Need to know
Rooms
Eight, including two suites.
Check–Out
Noon, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More details
Rates include an à la carte breakfast.
Also
The restaurant is located on the ground floor, and rooms can be accessed via the hotel’s elevator. However, there are no specially adapted rooms for guests with mobility issues, and the duplex suites are sadly unsuitable for wheelchair users.
At the hotel
Bicycles for hire, rooftop terrace, art collection, boutique, charged laundry service, and free WiFi. In rooms: air-conditioning, gourmet minibar, artisan coffee-making kit, silk kimonos, TV (in suites only), and L’Occitane bath products.
Our favourite rooms
Every room at Amarla might be designed differently, but there’s one thread that ties everything together in a beautiful, artisan-crafted bow. The hotel’s love of local artistry is woven through every individually styled space, like the hand-decorated coffee cups painted by a Panamanian tribe, and the hand-spun textiles draped over your bed. And much like the multicultural Panama City, elements from far-flung corners have found their place beside the locally sourced treasures, including brassware from Morocco in the bathrooms, Indonesian silk in the British-made kimonos, and Portuguese linens. If you’re travelling for a special occasion (honeymooners, we’re talking to you), book the Superior Duplex Suite – as the hotel’s largest residence, it’s split over two levels, with twin balconies and a special remote-controlled skylight in the vaulted ceiling so you can watch the twinkling stars from bed.
Poolside
There’s no pool as such, just a bubbling Jacuzzi up on the rooftop for sky-high soaks. Lie back on the gigantic day-bed or one of the rattan loungers and tick off the sights as you sunbathe – the city’s pearl-encrusted cathedral towers rise above the Casco Viejo, backed by the shimmering waters of Panama Bay.
Spa
You’ll be in the healing hands of the hotel’s certified wellness instructor, who guides guests through a series of breathwork, meditation, and yoga sessions (either in your room or up on the roof), followed by a debrief in the bar with a cleansing herb-packed smoothie. Amarla has also partnered with a local spa to offer in-room massages, including couples’ treatments if you’ve booked the Superior Duplex Suite. You’ll just need to reserve any treatments at least 24 hours in advance.
Packing tips
Despite the city’s sweltering heat, you’ll never catch a true Panamanian succumbing to shorts-wearing. If you want to blend in with the locals, bring some loose-fitting, neutral trousers to style with floaty shirts and of course, one of those ivory-white hats.
Also
Jasmine, jasmine, everywhere! The floral, fruity scent of Amarla’s favourite flower fills your in-room aromatherapy diffuser – and there are fresh buds dotted around the vertical gardens that twist their way down the central staircase.
Children
Amarla is an adults-only property.
Sustainability efforts
Once linked to one of the oldest houses in Casco Viejo through a shared patio with neighbouring Casa Góngora, Amarla Boutique Hotel has been built upon many layers of history. Many of the building’s original parts have been reclaimed and given new life as coffee tables, desks, and unusual artworks, such as old doors, shutters, and even an ancient well cover. These period details proudly sit alongside hand-crafted and hand-painted pieces by Panamanian artisans, such as JB Saval – a local art student whose vibrant tropical-inspired paintings decorate the hotel’s elevator, and the carved-coconut cups you’ll be handed on arrival. In the kitchen, the Panamanian-born chef champions his childhood flavours, using locally sourced ingredients and traditional flame-cooking techniques.