Caracoral Hotel Boutique

My wife and I stayed at the Caracoral Hotel for Valentine’s Day, February 14-15, 2023. We couldn’t tell a lot about it from reviews, so we didn’t know what to expect. To say that we were pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. We both agreed that it was probably one of the best, if not the best, hotel experiences that we have ever had. We arrived by bus from Panama City a bit before noon. Even though check-in wasn’t until 2:00 PM, we walked to the hotel hoping that we could use a bathroom and leave our luggage while we walked around El Valle. We were greeted by Alberto, who couldn’t have been friendlier or nicer. He told us that our room was ready and invited us to check in. Our room was on the smaller side with one queen bed but still plenty of space for the two of us. It had a nice closet with a small safe and a walk-in shower in the bathroom. The room was scrupulously clean, including the windows and window sills inside and out, something my wife notices and has rarely seen. The huge window looked out onto the beautifully landscaped and perfectly maintained private back-yard garden. In this space dining tables, with white tablecloths and fresh flowers, were thoughtfully placed so as to permit comfortably private dining. The only suggestion we would have for the room would be an ice bucket and glasses (although the desk did give me glasses when I asked) and a wash cloth and extra hand towel. Our room and some others had a small table with a bowl of tangerines and two chairs placed outside, while others had a larger, private sitting area.The building is configured such that these sitting areas are quite private. There are additional private sitting areas placed around the back garden and small pool. We have visited El Valle quite a few times but this was our first overnight stay, so we were not familiar with evening dining spots. Because we had walked to Chorro El Macho that afternoon (about seven miles round trip from the hotel), we didn’t feel like walking to a restaurant in the evening. Despite our bias against hotel restaurants, we decided to have dinner at the Caracoral. We weren’t expecting much but were just hoping it would be decent. Again, to say that we were pleasantly surprised would be a gross understatement. After having a glass of wine in our outside seating area, we requested a table for dinner. We were shown to a table in a beautiful, secluded spot at the edge of the garden area. It was covered with a lace tablecloth with a candle and fresh flowers, surrounded by greenery and softly lit. Soft, tasteful music played through hidden speakers. Service was absolutely perfect - friendly and attentive but unobtrusive. The menu is somewhat limited and a bit playful and idiosyncratic. I ordered filet of beef with mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables. My wife had pasta with pesto and grilled salmon. The filet (actually two filets) was perfectly prepared to a uniformly pink medium rare.