Hilton Panama ★★★★★

Where the Financial District Runs Out of Land

Avenida Balboa is the seam of Panama City. On one side, the glass towers of Marbella and Obarrio climb over each other; on the other, the Cinta Costera runs along the bay with its joggers, its fishermen and its view of the old town across the water. The Hilton sits exactly on that seam, at the corner of Aquilino de la Guardia, a tower of 347 rooms that behaves less like a business hotel than its address suggests. The lobby is busy at eight in the morning and again at seven in the evening, and in between the building empties upward toward the pool deck.

Why It Works

Three things decided it. The rooftop pool is heated and framed by the bay rather than by a courtyard, which is rarer in this district than it sounds. The eforea spa occupies a full floor, so a stay here does not have to be organised around meetings even though the hotel runs 18 meeting rooms and a ballroom for 900. And the food is not an afterthought: six restaurants and bars, several worth a table on their own.

Why This Location

You can walk out of the door and be on the Cinta Costera in a few minutes, the one place in Panama City where the skyline and the bay are visible at once. The financial district starts immediately behind the hotel, so meetings in Obarrio or Marbella are a walk rather than a taxi. Casco Viejo, the UNESCO listed old quarter, is about ten minutes by car, and the same drive reaches Multiplaza. The canal locks are close enough for a morning trip and a lunch back at the hotel. What the location imposes is traffic: Balboa moves slowly at rush hour.

Fast Facts

• Price: Luxury

• Vibe: Bayfront, urban, polished, high floor

• Rooms: 347 rooms and suites, including bay view categories and a Presidential Suite

• Best For: Business travellers who want a spa, couples after skyline views, families using the city as a base

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: The heated rooftop pool, which faces the bay instead of the towers

• Dining: Six restaurants and bars, including Niba for Italian cooking beside the pool, Bar Blue for cocktails over the water and Society Cafe for all day dining

• Amenities: Heated rooftop pool, eforea spa with beauty salon, 24 hour fitness centre, casino, private parking, 3,729 square metres of event space

• Attractions: Cinta Costera (a few minutes on foot), Casco Viejo (about 10 minutes by car), Multiplaza (about 10 minutes), Panama Canal locks (half a morning)

Rooms That Choose Between the Bay and the Skyline

The tower gives every room a direction, and the direction matters more than the category. Bay view rooms look out over the Cinta Costera toward the Pacific entrance of the canal, where ships queue at anchor in the morning light. City view rooms face the towers, the better choice for anyone who likes Panama City after dark. Suites climb to a Presidential Suite at the top of the building. Families are accommodated, and the room count means availability holds up in high season, which is not always true of the smaller boutique addresses downtown.

Six Kitchens and a Bar Above the Water

Niba is the one to book: Italian cooking served beside the pool, with the bay behind it. Bar Blue is the cocktail room, best at the hour when the towers start to light up. Society Cafe covers the long middle of the day, from breakfast through to a late lunch, and the remaining venues run to a sushi counter and a dinner theatre. Between them they cover most of what a stay needs without a taxi.

What to Know Before You Book

Check in is from 3pm and check out at noon. The hotel is genuinely dual purpose: a conference of several hundred people can be in the building while the spa floor stays quiet, but the lobby will feel it. Pets are not accommodated. The casino sits within the complex, which suits some travellers and not others, and it is easy to avoid. For a first visit to Panama, a bayfront address with a spa floor and a pool deck facing the water makes an unusually easy base.