Why this new luxurious resort in Panama ought to make you enthusiastic about Sofitel

Sofitel Legend’s newest property, Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama City, manages to realize the triple crown of luxurious, historical past and magnificence.

Accor hosted TPG on the grand opening of the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo in March in Panama City. While this isn’t a typical under-the-radar TPG overview of the resort, I made loads of observations throughout my three-night keep about what this implies for Sofitel’s broader initiative to revamp the model. I additionally noticed what this resort means for Panama — certainly one of TPG’s finest locations to journey in 2023.

Panamanians and Sofitel Legend’s guardian firm, Accor, each have one thing to be happy with with the brand new resort.

It’s each a logo of broader redevelopment underway throughout a lot of the historic Casco Viejo neighborhood in addition to a lift to town’s hospitality scene. We’ve heard and noticed that many luxurious inns within the metropolis are overdue for somewhat beauty touch-up. The new Sofitel Legend will greater than fulfill cravings for upgraded ultraluxury within the metropolis (and, hopefully, stress the competitors to step up their recreation).

Casco Viejo won’t be your solely cease when craving somewhat solar and enjoyable in Latin America, however the Sofitel Legend is definitely price a multiday stopover.

What is Sofitel Legend?

Sofitel is a well known hospitality model, however the Sofitel Legend offshoot won’t be as acquainted to American vacationers. The model goals to infuse Sofitel’s French luxurious service into historic, centuries-old heritage buildings in areas corresponding to Amsterdam, Vietnam, Colombia, Egypt, China and now Panama.

Originally in-built 1917 because the Club Union, the property was as soon as the hub for the Panamanian elite. Queen Elizabeth II even visited in 1953 throughout an official state go to, and Albert Einstein was a visitor of Club Union.

The membership misplaced its luster when members started shifting to the outskirts of town, and it will definitely shuttered and sat empty for many years. The U.S. bombed it throughout a 1989 invasion whereas in search of dictator Manuel Noriega. The shell of the constructing was later used as a backdrop in 2008’s “Quantum of Solace” James Bond movie. Developers introduced the construction again to life lately, leading to its luxurious resort reincarnation.

The last outcome could be very a lot in step with Sofitel Legend’s model normal of preserving historic properties and remodeling them into fashionable, luxurious inns.

The mixture of French luxurious and native historical past isn’t pressured, both. Settlers from world wide have come to Panama for hundreds of years, together with the Spanish within the sixteenth century and the French and Americans in the course of the building of the Panama Canal.

You’ll hear a “bonjour” right here and there from staffers (extra a nod to Sofitel’s affect than any French holdover from the canal), and the focus of the foyer is a tiled mural of the Panama Canal. Greeters in entrance of the colonial-style constructing don Panama hats and cream uniforms by native designer Federico Visuetti. There are additionally cozy spots tucked away, just like the library off the foyer that pays homage to varied queens of Carnival.

Evening leisure contains the candle ritual, a Sofitel Legend staple impressed by the customized of lighting the streets of Paris in the course of the reign of Louis XIV. Every Sofitel Legend resort infuses this historic French custom with native aptitude. Each evening the Casco Viejo resort options dancers in conventional Panamanian costumes, including a mixture of track and dance to the lighting.

The rooms

One should bear in mind Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo was a hollowed-out shell of a constructing when the redevelopment started. So, whereas it’d really feel just like the mosaic flooring and breezy terraces have been right here for many years, that is all newly constructed and solely months into its lifespan.

My Oceanfront Magnifique visitor room included a king mattress, a sitting space and a balcony excellent for eating outdoors and having fun with views of Panama Bay. The spacious room included an entry hall with a complete row of built-in closets and a storage space for my baggage (one thing I want extra inns would do as an alternative of the collapsible baggage racks).

Opposite the closets was a big rest room with a stand-alone, claw-footed soaking tub, double self-importance and walk-in bathe. The bronze and porcelain {hardware} all through gave the room a extra mature really feel though it was just a few weeks previous. I’m not an enormous fan of the open-concept loos taking on the luxurious resort house today, so I used to be blissful to see the Sofitel Legend’s spacious rest room didn’t embody a chook’s-eye view into the bed room and past.

The expansive bed room and sitting space included a big workstation and four-poster mattress (every in darkish wooden that popped towards the cream partitions). A sitting space included a velvety light-blue sofa and low desk excellent for having fun with espresso, studying or catching up on emails away from the workstation.

