Las Clementinas

Set aside reality for a second, and imagine what it is you’d want from a six-room boutique hotel in the historic district of a picturesque old city. Chances are your mental image looks a lot like Las Clementinas. It’s impossible here not to feel the pull of hundreds of years of history — but like many of the most successful historical experience, it’s the result of quite a lot of contemporary hard work.

We won’t bore you talking about the plumbing and the wiring, but Las Clementinas is a very thorough renovation of a Thirties apartment building, so thorough it’s practically a new build; the bones of the place are intact, but the surfaces with which the guests interact, for all their patina, are brand new, right down to the floors, made from an astonishingly rich tropical hardwood.

They could have packed more than six suites in here, but only at the expense of comfort. Instead they’re residential in size and layout, and comfortably furnished, without forsaking atmosphere — head out to the balcony for a strong dose of local color. The café and bar does double duty as a restaurant, serving anything from sodas to steaks, and hosting a variety of guests and in-the-know locals. It may not be hidden, but it’s a gem all the same.

How to get there:

Las Clementinas is 20.9km from Tocumen Airport (25 minutes with no traffic and up to 1 hour 20 minutes at rush hour).

• 6 Rooms
• Style: Traditional Elegance
• Atmosphere: Secluded

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