Tropic Star is an adventure. From greeting us in Panama City, to providing a driver to tour the City and getting us to the Lodge itself. OUTSTANDING! The cabin offered to us was clean and offered all comforts of home. The view was incredible. The perk of befriending the local resident McCaw, Ellie, was a huge treat for me! She was my little green shadow from pool to our cabin. However, the Bill Fishing was very spotty due to an El Nino rise up, cooling the waters down. The Yellowfin fishing was awesome! Our Captain was sure to put us on the Tuna if Billfishing was slow. I never laughed so hard as we heaved our Poppers at them hooking up dozens of times. The staff at Tropic Star are warm, friendly, helpful, caring...We had no problem with the language barrier: Everyone understands laughter and humor! The dock staff were SO MUCH FUN!! I can't say enough about the food!! There are no words!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for an unforgettable trip. Terry, Mike... you are doing it RIGHT!!! Patterson: I miss my tea delivery at 5:00am!! Richard, Albert.....EVERYONE! We will be back. Don't change a thing... Give Ellie a kiss for me.
Read more
Read less
Date of stay: March 2016Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:Our room, 3B was very quiet and offered great views of Pinas Bay.
Value
Rooms
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Responded 06 Apr 2016
Dear Donna P,
We are so happy to hear that you had such a wonderful time. And Ellie our mischievous green Macaw is still looking for you on the deck of your cabin!
We look forward to seeing you both again for your next fishing adventure.
Until next time...tight lines, Adrienne
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Well, it took me about 30 years to get there, and stuffing alot of money into the safe deposit box over a long time, but we finally made it there the first week in March. Getting into the small plane to depart for the lodge with our fellow anglers was a complete thrill. Flying over the various Panamanian islands and then descending into the triple canopy rain forest was like we were in Jurassic Park. We step off the plane and see the native indians watching us we knew we were a long way from home. Pulling into the lodge dock from our canoe ride from the landing strip, it was unbelivable to actually see the Bertram's all lined up at the dock with the crews working to get them ready (this was Saturday, the day they work on the boats and don't fish). Then to step on that long dock that I had looked at for years in pictures and TV shows was surreal. The service was impeccable from the moment we arrived. Within the first two hours it felt like everyone knew our name. Our room was very nice, 2A and 2B I think are the nicest units, kind of bythem selves with a nice porch that overlooks the pool and the dock in the distance. They took our full week's lunch orders on day one which was great, instead of having to do it every night like in Mexico. You have to prepare yourself however, that despite everything you have heard fishing can be slow ! The guys who were leaving the Lodge as we were arriving told us it had been slow. Only 19 blacks the week before. We did end catching Sails, Cubrera Snapper, and best of all, my biggest desire, a 500 pound black that we successfully released. Strongest thing I have ever been on in my life, and I have been on some big fish. Took the right rigger down three times on a live ten pound bonito before the captain throttled up and stuck the hook. The thing was pissed. The captains are extremely aggresive with their boat handling. They immediately started backing down on this thing, and we had her leadered within 30 minutes. Leadered her three times before we got the hook out. The fact that we got her to the boat fast left her in really good shape, as with one swipe of her giant tail she was gone. Probably the best billfish release I have had. Prepare yourself for the Panamanian sun it is brutal. When you are on a big fish like that and standing out on the deck in full sun, you are dying. To give you some idea, the crew whose skin is actually black,wear full sun screen, and have total face masks on. Again it is brutal. The food is very good with the best thing being the fresh fish caught every day. They cooked up one of our dorado and we had it for hor dourves before dinner out at the deck bar. Make sure you are careful when are down there as essentially if you get hurt or are sick you are in big trouble. You are a LONG way from anything. Never the less the place is absolutely spectacular, you feel complete solitude from all of the craziness here. Slept like a baby every single night. Maybe the fishing was not as good as we would have liked, but it was a trip of a lifetime. Definitely will enjoy yourself, the scenery is again like being in Jurassic Park.
Read more
Read less
Date of stay: March 2014Trip type: Travelled as a couple
Room Tip:2A or 2B are the best, unless you take the palace on top. The palace is boucou bucks but...
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
I agree with the recent reviews of Casal, Todd C and Mi S. We must have been at Tropic Star the same week. We started fishing Sunday Feb 18 2024 and finished Friday Feb 23. It was a terrible bite - hence theirs and my review. We decided to book for the famed Black Marlin season with a premium that cost around $10K per person counting travel. I very much enjoyed the hype with YouTube videos and even reviews on this site before the trip. We were so excited. Our group of 4 was not impressed and the hype was not deserved. As others have indicated there were around 100 total fishing days combined for 16 or 17 boats for a total of 9 black marlin to be leadered for the week. There also was not much of a pelagic bite for tuna or dorado. The bite was absolutely terrible!! I understand Richard (Richie) White's explanations that Tropic Star cannot control the weather or bite. I fish out of Florida and into the Bahamas for yellowfin tuna, dolphin (dorado) and blue marlin. I would have been much better off spending $40K on a few trips on my boat to where I fish rather than going on this Tropic Star adventure.
