Holiday Inn At The Panama Canal

The accommodations are adequate, it's very clean, everybody is so patient with non native speakers. However, 2 people stood out. David and Myra at the bar at nights! They both took the time to talk with me (semi fluent) and my wife and daughter neither can speak Spanish. They both cooked my daughter outside food, cut up a pineapple for us, shared local knowledge, shared pictures with us, and made us feel like family!! I will go wherever they are working!!! Bosses reading this; give them a raise!!!!

Spent a week with a school based trip so didn’t spend much time in the room but had evenings at the hotel bar for food and drinks. David was there most nights to assist with orders and general conversation and I cannot speak more highly of him, Mayra, and all the employees we came across. They were all so welcoming and went out of their way to help with anything we needed, even with my very limited Spanish. I would definitely return for the people, even if the location to nightlife wasn’t the most convenient.

My wife and 2 teen boys stayed 3 nights here while visiting the city. The rooms were nice but a bit dated and could use a refresh. Breakfast was good each day. Nothing special but nothing to complain about. The pool was nice for our boys and the weight room got the job done! The location was the best part. Felt safe walking the local area and were not far from the canal and Casco Viejo. Walked a few times over to the City of Knowledge to get a bite to eat and that was a nice area! Service was very good and all staff were friendly and professional! Would stay again if in the area!

This turned out to be an ideal location for the second leg of our trip to Panama. We used this hotel to explore the Panama Canal Miraflores visitor’s center (we took the 10am free shuttle from the hotel and actually it was so close that we walked back) and we spent a separate entire day at the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve - take an uber + buy combo tickets there for activities instead of booking a tour. We also took an uber (less than $10 USD) down to the BioMuseum/Amador causeway. We enjoyed the little pool every afternoon when we returned to the hotel to cool off. We have diamond status so the breakfast buffet was included (and generous). We could see the ships entering and exiting the PC from our hotel room. We were delighted to discover that this holiday inn is located on the former US military base that managed the Panama Canal, so we walked all over. The US Embassy has placards everywhere to explain the buildings you see. We happened upon a music festival the first evening we were here, and there are many restaurants a short walk from the hotel (I am not talking about the ones right next door - I mean the ones at a little plaza that is a ten minute walk away). We also went to an excellent museum in the former commander’s home. Now this area has become an innovation and tech portal and the UN is housing several agencies here. Absolutely fascinating to see Fort Clayton’s history and its new life as “La Ciudad del Saber” - the city of knowledge. There is also a little convenience store at the plaza ten minute walk away and that was a great value to pick up fresh fruit and drinks and yogurts, etc that we kept in our mini fridge. Reminder everything in Panama is paid in USD. Highly recommend this hotel if you want to deep dive into the history of the Panama Canal.