Novotel Panama City

My sister and I had a much better vacation after booking a hotel here. The room space is very nice and clean. The soundproofing is also quite good, the receptionists are great and always friendly. There are almost all the services of gym, restaurant, ... I really like this hotel. If you come to Panama for tourism, try to experience here, it will not disappoint you.

I would say that Novotel was the best hotel I have stayed in the El Cangrejo area. I have stayed in six different properties in the past in El Cangrejo, and Novotel is a level above those other properties. I have paid as little as $40 for a room in the area, and Novotel was $88 with my retiree discount, so I would expect a better experience. The room was clean and comfortable with a king sized bed. The bath area was clean, spacious, and with good hot water. The breakfast buffet was also superior to the other hotels in the area. There was someone there to make an omelette upon request, with a choice of ingredients...something none of the other properties I've stayed at had. There were also freshly prepared fruit juices, such as orange, melon, watermelon and some others. The location was walkable to the areas of El Cangrejo that I like to patronize, and also near the Via Argentina Metro station.

The hotel has 2 major things going for it: 1. The staff. They are very friendly and helpful. 2. The location. It is located in a really good area of the city. There are several restaurants and bars within walking distance. Cons- 1. The gym would be adequate if the treadmills didn't constantly cut you off mid-exercise! We were there for 8 days and didn't realise the gym had air-conditioning because it was never on and that made working out a terrible experience. It was finally turned on by a staff member on our 6th day and the performance of the aircon was no better than when it was off. 2. There's no provision for tea in the rooms. This may just be a quirky European thing, maybe tea is not a thing in this region but Panama is a tourist destination so they have people from all over the world visiting. They have coffee but the coffee is so bad you would need to use 2 sachets to get a good caffeine hit. 3. The rooms have no black out curtains so there's no privacy from external views and this is significant as the hotel is located in the middle of other high rise buildings. You literally have to undress in the dark or go in the bathroom for some privacy at night. It also means you can't have a lie-in since daylight hits you directly in the morning, although slightly muted by the flimsy curtain they have on the window. All in all, it's an acceptable place to stay, but probably won't return there on my next trip to Panama.