Hotel Review • North America • Panama • Gulf of Chiriquí
Islas Secas: Inside Panama's Private Island Resort in the Gulf of Chiriquí
Islas Secas is a private 14-island archipelago 20 miles off Panama's Pacific coast, where solar-powered casitas, 20-plus dive sites, and a marine safari built around the Big Blue Five all come included.
Courtesy of Islas Secas
BY NOAH CORTEZ
Why it works
Hotel Snapshot
I've never really minded a complicated hotel arrival, because the properties that make you take one are (usually) worth the hassle. This proved true for a recent trip to Islas Secas, an ultra-exclusive luxury resort off Panama’s Pacific coast. My journey to get there involved a chartered flight with six fellow guests from Panama City to David, a drive through the jungle to reach the coast, and then two hours on a catamaran in the Gulf of Chiriquí in pouring rain. It had all the makings of a White Lotus intro scene. (A quick note is that most guests skip all of that and take the resort's own Twin Otter plane an hour west from Panama City, straight onto a private airstrip cut into the jungle. Unfortunately, the aircraft was unavailable during my stay due to some repair work to be done, but either way, my point stands: this place is far out there.)
Once we arrived at the property, though, I immediately knew that Islas Secas was going to be something special. The archipelago it’s named after is 14 volcanic islands sitting 20 miles off the coast. 13 of them have nothing built on them and, per the owners, never will. Everything guest-facing lives on Isla Cavada in seven casitas plus one private home (aptly named Casa Cavada), and the whole property runs on solar. The all-inclusive rate covers essentially everything you'd do in a day here—meals, top-shelf drinks, dive trips, watersports, a spa treatment, yoga, laundry, and so much more. And while the rate is all-inclusive, it’s far from what you’d get from a stereotypical all-inclusive resort. It really does feel like the private island retreat it is; some guests I spoke with during my time there likened Islas Secas to a mix between the Maldives and Madagascar, and I can’t say I disagree.
Design & Character
Hart Howerton drew the property’s original architecture, and the reference isn't your run-of-the-mill tropical resort; it draws inspiration from the old Canal Zone houses of Gamboa, with high-pitched roofs, deep overhangs, and ventilated gables built to move air in a humid climate. The Colombian architect Simón Vélez built Terraza, the bamboo-and-thatch structure that functions as the island's dining site. Studio Tre handled Casa Cavada and the wider resort interiors. The vibe is very much jungle chic, and everything is beautifully designed, from the interiors of the casitas to the indoor dining room at Terraza. Above all, sustainability is a through line for the property: it shows up everywhere.
What I appreciated is that the sustainability isn't so in your face the way lots of eco-resorts tend to market themselves. The whole operation hinges on sustainability, yes, but it shows up subtly: housekeeping rolls the canvas panels up on the tented casitas every morning to let the breeze naturally cool the space and closes everything back down at turndown. The A/C (yes, there is A/C, too, if you’re worried about that) is set no lower than 75°F. Accommodations are built with certified sustainable wood treated with boric acid, and there's no guest-facing single-use plastic anywhere on the island: the water in your bottle was filtered and bottled about 200 feet from where you're drinking it.
The Rooms
There are seven casitas on Isla Cavada, spaced far enough apart that I never once laid eyes on another guest's terrace, and they come in two forms. There are three Tented Casitas, which sit the highest on the property as one-bedroom outposts nestled into the hills. Inside: canvas walls that roll all the way up to reveal a broad terrace, an oversized daybed, and an outdoor soaking tub positioned for the sunset. If you book this option, you will be walking up a pretty steep incline to reach them every time, so if you’ve got folks with mobility issues that’s something to note. Then there are four built casitas, and they lean into traditional Panamanian design with high ceilings, huge windows, and louvered wooden shutters that let the island in without ever quite letting it inside. (Read: the various birds, lizards, and other types of wildlife you’ll see on the property.) Casita Mirador is a one-bedroom refuge on the hill above the dock, Tres Palmas and Sombras are two-bedrooms with plunge pools, and Casita Grande, at four bedrooms, is the one families should book.
