Blu Hostel — Hotel in Bella Vista

This will be a long review so I apologize in advance but my intent is for anyone looking to stay here to understand what you will experience.

First I am American tourist who moved in this building in March of 2025 and I am going to touch on my experience when getting here, the service and the way I was treated by the staff(The cleaning lady was the only one that seemed nice). When I first got here I didn’t have hot water for 3 days and I mentioned this more than once to them but for whatever reason it took 3 days, 2 burners on the stove didn’t work(Still doesn’t work and its September as I am leaving soon), they have an ant issue and I was having internet connectivity issues and come to find out there wasn’t a router in my room. So I found that interesting and I thought to myself “How can they not know there wasn’t a router?” And it dawned on me, they never checked my room prior to me moving in. This was confirmed when one day I left my key in my room and when I went to the desk they didnt know if they had a spare key which tells me they do not have a process of checking rooms after tenets.

Now let’s talk about how they treated me differently(I am african American for reference but I’ve seen caucasians get treated the same way in this building). The service is TERRIBLE. Granted we can say this about a good bit of Panama City but this place basically said “Hold my beer”. It is THAT bad. The staff is lazy, no other way to put it. Always on their phones, not attentive to people, no professionalism AT ALL. I have brought up many issues to them and it takes forever to receive proper assistance(I would have to write an essay on this if I listed every issue). They also tried to keep $20 of my $120 dollar deposit because they told me there was a “Cleaning fee for the rooms in the hotel” which clearly doesn’t make any sense and this wasn’t in the agreement(Which wasn’t a contract but a written agreement through WhatsApp messenger) and on top of that I agreed to pay $650 monthly for rent(To be honest I wouldn’t have stayed here if it was my first choice but as an entrepreneur and being kind of vulnerable I didnt have many choices) and 2 months into the agreement they started up charging me for using debit even when that wasn’t brought up in the agreement. Talk about doing dirty business.

Conclusion- Do not stay here if you have the money to go elsewhere. I can admit you get most of what you need but the experience isn’t a great experience to be completely honest. The building needs new management DESPERATELY because the staff reflects leadership and the leadership is extremely unsatisfactory to be blunt and honest about it. The location is pretty good as there are many things in walking distance, El Congrejo is a great location but there are greedy people who do business and this building reflects that mindset. Which everyone well upon their endeavors.

SN- My name is David Gaines Jr and I am not afraid to put my name on what I stand for and by. My IG is “DivineG0d33” if you need any more information on...

· Blu Hostel is highly recommended. We booked a room with a self-contained kitchen and private bathroom, which suited our needs perfectly. The little kitchen had a full gas stove (and oven), fridge/freezer, sink, basic pots, pan, crockery, and cutlery so perfect to make small meals in the room. The bathroom (shower, toilet, and sink) is small and clean with towels included. The air conditioner works very well in the room as Panama is consistently hot and humid. The Blu Hostel staff are friendly and helpful, and all speak English which helps a lot. The hostel location is perfect in terms of numerous supermarkets, restaurants, copy shops, medical offices, and much more. It is also within walking distance to a subway station, bus routes, taxis and Ubers. The hostel has a 'no noise' policy for evenings so that everyone is able to get a good night's rest in the comfort of their rooms. The hostel offers a reliable drop-wash-dry laundry service ($6 per big load) which normally takes day and a half. The hostel offers different types of rooms etc to suit different traveler needs. The hostel staff leaves you be and ask when you would like cleaning or any assistance. The hostel offers free basement parking but please bear in mind that some pick-ups/cars may not fit the height restrictions. The hostel front entrance and parking is always locked to ensure safety...

Marihuana place, I had to inhale that whenever I was there (3 or 4 times now, for many months alltogether). While working on my balcony I got dizzy more than once, had to go into my room. "We will check that" - nothing happened, again and again grass smokers there. Uninterested, unfriendly staff, cold atmosphere. They prefer playing with their phones instead of greeting or helping guests. When arriving with my hands full of stuff, trying to unlock the main door, they saw me coming but didn't help (especially the younger lady). Instead continue playing with the phone. Why do we need to unlock the main door always when the reception desk is 2 m away? Very uncomfortable. They told me to organize a table to work and a small fridge for my long term stay. I had to ask 4 more times until I got the table. The fridge never arrived. It took 5 days and 2 or 3 times asking before I got towels. Pills and rubbish on top of the wardrobe. Hot water needs several minutes to come, after 1 minute cold, after 1 minute warm again. Common "kitchen" not clean, I didn't want to cook anything there. They asked my friend (staying there for 5 months this time, many more months during the last 4 years) for getting into his room for aircon maintenance. Then tried to charge him 25 $ for that!!! We will never...