Wyndham Panama Albrook Mall

The Wyndham Panama Albrook Mall is a large, upscale hotel, with 331 rooms and suites. The property is directly located at the Albrook Mall -- a gigantic shopping mall over a mile long that holds the title of the largest shopping center in Latin America. As you might imagine, many guests interested in shopping might find their way to the Wyndham Albrook Mall -- although corporate travel actually makes up most of the hotel’s business. The property is also the site of a large convention center and event space, featuring 23 meeting rooms and two ballrooms for a total of 30,000 square feet of space.

As it’s close to the Albrook Airport, this property also functions as an airport hotel, with a bustling atmosphere that sees many travelers passing through at all hours of the day and night. The spacious, busy lobby features soaring ceilings and contemporary decor with nice touches like vintages suitcases and decorative chandeliers. There’s a large passageway through the lobby that lead right into the mall, lined with blue neon lights. 

The Wyndham is modern and sleek, offering convenience, comfort, and various amenities -- but as it’s on par with several comparable hotels in the center of Panama City; the location at Albrook Mall is either its strength or its weakness, depending on what you’re looking for.

The Wyndham Panama Albrook Mall is situated at the popular shopping center which is known to be the largest mall in Latin America. It is located about a 15-minute drive outside of the center of Panama City, and every taxi driver can get you there because they will know the mall, even if they don’t know the hotel by name. Besides a plethora of shopping options, the Albrook Mall offers several food courts, bowling, and a movie theater.  There is a very busy highway located directly outside the hotel entrance, so the views and the traffic noise is a drawback. A major bus station and the small Albrook Airport are close by, but Panama City’s major international airport, Tocumen, is about 35 minutes away. The popular old district of Casco Viejo is only about 10 minutes away by taxi, as is the Panama Canal -- making this a decent spot for sightseeing.

The 331 rooms at the Wyndham are all new and modern, with clean lines and a contemporary style. Modern colors in gray, silver, and beige are complimented by the dark wood furniture and dark red accent colors.

Expect all the conveniences of a business hotel room, such as iPod docks, flat-screen TVs, several ports that connect to the TV for different devices, and high-speed Wi-Fi. Every room includes a mini-fridge and coffee and tea facilities. The bathrooms are sleek with clean lines and high contrast color, in black, white, and silver, with contemporary tile and spacious glass-walled showers. The rooms feature large picture windows, though the views of the airport, shopping mall, parking lot, and highway are not the most inspiring.

There are Suites and Master Suites available, which include separate living rooms, dining room areas with microwaves, and extra luxurious bathrooms with either soaking tubs or whirlpools. The Wyndham even offers a Fitness Room, which offers sporty guests the option of having an elliptical machine right in the room. 

One highlight of the property is the sleek, modern infinity pool on the rooftop. It features a shallow area where lounge chairs can sit in the water just a few inches deep -- creating a very sexy looking atmosphere. The rooftop location offers great views of the skyline of Panama City in the distance -- although the area immediately surrounding the hotel isn’t very nice, and there is traffic noise from the highway close by. Near the pool, a nice sundeck lounge area offers cushioned couches and umbrellas for shade. Also on the rooftop level, there’s a nice, bright fitness room with several new machines, most of which have their own TV screens.

Next to the pool is the Rooftop Sunset Bar, one of two bars in the hotel, which is open in the evenings for happy hour specials and poolside drinks. The main bar and lounge of the hotel is The Gastro Bar, located off to one side of the lobby. It employs a chic, modern atmosphere with both casual seating on couches, bar seating and tables, and a large TV for sports games. Canal Bistro is the main restaurant, serving breakfast and lunch buffet style and dinner a la carte. The lunch buffet is unexpectedly excellent, with many options including a fresh salad bar, pastas, and special items like a make-your-own ceviche bar and lovely small desserts. Café Met, just outside the hotel facing into the mall, has great coffee and exotic tea selections, sandwiches, salads, and lovely cakes and desserts.

There is a boarding pass printing center near the front desk in the lobby, providing easy access for travelers heading to the airport. There is also a small business center with a handful of computers nearby. A small pantry and gift shop in the lobby sells snacks, drinks, beer, T-shirts, ice cream, and other basic items.

The second floor of the hotel hosts the convention center space. A total of 23 meeting rooms of all sizes, including two grand ballrooms, makes this a formidable business hotel for Panama City, even though it is outside of the central city’s financial and business district.