Summit Rainforest & Golf Resort

Golf, rainforest trails and a sloth rescue center beside the canal

About Summit Rainforest & Golf Resort

Summit Rainforest & Golf Resort is a 103-room hotel in rainforest beside the Panama Canal, on the edge of Panama City. It has an 18-hole course dating to the 1930s, a sloth rescue and rehabilitation center, two outdoor pools and nature trails. Free scheduled shuttles reach the Miraflores Visitor Center, which the hotel puts five minutes away.

Summit Rainforest & Golf Resort stands in rainforest beside the Panama Canal, on the edge of Panama City. At its center is an 18-hole course that opened in the 1930s for residents of U.S. military bases and for canal workers. The present club dates from 1999, when the family that runs the resort began reviving the abandoned course. The 103 rooms look onto the fairways, the forest, the pool or the bridge.

Away from the fairways, the grounds work like a small nature center. There are trails, a butterfly farm, a frog farm and a rescue and rehabilitation center for sloths, owls and other animals, run so they can return to the wild. The hotel also sits next to the Pipeline Trail, which it describes as a birdwatching hotspot.

Two outdoor pools and a daily activity program, from treasure hunts and mini golf to bonfires and movie nights, keep children busy. Free shuttles run at set times to the Miraflores Visitor Center, five minutes away, and to Soberania National Park, the Rainforest Discovery Center, Summit Botanical Gardens and two malls. Entry fees are extra.

At a glance

• Size: 103 rooms

Perfect for

• Families
• Nature and wildlife
• Birding

Dining

• Mulligans Golf Bar: Golf-themed bar, one of the two named dining spaces on the property.
• La Jacana Restaurant: Named restaurant with its own dining room on the property.

On the property

• Summit Golf Course: 18 holes, first opened in the 1930s, laid out in Camino de Cruces rainforest.
• Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Center: Sloth sanctuary that rehabilitates animals such as sloths and owls for release into the wild.
• Butterfly Farm and Frog Farm: On-site farms, reached along the resort's scenic nature trails.
• Outdoor pools: Two outdoor pools, with a rainforest view from the infinity pool.

Good to know

• Shuttles to Miraflores, Soberania National Park, the Rainforest Discovery Center, Summit Botanical Gardens, Metropolitan National Park and two malls run at scheduled hours, and attraction tickets are not covered.
• Dogs are welcome, up to two per room, each weighing no more than 60 lb and with up-to-date vaccines.
• In the pool-view and bridge-view rooms, only the bridge-view ones have a balcony; the rainforest-view and golf-view rooms all do.

Questions travellers ask

Can children see sloths at the resort?

The resort runs a sloth sanctuary and rehabilitation center on its grounds, set up to treat animals and release them back into the wild. It also has a butterfly farm, a frog farm and nature trails.

How do you reach the Panama Canal from the resort?

A free shuttle runs at set hours to the Miraflores Visitor Center, which the hotel says is five minutes away. Visitor center tickets are paid separately.

Can I book a tee time at the golf course?

Yes. The 18-hole Summit Golf Course takes tee-time requests by WhatsApp at +507 6997-8393.

Is the resort suitable for travelers with a dog?

Yes. Up to two dogs per room are allowed, each under 60 lb and with current vaccines. Tell the hotel at the time of booking.

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