Shores of Panama Resort & Spa

We stayed in Condo 1011 at Shores of Panama and had a great vacation. The condo was clean, comfortable, well maintained, and had an incredible view of the beach. It was just like the pictures. It was perfect for what our family (2 adults and a 15 year old) needed while away from home. We also had an excellent experience with Vacations Perfected, the rental company. We booked through Airbnb. Communication was great from start to finish. We received detailed check in instructions one week before our trip. We knew in advance that the parking pass and bracelets were extra ($81) and were given a link to pay for them before we arrived. We arrived around 7:00 pm on a Saturday, everything was ready for us, and the check in was quick and easy. During our stay, one of our smoke alarms started to chirp and even after removing the battery, it continued to chirp. We were just going to grab a battery while out for dinner, but I went ahead and texted Vacations Perfected to let them know. They sent a maintenance person over right away (at 6:00 pm on a Sunday). When we got back from dinner it was fixed. I know many reviews focus on the parking garage and elevators, so here's my honest take. The parking garage is definitely tight. We were instructed to NOT bring a vehicle longer than 18 feet, so we rented a mid size SUV instead of driving my husband's Ford F-150. Once we arrived, we noticed a lot of full size trucks and SUV's, which made it more difficult getting around the tight corners of the parking garage. We even had an owner of a condo on the 23rd floor, who drove a diesel truck, tell us he'd never heard of this rule. Yes, the garage is tight and the traffic in/out can be extremely aggravating, but if you drive slowly it's manageable. The elevators can get busy and are often packed, especially during peak arrival and departure times, dinner time and of course when it starts to rain and everyone runs to get inside. The garage has 12 levels while the resort has 23 floors, so people needing to go up, often get stuck coming down first. This can lead to the elevator being full when it gets to the ground level and no one gets off. There are times you will have to wait and on several occasions my husband and son would just take the stairs. Honestly there were just 1-2 times when it felt like we waited forever, but we did not allow this to ruin our vacation, especially after we figured out how the elevators worked. Since we travelled in July, the resort, beach and pool were crazy crowded. But we never had an issue finding a spot for all of our stuff on the beach. There are beach chairs/umbrellas you can rent, but you can also place your own stuff close to the ocean, so it was never an issue. The pool was very busy, so not a lot of "lounging", but it was nice to cool off when we couldn't get in the ocean (Tropical Storm Bertha decided to come through and double red flags were out). The condo does have a few supplies, but you will need to bring your own. Each condo is individually owned and the resort is not responsible for providing refills. I recommend bringing some basics, including toilet paper, paper towels, laundry detergent, fabric softener, paper plates, dishwasher pods, and some Lysol wipes. Also bring your own beach towels as they only provide towels for bathing. With the washer and dryer, you can easily throw your towels and bathing suits in each night and have fresh ones the next day. We also brought our own beach chairs, umbrella, cart/wagon, etc. This condo does not provide any beach items. There is a Walmart across the street and a Target about 15 minutes away if you prefer to purchase after you arrive. This condo does provide a broom/dust pan and also a vacuum cleaner which is really nice to have after dragging sand into the condo each day. We have rented several vacation homes/condos over the years and were glad to find this one exactly as advertised with no issues. I cannot speak for any other condo in the resort, but I would definitely recommend condo 1011 at Shores of Panama and using Vacations Perfected.

I would never I mean never book this resort again! If you are coming with a family of 6 or more it’s not for you! Wristbands must be worn at all times . If you rent a golf cart they do not allow parking on premises . If you are caught without your band they hassle you. Much money you spend the staff is rude . Will not book this again!

Our condo was wonderful we stayed in unit 1724, it was clean, our family was 4 adults and 4 children and we had plenty of room. The major issue was the elevator situation, we waited at least 20 minutes or longer each time we used it. The elevators made it extremely difficult children and the senior citizens we had with us.