Panama Travel Guide

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Who Needs A Club Lounge When Your Hotel Has Its Own Mini Library?

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Gamboa, Panama
February 9, 2012 at 9:12 AM | by | Comment (1)

Wandering around Gamboa Rainforest Resort in Panama recently, we were excited to discover the hotel had its own private library, accessible via a small staircase leading up from the lobby.

Which is, in many ways, far superior to the usual "VIP" club lounge experience. For starters, all guests are welcome, it's always quiet and peaceful, and you can actually educate yourself about your surroundings with bookshelves full of texts on Panamanian history and wildlife. Plus, it kind of reminded us of the library scene from Beauty and the Beast—except way smaller. And in the middle of a rainforest.

Check out our photos after the jump!

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Inside a Room at Trump Ocean Club in Panama

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Corregimiento de San Francisco Calle Punta Colón, Punta Pacifica, Panama
February 6, 2012 at 9:48 AM | by | Comments (0)

Because the Trump Ocean Club in Panama is built onto a coastal (and relatively affluent) strip of the city known as Punta Pacifica, there is a strange feeling here that you're surrounded by nothing except water—almost like you're staying at a resort.

And that's exactly the impression you're supposed to have. The building's butterfly design (which can also look like a "sail fully deployed in the wind," depending on where you're standing) allows for all of the rooms to at least partially face the ocean. Of course, certain views are more head-on than others.

Last week, we showed you a little design quirk hidden inside the mens bathrooms. Now, for a look at the actual rooms. Similar to the lobby, which actually spans from the thirteenth to the fifteenth floor, there remains that characteristically Trump contrast of a huge and imposing exterior comprised of many well-crafted intimate spaces.

See below for our photo gallery!

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Inside a Suite At Gamboa Rainforest Resort

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Gamboa, Panama
February 2, 2012 at 9:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

What's it like shacking up in the middle of the rainforest for a few days? Not as bad as you'd think! The independently-owned Gamboa Rainforest Resort went up 12 years ago, and was built as a way for visitors to experience the rainforest of Panama, while still enjoying all the luxuries of a full-service hotel—like tiled bathrooms, a Club Lounge, and air conditioning.

Technically, the resort isn't too, too far from civilization—it's only about a 45-minute drive from Panama City. But by the look (just trees and rivers for miles), feel (kinda woodsy), and sound of it (birds!), you'd think you were in it for the long haul. And that's just how owner Herman Bern wanted it: "The great thing about Gamboa," he told us, "is you go out fishing on a boat, and all of a sudden, you could be in the middle of the Amazon. Then, in half an hour, you can go back to the city and have a glass of champagne."

Take a tour of one of the suites, below!

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Do Yourself A Favor and Make It An Ocean View At Westin Playa Bonita

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Km 6 Camino a Veracruz, Panama City, Panama
February 1, 2012 at 9:28 AM | by | Comments (0)

You're checking into your hotel. You're tired from the trip, yet excited to be somewhere new, yet disoriented by the unfamiliar scenery—often all at once. Without your wits about you, how are you supposed to determine which side of the building to request to get the best room view? Well, in the case of Westin Playa Bonita, let us point you in the right direction: between two options (Rainforest view and Ocean view), always, always pick the Ocean view.

We were lucky enough to get given a room with an Ocean view right off the bat. And sure enough, one of the first things we did upon entering our room was rush over to our balcony, slide open the door, and gush for a good five minutes (to ourselves) about how amazing the view was.

Facing south, the Ocean view side of the building looks straight at the Pacific. From here, you can see islands in the distance, watch the sun rise and set, and even spot ships queuing up to cross the Panama Canal.

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Men Get A Little Something Extra In The Bathrooms at Trump Ocean Club

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Calle Punta Colon, Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Panama, 0833-00321
January 31, 2012 at 9:15 AM | by | Comment (1)

There's no accounting for taste

We stopped in at the newly-opened Trump Ocean Club in Panama recently, and of all the hotel's glittering features (infinity pools, ocean views from every room, a Louis Vuitton-inspired wine bar), our curiosity was perhaps most piqued by these inverted semen-shaped turquoise urinals, found near the 15th-floor lobby. Nothing like a urinal with a tail on it to get you nice and relaxed!

These are the only urinals in the hotel with this specific design—the rest of the bathrooms (public and otherwise) are much more traditional, including the women's bathroom next door, which, for obvious reasons, has no use for turquoise urinals. The employee who showed us around the place explained, "This is what happens when you let a woman designs a men's bathroom."

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Guests Got A Taste of Carnival This Weekend At The Westin Playa Bonita

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Km 6 Camino a Veracruz, Panama City, Panama
January 30, 2012 at 9:15 AM | by | Comments (0)

Any Panamanians who were still unclear about that gigantic white tower that recently went up on a quarter-mile stretch of beach outside of Panama City had their doubts removed this weekend, when Westin Playa Bonita, a 650-room, Pacific Ocean-facing resort with three pools, six restaurants, and a forthcoming spa, officially opened.

