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Reviews of Panama Hotel

2 out of 5
Panama Hotel
4 BAYVIEW STREET, San Rafael, CA

Reviews

6.0
Rating 10 - Excellent. 9 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 8 - Good. 3 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 6 - Okay. 2 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 4 - Poor. 3 out of 27 reviews" "
Rating 2 - Terrible. 10 out of 27 reviews" "

7.0/10

Cleanliness

6.4/10

Staff & service

6.4/10

Amenities

5.6/10

Property conditions & facilities

5.8/10

Eco-friendliness

Reviews

4/10 Poor

Kim

It is under construction, there is no hot water in one of the bathrooms, they only book online, the person there is unfriendly and did not provide wifi password. Used to be a great place albeit a bit funky. Now it’s dismal
Stayed 1 night in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Samrita

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

Jasmine

Business traveller
Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Under construction and super noisy
Stayed 2 nights in Mar 2024

10/10 Excellent

orhan

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Great place to stay.
Stayed 7 nights in Mar 2024

4/10 Poor

Fletcher, Winnipeg

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Property conditions & facilities
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

6/10 Okay

Wendell

Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
The “24 hour front desk” is an outright lie. Arrived at 8pm and found a note taped to the front door with my full name on it and a phone number to call. My friend called and was able to get the key without verifying any information from myself, just the information in the note. The room was upstairs with no elevator and the bed wasn’t comfortable. The “32 inch smart tv” was neither 32 inch or smart. The friend was actually in a public area shared with everyone else staying there, as was the bathroom. Also found a spider in the room.
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Miriam L. on 8 Mar,2024
Wendell, We are deeply sorry for the shortcomings you faced during your stay. Please know we’re implementing a better process to improve our guests’ experience. We sincerely hope for the opportunity to regain your trust in us. Sincerely, Miriam L.

10/10 Excellent

Kerry

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Charming bedroom with a claw tub! Post could not have been more helpful when we arrived after the office had closed. Just note Expedia did not know that some of the rooms are under renovation, so double check when you book!
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024
Response from Miriam L. on 22 Feb,2024
Hi Kerry, Thank you for your review! We're delighted to hear that you liked your charming bedroom. We apologize for any inconvenience regarding the renovation, and we appreciate your feedback. We hope to welcome you back for another enjoyable stay soon! Best regards, Miriam L.

2/10 Terrible

Glenn

Couldn’t check in at 7. Went home
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Glenn

A jewel
Stayed 1 night in Feb 2024

10/10 Excellent

Wilma

Travelled with pets
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
I loved how quaint the property was. Staff was superb, and very helpful. They really made me feel at home.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

10/10 Excellent

Glenn

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities
It’s a classy old school bed and breakfast in the heart of downtown San Rafael. We stayed in the Bordello Room. Look it uo
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

6/10 Okay

Mike

Travelled with partner
Disliked: Staff & service, property conditions & facilities
We were not told that the restaurant was closed. For the price of the room, I would have expected more amenities; nicer towels, etc. The bed and pillows were fine, room was comfortable. Bathroom tile needed badly to be replaced. The location has convenient for us. Nice little bakery next door.
Stayed 1 night in Jan 2024

2/10 Terrible

Barbara

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
No other guests. Did not feel safe at night. Lobby closed. Bathroom down hall. Very hard to climb in tub to take very coo shower
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Manolo

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

Peter

Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness
Disliked: Amenities, property conditions & facilities
The main issue is that this is not a hotel. At best this is a hostel. Description on Expedia website range from misleading to completely false. Shared bathrooms were not clearly stated. One of two showers did not works, the other barely worked. The soundproofing advertised is simply not there and if anything this has been one of the least insulated situations I'ver ever experienced. Loud and drafty. There is no staff on the property. The phone number on the website takes you to a mailbox that is full. The email address does not work. You cannot get in touch with staff. The advertised sink in room, desk simply did not exist. A table with two chairs featured as part of the room does not exist - it's a picture of a table in a common are. This whole experienced ruined what was meant to be a romantic weekend with my wife. Clearly no due diligence from Expedia's site was done. Incredibly disappointing.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2023

