Our Review of the Studio Coliving Hotel in Panama City, Panama

Welcome to our in-depth review of Studio Coliving Hotel in Panama City, Panama! In this blog post, we’ll take you through our decision-making process, the details of our accommodations, and a close look at the hotel’s amenities, customer service, and overall experience. Our aim is to provide fellow travelers with a comprehensive review, highlighting both the positives and areas for improvement, valuable insights and practical tips, helping you make informed choices for your budget-friendly hotel in this vibrant Central American hub. Join us as we share the highs, lows, and everything in between, offering an honest account that goes beyond the surface to help you navigate your Panama City adventure seamlessly.

Studio Coliving in Panama City, Panama review

Our decision to choose Studio Coliving Hotel was heavily influenced by cost and its proximity to public transportation and it’s proximity to the Bio Museo, Casco Viejo, Punta Culebra Nature Center and Panama Viejo, plus a fellow traveler’s YouTube video and descriptions on third-party booking websites. With a unique blend of hotel and hostel/co-working space, Studio Coliving Hotel presented itself as an intriguing option for budget-conscious travelers.

Accommodations

The ‘Studio 1 King Bed’ room we booked was equipped with essential amenities, including a comfortable king bed, dresser, desk, office chair, nightstands, small laptop-size safe, mini-fridge, air conditioning and a spacious bathroom. There is also a ‘tea and coffee making set’ but we only found the device in the room, no drinking cups or glasses provided, and it takes a special type of pod. The sign on the dresser says you can buy a ‘coffee kit’ at the restaurant downstairs but after tasting the coffee in the restaurant we decided not too (it was honestly the worst coffee I’ve ever been served as a civilian). We did look for the pods when we went to the grocery store but didn’t find them at Riba Smith. We had a single cup filter basket and borrowed 2 mugs from the restaurant but mostly we just went out and got coffee each morning. We went across the street to Pipo for an okay coffee or up two blocks to Noel for very good coffee.

The king bed was cushy but firm, Sandra found the bed extremely comfortable while I found that it was a bit more firm than I like. The bed was equipped with a top sheet, bottom sheet, and two pillows which was a bit odd for us (no blankets at all) but we later learned that is the norm here in Panama.

The bathroom was generously sized. They provided two towels, sample size shampoo, conditioner, body wash and a single roll of one-ply toilet paper. We did notice some minor mold growth in grout lines due to the placement of shower and bathroom floor drains and the lack of any ventilation system in the bathroom.

Amenities

Breakfast

The hotel did offer a breakfast (for an additional fee), that I’m sure was quite delightful, but Jeff and I opted to not do breakfast most mornings and either eat a bigger lunch or find a local cafe or patisserie and get a few things to snack on.

There is a restaurant in the lobby which offers breakfast and lunch. We did breakfast there once which was pretty good and good value. We did lunch once and weren’t impressed with the food or value. Do not order the coffee.

Common Areas

On the 7th floor, the rooftop amenities, including the pool, spa, gym, laundry, and shared kitchen, offered a pleasant experience. The pool and spa temperatures were manageable, and extra towels were available upon request.

Outdoor Pool

The pool is not heated though it is located on the roof and gets full sun all day long, so the water isn’t actually cold, and the spa seemed to be only very slightly heated. We asked at the front desk about getting extra towels for the pool and were told housekeeping would deliver them – that never happened though Sandra did manage to borrow a couple of towels from one of the housekeepers in the hallway the next day. Also be aware, the outdoor shower in the pool area is cold water only and it’s somehow colder than the tap water in the room.

Shared Kitchen

The covered, open-air kitchen has four cooking stations which are paired up so there is a stovetop on each side of the sink. There are 4 full-size fridge/freezer units – 2 at each end of the workspace and various appliances like microwaves, coffeemakers, something that may have been a ricecooker and a toaster/airfryer looking thing but the kitchen lacked essential tableware (plates, bowls, eating utensils) and cleaning supplies. Well, there were 4 teaspoons in one of the drawers. There is also a selection of common pots and pans and accessories like colanders and mixing bowls.

Given the shared nature of the space and the apparent absence of a cleaning schedule, we highly recommend starting the cooking process by washing all items, countertops, etc, intended for use and concluding by cleaning everything used. We grabbed paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery at the Riba Smith when we did our first grocery run.

Co-Working Space

The hotel lobby boasts a large co-working conference table as well as several seating areas in the air conditioned space.

There were at least one or two people at the conference table most days, it’s pretty well used. The Wi-Fi signal here and in our room was consistently strong, though occasionally slow.

Other Amenities

There is a small market in the lobby with some common needs items. We didn’t use it much. Across the street and maybe 100 meters down is Fortunate Market which had a good variety of snacks and basic supplies. There is another market around the corner towards via Espana but it didn’t seem to have quite the selection.

There also appeared to conference rooms on the main level of the lobby, the doors were always closed so we have no idea what the rooms looked like but if you need conference space you should check it out.

Check In & Customer Service

We found the English language skills of the staff varied wildly. Which is somewhat expected, being in a Spanish speaking country and all, but be aware you may need to use Google translate if your Spanish isn’t good. I expected (with no real justification to do so) that more of the staff would understand basic English like ‘can I have an extra towel please’ just based on the hotel’s target market. It didn’t cause any issues for us, I was just a little surprised. The attitude of the staff also varied from “I’d rather not be here” to “how can I help!”.

The elevators we fairly good size, not like the teeny tiny elevators we’ve experienced in European hotels but not nearly as large as the elevators we typically see in the US.

Jeff and I could each had a backpack, a day pack and our share roller bag and still had room for a few more people on the elevators.

Housekeeping

Housekeeping had a flexible schedule, contrary to their promise of “all services and supplies included”. After a few nights we asked about the housekeeping schedule at the front desk and were told ‘Oh, just let us know when you want it done’. Housekeeping did our room after a second request at the front desk, and again the next day, and the day after, but then not the next day, and then we left a few days later. I never got the extra pillow I requested, though. So if you require maid service be sure to ask for it when you check in.

Price

The cost for our 12-night stay was $521.

Location

Situated on a bustling street, Studio Coliving Hotel managed to provide a surprisingly tranquil environment. The mining protests, happening at the time, were barely noticeable in our 4th-floor room.

Hotel Address: Av. Federico Boyd & Av. Ricardo Arango 0801 Panama City Panama

Like we said, we chose this hotel based on reviews and its proximity to transportation and its central location. The hotel’s proximity to a metro station, approximately a block away, made city exploration convenient, and taxis or rideshare services were affordable (a ride to Allbrook Mall cost less than $4 for the two of us). We used ride share services for sightseeing and that was pretty inexpensive – most of the places we went were $4 or so; the most expensive trip was to almost the end of the Amador Causeway (Punta Culebra Nature Center) which was just over $7.

When booking our hotel (through a third party website) we earned a free shuttle to the hotel, the shuttle turned out to be a taxi and other than some minor communication issues while finding our driver at the airport it was a straight forward. The ride took maybe 30 minutes.

Would we stay here again?

Overall, our stay at Studio Coliving Hotel was acceptable for modest budget travelers, with room for improvement to fully live up to its promises and elevate it beyond being just “okay.”
While not an unequivocal recommendation for a return stay, Studio Coliving Hotel remains a viable option for the next time we find ourselves in Panama City seeking budget-friendly accommodations.

TheMobileRetiree.com is supported by its audience. We may earn a small commission from qualifying purchases made through links on our website. Thank you. Learn more>

Heading to Panama City, Panama? Discover these helpful services!