Historial Boutique Apartments
Location: Casco Viejo, Panama City, Panama
Style: Charming 1930s
Budget: ££
In the heart of Panama City’s old town sits Las Clementinas, the ultimate spot to rest your weary head after a day exploring the stunning Casco Viejo. With a fascinating history of it’s own where two generations of Clementina made this building their home, you can make your own home away from home in one of these lovingly restored apartments each inspired by one of Dona Clementina’s tenants.
Staying at Las Clementinas
Las Clementinas has been designed to preserve the character of the original building taking you back in time to its heyday in the 1930s with quirky modern touches. Six spacious apartments and three studios are spread out across three floors of this charming building leading up to impressive views from the rooftop bar.
You can choose to stay in either a fully equipped apartment or a more compact studio room. We stayed in Apartment 5 which comprised of a kingsized bed, a sofa bed, ensuite with beautiful tiled shower, lounge and kitchen alongside two balconies, both with epic views. Inspired by Don Luis, a pianist during the silent film era, this room even features a vintage piano!
Las Clementinas are serviced apartments meaning the apartments are cleaned bi-weekly, however you can opt to include additional cleaning for US$15/day. On top of this, Las Clementinas also has a menu of additional services to make your stay as special and tailored as you would like, this ranges from arriving to a fully stocked fridge to the ultimate romantic evening with a private rooftop meal cooked by Edgar Hernandez.
Outside of your apartment there are a number of places within the hotel grounds where you can choose to relax. The private rooftop is a perfect spot to enjoy the sun set with a bottle of Balboa or for a midday lunch in the sun overlooking the city. There are also two seating areas within the secret garden on the ground floor allowing you to enjoy some speckled shade whilst still embracing the charm of Las Clementinas.
Dining at Las Clementinas
As Las Clementinas offers serviced apartments rather than a full service hotel, breakfast is not provided on site. At check in guests are gifted a voucher for a discounted breakfast at nearby Hotel Tantalo, or can opt to purchase a breakfast basket for their room. With a large, fully stocked kitchen guests can even purchase any goods they want from nearby shops and prepare a DIY breakfast, or you can choose to explore one of the many cute cafes within Casco Viejo for breakfast – it’s completely your decision.
On the ground floor of Las Clementinas sits Casa Bruja, a bar and restaurants, where guests can head for a mid-afternoon drink al fresco in the secret garden, or stop by for dinner where dishes blend Asian and Panamanian flavours perfectly paired to their beers. First and foremost a brewery, Casa Bruja serves over 25 beers on tap, many from their own brewery out in Costa del Este, and also offer an intriguing list of beer based cocktails!
Key Information about Las Clementinas
What is the best way to get to Las Clementinas?
Las Clementinas is located in the heart of Panama City’s old town, a half an hour drive from Panama’s international airport (Tocumen) and a quarter of an hour from the domestic terminal (Albrook). Las Clementinas offer airport transfers from US$35 upwards, these may be complimentary for guests staying longer than three nights.
What are the rates at Las Clementinas?
The six spacious apartments at Las Clementinas are available for just under US$200 per night, and come complete with an open plan living and dining space, one or more balconies overlooking the old town, generously sized kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Each apartment can comfortably sleep up to four adults, with the sofa folding out into a bed.
The studio rooms are more compact yet still roomy, foregoing a separate living/dining area and private balcony, and are priced around US$150 a night. Discounts may be available for longer stays, and during low season.
If you’re fit and healthy, we suggest requesting one of the apartments on the top floor (Apartments 5 and 6) for excellent views from your balcony across the Casco Viejo to the sea and further on to the urban jungle of the city beyond. Be aware that to maintain the architecture of the original building there are no lifts available at Las Clementinas therefore opting for one of these beautiful apartments does require a hike up three flights of stairs, but don’t worry the friendly staff will assist with your luggage!
What is there to do near Las Clementinas?
Located smack bang in the middle of Casco Viejo the first thing on your list to do whilst staying at Las Clementinas has to be to get out and explore the beautiful old town, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Las Clementinas provide a cute booklet detailing a walking tour round their favourite spots around Casco Viejo which is a great place to start. The booklet ticks off all of our top spots and even includes a little bit of history about key landmarks along the route.
Further afield take to the water to explore the nearby island of Taboga or head to the Biomuseo to learn more about Panama’s biodiversity, and of course no trip to Panama is complete without a trip to the Panama Canal!
Our final thoughts on... Las Clementinas
Whether it’s your first time in Panama City or your fifth, Las Clementinas is the perfect base from which to explore Panama City, a short walk along picturesque streets to many delicious bars and restaurants. The apartments offer a unique blend of the historic 1930’s charm whilst still offering all the modern amenities every traveller needs, from a cosy dressing gown to efficient aircon to escape the Panama heat.
Find Out More…
Las Clementinas – https://www.lasclementinas.com
Explore more from Panama City and Panama.
Many thanks to Las Clementinas for hosting us during our time in Panama City. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed here are entirely our own, we wouldn’t recommend something if we didn’t love it!
