Hotel Casa Antigua

The smell hit throughout the hotel, damp, musty, and dirty, and I checked out after just one night to find a cleaner place. I found a roach leg in a towel and later saw a dead roach in the room. There was hair on the wall and bed, stains on the walls and chair cushions, badly stained curtains, and a black toilet seat. The entrance looked dirty, and reception was cluttered and unkempt. Staff at the desk came across as dismissive and rude. Noise made it hard to rest too, with the upstairs bar carrying into the rooms at night. Some windows look onto an interior hallway, so there’s no daylight, and privacy means you can’t open the curtains. The location might appeal to some, but the experience fell far short of four-star standards. With cleanliness, upkeep, noise, and service all needing work, I’d suggest travelers looking for comfort and a quiet, clean stay choose somewhere else.

The pictures make the hotel look great, but we were sold a room with a mold or mildew problem, and rooms are currently leaking. There aren’t many amenities, and the outlets are taken up by the TV or mini fridge, leaving nowhere to charge things. We didn’t get enough towels or service. The hotel is a couple of blocks outside the old city, away from the nicer areas. At night, the roof club parties until 2 a.m. and you can hear everything through the paper-thin walls, including the guy next door using the bathroom. The king bed is two twins pushed together, so a child sharing with a third person can fall into the gap. I wouldn’t recommend it.

We were told there was a staff party on Sunday night, but management rented rooms while it was going on. By 2:30 a.m. the noise was so loud we couldn’t sleep. When we asked calmly, the staff responded rudely and confrontationally instead of trying to sort it out. If you want a dependable, quiet stay in Casco Viejo, this place isn’t it.

The location makes it easy to walk around, with shops, restaurants, and coffee places close by. There’s also a bar and restaurant on the roof, though the music from the dance club can get really loud on weekends. It’s rated one of the top clubs in Panama. We had three rooms after a smooth check-in, and each had its own quirks. Mine smelled of mildew, though it was clean. The facilities could use an upgrade.