Central Hotel Panamá Casco Viejo

Central Hotel is perfectly situated in the heart of Casco Viejo, which makes it an easy destination for walking the city. The historic hotel is gorgeous with a pianist in the central area throughout the day and evening. The food is good and the 3-course dinner option that can be added to your reservation was excellent! The staff at the door and reception were friendly and helpful. I would have given this a 5-star review, except that our group had multiple issues with the group reservations/accounting department and the lovely folks at reception weren’t able to resolve it without accounting doing their job. Euclides and Alfredo both did their best to help me resolve the issues and to explain why I accounting was so delayed in responding to my emails. Euclides also did a great job of moving me to a quieter room the second time I stayed there, as the special events held downstairs reverberate though the rooms on the interior part of the hotel. Edward, with Dynamic Transport, handled all of our transportation needs to and from the hotel. He is reliable, honest and provides great customer service. used his services for transportation to and from PTY and for a Panamá City tour with a large group. Whether you’re a solo traveler or organizing a large group, Edward can help you with all of your transportation needs. Overall, I enjoyed my stay at Central Hotel. If they can improve their accounting to be more transparent and communicative, I would give them a higher review and stay there again.

We spent four nights here in the oldest hotel in Panama. Very nicely kept up, lots of friendly staff, and comfortable clean rooms. The five floors of rooms surround an open courtyard interior where the restaurant and sitting area is. Very cool and dramatic stairs as well. We were on the third floor with a balcony overlooking some of the old colonial buildings that were still being renovated. The hotel is in the middle of Caija Vieja making it very walkable to the restaurants, shops and sights in that area. Very safe area in Panama City for walking around – even at night. The breakfast was very good with the normal offerings as well as an omelet bar, fresh fruit and tasty pastries. We arranged transportation through the hotel prior to our arrival which included airport pick-up (flawless), a ride to El Valle de Anton and a pick-up to return to the City three days later. The transportation was provided via Dynamic Transport with the owner, Eduardo, as the friendly and informative driver. We sat outside across the street in the plaza at the café operated by the hotel on our first evening and enjoyed a cervesa while watching all the people walking around – the evening rain had produced a perfectly warm non-humid evening for our introduction to the city. One evening we went to the roof top pool and bar to enjoy a drink and marvel at the nighttime beauty of the Panama City skyline. The on-site bar had a big television so I asked nicely to have them tune in a special soccer game for me and when I asked what was the best Panama beer, three employees and a customer all shouted in unison – Balboa!

We were very pleased with our stay at the Central hotel. The service from the front desk, concierge, musicians, restaurant staff was excellent. The breakfast options were plentiful and the food very good. The restaurant food was also excellent. The room (junior suite) bed was very comfortable and clean. My only complaint, which is common amongst most hotels, is the wifi can be slow which is annoying. The shower was also small since it was a later addition but overall the bathroom was large and nice. Water pressure was excellent and the hot water was steady without any fluctuation.

Hotel Central Panama was the perfect home base for my birthday celebration. I booked 18–20 rooms, and we had 30 people flying in for the event. From start to finish, the staff was incredibly professional, attentive, and accommodating, working closely with me to ensure everything went smoothly and that my birthday was truly special.||I especially want to acknowledge Daryeli and Edwin, who were phenomenal in managing all of the logistics. Their organization, responsiveness, and care made coordinating such a large group feel seamless.||The hotel itself is regal and beautiful. There is lovely live music daily, a stunning and elegant staircase that’s constantly being photographed, and an amazing rooftop with delicious food and a fantastic view. The location on Independence Plaza is ideal—there’s always something happening right outside, which adds to the magic of staying in Casco Viejo.||Breakfast was included and absolutely amazing each morning, which was a huge plus for a group our size.||If you’re visiting Casco Viejo, I highly recommend staying at Hotel Central at least once. I would absolutely stay here again.

Hotel Central Panama was the perfect home base for my birthday celebration. I booked 18–20 rooms, with 30 guests flying in, and the entire experience exceeded expectations. From start to finish, the staff was incredibly professional, attentive, and accommodating. They worked closely with me to ensure everything went smoothly and that my birthday celebration was truly special. I want to especially recognize Daryeli and Edwin, who handled all of the logistics with exceptional care, organization, and responsiveness. Coordinating a group this size is no small task, and they made it feel effortless. The hotel itself is regal and beautiful, with daily live music, an elegant staircase that constantly draws people in for photos, and a stunning rooftop offering delicious food and wonderful views. The location on Independence Plaza is unbeatable—there was always something happening just outside the doors, which added to the vibrant Casco Viejo experience. The complimentary breakfast was outstanding each morning and a major bonus for our group. If you’re visiting Casco Viejo, I highly recommend staying at Hotel Central Panama at least once. I would absolutely stay here again.

I was given a gift to stay at this hotel for a few nights for free. As a gift, you take it and go. Unfortunately, from the moment I got there until I left, it was very complicated. As the hotel does not allow early check-in, not even 20 minutes early I had them hold my luggage. When I went to check-in, the dude that was responsible for getting my luggage could not find it. It must of took him like almost 7-8 minutes to find my luggage. I did not know they had so many luggages in storage. Then while I was relaxing in my room, it turns out that walls are fairly thin, so you can hear the people in the next room getting busy. As for my bathroom, I had report that water was licking for the floor above. The cleaning person had sent a maintenance person come and check it, but nobody came to clean the water on the floor. I think the only positive was interacting with a middle aged lady with dark hair and dark eyes at the front desk. I cannot remember her name. She was kind and friendly. For a hotel charging such a high nightly rate for a room, I imagine that one would expect the hotel to have thicker walls, but it seems to be wishful thinking.

Very disappointing stay. The beds were extremely uncomfortable, and I woke up with severe back and neck pain. The room was not clean—we saw cockroaches, and the shower doors leaked. Management was inflexible and not customer-service oriented. We were also overcharged for a fifth room, and attempts to address the issue were not handled professionally. The food was below average, rooms were small, and the hotel is not family-friendly, especially for a family of five. Overall, this was poor value for the price. I would not recommend this hotel. Stay at your own risk.

Beautiful, oldest hotel in the Casco Viejo District, Panama City. Our room was gorgeous. Breakfast was excellent. The staff on the reception when we checked out on Sunday 7 December were excellent, a wonderful lady offered to take some photos and enthused passionately about the history of the hotel. She should be highly commended, had she been on the reception when we arrived we would have felt more comfortable spending time at the hotel. The check in process was poor, almost to the point of being aggressive. We arrived early on Saturday 6 December, about 11:00, having flown in to Panama City from San Jose, Costa Rica. We wanted to store our luggage before adventuring around, we knew we could only book in at 15:00. We asked about the Panama Canal Museum and the iMax theatre experience, literally wondering how best to get there. The person who was serving us had started the checking in process but was extremely dismissive, he said he knew nothing about the iMax etc, had never heard of it and rudely handed us over to the person next to him, who very quietly continued our check in and baggage storage process. It completely put us off spending any time in the hotel, he was almost aggressive in his approach. Lovely hotel, could do with ensuring that all staff are more customer centric.