Pros

We chose to stay her to be away from the city noise and grime, and it was quite peaceful, and a short distance from the bus station, Amador Causeway, and Cerro Ancon. Meike and Bill were very helpful organising taxis etc. The room was spacious, and bathroom small but worked OK. A/C and fan worked fine.

Cons

The place is slightly shabby, and the taxi drivers don't know where it is, which can be tricky, although it is close to the canal administration building. There is nowhere nice to eat nearby, although you can walk to the restaurants at the end of Amador causeway in about an hour. We did try Nico's which is 5 minutes walk, but found it to be a sort of fast food mall, and no alcohol. Better to get a taxi to the Casco Antiguo - should only be a $2.50 taxi ride, but as soon as they realise you are a foreigner the fare doubles!

There is definite smell of stale smoke about the place, which non-smokers may find unpleasant.

Overall we had a pleasant enough 2 nights here, but compared to everywhere else we stayed I would say $50-$60 would be a fair price to pay. We did expect a bit smarter for $90.

Bill and Mieke have tremendous knowledge about local restaurants, tours and sightseeing, and are terrific hosts and interesting to talk to. They are smokers, and our room was right above the smoking porch, and we like to leave the windows open. They were very accomodating when we mentioned it. The rooms are good and clean, common area is nice, and the yard is nice, including the occasional toucans. Yes, there are neighborhood dogs that bark, but this is Panama, and that's part of the experience.

Bill and Mieke are terrific hosts. We stayed for three nights with our two small dogs, and will return shortly. We were given great advice regarding restaurants, self-service laundry, etc. The common area is a lovely place to meet other guests, check the computer, and watch the wildlife that is so nicely sustained in the yard. Breakfasts are ample and good. The neighborhood is very nice for walking; very secure. Best of all, they loved our dogs!

We stayed at the Balboa Inn over New Year's. I don't think it deserves the rating of average that I gave it, but I also don't think it deserves a rating of very good. Good is how I would rate it. The directions to meet the driver at the airport were perfect. We arrived at the Inn late, around 11:30, to be met by Bill, who seemed in a hurry to just tell us the basics so he could get back to bed. Hey, I know it was late, but it was his choice to own a bed and breakfast! The Inn is in an upper middle class type neighborhood and is one half of a duplex. The downstairs is spacious, nicely decorated, and opens onto a garden with lots of birds and the occasional agouti (garden is almost an exact duplicate of a Hilo, Hawaii backyard). We had an upstairs room (#5) which was average - nothing great, except the wall paintings were very nice. It overlooked rooftops and the street. I was a bit grossed out by the dead soap with hair on it in the shower. We had no glasses in the room and had to request them. Bed was fine, room basically clean. Towel rack in bathroom fell off the wall. We stayed 3 nights and it seemed as though the room was attended to only once. Room also had 2 nightstands with cool touch lamps, and a closet. The breakfast was also average - 3 cereal choices, eggs and bacon (on request), a few different breads, peanut butter and jam, liquid yogurt, cut up fruit, juices and icky coffee. A dog barked at night which made it difficult to fall asleep. Both Mieke and Bill are smokers and they have part of their outside patio reserved for smokers. Mieke was quite helpful with questions; I found Bill more reserved. Over New Years, restaurants closed early, and Mieke had called around to find out which ones were open, which was very helpful (we had to make reservations at 3 PM!).