American Trade Hotel & Hall

"A hotel with colonial design and Jazz Age energy, featuring a music lounge hosting jazz, salsa, and tango nights."

"For the location of their first independent hotel, Atelier Ace (the creative arm behind the buzzy Ace Hotel Group) chose Panama City’s historic Casco Viejo, a once gang-ridden neighborhood now teeming with trendy restaurants, cafes, and wine bars in 16th- and 17th-century buildings. The American Trade Hotel occupies a stately property on Plaza Tómas Herrera, complete with 50 minimal-chic rooms and suites outfitted in Frette linens and custom, reclaimed-wood furnishings. Plush “Jardin” suites open onto a private garden courtyard, while others feature vaulted ceilings or views of the Gulf of Panama. On-site dining and drinking options abound, ranging from Café Unido for pour-over coffee made from Panama Geisha beans, to a jazz club created by Grammy-winning Panamanian jazz pianist and composer Danilo Perez."

"Panama City is having a moment this year, thanks to the centennial of its famed canal and the transformation of the 1917 neoclassical headquarters of the American Trade Developing Company, in the leafy UNESCO World Heritage neighborhood of Casco Viejo, into a hotel. The four-story, 50-room building fronting the Plaza Herrera has been given a Havana-inspired makeover (palm-print sofas, swags of tropical foliage) by the team behind the Ace hotels. Aside from the decor, there’s lots to love, beginning with the rates, which are inexplicably lower than those of the high-rises across the bay. For quiet, I escaped to the rooftop pool; to feel part of the action, I headed down to the hotel’s jazz club, where I found guests mingling with a crowd of well-heeled locals. And for the best views, get one of the small, stylish rooms on the fourth floor—you’ll be able to see the ships gliding by. –Nicholas Gill"

"The American Trade Hotel & Hall’s Seco Sour has a Panamanian twist on the classic pisco sour. The cocktail menu is full of fruit-forward beverages that celebrate local flavors, such as the Seco Sour. This tangy, strawberry twist on a pisco sour features Seco Herrerano, a smooth, neutral spirit made from sugarcane and widely considered the national liquor of Panama." - Michaela Trimble

"You'll find well-heeled locals rubbing shoulders with bearded millennials at the American Trade Hotel, which since opening in 2013 has become a center of gravity for the new-look neighborhood, and the city as a whole." - Travel + Leisure Editors