Al Natural Resort

Old Point, and No Road to It

Bastimentos is the long island east of Bocas Town, and Al Natural sits at the end of it, on the beach they call Old Point, where the land runs out and the Zapatillas Cays sit on the horizon. There is no road. You arrive by boat, which is the first thing the place tells you about itself. What is waiting is seven bungalows on the sand and a beachfront villa divided into three lofts, built with Ngäbe-Buglé craft and running on energy the resort harvests for itself. The scale is deliberate: this is an eco-resort in the original sense, meaning small, and meaning it had to be designed rather than delivered.

Why It Works

Three reasons. The first is the position: the resort sits inside Bastimentos Island National Marine Park with the reef at the door, which is not a thing anyone can build, only find. The second is the construction. Working with Ngäbe-Buglé craftsmen and combining that with renewable energy is a harder way to put up a resort than shipping in the usual materials, and it shows in how the place feels. The third is the kitchen. A two-storey restaurant with a European chef cooking local produce, at the far end of an island, is more than the setting obliges anyone to provide.

Why This Location

Bocas del Toro is Panama’s Caribbean archipelago, and Bastimentos is its wildest large island. The south-eastern tip, where the resort stands, faces the Zapatillas Cays, two uninhabited islands ringed by the kind of reef people travel a long way for, and the whole area is protected as a national marine park. Bocas Town, with the airport and the boats, is the arrival point, and from there the last leg is over water. What that buys is the quiet: no road, no traffic, no other property in sight, and reef within swimming distance of the sand. What it costs is spontaneity, so plan the crossings.

Fast Facts

• Price: Upscale

• Vibe: Barefoot, remote, low impact

• Rooms: Seven beach bungalows of different sizes and designs, plus a beachfront villa with three loft apartments

• Best For: Divers, snorkellers, honeymoons, small yoga retreats

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: That it was built with Ngäbe-Buglé craftsmen rather than merely near them

• Dining: A two-storey restaurant, local produce cooked by a European chef

• Amenities: Zapatillas Dive Center with PADI courses, snorkelling, canoeing, fishing, hiking, renewable energy on site, pet-friendly

• Attractions: Bastimentos Island National Marine Park, the Zapatillas Cays, the reef off Old Point, Bocas Town by boat

Seven Bungalows and a Villa of Lofts

The seven bungalows are not variations on a single plan. They differ in size and in design, which is what happens when a place is built over time rather than opened all at once. The newer beachfront villa holds three loft apartments and is the answer for a family or two couples travelling together. Everything is on the beach, and nothing is more than a short walk from the restaurant or from the water. Ask which bungalow when you book, because at this scale the differences between them are real.

The Two-Storey Restaurant

Food is the quiet test of a remote resort, because everything arrives by boat and nothing can be replaced at short notice. The kitchen here is run by a European chef working with fresh local produce, and the dining room is two storeys with the sea in front of it. Yoga retreats and weddings come through, which means the kitchen is used to feeding a group properly rather than plating for four. Eat upstairs at least once.

Diving the Zapatillas

The Zapatillas Dive Center is why a good share of the guests are here. It runs PADI courses and dive tours inside the marine park, and the reef in front of the resort is snorkellable straight off the beach for anyone not going under with a tank. Bocas del Toro is warm-water diving, coral gardens rather than walls and drop-offs, which makes it forgiving for people learning and interesting for people who like small things. Bring a camera and a slow pace, because this is not a two-dives-and-back kind of trip.