Tropical Beach Villa for a Private Get-Away - Ocean View!!!!

• Needed to get away! Best week ever!

  Needed to get away! Best week ever!

  • Guest Troy
  • Date of stay 02/23/12
  • Review Submitted 03/15/12
  My wife and I were skeptical when choosing Gorgona as our destination because of some not so great reviews we read on some other condos. This said, I am not normally one to write a review but in this case I felt obligated to share our experience. We needed a break and to get away, from everything! We chose this condo because it seemed to offer everything we were looking for; and to our surprise and delight we found an affordable paradise! Our condo was great and the location couldn’t have been more perfect. We were close to the beach and much enjoyed our long walk on the beach during sunset… aboslutly amazing! Our experience was nothing short of fantastic as the condo was nice and clean, the air was fresh, beaches were clean, and the stores close by took care of our shopping fix. We enjoyed a few beers with some locals who were more than happy to show us around a little and recommend some really good places to eat. All in all this was exactly what we needed hope to be back soon to visit again. Thank you!

  Recommended for: Sightseeing, tourists without a car, girls getaway, families with young children, adventure seekers, romantic getaway, age 55+, families with teenagers.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 1/1

• Bad beach vacation

  Bad beach vacation

  • Guest HeadedBackToStJohns
  • Date of stay 01/13/12
  • Review Submitted 01/25/12
  This villa is a nice property and we were very comfortable. We enjoyed having the kitchen and cooked much of our own local food. Our stay overlapped with NFL playoff games and were thrilled to have the flatscreen HD with ESPN. The owners provide a local cell phone which is essential because US cell phone services do not work except Blackberry. However, I need to point out that the villa is in Gorgona (not in Coronado as listed), which is one of the closest public beaches to Panama City and is frequented by locals who have no respect for the environment and throw their trash everywhere including streets, yards, and all over the beach. Gorgona offers no amenities at all. There are no beach chairs, shade umbrellas, shops or restaurants, or any places to get drinks and meals. You really should stay in Coronado which is a gated community, so locals do not litter the entire area with their garbage. Coronado offers more security and a choice of shopping and restaurants. We will not return to Panama, and certainly not Gorgona which is a garbage dump littered with diapers, beer cans, broken glass, and millions of plastic bags. It is appalling how the Panamanians treat their natural resources. I only offer this to sway people towards Coronado, if you are insistent on visiting Panama. Plan your vacation accordingly. We chose to end our stay early to spend an extra day in Panama City that offers reasonable rooms and inexpensive meals and trips along the canal. The owners will not refund your money if you leave early, as we did.

  Owner response: Panama isn’t for everyone. If you come to Panama and expect it to be like the US or Canada then you have the wrong set of expectations, similar to our guests. Panama is a great place to visit and an even better place for investment. Read in our website “Inside Panama Real Estate” why Panama is a great place to live or invest. We came to Panama last fall to live and have since changed our careers to real estate and property mgt due to the high demand for Panama. We sold our house in TX where our property taxes were $10K/yr. Did you know that many properties in Panama are tax exempt up to 20 years? I’ll take a bumpy road and less city services i.e. trash pickup not to pay $10K/yr. It’s a give and take. Our 14 year old son in 9th grade at PCIS in Gorgona has several community service projects, such as trash pickup in the community. We are trying to make Panama a better place. For the record Gorgona is very safe and the Panamanians are friendly, helpful and embrace the fact we are here to spend money, create jobs and learn the Spanish language. This is their country. Gorgona and Coronado share the same beach and are next door. Like many countries, trash is a problem. It was that way in the states until the 80’s when trash dumping was illegal and a fine was imposed. We have another property in Gorgona and chose to advertise this one in Coronado to reach out to anyone not aware that Gorgona shares the same beach and rental prices may be less. There is nothing wrong with Gorgona, so whether you are looking to rent our place in Gorgona or someone else’s, Gorgona is just as good as Coronado, which has its own set of challenges from time to time that Gorgona doesn’t. We own in both towns, so it’s all good. I’m afraid that this review was a result of us not giving the guests a refund for their last day. They told us that they were leaving the day before check-out to be in the city close to the airport. I don’t know that VRBO owners would do a one night refund as we all schedule bookings based on availability and people can’t change their mind before leaving and expect a cash refund. I don’t know that the couple liked each other, Panama, the Panamanians, the Spanish language or culture. We met with them before they left for feedback and they seemed fine, so we were shocked by their written response based on their verbal response and all that we had done for them. You can’t make everyone happy. I am going to end this long response to take a nice walk on the beach.

  Did you find this review helpful? Yes | No Helpful votes: 4/4

$550-$750/week (seasonal pricing)
$90/night (May-Nov with a 2 night minimum)
Inquire on pricing for more than a week
Last minute reservations are welcome, but reserving early ensures availability

Note: Until confirmed, rates are subject to change without notice.

Sorry this information is not available. Please contact the owner/manager for more information.