Gran Evenia Bijao

Gran Evenia Bijao: the family all-inclusive of Playa Blanca, Panama

Gran Evenia Bijao sits on the Panamanian Pacific shore, on the Carretera Interamericana at kilometre 108, in the district of Río Hato. The property changed hands at the end of 2022 and has belonged since to the Catalan group Evenia, which renovated it thoroughly and added, in December 2023, a water park with seven slides.

The plan is all inclusive, around the clock. Taboga buffet, two à la carte tables in the evening, poolside snack counter, a night bar that never closes, the water park, a club for ages 4 to 12, kayaks, paddleboards, tennis and a fitness room open day and night.

This is a family address and it owns what it is. The sand along this stretch is golden rather than white, the Pacific here has real tides, and a flag system governs swimming. Travellers dreaming of a turquoise lagoon will be better served in the Caribbean. Those who want space, water for the children and a beach with life on it will find exactly what they came for.

Where is the hotel, and how long does it take to get there?

The address is easy to remember: Carretera Interamericana, kilometre 108, district of Río Hato, province of Coclé. This is the Pacific coast, about two hours by road from the capital.

Two gateways exist. Scarlett Martínez International Airport, at Río Hato, sits roughly ten kilometres away, a fifteen-minute transfer. Tocumen International Airport, in Panama City, is about a hundred kilometres out, near two hours depending on traffic, which thickens late Friday and on Sunday. Departures from Quebec usually land at Río Hato, which turns arrival into a formality: your feet are in the sand before you have unpacked.

This country deserves more than an airport transfer. Our Panama page covers what waits beyond the beaches, from the canal to the highlands of Boquete.

What does the beach actually look like?

Here is where many descriptions get generous, so let us be plain. The area is called Playa Blanca, yet the sand is golden, at times distinctly dark near the waterline. The chain itself calls it golden sand. Anyone arriving expecting Caribbean powder will have a fifteen-minute disappointment, then move on, because this beach has other virtues.

It is wide, it is long, and the hotel stretch stays quieter than the public section next door. Loungers and palapas are set out. Pacific water here runs around twenty-nine degrees, which makes it a bath.

The tide, though, commands respect. The range is wide on this coast and currents form. The hotel posts a flag system, and you read it before you walk in, above all with children. Swimming ends at sunset, around half past five. Said straight: the sea is beautiful and it asks for attention, which holds true along the whole Panamanian Pacific shore.

Is the water park worth it with children?

This is the property’s headline feature, and it is recent. The park opened in December 2023, at the end of a full renovation of the complex. It holds seven slides across a few structures: a bowl where you spin before dropping into the basin, a multi-lane descent where children race each other, and straight runs for anyone chasing speed.

One rule to know before promising anything to a child: the minimum height is 1.20 metres for the slides. A six-year-old rarely reaches that mark. Younger ones have their own splash area, with tipping buckets and jets, and they will stay there for hours without asking for anything else. The park runs from ten in the morning to six in the evening.

How many pools are there, and who are they for?

Three outdoor pools sit alongside the water park basins. The main one stretches out facing the sea with a bar you reach from the water. A second, quieter one suits anyone who wants to read in the sun. The third is shallow and set aside for children.

The pool bar serves from ten to half past six. Chairs go early in high season, as everywhere, though space is rarely the problem here.

Where do you eat, and do you need a reservation?

The Taboga buffet is the heart of the place. Breakfast seven to ten, lunch noon to three, dinner half past six to half past nine, with cooking stations in front of you and themed evenings.

Two à la carte tables take over after dark. Sakura serves Japanese and teppanyaki, Los Olivos Mediterranean. Both require a reservation, and here is the detail that separates a fine dinner from another night at the buffet: you book the same morning, between half past nine and half past eleven. After that window, the tables are gone.

Between meals, the Coco Solo snack counter opens from ten to half past six. Maui Sport Bar takes the night shift from half past nine until morning, and its bar stays open twenty-four hours. Portobelo serves from half past six to eleven.

On dress: the à la carte tables ask for casual elegant. Swimsuits, wet clothing and bare feet stay outside.

What does the all-inclusive plan cover, and what costs extra?

The plan is called All Inclusive 24h and it is the only one offered, which simplifies the choice. It covers the three meals, the snack counters, the à la carte dinners on reservation, and drinks around the clock: rum, vodka, whisky, gin, tequila, brandy, liqueurs, beer, red, white and sparkling wine, cocktails, soft drinks, juice, coffee and tea. The room fridge comes stocked with bottled water.

On the activity side, the plan opens the water park, the pools, the kids club, kayaks, paddleboards, tennis, the fitness room and the full entertainment programme, nightclub included, from ten at night to two in the morning.

Extra charges apply to spa treatments, motorized water sports, golf, excursions and additional towel sets. The question of premium spirits comes up often: the chain advertises premium drinks at its bars without publishing a list of brands. Your advisor can have that confirmed with the supplier before you leave, rather than letting you find out at the counter.

What are the rooms like?

The property holds roughly 293 rooms and suites. Categories differ mainly by view, ocean or gardens, and all of them sleep up to four.

Standard equipment includes air conditioning, a balcony or terrace with table and chairs, a flat-screen television, a mini fridge, a coffee maker, a safe, a hair dryer, an iron and board, and a bathroom with a shower. Current runs at 110 volts, the same as home, so your devices plug straight in.

Junior suites with private terraces exist as well. Exact labels shift from one supplier to the next, and that is precisely the kind of detail an advisor untangles before you book the wrong category for your family.

What keeps children and teenagers busy?

The kids club welcomes ages 4 to 12 from ten in the morning to five in the afternoon. It has a covered indoor play area, welcome at the hours when the sun bears down hardest. The children’s pool and the splash zone round out the picture for the youngest.

A teen club exists as well, generally presented for ages 13 to 17. Its schedule shifts with the season and the occupancy, so we have it confirmed at booking rather than leaving you to discover it on arrival.

What is there to do once you leave the beach?

Two tennis courts, beach volleyball, water aerobics, dance lessons and pool games fill the daily programme. Shows follow one another in the evening before the nightclub takes over.

A golf course sits nearby, at extra cost, as do the jet skis. The excursion desk arranges outings inland.

The region earns at least one full day. El Valle de Antón and its craft market, the crater trails, the fishing villages along the coast: our Playa Blanca page covers what is worth the drive in this corner of the country.

Are the spa and the fitness room worth your time?

The spa runs from eight in the morning to six in the evening. Massages and facials are offered at extra cost, which is the norm in all-inclusives of this category. The fitness room, for its part, stays open day and night and access comes with the plan, as do the fitness classes on the entertainment schedule.

What to know before you pack

Wifi is available at the hotel. In-room coverage varies from one building to the next, so have it confirmed if you plan to work during your stay.

The currency is the balboa, at par with the US dollar, and American bills circulate everywhere in the country. Bring small denominations for tips, which are left to your discretion.

The dry season runs from December to April on this coast, which lines up with when Canadians travel. The rest of the year brings late-day showers, short and warm, leaving whole mornings to the sun.

If you are weighing two addresses on the same beach, the Playa Blanca Beach Resort sits on the same shoreline with a different crowd and a different feel. Your advisor will tell you plainly which of the two fits your group.

Booking this trip with a person instead of a screen

Call 1 866 628-6241. You will reach someone who knows this address and who has time for you. We look together at what is actually free on your dates, we pick the right room, and we stay a phone call away while you are there. That is the difference between booking alone in front of a screen and leaving with someone behind you.