A big chest reverse the sofa housed the minibar and complimentary boxed waters, tea and low to be used within the in-room French press. The minibar included native and worldwide manufacturers for snacks and drinks.

Considering how a lot of a goblin I could be within the morning till I’ve my first cup of espresso, I used to be initially somewhat uneasy in regards to the thought of a lot effort going into making my much-needed java.

It ended up being a enjoyable addition to the morning routine, contemplating the resort supplied exact measurements and directions on the way to get the temperature and timing good. It packed extra of a punch than my standard resort Nespresso, so I used to be energized for a full day of actions after only one cup. I discovered extra about Panama’s high-end espresso tradition throughout my keep and even purchased a bag of Panamanian Geisha espresso to take residence.

My favourite a part of the room was the balcony outdoors, because it included a surprising view of the Panama City skyline and was a superb spot to drink espresso and eat breakfast within the morning whereas watching the dawn. While it was heat throughout my keep, it wasn’t overly humid, so I usually stored the French doorways open to let within the sea breeze. (Keeping the doorways open for longer than a minute shut the air-con off routinely.)

The room was luxurious, but it surely was additionally cozy and cozy. You might management all of the lights from a change panel over the nightstand on both facet of the mattress, and it was simple to sleep in, because of blackout shades over the home windows. Housekeeping got here by twice a day, and the night turndown service included drawing the blackout shades and tidying up.

The mixture of Panamanian hospitality and French luxurious made for a calming stick with extremely attentive service that wasn’t stuffy.

Destination eating

Since a lot of my go to was tied to the grand opening, I can principally solely converse to some preliminary observations of the Sofitel Legend’s bars and eating places which can be at present open.

For starters, when you get an Oceanfront Magnifique room, it’s going to be laborious to cross up room service every morning. Breakfast swiftly arrived inside 20 to 45 minutes after I ordered it. Dining on my balcony was a good way to overlook about the way it was nonetheless 35 levels again in Boston whereas soaking within the solar. I sampled avocado toast full of a pile of smoked salmon one morning and indulged in granola, medium-boiled eggs, bacon and an infinite fruit platter the following.

However, I nonetheless advocate trying out Caleta, the resort’s Mediterranean restaurant that’s open for all three meals of the day (and in addition supplies in-room eating). The French brasserie aesthetic of Caleta’s eating room is a transparent nod to the French luxurious on the core of Sofitel. There are additionally different good touches, such because the bakery cart a waiter rolls by at breakfast to serve varied treats like croissants and ache au chocolat.

Meals had been included in my comped keep, however I did take a look at the menu and observed costs appeared fairly normal so far as resort restaurant pricing goes. The giant parts actually stood out and will make it appear to be you get extra worth on your buck, although. The avocado toast was $18, however the pile of smoked salmon it got here with was monumental.

Additionally, I went with the $25 “healthy” choice one morning. It included cereal and berries with milk, a mini-loaf of carrot and ginger bread, Greek yogurt, a fruit plate, recent juice and a selection of any scorching beverage (I went with an espresso). Prices had been lower than you’d discover at a metropolis resort within the U.S. While they had been a number of {dollars} greater than breakfast down the road on the Hyatt-affiliated Hotel La Compania (extra on that in coming days), parts had been considerably bigger.

Executive Chef Lorenzo Di Gravio oversees Caleta. The restaurant contains a seafood-forward menu of entrees like grilled octopus, scallops and grouper, in addition to different choices like veal chops and rib-eye.

While I didn’t have these dishes as stand-alone choices, the resort handled us to a multicourse dinner hosted by Di Gravio; the chef confirmed off his skills by programs of marinated yellowtail with caviar, steak tartare, sea bass and brief ribs. There was no weak hyperlink right here, and it is clear Panama City has a brand new hub for energy eating with Di Gravio on the helm.

The dishes are scrumptious, and the restaurant environment is simply nearly as good. It’s simple to think about vacationers wanting to take a seat in Caleta’s lovely eating room for hours whereas sipping a glass of Champagne.

Mayda, the resort’s essential bar off the foyer, provides views of the courtyard outdoors. This is the principle social space of the resort for the time being, and it was the hub of exercise throughout my keep. Here you possibly can order a mixture of small bites like oysters on the half shell or sandwiches along with cocktails. The vibe is extra laid again than at Caleta.

One stage beneath the courtyard is the resort’s pool and bar. This vibrant house contains a mixture of desk and counter service with recent juices, smoothies, ceviche and cocktails.

