Westin Playa Bonita Panama

By alantvuong on May 25, 2021

Back in March 2012, I was due to go on another all-inclusive vacation to somewhere really hot and somewhere that I have not been to. Back then I relied on travel agents to help me book, plan and check accessibility for all my trips. My friend and I end up with a week long all-inclusive vacation to Panama City staying at The Westin Playa Bonita. This 5-star hotel has over 600 rooms with 6 restaurants, 4 bars and 4 pools.

getting on this bus to take us to the resort from the airport

Hotel & Location

The Westin Playa Bonita was about a 50 minute bus ride from Tocumen International Airport and we just used a regular bus without a ramp or accessible seating area. The hotel had only opened weeks before we arrived so everything still looked brand new.

fancy lobby

I remember being in awe as the lobby looked very fancy with floor to ceiling windows and a large nice staircase. Accessibility around the resort and the grounds were pretty good too. We had no major problems getting around at all. There were lots of big elevators at this resort too.

Pina coladas

This hotel is just minutes from the city center and beach with excellent sightseeing. My friend and I did manage to get out of the resort to do 2 excursions on different days. We did a Panama Canal Tour and a Panama Canal Miraflores Locks & City Tour. We also took our own taxi to get to a nearby mall to purchase souvenirs and have another outing away from the resort. I will make a separate post about that so please keep an eye out.

look for a separate post coming soon about my Panama Canal Tour experience

Accessible Rooms

The room we got was quite big and spacious with 2 big comfortable beds. There was lots of room for my wheelchair to move around and was never crowded by the small desk of other furniture. Free in-room Wi-Fi worked well without any issues.

spacious room with 2 big beds

My favorite was the accessible balcony. There was no ledge or step from the bedroom to the balcony which made it very easy to get outside. It wasn’t really a huge space and it was pretty empty except a couple chairs for guests to relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape. We really had a great view from our balcony.

accessible balcony with a great view

The bathroom was a good size with the roll in shower right beside the toilet. There was just enough space for my commode to fit over the toilet. The roll in shower had a door and was big enough for the commode to fully turn inside.

roll in shower beside the toilet

Food & Restaurants

The 6 restaurants are: Asiana, Cafe Pacifica, Oceanica, Soleo, Starfish Grill and Tierra y Fuego. The food at the buffets and the A la carte restaurants have all been great but my favorite was the steak dinner at Tierra y Fuego.

A la carte restaurant

The 4 bars located on the property are: Bamboo Bar, Tidal Swim-up Bar, Soleo Bar and Lobby Bar. Even though alcoholic drinks are included with our stay, we didn’t go overboard with all the drinks.

yummy

Pool Area

There are 4 pools at the Westin Playa Bonita and it is usually a busy area. In the daytime, there are always fun activities at the pools including workouts, dance classes and some water sports like pool volleyball.

pool

I also got a chance to get into the pool for the first time ever as a quadriplegic. Even though there wasn’t a wheelchair lift or anything, my friend did help me into the walk in pool. He transferred me into a beach lounge chair then gradually slid it into the pool. Equipped with a life jacket and my friend guiding my movements, I felt so awesome floating in the water.

first time in any pool since being paralyzed

Overall, my friend and I really enjoyed our all inclusive vacation at The Westin Playa Bonita. It was a fresh and new place but the food, activities and accessibility were all really great. I would definitely come back.