Review: Waldorf Astoria Panama

Well I would find this awful, although I guess others may like it. Did you have any indication about the bathroom setup before you finalized your reservation?

maybe this is why it only cost $169 per night at a waldorf astoria..... they should have just branded it as a 4 points or le meridien or sheraton... the decor and fixture and fitting do not look luxurious at all... looks like a 3-4 star hotel!

i do not get any "luxe" feeling whatsoever from the pictures.. the food looks poorly made with minimal presentation... even for a 4 points...

shame on this hotel... a disgrace to the wonderful waldorf brand...

Hi Ben- I read in a blog somewhere that the American Trade Hotel in Casco Viejo is great. I was in Panama a few years ago and stayed at the Marriott in another area but found Casco Viejo much more charming. Have you been to Nicaragua yet? I loved the people, the food, and the prices (not so much Managua). I can't wait to go to Colombia, also, after reading your blogs.

Going to Panama on a vacation run with my wife in 5 weeks. I'm assuming you made your reservation by calling Virtuoso. How did you go about getting your Hilton HHonors # associated with your reservation ahead of time? Will Virtuoso do that or did you have to call Hilton HHonors once your reservation was made?

@ Jim F. -- A Virtuoso agent should be able to add your HHonors number to the reservation.

@ Kate -- Nope, though I suspect that was due to the room "upgrade." I bet standard rooms have a normal setup.

I've stayed here as well in one of the penthouse condos. You definitely hit it on the head! In the suite I was in you could see into the bathroom from the living room!

Some of what you experienced with check in waits, room service execution and timing is just Panama being Panama. It's a mix of luxury being new to them and the culture of "Panama Time." When a Panamanian says they will arrive in 30 minutes, you might as well go take a 90 minute walk.

I quite like the Westin Playa Bonita. Its about 20 minutes from the city though and not ideal for a quick overnight layover.

$40 for a taxi?! I paid $39 for a car transfer to Le Meridien (right around the corner from the WA), arranged through the hotel and charged to my bill ($37 on the way back). I think you definitely overpaid.

Hopefully this stay didnt ruin Panama for you. I was also very pleasantly surprised by Panama City, it's also a lot more affordable than you mentioned, lovely multi course dinners for $25, etc....

I highly recommend the Hard Rock. I usually dont like them as a brand, especially in an urban location but this one was stellar.

I stayed here about a year ago and was pretty disappointed. Both of the rooms that we stayed in were somewhat worn. We had to switch rooms due to a broken TV. The biggest disappointment was the stained linens. Towels, bed sheets and carpets all had odd rust streaks on them. Housekeeping did not seem so organized or concerned about attention to detail. Soap and glasses were just thrown on the counter and not neatly arranged (you can see this in your photos too)

Service was very slow and disorganized at both reception and room service. Breakfast was unmemorable and not particularly fresh.

Basically, I think this property reflects really poorly on the W-A brand and is very much a 'get what you pay for' situation.

You are one ungrateful jew sclappig.
You paided less than $70 for you and your homosexual friend and you still complain.
Your perhaps the most miserable traveller i have read about.
Did you pinch the soaps and anything else that wasnt bolted diwn?

No, he is just another miserable tightwad MILLENNIAL.

I did this same mileage run in January and stayed at the Waldorf as well. Ben's photos and write-up are pretty generous/flattering. There isn't much luxurious about the property. It also has a weird overly-perfumed fragrance pumped in throughout, moreso than you'd even find in a Vegas property.

Compared to the options in the area, it appeared to me that this is as good as it gets. But definitely don't go in expecting a fancy luxury property with service to match.

Funny thing about hate talk, it's not as funny as it's pathetic. How miserable one must be on the inside to project such venom...

@tutti fruits What kind of cunt are you ?

I have gone twice and stayed at the Hilton, heading there again this week. Each time as a Diamond upgraded to a huge suite, including 2 full bathrooms, kitchen, living room,etc. The non bedroom space alone must have been the size of 5 of the Hilton Garden Inn rooms I stayed at the night before at JFK. My rate has been around $100 a night all times.

I took a taxi and it was $30, not sure why yours was $40. On the return the flight was at 6am, so I just took the car service from the hotel to ensure it was there and ready, that was $40. This also ensured they were ready to check me out in the morning and get us on our way to the airport quickly.

With the Hilton you get great water views (even better views from the junior suite), free full breakfast buffet for Diamonds (I guess gold too?), room upgrades, and a nice hotel. There is an exec lounge, albeit small, with waters and a few drinks and very few snacks all day, but also some food, alcohol and desserts in the evening. There are restaurants not too far to walk to, a casino in the same building (if that is your thing) and a Ruths Chris in the lobby.

I looked at WA but didn't see any reason to stay there. After reading your review, I am really glad I didn't stay there!

Oh, once you get into the city, taxis are plentiful and much cheaper. If you are walking along the road they will honk at you to try to get your attention and for you to get a ride. It is pretty funny. I think we paid under $5 for the Hilton to the old town area, and the guy gave us a tour of the whole thing before dropping us off.

You didn't mention the pool. It's the best part about this hotel!

That bathroom sounds almost exactly like the Andaz 5th Ave., which I hated, but seem to recall you loved.

That property sounds to me like a WA in name only. However, one also needs to consider the country and its resources. From the pictures, it seems to me like it is opulence that only few locals would be able to afford (perhaps justifying the classification of WA). If is looking to to have a true WA experience, how about trying the Trianon Palace Versailles or the Rome Cavalieri? After all, not all Park Hyatts are like PH Paris-Vendome!

To those throwing around puerile homophobic insults, in case you have not noticed and may have wandered in here by accident, this blog is about exchanging views on travel and loyalty and about how to get the biggest bang out of one's travel dollars. Disagreeing with the host on these issues, as I almost always do, is one thing. To disparage the host about his sexual orientation is way beyond the pale. I am all for free speech, but not when it is used to be gratuitously offensive, is off topic and is aimed at disparaging someone, our host, who definitely does not deserved it.

G'day.

Does Ford work?

Enforcer i dont have a cunt unlike your mouth can i fuck that labia lip of a mouth you have
Mwahhhhhhh

@tuttifruits appears to be in the closet. Come out boy. We dont care about your sexual orientation. And whats the anti semitism? Strange.

@lucky for strange hotel rooms and bathrooms, you have to check out the Vivanta by Taj Whitefield, Bangalore.They have bathrooms which overlook a central courtyard. Sadly they have placed regular clear glass over there. If you dont pull down the curtains, everyone can take a gander at you.

747 always
Im by no means in the closest
Give me a big black uncut cock anyday.
Im just bored of slappigs penny pinching comments on hotel and flights that he paided virtually nothing for. Point in case this review.
If i was a carrier or hotel brand i would ban slappig.

Well 747always that should shut you up!

Seriously, who designs these new hotel rooms? It SUCKS!

I stayed at a Hampton Inn this weekend that was undergoing a renovation. I was in a new room, as in I was the first person to sleep in that bed, first person to take a leak in that toilet... No dresser nor drawers to put anything and it had a sliding barn door to the bathroom. The barn door had a large gap between the door & frame, so whatever you were doing in there was going to make its presence (both noise & smell) into the hotel room. Bonus: The barn door also kept sliding back open by itself.

At least it didn't have the exhibitionist shower

I was in the Hilton Zhuzhou this week and one of the rooms had a window floor to ceiling in the shower. There was a blind you could pull down, but you could also shower on the 38th floor with much of the city watching!