Balboa District Vacations & Trips from $873

The room was spacious and clean. Breakfast options were good, and the most important part for me was the airport shuttle, same was on time. The staff was very friendly and efficient.

Don’t expect to be able to rest. A beautiful historic hotel in an unbeatable location BUT the hotel’s atrium is very noisy, so don’t expect to be able to rest if in an interior facing room. No late sleep ins, no napping after morning excursions and no “getting an early night”. Daily live entertainment starts as early as 8.30 am, doesn’t end until 11.00 pm and the entertainers themselves control the volume of their speakers. When we called Reception one night to complain we simply got a chuckle. Ironically, our family of 5 were assigned two “family” rooms (on different floors) yet both rooms faced the atrium (still querying why family rooms would be these?!). Based on other reviews, when we booked we specifically requested exterior rooms but of course you don’t always get what you ask for. Our stay was dampened by this and, to be honest, we are still disappointed. While we’ll be back to Casco Viejo, we will stay at a different hotel.

The room service was good. We got no discount voucher as promised for anything. The refrigerator was never stocked. We booked for 3 and only got 2 bottles of water at any given time. They were short on towels and rags. No valet service was available to assist with our bags in the morning of our departure as they do not have any available for early hours. The outlet mall was not bad but most stores were unoccupied so the selections were extremely limited. When we wanted to book our tours, that desk was unmanned several times before we actually got through.

The hotel is beautiful. The staff was attentive and always professional. My room was very clean and comfortable and my view of the city from my room was top tier. Breakfast was great with a lot of options. I will be staying at the Riu each time I visit Panamá.