Princess Hotel Panama — Hotel in Bella Vista

The worst hotel I have stayed in Panama City so far. First, I have to say that staff was really nice. Although not very professional, but nice.

The room reeked of mold, the elevators are extremely slow and you have to expect a lot up and down before you arrive on your floor.

The windows were extremely dirty, you could sometimes look hard. The carpet: Simply disgusting with thick dark spots everywhere. Nails look out of the baseboards on the wall. Sockets do not work in part and look adventurous.

You are not told that the description for the vault is wrong everywhere, and therefore the vault does not work. They wait until you complain about it, and then send an employee who tells you that the description is not correct! I changed the room because of this lapalie and that cost me half a day of working time.

The prices for the snacks and drinks in the room are absolutely over the top. A Snickers costs $ 5, a glass of cheap red $ 12. The staff ignored my "Do not disturb" sign and when I came back from the shop across the street (always taking at least 40 minutes thanks to the elevators), there were 3 people in my room right next to my open laptop.

When I came home from the city in the evening, it stank of marijuana in the hallway. On the subject of smoke: One morning, the fire alarms were apparently tested. A deafening beep disturbed for about 30 minutes. Since I was sitting just under it, it also hurt pretty much in my ears.

In the pool the lamps hang out of the wall under water, there is no shady place by the pool, no umbrellas and nothing. Overall, everything looks much more unkempt. The pictures on the internet are extremely overworked or ancient.

Overall, there are no signs to show you where to go. Everywhere you meet people in the hotel looking for something.

I had 3 nights and wanted to work relaxed during the day. Unfortunately, this is not possible in this hotel. You spend too much time on all the things that are not working, the slow internet and the slow lifts. And when everything works, someone knocks on the door or makes a noise in the hallway.

For me as an internet entrepreneur these 3 days were a waste of time. I want to open my laptop in the morning after a shower and work carefree. But here you are prevented from quite a lot of things. The slow internet, the constant disturbing staff and the waste of time in the elevator. Or the exaggerated amount of oil on the desk, which makes your laptop slide like on an ice surface.

The breakfast was ok, nothing special but ok. But I had the feeling that the music got louder and louder. In the end you could not even make a phone call at the breakfast table. I had the impression that they wanted to prevent the guests eating too much and disappearing quickly.

I can not recommend this hotel anyway. There has to be a fundamentally different concept, so I go in here again. For the sex tourists who come in and out with girls all day long, it may just be the perfect spot.

And to be honest. From the outside it looks exactly like that. I am annoyed with myself that I have not noticed...

Absolute ludacris experience. Definitely one of the weirdest in my travels all over the world. We showed up with no towels in the room. Okay, fine we can talk with the front desk and get some. There is a posted sign within the room that explains you will be charged if any towels go missing. I talk with the front desk and explain to them that there are no hand towels, no body towels, no towels for the floor as you leave the shower. They say okay, someone will bring it to your room. Approximately 30 minutes later a woman brings 2 body towels, and I inform her we still need the other towels. She says you should have those, and I once again explain no towels. She says okay, I'll bring them. Never came back. My brother, in which I'm staying with, calls downstairs after about an hour of waiting and asks for towels. They say it's on its way. 3 hours later it never shows. We ask the cleaning personnel on the floor for the towels and she says she can bring them by. She doesn't. Requested it again, and says yes momentarily. We head out, and come back hours later. The towels they imply we will be charged for are never provided. I return to the front desk to ask for the towels a fifth time. I am told they have already given us the towels. I have to explain again that we weren't given a bath floor towel to avoid potential slipping maybe a severe accident, hand towels for the 2 bathrooms. Then after 7 hours of waiting for towels of all things, they finally arrived. The breakfast, mediocre at best. I requested a box as my brother is unavailable and needing rest to provide him sustenance of the breakfast in which we have paid for, denied. A breakfast buffet that will all be disposed of in a couple hours. I can not get food to go to deliver to my brother. This is one of the absolute most cringe worthy penny pinching hotels I have had the displeasure of visiting. It is absurd to say the least and absolutely bizarre that there is a gastapo experience in regards to towels of all things, and a multilayered interrogation to food that has been paid for and refused. The Princess hotel in this experience reminds me more of the Princess Diana car accident. Absolute car crash of service, experience, and expectations demolished. I have stayed at $10 hostels with better follow through. I have included a photo of the list they will charge you for even though not everything is in the room when you arrive which is potential for scam or fraudulent charges. It should not be this difficult to receive products and services we have paid for and expect. The positives I will say, are that the bed is comfortable and the air conditioner works.

edit: also saw cockroaches at...

I stayed 3 nights for a friend Bday, and here are my findings:

Good Things: Great Location – Convenient and accessible. Friendly Customer Service – The staff is kind and accommodating. Good Breakfast – Nice options, and the extended time frame (6 AM to 10 PM) is awesome. Room Access Cards – They provide two cards, which is great for rooms with multiple guests. Easy Transportation Access – It’s fast and simple to get an Uber or InDriver from here.

Areas for Improvement (PLEASE READ): Smell – Since this is an older hotel, there’s noticeable humidity. I recommend bringing Lysol or an odor spray. Room Carpets – The bedroom carpet was dirty. I’d suggest wearing slippers. Bed Linens and Pillows – The bedding had a funky smell, which was unpleasant. Room Service – While it’s listed as an amenity, my room didn’t have a phone to contact room service. There’s a QR code in the elevator, but no clear instructions were provided. Access Cards – If you’re shopping and pass through a metal scanner, the cards can get demagnetized. It’s better to leave them at reception to avoid the inconvenience of returning to the front desk to reactivate them. Pool Area Cleanliness – Over three days, I noticed beer cans, shoes, and dirty clothing left around the pool. It seems this area isn’t cleaned regularly. Social Media and Advertising – The hotel could benefit from improving its online presence. High-quality photos of all rooms and amenities are essential for managing guest expectations.

Experience Perspective:

Princess Hotel, it seems like you’ve fallen into a comfort zone, relying heavily on your great location to attract guests. However, in Panama City, we expect better overall experiences.

Here’s what I’d recommend: • Step up your game – Clean your hotel thoroughly, repaint where needed, and invest in deep-cleaning carpets floor by floor. • Read guest feedback and act on it – Don’t let great staff compensate for subpar facilities. • Deliver excellence – People from around the world are spending money to stay here and expect a memorable experience.

While the staff was lovely, the state of the facilities makes me question whether I’d stay here again. I’ve stayed in lower-cost hotels in Panama that provided a far better...