Central Hotel Panama

Customer Ratings & Reviews

TripAdvisor Traveler Rating

2235 reviews

• 

  10/10

  The food was fabulous, the service was fantastic, and we were so sad when our final day came. Such a beautiful hotel and full of history.

  Aug 20, 2026
• 

  Nice hotel, but beware

  Firstly - it’s a lovely hotel in a great location. That I can’t fault. However, I was charged twice for the same room in error and the hotel has elected to keep all the money and has refused to figure out a solution. So I’m now back in the UK, having spent 2x the amount. The hotel claimed I booked two reservations - one prepaid and one not paid. They failed to inform me of a double booking on their system and insisted I paid the $800 on the second booking, despite me saying I had prepaid for the room. Totally outrageous behaviour, and the email follow up has been extremely dismissive. I didn’t want to write this review publicly, but given I am being ignored on email, I felt this was best. So bear this in mind, folks. Feels like a con.

  Aug 19, 2026
• 

  This is not a 5 star hotel

  The hotel is situated in the middle of Casco Vieja and probably at the best location and nicest square . It is a beautiful colonial building with a lot of history to it Rooms are decent, beds good and clean. Also , airconditioning working very well. This is important as you need this. Without impossible to stay in the city! Breakfast is of surprisingly good quality for Latin America with even an egg station. Very strange , there is no drinking water available and is charged an extra 2 dollar ! There is milk for free or fake juices So far the good stuff. The reception desk is only hosted by 1 employee, that is not enough so always there is a line of people waiting. And long cues…. Aside the staff is not very friendly and seems not well trained. This is far away from what you expect from 5 star hotel . At night they play live music (very low quality artist) in the central court yard at a very loud volume. Many of the rooms look over the central court yard and you heard the music bagging into your room until mid night. This is a reason alone to not stay in this hotel anymore and completely off with regards to 5 stars - no idea why they do this !! Stop the music and only play this in the bar and on the rooftop!!

  Aug 17, 2026
• 

  5* hotel 1* customer service

  We stayed at The Central Hotel twice within the space of one week. Our first stay was just for one night, and we had a genuinely lovely welcome from Barbara, who was incredibly friendly and helpful. We enjoyed the hotel so much that we decided to return four days later for a longer stay after our short break in Bocas del Toro. Unfortunately, our second stay was a completely different experience. When we arrived for our second stay at around 1:30pm from the airport, we were aware that check-in was from 3pm onwards, so we completely understood that our room would not yet be ready. We simply wanted to leave our luggage. However, even at this point the welcome was dismissive and unfriendly. When we returned after 3pm to check in, the attitude remained the same. We were given no information about breakfast times, where breakfast was served, or any of the other basic information you would normally expect when checking into a hotel. This was particularly disappointing given that our first experience at the hotel had been so positive. On our first departure, we had also found some of the staff to be rather unfriendly and surly. We initially put this down to perhaps having had a long night shift. However, when we returned four days later, it became clear that this was unfortunately more widespread and the norm. Almost every member of staff we encountered during our second stay was unfriendly and showed very little warmth or customer service. Had we known what the second stay would be like, we would have chosen another hotel in Panama City. The room was also disappointing. We were given a room with a very small window low down on the ground, which made the room feel quite claustrophobic. When we asked whether we could change rooms, we were told that they knew it wasn’t a particularly good room and that we should come back the following day if we wanted to change. The air conditioning was also old and very noisy. Breakfast itself was fine, with a nice selection of fruit and an omelette station. However, the service was again disappointing. Staff appeared to be wearing earpieces and waiting for instruction rather than walking around looking to see who needed coffee. At times it felt the staff were laughing and sharing private jokes about guests. It is such a shame because our first stay had left us with a completely different impression of the hotel, and we were genuinely happy to return. Unfortunately, the second stay highlighted a consistent lack of warmth, communication and basic customer service. The hotel has the facilities and location to provide a very good experience, but the staff need to be much more welcoming and attentive. Clear information at check-in, a friendly greeting, and a more proactive approach to guest service would make a huge difference. Overall, although this may be a five-star hotel in terms of its official rating, our experience was one-star customer service. If we return to Panama City, we would unfortunately choose another hotel.

  Aug 15, 2026
• 

  Admiring that grand double staircase

  I don’t remember how many times I’ve been there when it was a shabby hotel then derelicted and that staircase remained there, majestic now has a full life, vibrant with people among staff and tourists mingling around once again as it was back in late XIX century and beginning XX century. This is a hotel with historical guests and events, like the first flag of the nation being exhibited first time from one of those balconies and among the guests who stayed there were the 26th President of the US (T. Roosevelt), Ferdinand de Lesseps and other intellectuals. No, sadly I did not stay there but ate at one of their restaurants, the Central Palm Garden which is located precisely in the atrium facing those stairs. Ordered a Cobb Salad (17,00) which was very large, with a bit of everything, liked most of it with the exception of the bacon pieces… the service wasn’t bad, was friendly but slow paced when they came to take the order until when they brought the food, took more time than expected for a salad (sat there for over 30 minutes). The ambiance is good with live music playing guitar classics, loved it!

  Aug 15, 2026