A safe and affordable hotel in Panama City?

January 11, 2009 8:42 PM

travelfilter! Any recommendations for an affordable hotel in Panama City?

A friend of mine is planning on spending 11 days in Panama with her mom. My friend is a woman in her late 20s and pretty adventurous, but her mom... not as much. They're looking for a hotel for at least the first night or two so they'll have a place to stay when they arrive in the country (in Panama City). $25 a night or less (ish). The goal is to have a hotel booked before they arrive. Any parts of town you'd recommend? Or avoid?

My friend has the Panama Lonely Planet guide, but while looking up recommended hotels, she's gotten a lot of conflicting advice.

posted by 2oh1 to Travel & Transportation around Panama City, FL (1 answer total)

I stayed at La Casa de Carmen hostel. It has private rooms in the price range you describe, and was clean, comfortable and a nice atmosphere (and they picked me up from the airport in the middle of night - I was travelling alone, and my flight was late, so this was good peace of mind). The only thing is that while it describes its location as being near the main street of town, it didn't seem to be near anything I particularly wanted to see (but taxis were easy enough). If I was to return, I would look for something in the Casco Viejo area (historical area), as it was interesting to walk around there, and I ate some good food in that area.
posted by AnnaRat at 9:11 PM on January 11, 2009 [1 favorite]