The Decapolis exceeded everyone’s expectations. We were 5 friends in our 30’s and this was the scene to be seen. The Sushi/Lobby bar is happening almost every night. Large couches with TV’s set in the tables, ask for the remote when you’re bored. We met quite a few locals that helped us out immensely when we wanted to party and when 3 of us lost their twice weekly flight to Argentina.

The pool, set in what looks like a smoke stack of a cruise ship has Lucite windows to part of the restaurant below. It’s on the 4th floor or so and has a high pressure pump for a great massage. The rooms are very good as are the beds and water pressure. At 29 floors you’re going to have a good view. There are topless Kuna Indians watching over you when you sleep. There’s a glass elevator for 14 or so floors in the atrium.

There’s a great weekend club nearby called Next and the Bodeguita on Tuesday is the place for dancing salsa. The shopping is nothing special you can find better deals in the states.

Breakfast was excellent as was the restaurant and sushi – Wine as in all Central America is pricey, but not much more than you’d spend at home. You have to walk around with your ID card to charge anything to your room so don’t leave it behind. If you’re looking for a W experience, this is the place to stay.

I know Panama City very well and decided to stay in this hotel because of the location and because of the excellent reviews I had read, but I was very dissapointed. First, the hotel driveway entrance is small (only a small roofed area), so you need an umbrella if it's raining. The lobby is nice looking, but it is usually packed - the hotel's proximity to the casino provides for some shady characters too. I always felt like I had to watch my back and did not feel comfortable walking by myself without my husband. The rooms do not have carpeting, so they are very noisy. Also, my room had a huge picture with bare female torsos - one of the native indian Panama groups - I don't get offended easily, but I'm sorry, this is not something that I want to see when I wake up and when I go to sleep. There are only three elevators for all 29 floors - I usually planned for a good 3-5 minutes to wait for the elevator. The gym is tiny, and it seems like the room temperature was tied to that of the spa's, because it felt like it was 80 degrees in the gym. The spa is also very noisy. Housekeeping is slow - I would be gone for a couple of hours and the room would still not be made when I came back. Multicentro, the mall next to the hotel, was a great dissapointment. It contains mainly Colombian boutiques - nothing to write home about. Finally, hotel phone service is horrible - outside callers to my room were told that they were calling a cell phone, and had to leave text messages with an operator. I had to wait for about 10 rings before I got someone on the line to read me my messages. The operator once laughed when she was reading one of my messages - I asked her if she thought it was funny, and she replied I don't know with a giggle. The only nice thing I can praise about this hotel is the staff - everyone was quite nice, but so is just about everyone in Panama, so this is not enough reason for me to stay at this hotel. Next time I will stay at the Marriott, Intercontinental or Bristol.

We stayed at the Radisson on the last day of our 10day Panama "tour" and after 2 days at Hacienda Del Mar, so that definitely impacted this review. The hotel itself is beautiful. We stayed on a Mon night, no crowds in the lobby or bar area all that day. The room itself is quiet, restful and very modern. We were upgraded to a suite on the 26th and were very impressed with the view and the room.

The staff was efficient, and confirmed our plane reservations which turned out to be important since the flight out the next morning was delayed and they contacted us at the hotel as a result of us confirming thru the hotel.

Had a drink in the lobby bar, no complaints about the service but we were two of only a handful of people there at the time.

Had dinner at Fusion - 4 of the 5 courses were delicious. Skip the potstickers, but definitely have the mushroom soup and the Chinese ceasar salad (a large portion). The staff there was friendly but not top notch. They seemed a little inexperienced, were dropping silverware and served all of my appetizers (I didn't have a main course) at once instead of pacing it with my husband's main meal. But that's a minor quibble in our view.

We enjoyed our stay there very much and will definitely return.

We booked our room online at Radisson. I was a bit concerned when making the reservations because the website did not provide any pictures of the hotel. We were able to get the AAA rate at $125/night (weekdays) and $105/night (weekends - Friday through Sunday). The room rate included daily breakfast buffet on the 3rd floor, a $25 credit at the Majestic casino (adjoining the hotel by a skybridge), a $20/day beverage credit, and a daily newspaper (if they remembered to deliver it). We only got the newspaper on two of the five days of our stay.

When we arrived, the hotel looked very modern - like a W hotel. Lots of glass and metal and bright and vivid colored walls. It's located in a busy district known as Paitillia. The location of the hotel is ideal, close to shopping (Multicentro Shopping Center), a casino, restaurants, and even a cineplex (known as Extreme Planet). If you walk over to the shopping center (just across the street), you can catch cabs for about $1.25 - $2.00 per ride to most places in Panama City. If you decide to catch a cab in front of the hotel, expect to pay at least double.

Our room had a great view - it was on the 23rd floor and had a view of the bay and skyline. However, the room, which looked fairly new, was not as well-maintained as I would have liked. The hairdryer was broken, the door to the minibar was broken, and the tub did not drain properly. Nonetheless, the hairdryer was replaced in a few hours and the tub was fixed after a few hours. However, the minibar door was not fixed. The housekeepers also ran out of coffee for the in-room coffee maker on a couple of days, but did not bother to get any until I made a specific request for it. The housekeeper did not seem to sweep/mop the floors regularly either (I noticed because there was some debris left on the floor when the hairdryer was replaced and the debris was not removed for a few days.)

FYI: The art in the room includes a photo mural of semi-nude Kuna Indians. If you're easily offended, this might not be the room for you.

A lot of light comes into the room from the ceiling to floor windows. The bathroom is separated from the bedroom with etched glass walls - the walls are etched with mola designs. It's actually very cool looking.

Getting up to the rooms can take a while. There are only 3 elevators which go to all 29 floors and one which goes up to the 14th floor. These elevators are usually slow and at least one is out of service.

The swimming pool is small. It's about three times the size of the hot tub. People eating at the 1st floor restaurant are supposed to be able to look up and see people swimming in the pool. Unfortunately, when I went to the pool, it started to rain. I didn't get a chance to really enjoy that part of the hotel.

The bar/lounge on the first floor is busy. Lots of servers standing around, but none are too eager to serve you. It's easier (and faster) if you go to the bar and order a drink directly from the bartender. Drinks are good, but a little bit pricy. Mixed drinks go for $6 and they automatically include tax and tip in the bill.

The buffet breakfast is big. There are several stations serving fresh fruit juices, fruits, cereals, yogurt, hot breakfast entrees, and pastries and bread. Service is efficient. The servers were much friendlier after our first day.

Be aware that the hotel literally nickel and dimes you on phone calls. Every local call was $.15/minute. Every local cell phone call was $.35/minute. Needless to say, these local calls added up quickly.

The location of the hotel was my favorite part of the hotel. You can get a passport for discounts at the Multicentro. However, if I were to return to Panama City, I would stay at the Bristol (still my all-time favorite hotel in Panama City) and take a cab to the Multicentro Shopping Center instead of staying at the Decapolis.