Vera Cafe, a espresso store off the foyer, can also be open for pastries, grab-and-go sandwiches and drinks from early morning till early night.

Ammi, a rooftop bar, isn’t formally open for enterprise but. However, the Sofitel Legend workforce gave me a sneak preview with handed appetizers like ceviche and grilled fish, together with Paloma cocktails and Champagne. The indoor-outdoor format of the house, coupled with cozy tables alongside the terrace, reveals the resort is clearly aiming to be the brand new nightlife hotspot of Casco Viejo.

While images wasn’t allowed, a members-only speakeasy beneath building reveals the Sofitel Legend additionally needs to courtroom an area viewers — and hold them coming again.

You can’t assist however really feel like all the additional effort to make these distinct on-site eating and consuming spots is a transparent try to return this stretch of Casco Viejo to its high-society previous.

A date with historical past

Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo is inside Panama City’s historic Casco Viejo neighborhood — additionally a UNESCO World Heritage Site — and is a part of a broader redevelopment push underway within the surrounding blocks. The juxtaposition of Casco Viejo with Panama City’s lengthy expanse of hovering towers feels a bit just like the French Quarter-meets-Dubai.

There’s a lot to do exactly throughout the Sofitel Legend’s surrounding neighborhood. While the Panama Canal is a 25-minute drive from the resort, Casco Viejo has loads of websites tied to the nation’s iconic piece of infrastructure.

The Plaza de Francia, a number of blocks south of the resort, pays homage to France’s preliminary try at constructing the Panama Canal earlier than the Americans took over. The Arco Chato, a few blocks to the west, contains an arch mentioned to be a promoting level to the Americans to proceed with constructing the canal by Panama. (The proven fact that the arch, first constructed within the 1600s, was nonetheless standing was speculated to be a testomony to the steady climate of Panama relative to competing Nicaragua.)

While a scarcity of upkeep led to the arch collapsing in 2003, it has since been restored — and the story continues to be one for the numerous Americans strolling by Casco Viejo.

Travelers may also discover loads of high-end espresso retailers, boutique shops and, sure, retailers to choose up a Panama hat.

Booking ideas

While my keep was comped, charges are routinely round $415 an evening for this particular room class in early April. Entry-level visitor rooms (nonetheless with waterfront views however not a balcony) begin at $314.

Anyone contemplating a keep ought to look into Accor’s ALL Plus Voyageur subscription plan (extra particulars right here from TPG, and you’ll enroll by way of Accor right here). It will get you 20% off the very best charge of choose Accor manufacturers, together with Sofitel and Sofitel Legend. Plus, you’ll be capable to get a reduction at 17 different Accor manufacturers for future journey.

While the Sofitel Legend is a tranquil property, it’s nonetheless in the course of certainly one of Latin America’s busiest cities. The Sofitel Legend workforce acknowledges that its metropolis location will not fulfill vacationers’ needs to take pleasure in seashores.

So, the workforce is already organizing tag-on journeys the place friends can spend two or three nights in Casco Viejo earlier than flying off to one of many standard Panamanian island locations, just like the Bocas del Toro Islands or San Blas Islands.

What it means for Sofitel

Accor simply went by a significant company restructuring. Sofitel, Sofitel Legend and the MGallery and Emblems collections are actually beneath the purview of Maud Bailly, previously the corporate’s CEO of Southern Europe.

One of the most important hurdles for Sofitel for the time being is likely to be the truth that it’s a reasonably well-known model within the U.S. however solely has a number of inns in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. They’re completely high quality inns, however progress comes from shock-and-awe experiences that herald friends and woo potential homeowners to ink a deal.

“The awareness of Sofitel is super powerful in the U.S., but we can do much better,” Bailly previously advised TPG.

Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo is a superb starting for Bailly to take the model to a brand new future. We’ll have extra particulars quickly, but it surely’s clear she plans to revamp many properties and elevate the client expertise on the broader Sofitel model.

Sofitel Legend’s heritage property pointers imply vacationers shouldn’t count on a wave of those resort sorts flooding the market anytime quickly — there are solely so many centuries-old buildings that match the invoice, in spite of everything.

Still, it’s clear this resort is the higher expertise in Panama City in comparison with extra long-in-the-tooth rivals just like the InterContinental Miramar Panama and the Waldorf Astoria Panama. That presents a significant alternative to win over extra vacationers within the area and tempt them to ebook different Sofitel properties when and if it begins to develop.