La Coralina Island House ★★★★★

Where the Rainforest Reaches Playa Paunch

The Bluff road leaves Bocas Town and follows the north coast of Isla Colón past a string of surf beaches, and La Coralina sits above one of them, at Paunch, on the line where the rainforest stops being scenery and becomes the thing you are staying in. The house states its own proposition plainly: luxury with authenticity, in a place where the Caribbean meets the jungle. In practice that means oceanfront rooms with balconies over the water, villas with their own pools set back among the trees, two beach clubs and a spa, all of it run to Small Luxury Hotels standards.

Why It Works

Bocas del Toro is easy to do cheaply and harder to do well. La Coralina is the house that decided to do it well, and three things carry it: the site, the room stock and the wellness programme. The site is the rarest part, with forest running to the water, a surf break in front and enough land to spread villas out of sight of each other. The room stock covers two different holidays, a balcony over the sea or a villa with a pool in the trees. And the wellness side is properly staffed, with retreats run by visiting facilitators rather than a treatment list on a card.

Why This Location

Playa Paunch is on the north-east coast of Isla Colón, on the Bluff road, a short drive from Bocas Town with its airport, ferry and water taxis. The surf is why this stretch has a name: Paunch and Bluff both break over reef and both suit people who know what they are doing, with Bluff the heavier of the two. Bluff Beach itself is a long unshaded strand where turtles come ashore in season. In the other direction the whole archipelago opens up, Bastimentos and the Zapatillas Cays included, all of it reached by boat from town. Here you get the island side of Bocas rather than the water-taxi side.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Rainforest, oceanfront, wellness-minded

• Rooms: Oceanfront rooms and suites with balconies over the Caribbean, plus villas with private pools and terraces set in the rainforest

• Best For: Surfers, wellness travellers, couples, groups taking a villa

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: That the rainforest is the architecture here, not the backdrop

• Dining: Bocas seafood, seasonal produce and Latin American fusion, served across the property and its two beach clubs

• Amenities: Two beach clubs, spa with ocean-inspired therapies and ancestral rituals, jungle yoga, wellness retreats with visiting facilitators, Small Luxury Hotels member

• Attractions: The Paunch and Bluff surf breaks, Bluff Beach, Bocas Town, Isla Bastimentos and the Zapatillas Cays by boat

Rooms Over the Water, Villas in the Trees

There are two ways to stay here and they are not variations on each other. The oceanfront rooms and suites put a private balcony over the Caribbean, which is what most people picture when they book Bocas. The villas go the other way, set back into the rainforest, each with its own pool and terrace, which is the choice for a family, a group, or anyone who wants the jungle noise instead of the surf. Decide which holiday you are having before you book, because the two do not swap easily once you are there.

Two Beach Clubs

The house runs two beach clubs and gives each its own character, which is a more interesting decision than it sounds, because one place cannot be both the long lunch and the late afternoon. Between them they cover the swimming, the eating and the part of the day when nobody wants to move. The kitchen works Bocas seafood and seasonal produce with Latin American fusion, and the archipelago supplies the raw material.

The Spa, and the Retreats That Come With It

Wellness here is a programme rather than a room with a table in it. The spa works ocean-inspired therapies alongside ancestral rituals drawn from the region, and the yoga happens in the jungle rather than in a studio with a picture of one. On top of that the house hosts wellness retreats led by visiting international facilitators, which means that at certain times of year the whole property runs to somebody else’s schedule. Worth asking about when you book, in both directions: some people come for exactly that, and some would rather have the place quiet.