Hotel Bambito Resort by Faranda Boutique

A Mountain Address Where the Menu Is Decided in Advance

The road out of Volcan climbs through farmland and then, quite suddenly, into cloud. Bambito sits on that road, before Cerro Punta, in a stretch of valley where the mountains stand close on both sides and the air changes temperature by mid afternoon. The hotel has been the landmark address of the Chiriqui highlands for years, and it now carries the Faranda Boutique name as a member of Radisson Individuals. Forty five rooms, a pool facing the peaks, a lawn that runs to the treeline: the scale is resort, but the register is mountain lodge rather than beach club.

Why It Works

It is the only address in the highlands that offers a full resort programme without asking you to give up the mountain. The spa, the indoor tennis courts and the pool mean a rainy afternoon has somewhere to go, which matters here more than on the coast. Las Truchas gives the hotel a genuine local dish rather than an international menu. And the room categories run from cabana rooms to a presidential suite that sleeps up to nine, so a family group and a couple can book the same address without booking the same stay.

Why This Location

Bambito is on the western approach to Baru Volcano National Park, the side that most visitors never see because they base themselves in Boquete. The trails start close by, and the drive up from the lowlands around David takes you through the vegetable and flower farms that supply much of the country. Cerro Punta is a few minutes further along the same road. This is highland Panama, so it is cool in the evenings and wet in the afternoons for much of the year, and a car is the difference between a good stay and a stranded one.

Fast Facts

• Price: Premium

• Vibe: Highland resort, family friendly, green, unhurried

• Rooms: 45 rooms across seven categories, from cabana rooms to a presidential suite sleeping up to nine

• Best For: Families with children, walkers heading for Baru, travellers escaping the heat of the coast

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: Las Truchas, where the trout comes from a farm in the same valley

• Dining: Las Truchas for trout and regional cooking, open from breakfast to late; the Volcan bar for craft drinks and local beer

• Amenities: Spa, indoor tennis courts, fitness centre, pool with mountain views, gardens, free parking, event spaces including the Hall of Swans

• Attractions: Baru Volcano National Park trails, Cerro Punta, the Volcan valley farms

Rooms for a Group, Rooms for Two

Seven categories is a lot for a hotel of this size, and the spread is the point. Standard rooms with king or twin beds handle the straightforward stay. Cabana rooms put you closer to the garden. Premium rooms and suites move up in space rather than in decorative ambition, and the presidential suite takes a party of up to nine, which is how Panamanian families tend to travel up here. Garden views are worth asking for. Children under four stay free, and the tariff for older children is modest, so the arithmetic of a family week is kinder than it usually is at this level.

Trout, and What Else the Kitchen Does

Las Truchas is named after the fish and makes no apology for it. The trout is farmed a short distance away and appears grilled, in soup and in the house preparations that regulars come back for; the kitchen runs from a quarter past seven in the morning until eleven at night, which is unusually long for the highlands, where restaurants close early. The Volcan bar handles the evening with craft drinks and local beer. Between them, you are not obliged to drive anywhere for dinner, and in this valley after dark, that is worth something.

What the Highlands Ask of You

Bring layers. The valley is markedly cooler than David or the Pacific beaches, and the afternoon cloud is part of the deal rather than bad luck. Plan walks for the morning. The hotel also works as a conference address, with a ballroom for 250 and a poolside space for 500, so it is worth checking what is in the diary if you want the pool to yourself. Check in is from 3pm, check out at 1pm, which leaves room for a last walk before the drive back down.