More Panama Canal Hotels

Not far from Panama City, 8.05 km (about 15 minutes to Panama City) to be exact, located in the City of Knowledge, the Holiday Inn Panama Canal is a spectacular new hotel for tourists looking for hotels in Panama to stay at. Situated in the perfect location for a marvellous view of the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal and the Miraflores Locks, if the most important part of your vacation in Panama is to see the Panama Canal, this might be the right hotel for you.

This new Panama Canal hotel offers one suite and 136 large rooms to guests, a swimming pool, meeting rooms, wireless internet access, fitness facilities and a business center for the business traveller. The rooms are air conditioned, with either a king bed or two double beds and priced at about $160 per night. Rooms provide all the modern comforts and amenities you could expect from Holiday Inn worldwide. Your room comes equipped with a plasma satellite TV, hairdryer, iron and ironing board, safety deposit box, internet access for a charge and a coffee/tea machine. The holiday Inn Panama Canal is exceptionally clean and the staff is friendly and very professional providing great service.

There is one restaurant serving excellent cuisine and one bar. The Canal View Café offers, obviously from the name, a spectacular view of the Panama Canal and great food. You can also get snacks at the Bar.

You could also choose an all inclusive vacation in Panama and get an excellent deal on the price for somewhere between $1,225 - $1,785 Canadian dollars for a one week stay, depending on when you choose to take your vacation in Panama. This price for this package is offered by Sunwing vacations which have a website at sunwing.ca. Sunwing also offers great fly now, pay later financing for your vacation in Panama. You can also choose with Sunwing an all inclusive package whereby you combine this hotel with another hotel resort such as the Playa Blanca Resort or the Gamboa Rainforest Resort in another location which is a great idea to see and experience more of Panama. You can then tour the Panama Canal, watch the ships and Panama cruise lines make the epic journey through the Canal and then experience a resort type holiday at a beach hotel in Panama city or perhaps explore the rainforest at a resort known as the Gamboa Rainforest Resort.

The City of Knowledge is an interesting city, quite beautiful to visit and there are some malls close by if you want to do some shopping in Panama.The City of Knowledge was once an American Army base and has now become a small city which has become known world wide as a center for technological research and education.

For other hotel options for Panama Canal hotels, there are some other hotels for you such as the Melia Panama Canal or the Country Inn & Suites Amador. Read the reviews of these hotels and make the decision to stay at one of these hotels, whichever suits you best. I still think the best option is one of the all inclusive packages offered by Sunwing that lets you combine two hotels for your one or two week stay in Panama. This way, you get to experience both the Panama Canal and then either the rainforest at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort or a beach hotel resort in Panama atmosphere. There are also hotels in Panama City available in these combination all inclusive hotel deals to Panama.

Enjoy your vacation and whichever hotel in Panama you choose, you will want to return again and again to this beautiful country, rich in wildlife, rainforests, unspoiled beaches, warm, friendly people and a rich cultural heritage. There is so much to see and experience in Panama.

Hotels in Panama at Carnival Time

If you haven’t already booked your hotel in Panama for the Panama Carnival, you may already be too late. Hotels in Panama book up very quickly around Carnival Time. Another option for you would be to try and make a reservation at one of the hostels in Panama City, such as Villa Michelle is owned by Ivonne or La Casa de Carmen, two hostels I have already written about on this site. Staying at a hostel or with a family in Panama will give you something that you probably won’t get as much of by staying at a resort or hotel, and that is an authentic Panamanian experience. The added bonus is the friendly people you will meet. Then again you might already be visiting Panama and staying at one of the all inclusive resorts in Panama during the week of the Carnival. You are in luck, just ask at your hotel’s information desk or ask the concierge how you can go about attending the Panama Carnival.

The Panama Carnival, both the parade and most of the festivities take place on the Vía Espana, in Panama City on the Friday before Ash Wednesday (in February) every year. This year, the exact date this year would be February 25, 2009. A new Carnival Queen is elected chosen for the Carnival, of course replacing the Queen from the year before. The parade and other events precede four days of revelling and partying which is a lot of celebration, fun and enjoyment. Go for it! And don’t plan for an early bedtime; you’ll be up late, drinking, dancing and celebrating with all the people of Panama.

What would a parade be without a Queen? A queen is chosen and will star in the Panama parade. Whatever hotel in Panama City you choose to stay in will probably also be holding events and food and other such revellary. The atmosphere is one of celebration and so you should celebrate too! Water trucks spray the people, water balloons get tossed, music is playing and everyone is having fun.

While in Panama for the Carnival, if you have time, you should also visit some of the beaches on Panama Bay on the Pacific Ocean or, if you have time, try to visit some of the beaches on the Caribbean side of Panama. And, one thing you must not miss if this is your first visit to Panama is a tour of the Panama Canal. Many hotels offer day or overnight trips to the Panama Canal. There are Panama Canal hotels in the area for you to choose from such as: the Melia Panama Canal situated at Gatun Lake or the Country Inn & Suites Amador next to the Panama Canal entrance, where your suite’s balcony has either a view of the famous Canal and the Bridge of the Americas to the Pacific Ocean or a view of the gardens. You are still close enough to Panama City to drive in to visit the Carnival.

Whatever resort or hotel in Panama City you chose to stay in at this time of celebration during Carnival time, don’t miss the fun!