travelingfan

The Panama City Four Points that some people have been wondering about is a perfectly acceptable hotel. No Gold recognition but friendly staff and rooms that are better than most Four Points in the U.S.
Rooms all on busy streets but good soundproofing windows. No ice machines but they come around with ice about 6 and give out delicious little cakes. Domestic Panamanian coffee in rooms (excellent Duran brand). Free coffee and juice in lobby each morning. Would certainly stay again.

sbtinme

Thanks for the positive report. I have wondered about this property...... My strong suspicion is that outside the USofA, the quality of the 4Pts brand rises somewhat.

ajnaro

The quality of Sheraton itself is usually much higher outside the US, although there are exceptions. There is nothing in the US like the Four Points Sydney or the Four Points Santiago. The Sheraton Sydney (Sheraton on the Park) or ArabellaSheraton Cape Town are outstanding Sheratons that it would be difficult to beat in the US.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I would appreciate any recent comments on this property. How far from intl airport? Transport options? HSIA from rooms? Area? Tour options? Is this even a city worth seeing? Noted a nice picture of the city in Budget Travel magazine. Such as sucker for those things. Thanks all!

vivrant

Not sure if this is recent enough, but I stayed at this property for two weeks this past January. The rooms do have HSIA. As a platinum, I was upgraded to a suite for one of the two weeks I stayed here. PTY is about 30 minutes away (about a $30 fare).

The quality of the hotel is great. FWIW, I would rank this place as high as most Sheraton's here in the States. There is bookings agent located in the lobby of the hotel that will assist with any travel/tour related matters.

Regarding Panama itself, I guess it would depend on your vantage point. As a single male traveller, I had an awesome time in Panama. Great nightclubs, friendly ladies, casino's and best of all, cheap cuban cigars ^

The Panama canal was interesting, but nothing to really write home about. To sum it up, from a tourists perspective I think Panama city can easily be enjoyed in a three days.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you. Sounds like a nice city.

A320 EOW

RTWSTARALLIANCE-

Let me first say that I always appreciate your reviews/summaries of the different properties you visit. They give me something to look forward to when I have collected enough miles/points.

As for the Panama City Four Points, I didn't stay there when I visited at the end of April, but I ate at one of the restaurants in the evening. I used my SPG AmEx to pay for the bill, but I failed to get a receipt, so I'm not expecting the points to post. Based on the credit card charge, the hotel used to be a Radisson and is in excellent shape.

For the immediate area, I recall there was a very large and upscale liquor store across the street and maybe a block away that carried wines from all over the world, as well as a smaller area that had drinks/snacks like a 7 Eleven in the States would have. Opposite the liquor store was a chicken fast food restaurant that I believe was open 24 hours in case you get hungry in the middle of the night.

The area around the hotel seemed safe and I didn't have a problem walking from the Four Points back to the Marriott (where I was staying) with two other people. One complaint I had was that a number of streets have little or no street lighting and some streets don't have names on them. Luckily, the Marriott was a high-rise and stood out among the other buildings, so I could just look for it.

I ended up renting a car at the airport for this trip to Panama City. Valet parking was free at my hotel and probably will be so at the Four Points as well. There are a number of old school buses in Panama City that serve as transportation and it seems like each of the drivers try to out-decorate one another. Many are adorned with neon lights that glow at night. Taxis are also present everywhere and were reasonably priced.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more information. I enjoyed Panama City and hope to go back there someday soon. I was definitely surprised to see how it really wasn't as different as a large city in the US. Your cell phone should work here, too.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thank you for the very kind compliment. I do take pleasure in writing our little reports. My wife is getting more understanding of me opening up the laptop and writing a brief summary. She still thinks I am a little crazy or should I say us all. Thank you again for the kind comments.

Since both of your are recent travellers to Panama can you comment on the airlines you used? I did check AA and from SMF it takes nearly 20 hours with two connections. Was the HSIA complimentary or how much please? How was the restaurant? Keep the information coming. Regards and once again thank you for the comment.

vivrant

I flew Continental from Newark with a stopover in MIA. This won't apply to you, but Copa Air flies direct out of JFK.

I just whipped out my folio from my stay there and it looks like they were billing me $15.75/day of HSIA. IIRC, they were planning on making this service complimentary to keep in line with other Four Points--not sure when though.

Never tried the restaurant, but room service was fine. FWIW, quality food in Panama is very cheap. I would recommend strolling over to one of the malls and eating in the food courts there. Unlike in the States where fast-food chains make up the majority of food offerings, the malls in Panama have food courts with many independantly operated restaurants.

You may also want to explore the possiblity of doing a multi-country trip since you will making a long journey. I visited Costa Rica and Bogata, Colombia during my two weeks in Panama--both < 1hr. flights.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Very good. Can I buy "cheap" tickets from Panama to some of those countries?

A320 EOW

US Airways used to have service to PTY (I flew PHL-FLL-PTY and back), but they dropped service in early May. Perhaps it will return in the fall or once the merger with HP moves along.

The airport is in the midst of a renovation. The concourse used by US Airways and many of the other American carriers is being recarpeted and repainted and looks much better than what I assume is more of the domestic concourse (Copa Airlnes has a hub here). If you plan on using AA, they have a lounge in this concourse. Many of the duty-free stores repeat themselve- e.g. there are many liquor, food, and luggage stores that carry the same goods, though the prices did not seem that discounted.

If you do rent a car, there are a number of highways that are just to the outside of Panama City that would enable you to see more of the country. They are toll roads, but the toll is $1 for most of them and one often pays just upon entering the highway (no exit toll). The highways are almost brand-new and very lightly used. The gas prices were slightly more than in the US, but most major US gas companies were present.

I didn't visit Costa Rica on this trip, though I traveled there separately on US Airways last year. From what I've read, one can only get to Colombia by flying- even though the country borders Colombia to the south, there is a dense jungle that is supposedly inaccessible except by foot. Another guidebook mentioned that there is a small village at the border that might have a road passage.

The restaurant was fine- the clientele consisted of many Panamanians, but there were also a few tables occupied by Americans. Sorry I don't have much more information about the hotel, as I only ate at the restaurant.

As was mentioned earlier, there is a lot of high quality food available in the city at reasonable prices. I agree with the comment about eating at one of the food courts in the mall (the large MultiCentro Mall attached to the Radisson comes to mind). A large meal at the mall will be no more than $6. Invariably, places outside of the hotel will offer cheaper meals

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Excellent and thank you.

DENPremEx

Bump

Any recent comments on this property? How about HSIA, still a charge? Thanks!

ratchtjaw

Staying here now...

Nice property. As a Plat I got upgraded to a suite for a 2 night stay.

Internet is ~$13 /day. Also a pain that you must use wired as the wireless is much higher rates for much shorter durations.

I was able to hit several open access points from my room if paying is that out of the question.

wma

Bump. Any more recent stays. Planning on going beginning of August for a week. Anyone know if HSIA is free now?