Tinamou Cottage

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  • Boquete, Jaramillo Abajo
    Boquete, Panama
    +44 507-720-3852
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ext212
ext212
First Reviewer
5 out of 5
Avg. Member Rating
2
Reviews
4
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The Place to Stay in Boquete

  • April 2, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Tleonard458 from Ottawa, Ontario
Tinamou cottages

Three generations of my family spent three nights in the two-bedroom Great Tinamou Cottage on the Finca Habbus de Kwie coffee estate. Everyone of all ages was more than pleased with everything. The hosts, Terry and Hans van der Vooren, have created a perfect, European-style boutique B&B on a jungle hillside in Boquete, Panama. We arrived after dark, but the path from the main house to our cottage was lit, and Hans and Terry thoughtfully provided a flashlight with the house key, as well.

The cottage was squeaky clean, with friendly housekeeping and fresh towels and soap daily. The rooms were tastefully designed and nicely lit. Each room is spacious with custom-designed furniture and cabinetry. The beds and pillows were quite comfortable and the linens were soft. The kitchen was fully-equipped, but we barely used it except to refrigerate drinks and leftovers. We also did not use the safe or the television. The only negative was low water pressure, and Hans assured us they are aware of the issue and working diligently to solve it.

The breakfast was exceptionally fresh (bread and eggs were still warm daily), and copious. The daily spread included fresh linens, cutlery, and china; two types of breads, rolls, muffins, or buns; cold cut meats and sliced cheeses; boiled eggs; homemade yoghurt; fresh fruit salads; jam and butter; tea, coffee, and juice. We did think the quantity of food was a bit wasteful, since no one could eat that much in one sitting.

The grounds were amazing, with several well-marked trails. We do recommend you rent a 4-wheel drive vehicle, as there is construction going on several miles beyond the estate. The large trucks have damaged the road, making the surface impassable for smaller cars.
Editor Pick

Tinamou Cottage

  • January 15, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by ext212 from New York, New York
Tinamou Cottage

Hans and Terry van der Vooren moved from Holland to Panama in 1998 and took over a small coffee farm in the mountains of Boquete. They organize nature and coffee excursions but they also have one cottage on their farm available to rent for US$50 a night. In Tinamou Cottage, we had a cozy living room, a fully-equipped kitchen and a bathroom with warm water. We ate our breakfast out on the porch for an extra $5 per person each day if the satellite TV did not keep us up too late the previous night. Since they grow their own coffee, you'll always start your mornings right with a cup or two before venturing out to the mountains.

Their farm is huge and you can follow the trail markers if you want to walk around and do a short 30-minute hike. We did this one afternoon after a nap but we got lost. Hans said that maybe he put the markers too high that they were unnoticeable; he is Dutch and at least six feet tall. They also have at least three dogs and if they’re not keeping you company during breakfast, they’ll surely join you when you hike.

Tinamou Cottage is a few minutes’ drive away from the main town of Boquete and easily accessible by a 4-wheel drive. When we arrived in Boquete from the city of David, we called Hans and he picked us up near the plaza. Each night thereafter, we just made sure we got a pickup truck cab to take us back. We also hiked back one afternoon; it took forever with our unexercised legs but we made it.

In the morning, birds make music in the forest. In fact, over 120 species have been identified on their farm. (The name tinamou comes from the quail-like birds which live in Central and South America.) At night, all we’d hear are the occasional water pressure pump outside and the rare thump on our roof, most likely from a monkey throwing fruit at us. Because Tinamou Cottage sits on the van der Vooren property up in the mountains, our three nights there were our most peaceful throughout our stay in Panama.

Hans and Terry were very accommodating and made sure we had everything we needed. [Please see my separate reviews of their coffee tour and forest hike.]

From journal Boquete in the Mist

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