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| Bananas Village Resort: Remote, private and luxurious The Visitor Mar 27 - Apr 9, 1998 If any one event can be said to have set Panama on a proper course as a tourist destination it is the opening of a new resort on the Caribbean coast. It?s name is Bananas Village Resort. It is the totally personal creation of a Panamanian stockbroker, Mr. Lloyd Smith. Mr. Smith has no background in tourism, architecture or the hospitality industry. But who, in this endeavor, he has undoubtedly done it right. Panama needs more places like this. Bananas is on Isla Grande for many years a popular weekend retreat for Panamanians and where groups of cabins line the shore facing the mainland across a tranquil bay. Bananas Village Resort, however, is on the uninhabited seaward side of the island. Totally remote and private, it sits on its own bay with white sand beach on what was formerly a small coconut plantation. The coconut palms have been left untouched and in fact, guests may experience a certain trepidation as they check in and are asked to sign the hotel?s waiver of responsibility for falling coconuts. (The property is also well-endowed with banana trees, of course, which are not nearly as hazardous). The hotel?s 24 rooms are in chalets built against a verdant cliff. Each room has a balcony overlooking the beach. Everything at Bananas is of the best quality, from the silent air conditioning to the custom – made hammocks on the balcony. At the terrace restaurant meals are Caribbean – style gourmet and such is the standard of service and attention to detail that a guest might suspect they even age the coconut water to a perfect brew. It seems to fizz on the tongue and hit the spot like a lager. The infrastructure and central facilities of the hotel, which include a restaurant to seat 60 people, a conference room, and a boutique, have been designed for a total of 42 rooms. Additional chalets will be added when the time seems right. Over a cool coconut and under the whispering palms, Mr. Smith told me that his basic premise in planning the hotel was privacy and exclusivity which were insured by the very inaccessibility of the place. But since it can only be reached by sea –a sea that is often too boisterous for anything but small boats to negotiate the passage through the reef, the difficulties in construction were dire. ? nd the cost –I try not to think of that? he said, ?for instance the sand came from Punta Chame on the Pacific coast and arrived on the island in bags?. is love affair with Isla Grande goes back a long way. He built a week-end home on a remote bluff on the island 30 years ago. ?That makes me the oldest white resident?, he joked. ates are extremely reasonable taking into consideration that this is a deluxe resort hotel. <Artículo Anterior |
Phone: (507)263-9510
Fax: (507)264-7556