Continental Hotel Panama

At 53 years old, the Continental Hotel is one of the oldest in the area. Conveniently located in the center of the city, the hotel looks stately from the outside. Guests enter through a side street entrance into a grand lobby with high ceilings and a large curved staircase with ironwork railings. 

The Continental Hotel is located in the center of Panama City on Via España, a busy commercial corridor that’s also the site of several hotels within a few blocks radius. It’s close to the financial and banking district, and several bars and restaurants are located in walking distance. An entrance to the city’s new Metro, at the El Carmen stop, is located just outside of the hotel. It’s about a 30-minute ride by taxi to the Tocumen International airport, though it could be longer depending on the notorious rush hour traffic.

The hotel has one restaurant and one bar. The restaurant, called Café Rendez-Vous, has a very casual setting almost similar to that of a diner. The large windows face out onto the pool. The daily breakfast buffet includes fresh fruit, breads and pastries, cereals, and hot items like waffles or even custom omelets. Next door, a spacious bar and lounge called the Wurlit’z Bar is named after the elaborate vintage Wurlitzer organ in the corner. There is a pool table and a piano in addition to the bar’s namesake organ, where live musicians entertain in the evenings a few times a week.

The hotel features a medium-sized oval pool in the center of the property.  The pleasant pool has small fountain spouts that line the outside of the pool, creating a fun extra element. A handful of cushioned lounge chairs are scattered around the spacious pool deck area, as are some tables and chairs. Nearby, in a corner shaded by several palms and tropical plants, there is a small hot tub as well.

The hotel has a small fitness room with a variety of different types of equipment, though some of the machines look a little old and overall the room is ready for updates. There is a business area on the top floor for the use of club level guests. The hotel features several meeting rooms and event spaces as well. Behind the lobby, down a long empty corridor, there’s an entrance to a large casino.