Panama City Hotels 🛎️ Avoiding a Spot of Bother in the Concrete Jungle 🚧
The plan was, shall we say, optimistic. Four days to kick off our Panamanian escapade in Panama City, followed by a triumphant two-day return engagement to wave cheerio. Six nights, two hotels. Simple, right?
Wrong. Because when it comes to Panama City, selecting your hotel is less about choosing the best reviews and more about locating yourself in the right area to avoid arriving at a scene that looks suspiciously like a gritty, street-level crime drama.
Highlights
- The Two-Minute Divide 👮
- Exe Oriental 🛎️ Beacon of Safety
- The Centroamericano 🛎️
- Airport Transfer Price Variability
- Top 14 ✅ Panama City Activities
- Fly from Panama City to Bocas
- Our Complete Panama Itinerary
- What You’ll Need for the Jungle
- All Hotel Deals in Panama City
- Our Panama Impressions
Skyscrapers & Shadows 👮 The 2-Minute Divide
On arrival in Pamana City, we quickly learned that if you stray even slightly from the relatively small, affluent high-rise cluster you’re suddenly sharing a postcode with an abundance of heavily-policed, run-down backstreets.
It’s an exercise in geographical whiplash, where the line between ‘upmarket’ and ‘utterly slummy’ is thinner than my patience with self-checkout machines. The thought of returning alone to one of those districts after a late-night rum-and-something session is enough to have you packing your bags and ringing for the nearest black cab. If there were black cabs, of course.
Exe Oriental 🛎️ Beacon of Civilised Snoozing
Our first Panama City hotel was the Exe Oriental, a centrally-located establishment.
We had, naturally, pre-arranged an airport pick-up. Did they turn up? Nope. We ended up having to sort out a ride ourselves, adding some pre-holiday kerfuffle to the proceedings.
But the Exe Oriental itself was a remarkably pleasant surprise. We were ushered into a room so spacious it could have comfortably hosted a minor social gathering. And the bed? We can honestly say it was the most comfortable mattress we have ever had the pleasure of collapsing onto.
We were fully equipped: minibar fridge, a coffee machine that actually worked, and those fluffy white bathrobes that instantly make you feel pampered.
Exe Oriental – Panama City
We gazed out over an impressive elevated city view, a shimmering panorama of glass and concrete, while the bathroom was large enough to execute a small, complicated dance.
Breakfast was a truly exceptional buffet affair, and the staff were efficient, friendly, and genuinely helpful. The only minor inconvenience? The reception area was curiously devoid of any tourist pamphlets, maps, or city information. As if they expected us to telepathise our itinerary: the cheek.
Location-wise, it was spot on. Just around the corner we had the Iglesia Del Carmen metro and, crucially for the midnight snack requirements, the large and well-stocked 24/7 Rey’s Supermarket.
We could get to the seafront promenade in a mere fifteen minutes, and for the genuinely keen, the famed Seafood Market was only thirty minutes’ walk down that same stretch.
Exe Oriental – Panama City
Key Takeaways (A.K.A., Why We Loved It):
- The Bed: Truly world-class; we slept like mildly sedated royalty.
- Amenities: Fully stocked, including bathrobes and proper coffee-making facilities.
- Location: Superb access to the metro and a 24/7 supermarket.
- Price Point: A steal at $66 per night, including taxes and that top-notch breakfast.
If the opportunity presents itself to return to Panama City, you can bet your bottom dollar we would be checking straight back into the Exe Oriental.
We can’t speak highly enough of the place.
The Centroamericano 🛎️ A Study in Diminished Returns
Now, for the inevitable descent into farce. The second of our Panama City hotels, booked for a two-night curtain call, was the Hotel Centroamericano.
We were not so lucky this time around. This establishment is situated in a rather seedier, decidedly less salubrious part of the city, only a short hop from metro Loteria.
The area is one of those spots where you don’t need to wander far before you’re squarely in the midst of the aforementioned city slum areas, lurking in the surrounding backstreets. We saw for ourselves areas thick with police presence, a sure sign that things are perhaps not as chipper as they might be.
It’s a sobering sight and a stark reminder that Panama City is a city of two halves, separated by a rather precarious line of paving slabs.
Centroamericano Hotel – Panama City
The hotel itself, structurally, is respectable enough, a perfectly adequate lump of concrete, but for the $44 per night we shelled out, we genuinely felt it was overpriced. We had booked, a solid three months in advance, a standard room complete with a balcony and various advertised facilities.
So, what did we receive upon arrival?
The Reality Check (A.K.A., The List of Grievances):
- The Balcony Fiasco: The room they allocated us was decidedly not the balcony room we had booked. We were given a truly earnest apology—apparently, they had given our room to someone else. Standard procedure in my travel experience, I find.
- The View: Instead, we were relegated to a poky little box of a room with a minuscule window overlooking the rear alley. Thrilling stuff.
- The Facilities: Advertised amenities? Scarce. The bed? Small, double-sized, and distinctly uncomfortable, forcing us to sleep in a sort of rigid, back-friendly salute.
- The Water Crisis: Crucially, there was absolutely no hot water. We were left to endure showers that felt less like cleansing and more like a brief, chilling baptism.
Breakfast wasn’t included in the price. You could purchase this separately for $5 per person. From what we saw of their breakfast, you would be better off just getting coffee and snacks from the small shops nearby.
Slums with police security close to Centroamericano
We would suggest giving this hotel a wide berth unless you enjoy a character-building experience involving lukewarm ablutions and the faint whiff of disappointment.
All Hotel Deals in Panama City
Airport Transfers & Price Variability
We did manage, at least, to negotiate a cheaper taxi transfer back to the airport from the Centroamericano. It set us back $25 for the two of us, a slight saving on the $30 we’d coughed up on our way in four weeks prior. A small victory, but a victory nonetheless.
Iglesia Del Carmen Cathedral
Choosing the right Panama City hotel, then, is a subtle art. You’re not just booking a room; you’re securing a sliver of sanity, a little temporary haven of civility in a sprawling metropolis of stark contrasts.
Do your due diligence, look at the map very carefully, and if the price seems too good to be true, it’s because you’ll probably be needing a full police escort to get to your door.
The Exe Oriental is one to bookmark.
The Centroamericano? Well, let’s just say we won’t be exchanging Christmas cards.
If you enjoyed Panama City Hotels, check out our Panama Roundtrip. You may also like:
Spice up your inbox…
… with discounted hotel deals, cost-saving travel itineraries and SandSpice escapades! 😉
