Country Inn & Suites By Carlson, Panama Canal Panama City

We were part of a tour group during our visit to the country of Panama but never imagin how great it will be. Hotel was ausome, from service to room accomodations. And best of all, THE PANAMA CANAL VIEW, from our balconie, where you can sit and relax with a cup of wine to enjoy Cruise Ship crossing under the Bridge of the Americas.

I can not think anyother place where you can start your vacations but this hotel.....

Thanks to our Agency that made this possible....

The view was great and the breakfast was tasty but the room was just ok. It was clean but a little bit worn. We had no hot water and very little water pressure. The staff wasn't very helpful or friendly. We requested a canal view, but they told us upon check in we would have to pay an additional $25 for a view. It was an ok value.

We stayed at the hotel for 6 nights and had a great time the location is fantastic and the staff could not have been more helpfull and freindly especialy reception (Ceaser and Armando). ROOMS EXCELLENT . BREAKFAST VERY GOOD. POOL AREA VERY CLEAN. The hotel is in a prime postion local cabs about $2 local bus 25cents. Panama is the place to visit.

Try and do all the sightseeing yourselves, it can be done.

Our group of five adults shared a 2-bedroom/2-bath suite and it was very modern and comfortable. A full kitchen, washer/dryer, and balcony are included.

Breakfast buffet was very good, and made-to-order omelettes and pancakes were available for a small charge.

Free internet was available on the first floor, and phone cards allowed calls back to the US for about $3 per hour.

The location overlooking the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal was very picturesque, and there was a 2-mile long walkway next to the canal.

Taxis were readily available to downtown for about $4.

Shopping, restaurants and casinos are all available.

No money changing required, dollars are accepted everywhere. The PriceSmart store (formerly a Costco) was cheaper than the duty-free.

The TGI Fridays was open for lunch, dinner and delivery to your room. Fridays prices are comparable to US locations, and twice those of local restaurants.

The first time i stayed here last year was because of a tripadvisor review which praised the view and the service. Not only did i agree,i came back again this month.

There is no hotel in the area that is so up close to this wonder of the world. and, yet, the calm, scenic causway puts you completely away from the noisy city itself. The causway is not only the perfect place to see these impressive ships enter and leave the canal,its two mile walkway is the perfect place for and early morning or evening run...or leisuerly walk.

pay the extra price for a room or suite on the canal side of the hotel. you won't regret it.

Just came back from Panama with my wife. We had a great time! I have to say that this is my first time in a Country Inn Hotel. I usually stay in the Holiday Inns but this time I chose this hotel for the location, away from the busy downtown, the proximity to the Canal and the Causeway (where you can walk, rent bikes and enjoy some great sea food with a sea breeze). I reserved a non smoking room with the view of the canal. When we arrived I had to fill in the traditional guest form and we got our room keys, along with our breakfast cards enough for the 5 days we stayed. When we got in the room we noticed the cigarrette smell and we came back to the front desk. They moved us to another room right away. The rooms was very nice and spacious enough. It was clean with no funny odors. The bathroom was also nice and clean. The AC was a bit noisy but believe me, after you have been outside with the heat and humidity you don`t care.

It seemed like on the upper floor, right above our room, they were doing some maintenance. We could hear some hammer hits but moslty in the morning around 8:00. Since we were getting ready to go out it didn`t bother us. Being in a quiet location, we didn`t have problems with external noises, so I slept like a baby in the whole stay.

I didn`t use the Pool but it seemed nice and clean to me.

The staff of the hotel was friendly so I can`t report any bad incident.

Yes, they have a TGI Fridays attached to the Hotel. We went there a couple of times. It is convenient if you feel lazy and don`t wanna go out but the prices are on the high side compared to a couple of nice restaurants nearby.

I would recomend LAS PENCAS at the entrance of the causeway, in front of Plaza de las Banderas (Plaza of the Flags) and, further down the causeway, MI RANCHITO, where I had a Sea Bass with garlic sauce, fries and vegetables for $6.25. The drinks and the overall menu is cheaper than Fridays, besides, you can`t beat the oceafront location It can get really breezy sometimes though.

After the meal, you can walk or rent a bike (there is one location next to Mi Ranchito and another close to Las Pencas) and enjoy the views of Panama City and the ships entering the canal.

One last tip about taking a taxi from the Hotel. If you can handle some Spanish you can catch some of the taxis right outside the hotel parking lot. (just verify they are marked ones) The Hotel taxis charge you the double most of the time!

If you want to be close of the action, night clubs, Malls, traffic and smog this might not be the place though.

ENJOY PANAMA!

Jose Farfan

Country Inn & Suites by Carlson, Panama Canal

Amador Ave. &, Pelicano Ave., Panama City Panama 8001

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My family and I stayed one night at the Country Inn & Suites Amador, en route back from Boquete. I was not particularly impressed with it. I've stayed at Country Inn & Suites properties in the U.S., which were fine for the money. The Amador property, however, looked as if it needed some maintenance and TLC. The suite itself was small and the king bed had an inexpensive mattress. The causeway location is a out of the way, but we knew that beforehnd. We had a discount coupon from Hertz for 25% off, so the price wasn't bad, but I think there are better values and better locations at properties that are in better shape.

--Lan Sluder

This hotel was very nice. No doubt about it. It was a little slice of America right in Panama City. In fact, it had a TGI Fridays. It was so much like America, I will never return. If you want a well-priced hotel, a nice pool, amazingly comfortable beds, reliable showers, and an overpriced gift shop, then please stay here. If you want a hotel that grooves to the sound of downtown Panama City, then this is not the place for you. Also, the decor reminds me of a cross between my grandmother's house and a Cracker Barrell diner.

For some reason it will not allow me to post my pictures of the room and pool. I'll try later.

My husband and I stayed here the night before and the night after our transit of the canal. We wished we had planned to stay a bit longer.

The hotel is relatively new, and in good condition (although the management needs to pay attention to maintenance to ensure it stays that way).

The rooms are spacious and comfortable...but it's the view and location that made us want to stay.

We could see the Bridge of the Americas from our balcony and ships beginning their voyage through the canal.

We also saw many families with children enjoying the patio and pool areas.

The hotel was even the finish line for a road rally the weekend we were there.

The location was great for exploring the causeway...and not that far from downtown. It was only a few minutes from Albrook airport, if you plan to travel within Panama.

There was also free high-speed internet.

A TGIFriday's restaurant is on the grounds. I'd much prefer something other than a chain. But at least there was a food option late at night.

If we return to Panama, we'll definitely spend some time at the Country Inn & Suites, Amador.

It was the most beautiful experience that I could get. Since you wake up in the morning you can see all this huge ship crossing the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal.

At night, the Americas bridge give you an explendore of its magnificent.

the best of all is that you dont need to live the city to experience all this since we where very idealy located near all the attractions and just 15 minutes from downtown and the banking area. You dont get the traffic jam from the hotels downtown, this gave the advantage to take time and plan better our destinations everyday.