I recently stayed at the JW Marriott Panama and had a mixed experience. When we checked in, I realized that the room we were given had no ocean view at all, even though I had paid for a partial ocean view. The hallway leading to the room had a strong moldy smell, and the room itself also had a noticeable moldy odor.
I immediately called customer service to share my concerns, and to their credit, they responded quickly—someone came up in less than five minutes and switched us to another room. The new room was much better and did have the partial ocean view we paid for. It was comfortable overall, though the hallway still smelled like a wet rug with a bit of a musty scent.
Unfortunately, during our stay, we did see a small roach run across the room, which my husband tried to kill. For a hotel that’s rated five stars, that was disappointing.
The property itself is beautiful, and the pool area was very nice. However, the hotel could really benefit from some upgrades and better maintenance to live up to its five-star reputation. Overall, it was an okay stay—not terrible, but not quite worth the hype.