I stayed in Casita Sombras, which unfolds across three levels beneath the forest canopy: two separate sleeping structures, a lower deck with a plunge pool, and a set of steps that drop you onto your own stretch of beach on the north side of the island. The beds sit under a canopy of white mosquito netting; the shutters run floor to ceiling; and the whole thing is built to stay open, but not too open, as I mentioned above. My favorite detail was the shower, which starts indoors and opens straight into the greenery. The service is also quite impeccable here, and stealthy, too: turndown happens daily, and by the time I came back from dinner, the panels and shutters had been closed, the room had cooled, and the bed had been reset for a night where I could fall asleep to the sounds of the jungle and the ocean.
But wait—there’s more. For the ultra-exclusive pull, there's Casa Cavada, which doubles as the owner's own house on the island and books out to guests the rest of the time. It emerges from the rocks above the waves beneath an undulating roof built to echo the shape of a manta ray, held aloft by huge sustainably harvested eucalyptus trunks rising out of coralstone floors. Across 8,300 square feet it does indoor-outdoor living at scale: four en-suite bedrooms and six bathrooms sleeping up to eight, triple-height ceilings framing the Pacific, a fully equipped kitchen, a private gym, a dining terrace that hangs off the edge of the world, and a semi-Olympic infinity pool edged by an open-air lounge beneath frescoed lavastone ceilings. The Studio Tre interiors lean on reclaimed teak, colonial-style rattan, and traditional works commissioned from Panama's indigenous Guna, with furniture built out of trees that fell on the archipelago. It comes staffed with a dedicated house manager, chef, and bartender, sits a five-minute stroll from Terraza. And yes, there is a premium price to pay: it runs from $16,000 a night in the low season to $32,000 over the holidays.
Regardless of the room type you book, you’ll get a kit of reef-safe sunscreen, organic insect repellent in refillable containers, a reusable bottle, binoculars, flip-flops and robes, a French press, a minibar of complimentary drinks and healthy snacks, and a Secascent set of nine essential oils you blend into your own lotion. Linens change every third day unless you ask otherwise.
The Food & Drink
Terraza is Islas Secas’s open-air restaurant; a vaulted thatch-and-bamboo structure where breakfast, lunch, and dinner arrives with the water right in front of you. My favorite breakfast was a traditional Panamanian one: hojaldre, the pillowy fried dough that turns up on tables all over the country, served alongside beef and eggs. The menus otherwise lean hard on the Gulf, with local produce and fish that was swimming that morning.
What actually sets the F&B apart is how tailored the menu is designed to each guest. On my last night, the team put together a Mediterranean menu, where the dish I'm still thinking about was a paella-risotto hybrid crowned with steak. And this goes for all meals: You tell them what you're into ahead of time, and they’ll customize everything for you.
Spa & Wellness
Secascent Spa is tucked into a garden of gnarled, over-draped trees, with two wellness tents. Every adult guest gets a complimentary 60-minute treatment per stay, and the blends are made on the island from coconut, jasmine, and ylang ylang. I opted for a full body treatment, which was just what I needed after spending the morning on an e-foil and a seabob. The best part? A fresh strawberry popsicle that was ready for me after the treatment.
Yoga runs daily and moves around depending on the day, from floating platforms to beachfront decks to moonlit sessions on the airstrip. The gym is a treehouse, and it’s got a proper squat rack if you care about that. You’re likely going to be the only person using it, which is a plus if you’re going for a private gym feel.