8/10 Good

Kadidia

Business traveller
Liked: Room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness
Cute... but needs a bit of love
If you know what you're getting into (i.e. not front desk, shared bathrooms etc) it's a completely fine and cute place to stay in. It's right on the edge of a neighborhood, there's a good bakery immediately next door and it's quiet. I am not sure if and when anyone is ever on premises (outside of cleaning). I think I would be important that they note in their listings that due to their location, there is no designated parking and you have to find parking within the neighborhood. At some times of the week or day, that is a bit challenging. My one complaint is that there does not seem to be daily housekeeping/cleaning. Which is completely fine when it comes to my individual room but completely unacceptable for common areas such as shared bathrooms. One of the bathrooms had a broken toilet running almost for my entire 4-day stay. The other bathroom has a shower where temperature is very hard to regulate and it seems to get warmer water, one has to sacrifice pressure. The other shower didn't work at all and I was unable to figure out whether that was due to someone else taking showers at the same time and would have been fine at a different time, or if it was just broken. I don't mind shared spaces and again, I think this is a cute hotel, but if there are shared spaces like that, it needs to be maintained so it can work.
Stayed 3 nights in Dec 2023

2/10 Terrible

michael eric

Stayed 1 night in Dec 2023

10/10 Excellent

Glenn

4/10 Poor

Sergio A

Travelled with family
Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
This place has potential and can be quaint, however, it was never clear to us that our room had a shared bathroom/shower. The hotel has very limited, bordering on non-existing staff. Little communication ahead of stay about this. By chance we found out our room key was left in a locked box outside the hotel. Our shared shower wasn't working, we had to find a working shower somewhere in the property entirely on our own. Breakfast is served late, 8:00 am! Never found out if it was available as we left by 7:00 am. No staff around the entire time we were there, front desk was CLOSED! If you are in need of anything, theres no one to ask. No parking in the property, parking on your own in the street.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2023

10/10 Excellent

Glenn

Liked: Amenities
Marin county’s best bnb. With beatully themed rooms. The locals put their it guest here to give them a taste of what make the last Mission city special. You can walk to it
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

Bogdan

Disliked: Property conditions & facilities, room comfort
No heat! No breakfast
We arrived and the heat did not work! There was no blanket. I asked room service for a heater, which they did provide. There was no breakfast other then coffee, although they advertised it when i booked. I am not a picky traveler but this is unacceptable.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

8/10 Good

Kadidia

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Wouldn't mind staying again - just be cautious
This place has charm and is cute. If you know what you're getting, it's just fine. However, the listings are definitely misleading. It makes the rooms looks bigger and leads one to believe that rooms include a kitchenette area and bathroom, when those are shared areas and not in-room. I do not necessarily mind sharing a bathroom etc but I do want to be aware of that when booking. There is definitely no 24-hour desk, and having the breakfast room not open until 8 AM doesn't work for me as a business traveler. However, there is a great Bakery right next door that I would highly recommend. Please also be aware that there is no on-site or otherwise dedicated parking, and this is right at the edge of a neighborhood. So parking may be challenging depending on when you stay or arrive.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

2/10 Terrible

John

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Fire hazard and guest risk hotel
I booked this hotel as it was near my next day appointment. I arrived at 3:30, was given key to my room, and that was the end of human contact at the hotel. I believe I was alone all night, there was no 24/7 clerk or anyone at all, there was no food service as shown in the promo for the hotel. This was an old place, with shared, not an ensuite bathroom. My room was small but OK but the bathroom was tiny, had seen rough use and no maintenance, the shower was dangerous to enter and use. Again, while a shared bath, I was the only human on this site during my stay. Had I had a medical need, had fallen down the steep fourteen step stairway to my room, there was not a single person to assist me or get me help. The promo pictures of food and rooms was totally inaccurate. This hotel is a disaster waiting to happen and a potential huge liability issue for Hotels.com and Expedia. I was tempted to report this hotel to the local fire and police agencies. This is likely a case where Hotels.com has not done due diligence to ascertain the safety of this hotel but put it on the booking site to gain revenue and depend on guest reviews to determine judge the hotel quality. I paid for the room with Hotel.com award points and feel I deserve to get those points returned to me.
Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

8/10 Good

Kay Lynn

Stayed 1 night in Oct 2023

10/10 Excellent

Lindsay

Business traveller, Travelled with partner
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
I have stayed here quite a number of times, and I am always fascinated by all the beauty and intricate details of this historic hotel!!!
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2023