Our three night stay at The Balboa Inn was absolutely a wonderful experience. A pleasant out of the city B&B a short cab ride from Miraflores Locks (Panama Canal) and Parque Metropolitian, and within walking distance to Cerro Anton, Panama Canal Administration buildiing and other attractions. Don't miss a short trip by car or cab to recommended restaurants on Amador Causeway nearby. The indoor / outdoor dining and social areas of this property provide the perfect opportunity to relax and enjoy the local wildlife, a favorite beverage, and fun conversations with innkeepers Bill and Mieke and other guests after a day of activities. Innkeepers Bill and Mieke are extremely knowledgeable of the area and Panama and attentive. Our only dissapointment was having to leave for our next destination.

You will be hard pressed to to better than the Balboa Inn for many reasons, however if you need 5 star deluxe, then go find it and pay accordingly elsewhere.

The highly experienced management will do their utmost to ensure your stay both at the Inn, and the country in general goes smoothly, safely and as serenely as can be reasonably expected.

Further note should be made of the fact that there is a high return rate amongst guests, and that prospective new guests booking late must frequently be turned away.
This is not your regular, plain vanilla, corporate accommodation and I understand that many long-lasting friendships have been forged between both staff and guests, and guests with each other.

We arrived late in Panama and Bill and Mieke went out of their way to accommodate us - cleaning up a room that had just been vacated in the evening. Very friendly and very knowledgeable - they shared their knowledge of the city and where to go.
Nice sitting area - indoors and outdoors.... although there seemed to be quite a few smokers staying there!

The inn is in a quiet, safe location and easy to get to the causeway, to the old town, to the locks. to the huge mall.... and the bus station.

The room was clean, comfy, and quiet. Had a good sleep! Could use the internet at no charge.

We enjoyed this city - had visited 40 years earlier....when we went through the canal.

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.