Novotel Panama City — Hotel in Bella Vista

Pros: The beds are very comfy, especially if you get an upgraded room. The shower is not only big, but also provides conditioner unlike many other hotels. The amenities are nice, includes a razor, toothbrush, sewing kit and a great hair drier which is unusual around here. The staff is very friendly and sometimes calls you by name when you enter, which makes it feel very comfortable and casual. The room was clean and there were no major issues with the daily cleaning.

Cons: The wifi is not only unacceptably slow (only up to 5mbps at best, pic attach), but also blocks Outlook from working correctly, which is a HUGE negative impact for work travel. For some reason, my work email has been buggy ever since I connected to the hotel wifi and has not yet been fixed. The rooms are big but poorly furnished and have very little light which aren't centrally controlled, so you have to walk to each light to turn it on/off. Despite being a large room, there is a lot of awkward dead space yet still feels very cramped around the bed and desk. There was no hot water on the first night, and I had to wait over an hour for them to have it fixed. After that, it took about 2-3 minutes for hot water to finally start coming out every day, and the temperatures were very unstable, switching randomly between hot and cold. The bar staff was rarely there, I stopped trying to go down to the bar for a drink after the third day as I was tired of having to wait over 10 minutes for anyone to show up. You only get two small water bottles per stay rather than per day, and additional bottles are $2.50 each... Another shock was the restaurant being closed at lunchtime on a Saturday. I wanted to give it a try, but as I went there around lunchtime, the place was deserted and everything was closed. I ended up ordering room service, which took about half an hour to be delivered but at least the quality was decent.

This hotel really has the potential to be an easy first choice (especially for work travel despite the inconvenient location), but it's definitely not there yet. The biggest pain point was the almost non-existent internet speed, which made anything from video calls to just basic browsing near impossible, made even worse by the very poor reception within the...

Pure LUCK. We had never been in Panama City Panama, and had never stayed at a Novotel before. The reason for choosing Novotel on Calle Jose I. Fabregas Y Thays De Pons is, this is the closest hotel to our immigration lawyer, as well as the number of reviews, price and value for the money. Now that we have stayed here for 38 consecutive days, it is the best hotel we could have selected in so many ways. Its value for the money is superior. Cleanliness, modern look and feel, the staff (Wanda, Javier, Alejandra, Vivianna, Adela, Diego, Alea...), every person working at this hotel has been absolutely magnificent to us, including the other guests that stayed at Novotel.  The breakfast buffet is very (good, fresh, well presented, ...) with omelets made to order, coffee, juices, etc. and the selections change. The bed matress, pillows, bedding, room temperature controls, lighting; everything for the room, and sleep comfort were excellent. The water pressure in the shower and water temperature controls were perfect. The soaps, shower gels, toothbrush and paste, razor & shave cream, etc. all included. The lobby menu is priced fairly for the high-quality food and varied selections, as well as the drinks. The water out of the taps is perfect for drinking. All the hotel staff confirmed this. The cleanliness of the room, as well as all public bathrooms, breakfast area, kids area, lobby bar, lounge and balcony are sanitary and smell good. Location, location, location.  This Novotel is perfectly located for easy and convenient access to the Metro ( subway), very fairly priced (restaurants coffee shops,  pubs, Fondas), grocery stores, pharmacies, clothing stores, bakeries, souvenir shops, sports stores, etc... The in room Smart TV has Prime Video, YouTube, and local channels including ESPN5, as well as the Smart TV's in the lounge, restaurant, and breakfast area's. For us, staying at Novotel on Calle Jose I. Fabregas Y Thays De Pons was such good fortune for making the residency process as easy as it could have possibly been, and our first ever visit to Panama so memorable and made us never want to leave the country, the city or Novotel. 6 out of 5, 11 out of 10 for everything,...

I tried to give the manager and the staff a chance to fix the problems. Unfortunately they do not care, what have been seen from the beginning. First, the hotel is very loud. I had music. Playing across from my room until midnight. Second, on my first day I went to breakfast and I was attacked by the lady at the breakfast room for making a toast and trying to take with me, as I could not eat right there within 1 hour of taking my medication! It felt absolutely awful. I talked to the manager. He promised to address the issue. He did not. Next day, I did not eat breakfast, as I was leaving very early for my trip. The following day, the same lady attached an older gentleman for taking a piece of bread! I was ready to cry. What kind of place is this??? I tried to talk to them and them that I spoke to manger. I was told that this is the law in Panama. Again, I went to the front desk manager and the issues were communicated. Following this, I had extremely scary night. I was waking up at 4 am for my trip to San Blas Islands. The room phone rung at 1 am and woke me up. There was nobody on the other side. At 1:30am somebody started banging at my door! Tired, I got to the door and asked who was it. The make vice replied “police”. I did not open the door. I called the front desk and was told that this was a mistake. I could not sleep, I was terrified. Nobody was waiting in the miring to apologize!!! Again, I requested to speak with the manager. He offered to reimburse me for the horrible night and I of course, this has not happened! Please, do not stay at this hotel!!! Period. You will feel like third class person and for sure, you will not...