Selina Casco Viejo Panama City & Cowork — Hotel in San Felipe

This was my first time ever staying in a hostel and these were my findings:

Check-In: Seemless. I booked my stay via hostelworld.com and before I even arrived Selina was sending me reminders of my stay and small tips. This helped put me at ease.

Room & Cost: I booked a 4 bed shared room (male) for about $30/night with breakfast. I think this is an excellent deal considering the amenities. The room & private bathroom were clean. The hot water in the bathroom was excellent and reliable at all times of the day. The room even had its own private balcony. The room also had 4 complimentary lockers for each bed.

Breakfast: The breakfast options included in my specific booking were more than sufficient for the price. You have a variety of hot and cold breakfast items made to order. Totally worth it.

Internet: The Wi-Fi was a little spotty at times. It would work one moment and then it would suddenly cut out (but not for more than a few seconds). If you plan on working during your trip, I highly advise you to invest in some kind of hotspot/portable internet so that you can have reliable internet at all times.

Rooftop: The rooftop has amazing, panoramic views of Panama City. There is a Mexican Restaurant, a bar, a swimming pool, and a dancing area atop the building, all of which become lively at night. The Salsa night is a must and at the time of this review, takes place on Wednesday nights from 8 AM to Midnight. Even if you're an introvert, you won't regret going to Salsa night. The Mexican Restaurant is also has good food with affordable prices.

Noise Levels: What surprised me at a hostel as popular as Selina is that even though the music was loud and a party atmosphere on the rooftop, it was never too loud that you couldn't sleep. For reference I stayed on the 4th floor and the roof is on the 6th and final floor. I'm introverted and I love my sleep. But my sleep was never interrupted once during my 3 night stay.

In-House Activities: At the front tours/activities desk, you can inquire about the plenty of free activities that are sponsored by the hostel, including a free walking tour of the neighborhood surrounding the hostel. There are also paid activities if you prefer. There is of course the Salsa night where you may get the opportunity to learn how to Salsa.

Social Atmosphere: There is something here for everyone. Very lively and a great atmosphere. Of course at the rooftop and lobby you can simply hang out and meet people who are more than willing to socialize. It's so easy to mingle even as an introvert. You can also spend some quiet time on the 3rd floor library. It's such a laid back and friendly atmosphere.

Neighborhood: The neighborhood is about half touristy and half local. It's very walkable. There are many historic churches and museums within a 10 minute walk. You can even walk to the many parks and plazas that are in the vicinity. There are plenty of shops and restaurants all around. You won't be disappointed. As in with any large city within Latin America, simply use your common sense and you should be just fine.

Front Desk: The front desk attendants are very friendly. There were a few moments where I had to ask 2 or 3 times for something, but they eventually got it done. If there is any place for improvement, I would say it's responding to inquiries or requests in a more timely manner.

Overall, I give my stay at Selina Casco Viejo 4.5 out of 5 stars. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that they advertise to offer pickup service from the airport if you request it. But when I contacted them they said this service is no longer offered. I would advise they remove this from their website to avoid confusion with future guests. Overall Selina is an excellent place to call your temporary home while in...

To rate a Selina, I just have to make that distinction between the rooms, the design, the service, and so on. Because in the Selina's there is probably the biggest difference you can find at all.

So far, I've been to a few Selinas because I booked the package of a Selina stay. Twice. The first time in 2021 and now. I'm not sure yet if I would do it again haha.

For this Selina in Casco Viejo:

Design 10/10! This is the reason why I always wanted to come back. They know how to make a place cozy, comfortable and beautiful. In this Selina, it's the roof terrace! A dream!

Location: like all Selinas they have a quiet, good and central location.

Service: it depends. I talked to some really nice staff, but there are also some that you are afraid to ask them because you might disturb them while talking on the phone or something.

Room: I stayed in a shared room. The room was perfectly fine, but the bathroom.... there were cockroaches and other small animals (sorry, but this is disgusting...).

Kitchen: Same thing... Cockroaches... And the kitchen was not really equipped. Basic cleaning is definitely lacking here. There were no bowls, and the pots and pans were thrown in the dirty cabinets. It's not fun to cook here. (Unfortunately, I have seen this in most Selina "s). General: You should be prepared that it can be very loud at night, because many parties take place (absolutely understandable with this great roof terrace). I stayed on the 3rd floor and could still sleep. You can also find earplugs on your bed (top!).

Of course, this is just my opinion and experience. I think it also makes a big difference how much you are willing to pay. Selina is not cheap compared to other places (tours, shuttles, rooms$$$), but it's definitely affordable if you do the 30-day packages. And if you are traveling for a longer period of time, it is cheaper to use the shared kitchen. But then you get the impression I had. Had I stayed in smaller rooms or even private rooms and only eaten in the restaurant, my rating probably would have been better. But its $$$

I think I have a hate-love relationship to the Selinas 😄 if they just could change the point of cleanliness, it would make a biiig...

Beware the rooms are in much worse condition than advertised and than their photos depict on their site - upon arrival and being given a room I was shocked to see the state of it and that they consider this normal to accommodate people: The floors where dirty and in damaged condition. The curtains were stained in almost every location and did not appear to be washed/replaced despite clearly being dirty. A random sock was on the floor (I assume from a previous guest) that was left there. There was mold on the wall/ceiling. The walls were smudged with dirt/grime in various places. There was no way to control the AC (the front desk person told me that there should have been a remote however there was no remote to be found anywhere in the room). There was only one wall outlet in the whole room and one of the plugs was taken by the desk lamp, so if you have more than 1 thing you need to plug in you're out of luck. No closets dressers for your stuff. The shared bathrooms were in horrible conditions, all of which have loose faucets, dirty shower floors, and mold as well from all the moisture. Upon mentioning this to the staff, I was told that this is the "style" of Selina and that basically it was all normal. I get that this is a hostel and not an upscale hotel, but regardless the rooms should still be in livable/hospitable conditions, because as it was they more resembled a homeless shelter or jail cell than a place of accommodation. They offered me another room which was only mildly better than my initial one. Needless to say, I only stayed one night and found an AirBnB nearby for the remainder of my stay. However they refused to refund me the remainder of the 5 nights (I booked 6 nights total), saying that because I booked through a 3rd party (Agoda) that I would need to contact them instead. I did so, and Agoda tried to get in touch with them but they ignored Agoda and Agoda was never able to get a hold of them. Thus, the crooks never even gave me a partial refund. Avoid unless you're prepared for disappointment! Can find a much nicer AirBnB in the area and for...