For me, Waldorf Astoria Panama is a comfortable city hotel with well-equipped rooms, breakfast brought to the room and a seventh-floor pool. Its version of luxury is more restrained than the Waldorf name might lead you to expect, but the hotel has pleasures of its own.
The banking district and cruise connections
The hotel stands at 47th Street and Calle Uruguay, in Bella Vista, close to the Calle 50 banking corridor in Panama City. That location works well for business visits. Towerbank’s headquarters is shown as a nearby reference point on the map.
The tradeoff is the setting. Nearby towers interrupt the ocean views, and Casco Viejo is a separate outing. Calle Uruguay also has restaurants and nightlife.
For a trip built around nightlife and shopping, a livelier hotel makes more sense. For history and leisure, staying in Casco Viejo puts the old quarter at the centre of the visit.
A cruise stay involves a separate transfer to the port. Amador is on the Pacific side of Panama City; Colón 2000 is on the Caribbean side of the isthmus. Colón involves the longer road transfer.
Tocumen International Airport is the other important connection, alongside the bank and cruise ports shown below.
Rooms and suites
The rooms and suites begin with Deluxe rooms of approximately 32 m². There are king and two-double-bed options, a terrace category and an accessible king room. Nespresso coffee, a minibar and a workspace cover the daily essentials; marble bathrooms have Sodashi amenities.
A Junior Suite adds another choice, while Condo Suites provide a living area and kitchen with a dining table. The Studio Suite has ocean views and a full-size kitchen.
Breakfast and dinner at Matiz
Matiz serves breakfast and dinner, with a terrace and an open kitchen. Its menu combines Panamanian dishes with international cooking.
Breakfast combines fruit and pastries from the buffet with hot dishes ordered from the menu. The Panamanian Canalero brings corn tortilla, carimañola, white cheese and beef with onions to the table. Alongside it are egg dishes, waffles and fruit with yoghurt.
Breakfast runs from 6.30 to 10.30 a.m.; dinner from 6 to 11 p.m. The evening menu includes seafood, steaks and pasta.
Breakfast in the room
I had breakfast brought to the room.
Peacock Alley and afternoon tea
Peacock Alley is the lobby bar, serving afternoon tea, cocktails and small plates. Tea gives an afternoon at the hotel its own occasion, with time to sit over something more leisurely than a quick coffee.
I regularly saw informal business meetings taking place here. Peacock Alley is a welcoming lobby setting for that kind of conversation over a drink.
The menu also reaches beyond tea: Panamanian-style sea-bass ceviche with lime and ají chombo sits alongside small plates and international favourites. One of the signature cocktails takes its inspiration from the Panama Canal centennial.
The seventh-floor pool
The outdoor pool sits on the seventh floor, with a connecting hot tub and poolside food and drink service from Bungalow Terrace and Pool Bar. It is a pleasant place for a swim or an afternoon on a lounger. The surrounding towers keep the setting firmly in the city.
The hotel opened in 2013 as the first Waldorf Astoria in Latin America, with interiors by Miami-based Ba-Haus/KNF. The elevated pool was part of the original design.
Spa treatments and the fitness centre
The Waldorf Astoria Spa offers relaxation, deep-tissue and hot-stone massages, facials and body wraps. There is a couples treatment space, and the current menu includes a chocolate wrap and a longer lavender ritual combining a scrub, wrap and warm-stone massage.
It opens daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The lavender ritual takes two hours.
A gym on a grand scale
The fitness centre is enormous and opulent, with the scale of a proper health club. The split-level layout leaves room for a full workout, while the raised free-weight area gives strength training a space of its own. For a business stay, this is a considerable part of the hotel’s appeal—somewhere to keep a training routine alongside a day of meetings.
Beyond the hotel
Cigars and conversation at Prohibition
Prohibition Cigar Lounge is tucked inside Varietà Coffee Shop at Plaza New York, a short walk from the Waldorf. Its humidor brings together established cigar houses and smaller producers, with classic cocktails alongside. For business travellers who enjoy cigars, it is an appealing place to continue a conversation after the formal meetings are over.
The entrance is through the coffee shop; guest reservations are available on Prohibition’s website.
Casco Viejo before or after a cruise
For a cruise that already takes in the canal, a few hours in Casco Viejo offer a welcome change of pace. Panama Vibes’ guided walk through the old quarter follows its historic squares and churches, with stories behind the buildings and streets.
The tour takes 2½–3 hours and runs in English or Spanish. There is an option with hotel pickup and drop-off; otherwise, it starts at the Tomás Herrera monument in Plaza Herrera, about ten minutes by car from the Waldorf.
Practical details
Check-in is from 3 p.m. and check-out is at noon. Free Wi-Fi and cots are available; childcare is offered for a separate fee. The hotel also has a hospitality room with showers.
Hilton Honors points can also be used for a stay here, a useful option around a cruise connection.
The Waldorf has enough to make a stay pleasant: breakfast brought to the room, somewhere to sit over tea, and a pool above the city. These are part of the hotel’s appeal, whatever brings you to Panama.