The Canal House, Panama City

I can honestly say this was one of the best places we have ever stayed. My wife and I were in Panama City for three nights on our way to Bocas de Toro. This is a good amount of time for the city--we actually decided that the rain forest near the city was more interesting than what we found in the more remote areas of the country we visited, but that is another story.... The hotel (it is more of a private mansion with individual rooms) reminded us of some of the charming places we've stayed in Europe, but the service was better. Everything from the bedding to the toiletries was first class. There are three rooms and maybe six or eight staff, including two lovely English speaking managers. We have never had so much personal attention at a hotel (thank you Thelma and Olga!) We went downtown to the high rise district of the city for dinner one night and were glad to be staying in the historic district. It is a work in progress for sure, but facinating and had quite a nice selection of restaurants and cafes, etc.