I am not a novice fisherman. I've owned boats and fished offshore for over 20 years. I also understand weather conditions and slow bites. I always tell people that are going to fish with me that it's "all about the weather and the bite". We work hard to try to avoid days of getting skunked like we had a Tropic Star. But - when you book at least 9 months in advance to get in on the Tropic Star hype - I guess there's no looking back. Maybe something they should look at is at least offering, say, a 50% discount on any future trip when one has paid a black marlin season premium and it's been terrible. At this point I will not go back nor recommend any of my fishing friends to go to Tropic Star. It's a long way to go for a bad bite when you have to commit that far in advance.
On the good side the service at Tropic Star is excellent. From arrival at the airport, lodge staff ... all 5 star. Top notch all the way.
The food however is 3 star at best. We arrived on Saturday Feb 17 to have a lunch of seared tuna over risotto. It was spectacular. High expectations at that point. Things went downhill quickly. - Over our trip we had 3 buffets at the pool restaurant. Cruise line type buffet food at best. Some barely edible - some not. On the first night they had grilled tuna. It was grilled completely dry and was not edible. I don't understand why someone would do that to fresh caught tuna - especially a supposed 5 star lodge that gets fresh caught tuna all the time - First breakfast I ordered eggs, link sausages and potatoes. Link sausages were so over cooked and dry that they were inedible. The potatoes were cold on the plate. So second day I tried the same hoping that the previous day was an aberration. No - same result. It's hard to mess up a breakfast of eggs, link sausages and potatoes. Even Waffle House can get it right. - On a few days at the Marlin Bar they fried up some fish fingers (presumably dorado). Again totally overcooked/overfried. The fish fingers had no moisture whatsoever. Couldn't even choke them down.
In summary - the staff is great. The bite we had while we were there was ugly beyond belief for the premium black marlin season - and that includes pelagics of YFT and dorado. The food needs to be improved to justify their prices and acclaim.
Read more
Read less
Date of stay: February 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Responded 23 Mar 2024
Dear Blainn2015,
We appreciate you taking the time to leave your review as we care deeply about our guests and their fishing trips at Tropic Star Lodge. We are sorry that your experience fell short of what you expected. We can completely understand your disappointment with the slow Black Marlin bite. In all transparency, Black Marlin season is eight weeks long. Within these eight weeks, the length of the bite fluctuates year to year. It is impossible for us to know exactly when the Pelagic species takes up their annual residence on the Zane Grey Reef due to their migratory patterns. Black Marlin are the most difficult Marlin to target. In fact, there are just a few places in the world you can target the species with Tropic Star being one. While we do everything possible to ensure the best possible fishing opportunities for our guests, it is impossible for us to guarantee fishing outcomes.
This season with El Nino was a very tough year for the Black Marlin bite with it ending early. This happens when the water temperatures change as they did, and we have the Snapper species and Grouper inshore for spawning season and we get a fun tuna bite offshore making inshore and chasing tuna loads of fun and that is why we recommend March for this. Unfortunately, this happened mid-February this year and that’s why we saw some 200 lb tuna your week and some of the other guests catching Cubera and other species inshore.
Regarding your dining experience, we thank you for the constructive comments. We’re glad that you did address your issues with the Chef directly while here, so he was able to rectify the overcooked tuna on the buffet by bringing you freshly seared tuna. I know that your cold breakfast potatoes were also addressed. Chef Gabriel and I discussed your comments, and we thank you as we always strive to improve and will certainly be making changes based on your review. We’re also happy to hear that you enjoyed the staff and service of the Lodge. Again, thank you very much for taking this opportunity to leave your review and the team at Tropic Star Lodge appreciates your comments and we are truly sorry for your one-star experience.
Kind regards, Mallory and Richard White
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
I have been to Tropic Star Lodge twice in the past 3 years. It's perfection, pure and simple. Amazing fishing, a jungle-elegant property, delicious meals, and great bars/pool to kick back and unwind after long days at sea. Richard and the entire team do an incredible job making this an unforgettable experience. If you are lucky enough to be in a position to stay at Tropic Star, don't hesitate: life is too short and experiences like this are what it's all about :)
Read more
Read less
Date of stay: February 2020
Location
Cleanliness
Service
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Responded 30 Apr 2020
Dear P4638AIjonathanw,
Thank you very much for your five-star review. You certainly sum up the magic of this place. We really appreciate your kind words regarding our operation and team. We hope to see you soon for a return visit.
All the best, Mallory and Richard White
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
This is truly a wonderful 5 star resort. The entire staff treats everyone as if you are the only person at the resort. Ross, Gabrielle, Brandon, Richard and all the staff go out of their way to make your stay with them absolutely perfect. Of course you go there to fish and it is absolutely the best bill fishing in the world, along with catching tuna, dolphin, rooster fish, etc. No one is ever disappointed with fishing at Tropic Star. If you don’t fish there are plenty of activities to do—paddle board, hiking, private beach, pool, recreation room, etc. ABSOLUTELY THE BEST!
Read more
Read less
Date of stay: July 2024Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:If you like exercising be sure to get the Palace or Presidential houses. They’re gorgeous and...
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Responded 07 Aug 2024
Dear Escape58427625926,
We're thrilled you had a great time on your recent trip to Tropic Star Lodge. Thank you for taking the time to leave your review and mention our wonderful staff by name. The fishing has been so fun this season - congratulations on all your special catches this last trip. The new recreation room is so much fun, and it's been a great addition to all the activities in addition to fishing that we offer. Thanks again for your review and the kind words. We can't wait to see you back at Tropic Star Lodge soon!
All the best wishes,
Richard and Mallory White
Read more
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.