We spent 4 days here from January 26-30 after 10 days at the Decameron. This is a great hotel in downtown Panama City and we had a most enjoyable 4 days. We came from the Decameron on a small bus, about a 2 hour drive, with a tour guide to educate us along the way. The first thing we saw at the Decapolis was an escalator, heaven after all the stairs at the Decameron. Check in was very quick, the first thing I noticed was the everyone spoke English, the front desk staff, the bartenders, and even the bell boys. Our room was 1305, 13th floor with a view of the Pacific Ocean. Two double beds with a great down comforter, nice sink and tub and shower. A programmable safety deposit box was included (located in the closet), there was a fridge but charges applied to the contents. I bought drinks at the mall and kept them in the fridge though. There was a small pool and a whirlpool, lounge chairs and a bar on the 4th floor. Also a spa and gym on this floor. I booked a 50 minute massage on our last day and it was great. The spa is very classy. A swedish 50 minute massage was $50, very reasonable. Food was excellent. Buffet breakfast on the 3rd floor, eggs, bacon, rolls, fruit, a great breakfast.
Lunch and dinner were on the 1st floor, we ordered off the menu, lots of choice and excellent meals, well presented and service was excellent. We loved the spring rolls and the caesar salad with prawns was excellent and the desserts were the best.
We were given bracelets but also had to sign for everything, drinks, meals, as well as give our room number every time we went into the restaurant. They kept telling us that there would be no charges that we were just signing so they knew what we were eating and drinking and they were right there were no additional charges for anything when we checked out.
Seemed to be a bit of confusion with some drinks not being included but overall we could get beer, nice wine, and most mixed drinks. I did get a bloody mary one night and then the next night they told me it wasn’t included but not a big deal. I tried again the next night and got one no problem. We were linked to a large shopping centre and casino, lots of brand name stores, and hardly anyone shopping. There was an internet cafe here that was a good deal, $1 for 1 hour of internet use. It was on the third floor. You could also make calls to Canada here for really reasonable costs. We went on two tours organized by the Decameron explorer group, we did the half day canal and city tour, it was $45 and reasonable. Great guide who showed us quite a bit in a few hours. We also did the partial panama canal cruise, cost was $96 each and was from 9 – 4, time varies based on how long you have to wait at the locks. This was also a great tour, a bit expensive but something you will probably only do once. It’s a long hot day though so be prepared, sunscreen and a hat along with your camera.
All in all a great 4 days and a nice way to end your vacation. You are much closer to the airport for departure than if you stayed at the Decameron. The Nolitours reps on site were great and there was one gentleman, his name was Stephan, who told us he was in charge of all the Decameron people who came to the Decapolis, he was always around and was so helpful, he read menus for us, he made sure we were always with drinks, etc. We wondered when he slept since he seemed to be everywhere.
Feel free to email me with any questions at Glmckenny@sympatico.ca