Punta Duarte Garden Inn. - Veraguas, Panamá

The owner, Gaby, is very sweet, but has no idea how to run an inn. The place is down a dusty, rocky, 3km road. If you go be sure you have 4wheel drive or a truck. When you reach the end the gardens are just not in evidence! It is mostly red dirt and dust. Our room was supposedly the best room in the place, but the sheets were old and torn, the balcony had one chair with a dirty pillow, the towels were stained and the toilet had definitely not been cleaned.

Other than us there were only a few people who were "volunteers" and staying there for free. One of them served us dinner - which was delicious if you like heavy German food - with a dishtowel draped over his arm, and then did the same for the other volunteer and his friend, call of whom had a good laugh.

There are two rottweilers in a fenced in dirt yard with no water that we saw. They howled and bark throughout the night waking us up. There are numerous cats prowling the grounds and lounging on the furniture.

The place is unfinished and not clean. It is a long way from being able to charge the $95 / night they want plus dinner. We could not get away fast enough.