Drawn by a few awesome firework displays, an open bar, and a steady stream of live music (salsa, merengue, reggaeton—you name it, they played it), an estimated 3400 people turned up to celebrate Westin's grand arrival in the city (though Starwood's Le Meridien Panama has been around for a few years now). And with yet another Westin set to open later this year, Panamanians aren't likely to be forgetting Westin's name anytime soon. Nor, for that matter, will the 700 (mostly US) guests who received a taste of Carnival-style partying that lasted well into Friday night/Saturday morning, during the hotel's grand opening event.

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More Hotel Openings in Panama to Follow Trump Panama Debut On July 6

Where: Panama
June 23, 2011 at 2:15 PM | by | Comments (0)

Westin Panama, opening in October

Panama is a hive of hotel activity in 2011, but of course Trump will get there first, with Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower and its peekaboo bathrooms now set for a July 6 debut.

But the opening buzz will continue beyond the summer, with two more high-profile properties in the queue: The Westin Playa Bonita, Panama will be next off the ranks in October, and then the Doubletree by Hilton Panama City will open on January 1, 2012.

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Trump Panama Now Opening July 6 for $255 a Night (And With Unlimited WiFi)

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Corregimiento de San Francisco Calle Punta Colón, Punta Pacifica, Panama
May 31, 2011 at 1:41 PM | by | Comments (0)

Now that MemDayWknd is done, we can't blame you for already thinking of where else to go this summer. So here's a fun suggestion to add to your shortlist--Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama.

We last heard the hotel would be opening sometime in June but the new date is now July 6. Deluxe guest rooms, which start on the 16th floor, are going that night for a special 20 percent off rate of $255 a night with complimentary breakfast and unlimited WiFi.

Those rooms also have an average 554-sq.ft. to lounge in, floor-to-ceiling windows with views of the ocean, private balconies, 42-inch LCD flat-screens, oversized bathrooms, a deep-soaking tub and a Nespresso machine. (Read more about the dual-use room design here.)

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Hard Rock to Open in Panama, Panama Oh-oh-oh-oh

May 26, 2011 at 9:25 AM | by | Comments (0)

Hard Rock Hotel execs including Michael Shindler, Executive VP (third from left), rock out with their guitars out at the Hard Rock Hotel Panama press conference.

Now that we've got the Van Halen tune in your head, let us give you some more detes on the Hard Rock Hotel Panama Megapolis which is expected to open in December 2011 in Panama City.

The 66-story hotel will have 1,449 rooms, including a whopping 796 suites, some of which will be the brand's signature Rock Star Suites. The detes on the room designs and amenities are scant but guests will be able to create a music playlist all their own through the hotel's "Sound of Your Stay" music collection.

Throughout the property will be eight restaurants and bars, a club on the 62nd floor, a 7,800-sq.ft. Rock Spa and a Rock Shop where you can buy Hard Rock-branded gear. But sadly, no casino which means it will be more like the Hard Rock San Diego. Still a fun spot but we miss the slots.

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Sneak Peek at The Guestrooms of Trump Ocean Club Panama

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Panama
March 23, 2011 at 2:26 PM | by | Comments (0)

UPDATE: There's still no specific opening date other than "June" but room rates will start at $250 a night

The Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower in Panama is not set to open until June but we've finally got a sneak peek at the rooms that we will all be staying in when it opens. (Or at least we hope to stay in.) And y'all better be ready for some bathtime.

The Trump Panama rooms feature a very peekaboo bathroom with a freestanding deep-soaking oval bathtub. As you can see from the picture, the tub is in plain view. No need to turn on the TV for entertainment, just watch your lover splish and splash. Fortunately, if you do want some privacy there are curtains that can be closed around the tub.

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Ivanka Trump Is Taking the Family to Panama In June

Go To The Hotel's Web Site Where: Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Panama
February 2, 2011 at 2:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

We caught the news about the new Trump Toronto last summer when the least annoying Trump—Ivanka—TwitPic'd photos of herself in hard hat and swish navy-and-white dress inspecting the site. But now word comes that the hotelier, spa visionary, occasional model and handbag designer is pushing south of the border too with a 364-room, 70-story, $400 million building in Punta Pacifica, Panama City, Panama.

The Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower will be the tallest building south of Miami, and Hotel News Now has even more details:

The first 15 floors feature a casino, restaurants, spas, shops and Bay Loft apartments; hotel rooms and residences both start on the 16th floor.

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Trump Ocean Club Panama Now Set For Spring 2011

November 30, 2010 at 9:05 AM | by | Comments (0)

Trump has been on a roll with hotel openings lately, and the months ahead are no exception. The Trump Hotel Collection has just announced that Trump Ocean Club International Hotel & Tower Panama will open in Spring 2011.

The opening is Trump's first foray into Latin America--quite the milestone--but with a location near Punta Pacifica's International Banking Center, the brand hopes to find no shortage of wealthy guests to pamper.

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