Amenities
The world is your oyster when you book a stay at Islas Secas, quite literally. The wildlife is abundant, both on land and under the water, and there’s no shortage of activities to do while you’re here. The marine safari is a key experience for many: boats head out through the archipelago with a guide who is usually a working conservationist rather than an activities host, and the target list is what the resort calls the Big Blue Five. Turtles are around all year, hammerheads run from March into late August, mantas June through October, humpbacks July through October, and whale sharks turn up around the full moon. If you want to be useful while you're out there, the citizen science program takes guests along on wildlife counts, reef health monitoring, frigatebird nest checks, and whale fluke recording, and the data goes into eBird, iNaturalist, and HappyWhale. In other words, you’re actually helping out the scientists.
Another aspect of the resort I’d note as a prime amenity is the level of personalized attention you get with resort staff. The service was absolutely incredible, with staff greeting you by name everywhere you go (I felt like a VIP, honestly), a dedicated WhatsApp chat with you and the resort to make sure everything’s up to par, and the personalized itinerary the team devises prior to your stay. This is particularly helpful if you’re traveling with a group, because the resort will tailor each guest’s experience to their interests. Special shoutout to Daniel, who made the stay very seamless!
Additional activities are plentiful; I was taken around on a boat to explore the uninhabited islands while getting helpful context from a guide (one of Islas Secas’s islands is home to one of the largest concentrations of frigatebirds in Panama), and went snorkeling, where sea turtles followed me and my guide around under water. I also spent a full morning trying to master the art of riding an e-foil. (Very unsuccessful.) Diving can be arranged as well, one tank a day across 20-plus sites, though the dive team will tell you a dive-focused trip wants five nights, since they won't put you in the water on arrival day or the day before you fly.
All that to say, there’s a ton to do here—you won’t be bored at all. And, while I didn’t go on a dedicated whale watching excursion, I did see one on my boat ride departing from the resort.
Location & Neighborhood Recs
The neighborhood is the Gulf of Chiriquí, and it’s going to stay that way. The waters around the archipelago got national protection in 2023, closing 58 nautical square miles to commercial fishing, and the resort sits inside the Gulf of Chiriquí Marine Biological Corridor, which links 11 conservation areas from the mangroves at David down to Coiba. Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site with some of the best diving in Central America, is a little over an hour away by boat and available as a full-day add-on for an extra fee. Same goes for the surf at Morro Negrito and the reefs at Islas Paridas.
You'll almost certainly spend a night in Panama City on either end of your visit, since the Twin Otter runs a fixed schedule around three times a week. Make a whole trip of it!
Fast Facts
Location: Islas Secas archipelago, Gulf of Chiriquí, Panama
Vibe: Madagascar meets the Maldives
Rooms: Seven casita sites plus Casa Cavada
Pricing: From $3,500 per night, depending on the type of casita you book and when during the year you visit
Dining & Cocktails: Terraza (open-air, all day), Balboa Bar, in-casita dining, beach barbecues and picnics on outlying islands, packed lunches, cooking and mixology classes
Amenities & Services: Marine safaris, 20-plus dive sites with courses included, snorkeling, Seabobs, e-foils, kayaking, paddleboarding, sailing, wake surfing, one included half-day fishing trip, five miles of hiking trails, birding, stargazing, citizen science programs, kids' programming, daily yoga, treehouse fitness center, one complimentary 60-minute spa treatment per adult, daily housekeeping and turndown, complimentary laundry, Wi-Fi
Getting there: Scheduled Twin Otter transfers from Panama City (PTY) to the island's airstrip, roughly an hour, three to four times weekly. Not included in the rate: $1,300 per person each way for parties of one or two, down to $750 per person for parties of 11 or more. The fare covers VIP meet-and-greet at Tocumen, expedited customs, and Panama City ground transfers. The alternative is a commercial flight to Enrique Malek International (DAV) plus an hour-long boat transfer.
Gallery
A closer look
Courtesy of Islas Secas
Courtesy of Islas Secas
Courtesy of Islas Secas
Courtesy of Islas Secas
Courtesy of Islas Secas
Courtesy of Islas Secas
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