We stayed at the El Panama slightly off season. Not very crowded. The swimmingpool was beautiful and the room very spacious. The best part was the outstanding breakfast buffet which had it all.

We arrived Dec 16 after 11:00 PM because of a flight delay. Check in time is at 3:00 PM so we were sure everything was ready for us. It was almost impossible to communicate with the front desk clerk because there was a big graduation party going on so the music was very loud. They assigned us room #408. When we get there the entire hallway was dark with no lights working. When we asked the bell boy he said "the hotel is running an energy savings program". We agree with the energy savings part but we couldn't see where to put our key card to open the room door. When we finally get in the room had empty shoe boxes everywhere, half of a soda on a table, half of water and worst of all the bathroom wasn't clean (full trash can and used soaps). It was after midnight already when they moved us to room # 308. Of course dark hallways and the room wasn't what we booked (king size bed). Instead we ended up in a room with two double beds. Since we were so tired after a long flight and all the inconveniences we agreed to stay there. The following morning I called the front desk and a very nice clerk offered to move us to a Jr Suite at no extra charge to cover for the inconveniences. Third move in less than 24 hours and guess what: the air conditioning wasn't working and the toilet wasn't flushing. again we call the front desk but this time we wanted to talk to the Manager. They sent the supervisor for that night (1:00 AM) . Of course at that time I was already on the phone with other hotels trying to get a room to get out of there. I did get one but this supervisor asked us to be patient and spend the night there to give them an opportunity to fix the problems. again, since it was so late and we were very tired we stayed. He made a comment that we will never forget: "Everything Looks Nice on the Internet". The next day another manager moved us to another suite with all working a little better but not great for the price we were paying to stay there. Anyway, we had a Graduation Ceremony to attend so we ordered room service to save some time. The person in the phone named Carla said it would take 25 to 30 minutes for the food to arrive to our room. I agreed with that because it was still giving us time to eat, relax and be ready on time to leave. After 45 minutes I called to ask if the food was coming and she said "Is on its way" so I waited another 20 minutes. I called again and she said "sorry for the delay, your food just left the kitchen". After another 20 minutes I called her and said that it was obvious she was lying. When the delivery guy finallly knocked the door we were soooooo unhappy and asked him to leave with that cold food. He put it on the table anyway and promised it was warm and there was no charge for it because of the delay. That was the least they should do. I can't even mention the list of other problems we had there. The only reason I booked that hotel it was the convenient location and they have a casino for entertainment so we didn't have to deal with transportation every day. Is the first and last time we stay there .

Hotel is undergoing major renovation and the pool was closed. The lobby of the hotel was brand new and tastefully decorated. The room still had some old furniture however the bathroom was new. Hotel is well located in downtown and breakfast was very good.

Older hotel that has benefited from recent remodeling. Rooms were large, clean and a/c worked just fine. Bed was very comfortable. Beautiful, large pool with swim up bar and attractive courtyard. Breakfast buffet was one of best I've had in a hotel. Clientele was a mix of families and business travelers. WiFi strength was weak, but adequate. Hotel has large conference type facilties so does seem to attract evening events, and the noise does filter into rooms with exposed hallways. Guest services was helpful in arranging excursions. Surrounding area is a little sketchy, but seemed safe enough. Great restaurant, Venetian, about a block away. Also a 24 hour grocery store nearby. Wouldn't choose this as a vacation stay, but good enough for a couple of nights layover.