Red Frog Beach Island Resort

Needed a golf cart to explore and get around. When we called for pick up no one came or the delays were significant and there were not enough golf carts available for our use. Missed opportunity for us to explore the resort. Stuck at our Villa most of the time and frustrated/stressed by the transportation issues.

We have visited Red Frog twice now. We were also there in March 2023. In a word the resort is amazing. The area is indescribably beautiful and peaceful but the staff are the highlight. They are all helpful, kind and incredibly friendly. Spend some time to get to know Dumas, he's the best! While we loved our first time there, we were even better prepared to enjoy our second trip and did. Red Frog is far and away the most upscale resort in Bocas. A true gem and we will be back as soon as we can!

We booked Red Frog for our honeymoon because we were confident they could provide us with the luxury experience they promised. To say they failed to meet these expectations would be an understatement. We booked a one bedroom ocean view jungle lodge and were very excited based on the photos and descriptions of the room. When we arrived at red frog we were told we could not stay in that room because it had a water issue and we were moved to a room without an ocean view. While I understand the issue may have been out of their control this was never communicated to us until we arrived. The Villa we were put in had the hot water go out three times despite the maintenance crews best efforts to repair it. Additionally the TV was broken and never worked despite several repair attempts. Having maintenance come to the unit to try fix something every day is not what I was expecting based on the price we paid. At our request when the jungle lodge became available we were moved into it. Instead of moving us into the jungle lodge we booked we were moved into a studio with no living area, no closets, no kitchen table and a unit missing many of the amenities described on the website. When I brought this up to reservations they told me this is the room we booked. If this is the case then red frog is guilty of some very deceptive advertising. To make matters worse the air conditioner did not work and they were unable to repair it. They also insisted that the air conditioner worked when it clearly did not (displaying an error code) and the unit was extremely hot making it difficult to sleep. We also had a malfunctioning bathroom door that locked us out and a microwave that did not work. When we checked out they attempted to tack on another $100 a night more than we agreed to pay when we booked!!! I brought all these issues to the attention of their manager Mario. He assured me they would “make this right” and stated that they were having a meeting about it that day. Despite my numerous attempts to contact him over the last two weeks Mario has not gotten back to me. I’ve never written a negative review but I feel like I need to let people know so they don’t get scammed the same way we did. I tried to give red frog a chance to make this right but they chose to ignore me instead. I would not stay at the resort again nor would I recommend it to anybody.

We stayed here because we wanted peace and quiet and that’s certainly what we got. But it is a strange place to stay. It is definitely not like being on a hotel complex. It is individually owned houses rented out so they vary greatly. We had Villa 64. 2 bedrooms and a partial sea view, lovely plunge pool, patio and seating area and great view of the gardens. We spotted plenty of birds and sloths without leaving the terrace. There is only one restaurant currently open on the site, it has a great view of the beach. Service is excellent. Breakfast substantial and good but evening meals are average but expensive. We decided to self cater the rest of the stay. The shop on site has limited stock of fresh food so it’s best to go to the supermarkets in Bocas. $6-8 per person each way on water taxi. Our kitchen was randomly supplied with utensils, mismatched cutlery, only 2 forks and nothing to get hot food out the oven with. Salt and pepper but no oil to cook. No tea is provided and only 2 coffee sachets. Shampoo and conditioner but no shower gel. No cleaning or pool service was on offer unless we paid extra which in an upmarket place like this seems odd. In regard to the grounds, yes it is spread out and hilly. You can be ferried in a golf cart but if you walk you see so much more wildlife. The beach is nice but generally the sea is rough here. We stayed 5 nights which was enough to chill out and explore. Be warned, research what you get for your money. We spoke to a couple who had part of a beach front Villa but no access to the kitchen part of the house and very limited facilities. Other places have pools totally in the shade or no views of the sea.

We stayed in one of the owner villas, which is different from what the resort is offering for nightly stays, so I'll just offer my impressions on the resort, restaurants, staff, etc. This is sort of an upscale 'get away from it all' experience.. you are on part of an island off an island off the coast. Being an island, its remote, peaceful, and safe, but there isn't a whole lot to do except relax, walk on the beach, and read a book. I loved it. The property is well-maintained, the staff are friendly and responsive to requests and problems. They do not all speak perfect english, so normal interactions with staff 'in the wild' may not be smooth. Our biggest frustration were the water taxis, which can charge a wide range in dollars for a trip back to Bocas town-- we paid $5-10 per person on average each way, sometimes we got a direct trip, sometimes we were on a route that stopped in a few places on the island. Be sure to find out the cost before getting on the taxi, and bring plenty of small bills (everything is in US dollars with the taxis and restaurants for the most part, everyone takes dollars, but sometimes you get local currency in change. ) There are only a few restaurants accessible to the resort, and they have similar menus-- after a few days you start getting a little tired of the menu. However, the food was good enough quality, if not great. There is a small market at the resort with just enough fresh food and staples to do your own cooking one or two nights if you get tired of eating out. We had a golf cart, which made getting around much easier-- any walk uphill and you're a sweaty mess in minutes. This is a Jungle, so it is hot and wet. hopefully you have access to a pool through the resort, and there is one at the beach club that fits the bill nicely. The beaches are lovely and nearly deserted-- frankly, the whole resort seemed almost empty when we were there.