We traveled to Panama City for our honeymoon and were upgraded to a suite upon arrival due to using Hilton points. The room was great and the location was nice, as it was close to restaurants, shopping and the nightlife. The staff was friendly, but did not give good directions and we ended up going the wrong way on more than one occasion because of them. We stayed for two nights and during the stay there were two times when the entire hotel completely lost power. Once we noticed from across the street, and the second time while we were in the room. It was unpleasant, but only a few moments before it was up and running again.

Overall, our actual stay at the Doubletree was excellent. The facility was nice, the location was nice, the staff were accomodating. We especially liked the rooftop pool with nice views of the city. In terms of the experience, this hotel was up to the Hilton and Doubletree brand standards. We enjoyed our time there.

However, at this time I am compelled to write a negative review of this establishment because of fraudulent charges which it has levied against my account. I reserved this hotel well in advance of my stay (7 months) through hilton.com using my HHonors account. I was quoted a very reasonable price, with taxes and everything, as hilton.com always does. When I checked out, the hotel refused to provide an invoice or receipt. I asked for it in both English and Spanish. The desk agent pretended to not know what I was talking about. This should have been a red flag. In a hurry to catch a flight, I gave up and left. Sure enough, at the end of my trip, I check my credit card and the charge is $80 higher than it should have been. And, coincidentally (just a coincidence, I am sure), there is no receipt available on my Hhonors online account!! It just shows an "error"...hmm, of all my Hilton stays over a number of years, the ONE that has incorrect charges also has no visible receipt.

So I inquire with HHonors customer service, who checks back with the hotel. The hotel notifies them that an extra charge per night was added "due to a child being added to the reservation". First off, hilton can see online that I made no changes to the reservation. Secondly, I don't have any children, and the desk agent saw that. This is ridiculous and clearly fraudulent behavior.

I am currently trying to work through the Hilton customer service red tape and don't know if I will ever see a resolution to this issue.

This hotel was nicely priced with a good location within a short stroll of Calle Uruguay and its many restaurants, bars and nightclubs although you're far enough away that it wasn't noisy.

We enjoyed the warm cookie on arrival, probably our favourite thing about the stay.

The room was simple although the hard tiled floor was cold and bad for acoustics. The air conditioner was quite loud. The bed was comfortable and the rooms clean.

There was no shelf in the shower, so you had to put your shampoos and soaps on the floor which is very inconvenient.

Breakfast buffet was included in our rate. The food was not refilled as frequently as we would have liked, and it was a bit understaffed is seemed, so we had to wait a bit to get refreshments. The food itself was tasty enough, and the servers friendly. There was an omelet station but it wasn't available each day we were there. Not sure if there are specific hours for it.

Wifi was available in the lobby.

Staff were friendly and helpful.

I have been resident at this hotel since 24 November 2012, day to day service is FANTASTIC. The odd glitch, but generally the hotel is great and the staff are well trained and friendly. However, Christmas has been non existent. No decorations, no warm family feel, no special menu, it has been the same as any other day. It is despicable! I had served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and everytime I had a great Christmas in extreme conditions. This has definately been the worst Christmas of my life. Not only has the omitance of any form of Christmas decoration, food, feeling been detrimental to guests, you can see the staff are also unhappy today! One big mistake by the management team! Look at the photo of my Christmas meal I ordered grilled chicken off the menu. It was 3mm thick with bitter tasting charcoal! DISGUSTED!