JW Marriott Panama Golf & Beach Resort

Overall, I would say I am giving this hotel a 3.5 stars, but having to choose between 3 and 4 I erred in the direction of 3 for some specific reasons that I will detail. Overall, this is not a five star resort. I would call it a four star resort. I went in with my fingers crossed after reading a few reviews, and I chose to ignore the more critical reviews and pay attention to the higher ones and that was my mistake. This property is dated. Everything needs a refresh. Furniture is worn out, plugs do not work, things look tired. The food across the board is pretty mediocre although we did have fun in the Teppanyaki restaurant. We were there on Easter week and the pools and beach were very busy. The hotel is not that large as I understand the crowds are people coming from the villas and surrounding area. Most troubling, there were frequently no towels for long periods of time. And the hotel allowed people to put one item on chairs and let them sit for hours. As a result, our family could not even find a chair, although there were many sitting around us empty for hours. And service was unbearably slow. Two days in a row at the pool we had to ask three times and wait for over an hour for a simple thing like an ice cream or a soda. I want to note also that the hotel is a good solid 5 to 7 minute walk from the main pool and beach. None of the rooms are ocean view. If you are arriving when there is any traffic, do not be surprised if it takes you three hours to get to the resort. If you take an Uber to the resort, make sure you have Other transport to get back to the city or airport as it is impossible to get an Uber from the area. While this is pretty critical so far, I would like to add that the staff is very gracious, kind, eager. Everyone that I came into contact with was very kind polite and helpful. If you want a beach resort driving distance to Panama City and you are OK with a somewhat tired property with a friendly staff then give this a try but do not expect five star luxury.

Generic resort. Rooms and food about a 3-4/5; somewhat plain; decent food. Expensive. Friendly staff, nice pools, beautiful beach. Snorkel trip was terrible. Old boat, no ladder to get back on, no reef, no fish. Guide did not speak English. Skip the snorkel! 1 old tennis court on property; other sports area a free golf cart ride away. Relaxing and beautiful grounds, plenty of beach chairs and towels.

Huge Hotel in a large setting, 6 pools, 9 restaurants. Private beach with lifeguards. Breakfast buffet was excellent, food was constantly replaced. Staff were friendly and very helpful. We don't golf, but went there for a few days to relax after a very busy trip. Lots of variety for other meals, which were reasonably priced, and delicious.

We are in heaven, the place, the food, the people, everything is just amazing. Our room is big, cozy, and comfortable, the bed is magnificent, and there are several restaurants with delicious food. Love the pool at "el faro", we can walk to the private beach and back because they are next to each other. Well deserved those 5 stars.

This hotel is a relaxing beach resort about 2 hours from Panama City. There are multiple pools on site. Some adult only pools with swim up bars, which is fun! There is a golf course and tennis/sports center not far from the hotel. The hotel does offer a shuttle service and bikes for free. There is 1 tennis court onsite and sand volleyball court. There are 3 tennis courts at the sports center which offers lessons for a fee. The sports center also has an olympic size lap pool, pickleball courts and gym. I was impressed with the overall experience. No extra fees for beach chairs or cabanas. They are first come first serve but we had no problems getting chairs because the resort is so big and so many pools I never felt is was over crowded. The food at the restaurants were ok. Our room was huge! They upgraded us to a suite! We had a balcony with sitting area and a beautiful view. We had a separate living room, eating table, mini fridge and the bedroom was separated by a door for privacy. Huge bathroom with double sinks and shower that had dual sprayers. The hotel helped with airport transfers. I would definitely come back.