American World Traveler Spring 2018 Issue

68
Holiday, in Panama
by Steve Gillick
On a recent trip to Panama City,
Panama we were guests of IHG,
the Intercontinental Hotels Group
that manages the Holiday Inn Express,
Crowne Plaza and InterContinental brands.
Accommodation-satisfaction differs from
person to person but most travelers will
agree on the importance of the 4 C’s: convenience,
comfort, customer service and
cost. The Holiday Inn Express Panama
Distrito Financiero, scored high points in all
the categories.
‘Convenience’ is often defined in terms of
‘location’ and how easy it is to access the
hotel by walking, driving or taxi. The Holiday
Inn Express, about a 40 minute drive from
Tocumen International Airport is on a quiet
side street. There are small markets, stores,
restaurants, banks with ATM machines, and
even a Felipe Motta Wine store, all within a
5-15 minute walk from the hotel. A taxi ride
to Casco Viejo, the old city, takes 10 minutes
or less and all the yellow taxi drivers knew
where the hotel was located.
‘Comfort’ relates to lifestyle, safety, the first
impression upon reaching the hotel, and
then the actual room amenities (bed, sheets,
pillows, towels, television, fridge, desk, and
in this day and age, Wifi accessibility). My
King room was quite large room with lots of
natural light, a proper desk and chair, reliable
Wifi, and a bed that I have to admit
was really comfortable. Accommodation at
the Holiday Inn Express includes a pretty
good breakfast buffet of scrambled eggs,
toast, rolls, breakfast meats, cheeses, fresh
fruit, yogurt, cereal, juices, coffee and tea.
‘Customer Service” is a reflection of the
hotel’s attitude toward the clientele, and I
found the front desk staff at the Holiday Inn
Express to be friendly and helpful throughout
my five night stay. When I noted that
there was no refrigerator in my room, they
said they would bring one, and literally a
few minutes later a staff member was at my
door with both arms wrapped around a
mini-fridge. I had the pleasure of speaking
with the very personable General Manager,
Miguel Legarda, who spoke about the
hotel’s 196 rooms, including 8 accessible
rooms, and then showed us the roof top
pool (great views) and the Gym.
And while ‘cost’ is a consideration for many
travelers, it really boils down to the perceived
‘value’ of the experience. If the hotel
is able to satisfy the client’s needs (convenience,
comfort, customer service) then the
value of the stay speaks for itself.
The InterContinental Miramar Panama is a
more upscale property located on Avenida
Balboa, the main thoroughfare/parkway
that connects new Panama with Casco Viejo.
The view of Panama Bay and the neighboring,
skycraping, residential towers are very
impressive, as are the comfy rooms, the
cocktail lounge and food in the dining
room.
The Crowne Plaza Panama is steps away
from La Iglesia del Carmen, a beautiful
Gothic-style Church that in turn, is steps
away from the Metro (subway), and therefore
quite easy to access.
However, we spent our last night at the
Crowne Plaza Panama Airport, (10 minutes
from the airport by hotel shuttle). The food
at the hotel restaurant exceeded expectations,
and on the flight home, I carried
pleasant memories of my last lunch: grilled
octopus, steamed veggies and an ice cold
Balboa beer.
www.ihg.com
American World Traveler Spring 2018