Panama Hotel

What a massive disappointment. I arrived 6:30PM on Friday, May 3, 2024 - no one at the front desk. Just a key in a lockbox. I walked in, and the place was trashed. I checked the room, it's not the one I booked online. Next morning, I bring all this up to the guy at the front desk. He shrugs it off defensively, "Renovation." he says. Repeatedly. The website said nothing about a renovation. As for the wrong room, he said, it was already booked. How could that be when I booked it online? The answer? "Renovation!" - He really said that. And what about the website's complimentary breakfast? Nope! And yet, I'm being charged full price. I asked for the manager, was told manager manager Manny wasn't there. He may be in Monday. Or the following Friday. He's not there much, he said. Left a message for Manny to call, haven't heard from him. It's like I booked a room in Hooterville. Though I bet Arnold Ziffel's got better management skills.

I stayed here this month for a HS reunion. The room was quite nice with a balcony bathroom and kitchenette. Well appointed with amenities clean and attractive. I loved the location as it was a block away from a childhood home of mine on the same street. The night was quiet and my rest was peaceful.

We booked this hotel via Agoda. The listing indicated AC (same on their website for the room), but the room had none, so we checked out immediately and asked for a refund. The front desk confirmed that we would receive a refund, but later when contacted denied that refund. In the end we had to resolve via a credit card dispute. Very dishonest hotel - starting with a dishonest listing and ending with dishonest promise of a refund.

At first I was fearful due to the bad reviews. But we liked this faded remnant with its intriguing Mexican- themed cluster of outdoor walkways needed to reach the varied downstairs rooms and the second floor rooms with balconies. The first visit we stayed in the Bordello room. We arrived at midnight through using a gate combination to access entry to the enclosed courtyard then on up to the room. Opening the closet to hang my coat greeted me with a bang. The ironing board hangs on the door and wallops the door every time it is opened. The toilet paper had only a quarter inch left on its roll and there were no other rolls. The holder actually came off the wall when I used it. But the restaurant is completely charming and light- filled for the modest morning breakfast. When you call to make a reservation the mailbox is always full. You have to call back. The manager shrugged when asked about this saying the owner seems not to care. What a mystery! Located in a pleasant residential walking neighborhood. The reasonable price and the charm makes the disparities fade away however.

When we arrived at 245pm, there was no one at the front desk and we had received a text that our key was in an envelope. We promptly went to our room as we had our dog with us and wanted to get everything settled. Immediately, when we walked into the room, we realized it was about 50 degrees and turned the heat on. The heat took HOURS to get the room warm, I am guessing bc of the SLATE floors. Again, not a huge deal, but we had to keep our coats on for hours which was ridiculous since the room was less than 250 sq ft We retired pretty early because we were exhausted from the day and realized the bed was going to be a challenge. It was clearly a very old spring mattress with a GIANT sag in it. At this point, I wanted to leave, but my wife wanted to just go to sleep. At around 10pm, we noticed they clearly rented the room above us to actual elephants. It was beyond loud and we could literally hear everything including their conversation. They were by no means being loud, but it became apparent very quickly that the walls were thinner than paper!!! We tried to go back to sleep and we were abruptly woken up about 4am because the person above us was snoring so loudly they literally were shaking our walls....I am not even exaggerating a little bit. I was dumbfounded. Again, the people above us weren't doing anything wrong, however, this 'hotel' was a joke and they didn't give a damn that we were able to sleep for less than 3 hours that night because of the ridiculousness of the walls/ceiling. This must have been an old home or something and the owners never did any actual renovations for HOTEL guests. The next morning I told them I wanted to check out and would not be staying another night as I needed to actually sleep! Not only did they not ask me if there was anything they could do, but when I went down for the 'breakfast' (dont even bother unless you want ruguela......) they had my receipt waiting for me to sign. I was beyond disappointed and guess I should have paid better attention to the other reviews. If you are able to stay somewhere else, DO NOT stay here. You will be sorely disappointed, but if you HAVE TO bc you have no other choice, then make sure you stay on the 2nd floor and bring your own mattress. The decor is definitely outdated, there is a coffee machine, but no coffee, the room itself did not appear clean and the lighting was joke. We had to open the blinds to actually see anything. Oh and good luck ever talking to anyone about anything. I had to go to the front desk 3x to actually be able to catch the person who was supposed to be working.

The Panama Hotel is a little jewel hidden in the town of San Rafael, CA. You feel as if you were at home. The customer care of all the staff is spotless, never intruding, always helpful. Very clean, the rooms are fascinating, every one with a different theme. The amazing decoration, the whimsicality, the personal photographs of the original owners at the lobby and breakfast space make it all together unique. I heartily recommend it, it is a trip within a trip. Difficult to leave it. I will certainly come back.

Bottom line - the place is disgusting. Dirty sheets, towels, surfaces. I felt sick to my stomach. We spent several hours trying to find another hotel but could not find a room anywhere. Having to stay there was awful. Hotel rooms do not need to be fancy, but they absolutely must be clean. Perhaps the hotel should shut down like the restaurant did. Never again.