This is a simple place, let's be clear. This is a small village that most North Americans haven't even heard of, so if you're reading this review, you're onto something! Capurgana is wonderful, and this hotel is top notch for this tiny town. Rooms are basic and clean. The food is very good -- again, this is not big city five star fare, this is hotel-on-the-beach-in-a-tiny-village excellence. The pool is lovely -- very clean. Ditto the ocean -- it's steps away from the hotel, and the sand and the water are lovely. Staff are very friendly and helpful, and we enjoyed a couple of tours arranged through the hotel which I also highly recommend. (esp. the waterfall hike and the boat ride to Sapzurro.) There's no wifi available! What a treat...

Hotel

Pros:
-The staff of this place is EXCELLENT, they try to do everything for you to have a great stay and my complains about this hotel has nothing to do with them.
-Super close to the only beach you can go without a boat
-Gorgeous pink sunsets right in from of your room
-Very clean
- Right next to Josefina's, the BEST restaurant in town
-They organize group outings to other beaches almost everyday

What was Ok:
-The cold showers, it's very hot so actually i didn't mind at all
-The towels were old and only a few
-They don't have a bar of soap, they only have liquid soap for the shower, we bought one ourselves, no biggie
-The pool is kind of old
-The food was ok, we only had dinner once and breakfast everyday.

Cons:
-I basically thought the beds were unbearable, if you love camping you won't have a problem but even camping I use an air mattress and that is far better than their beds, I literally had to place pillows on top of it and sleep on them so i could do it, still my back hurt in the morning.
- The loud music in this whole town sucks, at least if they played reggae or caribbean music, something that would fit the environment but no, plus there's no much to do and going to bed early is pretty much what you can do, this hotel plays loud music every night, if you are looking for a place to relax I wouldn't recommend it, specially on weekends.

Overall my stay in Capurgana was an experience i wouldn't want to do it again, the nature is great (but not well taking care of, i.e.: trash all around) but this town seem to have seen better days, everything is rundown and i would not advice anybody to come to this place. Even the good things we did had a "but", like for exemple the snorkel in La Miel was really good, but you have to cross a big path of underwater trash to get to deeper waters and see amazing fish.

There's something das about this place...

To give some context, the vast majority of my traveling involves work trips to New York and San Francisco, where I stay in very nice (think $500/avg per night) hotels -- so, I have what is probably a higher than average standard when it comes to accommodations.

That said, this was the single most memorable vacation I've ever taken, and this hotel played a big part it in. Just keep in mind:

1) The rooms are sparse. And I mean SPARSE. Tile floors, no hot water (we're talking COLD showers!), and the only furnishings are a couple of nightstands and a bed. The biggest surprise was the "mattress" on the bed -- it's not really a mattress, it feels more like some sort of slightly padded piece of cardboard.

BUT...

None of that matters. In fact, I would have been somewhat disappointed if this had been any more luxurious. No kidding. The island is so unbelievably secluded and tropical that this type of accommodation feels exactly right. It also helps that the rooms are extremely clean, which is really all that matters.

The amazing staff more than makes up for the cardboard beds, too -- everyone is incredibly friendly and helpful. My boyfriend and I didn't speak a word of Spanish, and no one really spoke any English, yet every person was patient and kind.

By the way, YOU MUST take a boat trip to the Sanblas Islands in Panama. I mean, it's not even an option to skip this. It was by far the highlight of our trip and something I still think about often. The hotel arranges the trip -- which seems to be run by some locals out of a somewhat dodgy boat -- but it'll be the best day of your life. No joke.

Bottom line: If you're at all put off by how challenging it is to get to Capurgana -- get over it. It's worth the plane ride to Medellin and the next plane ride (on a tiny charter plane, to boot) to Capurgana and the donkey ride to the hotel (there are no cars) and the bumpy boat ride to Sanblas. Just do it - you will NOT regret it.