Coco Hill

We appreciated how easy communication was before and during our stay, and the setting in the jungle is gorgeous, with a quiet atmosphere and a sea view. It takes about 10 minutes to reach town. The final stretch up to Coco Hill is steep and rocky, and gets very slippery in rain, even in hiking shoes. There’s also a path from the bungalows down to the sea, but no signs, so finding your way back up can be tricky. The room and grounds were clean, but there was no light in the room beyond a decorative bedside lamp, so reading or packing in the dark was difficult. We also found there were several different room photos under one booking: a detached bungalow without a hammock, a two-storey bungalow with the Rose room downstairs and a hammock and the Orchid room upstairs with hanging stairs, plus a shed beneath the reception and restaurant that we wouldn’t recommend booking. We didn’t expect Airbnb-style room cleaning, but other places we stayed at least emptied the bathroom trash. And being in the jungle means insects can get inside. We had three little visitors, probably because the outdoor shower was lovely but there was no net separating it from the main room. Breakfast had homemade bread, which was amazing, plus jam, fruit, coffee and milk. The eating area is tiny. We shared a very full table with guests from another room. It would have been nice if empty jam jars were replaced without asking, especially since there was hardly any left on our second day, and if juice or eggs were offered for self-service. We felt the value was only 4/10 at $65 in April. Breakfast was just okay, the room photos set expectations the actual rooms didn’t meet, and service felt odd. Dinner was $23.50 each without drinks, and the price wasn’t shared proactively. The host had called $13-15 mains at lunch on the Zapatilla tour expensive, so we assumed dinner wouldn’t cost much. Our meal included bread with guacamole and cheese, which is normally $7 for two, vegetable curry with rice and greens, usually $13-15, and a small watermelon sorbet, usually $1.5-2. We thought $18-20 would have been fair. The curry was extremely spicy, even though a child who couldn’t eat spicy food was served it after that had been mentioned in advance. Near the end, the host seemed eager to leave for the evening, though no latest dinner time had been given. The last half of the meal felt chaotic and was hard to enjoy. Our scores: service 5/10, location 7.5/10, breakfast 5/10, cleanliness 7/10, room and facilities 6/10, value 4/10.

I eat meat, but this was the best vegan meal I’ve ever had. Michelle is a fantastic cook and makes dishes from plants grown on her property. The portions are generous and everything tasted amazing. Meals are currently by reservation. She managed to fit us in the same day, so give her a call.

The food was delicious, made with fresh ingredients from the garden, and a good price. The Australian owner is lovely and chatty. This was the best food I had in Panama! She cooks only for the number of people who reserve, so book ahead. You can ask around the island or at your hotel for her number.

It was a really bad experience, especially for what we paid. There was no drinking water, no wifi that worked, and no chairs to sit on. The network they gave us access to didn’t work at all. The pillows were ancient, and the sheets had stains. Breakfast was stale bread on a plate. It was a joke and felt insulting to call it breakfast; I wouldn’t feed that bread to a dog. Saying breakfast is included was a complete misrepresentation. There was no water in our room. We were assigned another room to shower in, but it had no shower head, just a trickle coming from a pipe in the wall. To use the toilet and wash up, we had to walk across the property. It’s far from town, and the walk there involves a very muddy slope. I don’t know how a host can run a business like this. Avoid it.