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“Good morning, we’re in paradise!” !

The title of this review was spoken to me by my girlfriend every morning while we were at El Lotro Lado, and I can’t say that she was wrong. El Otro Lado is a very special place, and a hotel that you’ll have a tough time finding similar anywhere else in the world.

The hotel’s name in English means “the other side,” and true to name it sits on “the other side” of the historic ruins and city of Portobello. This means that cars can’t get to the resort – you’ll be picked up from Portobello by boat, and boats will be your only means of transportation while you’re at the hotel. This is not a bad thing, in fact, it’s kind of incredible as these boat rides all occur within one of the most beautiful ports in the world (Christopher Columbus even felt so when he named it Portobello – or beautiful port).

Speaking of incredible, the hotel is fully sustainable; meaning that the food they serve is grown/ sourced locally (many fruits/ vegetables are grown onsite), 95% of the staff are local from Portobello (they take a boat into work each day as well), and most of the beautiful art and furniture in the rooms and public areas of the resort are made onsite by local artisans. Of course like everything about El Otro Lado, these pieces are also unique and beautiful.

Our room was the Sea House – one of four private villas that make up El Otro Lado. To call it spectacular would be an understatement. It was full of local art and color, views to die for, private seating areas overlooking both the pool and nearby forest, and every type of accoutrement one would expect from a 5-star resort.

But then there’s the service. Other hotels may say that they offer personalized service, but with only four rooms everyone at El Otro Lado knows who you are. This means that when you order anything, food, drinks, scuba diving excursions…there are no checks to sign, no receipts to keep – the staff simply knows who you are and bends over backwards to make sure your needs are met. They even go so far as to send a waiter with you when you take their boat to the beach who makes sure your beach chairs/ towels are set, lunch is served, and you’re never without a Panamanian beer if one is so desired.