleasant. It was always a pleasure to engage with them. Nothing was a bother. They were great.
Souvenirs Buying souvenirs has always been the fun part when we travel; the negotiation, that is. We like to go to local flea markets and engage in some good ole local back and forth over a couple of dollars for one souvenir or another. At the Riu there was a beach souvenir market, which set up each day until early afternoon and a resort souvenir shop which was open all day. The difference in prices for the same souvenir between the market and the shop was minimal. For instance, a baseball cap at the market was $5 and the same cap at the shop was $6; not a big difference really, but the beach people negotiated. So you could knock off an extra dollar or two, whereas the shop servers didn’t; they were bound by the resort rules. So, fun could be had at the beach market.
Summary As medium-large resorts go, this one wasn’t too bad. Value to cost quotient is probably a 6.
