7 hotel rooftop bars to taste the sky in Panama City
What better place to feel the wind in your hair than in a fabulous, cloud-caressing rooftop? There’s something so inviting about them, and Panama City has no shortage of these towering temples. In the old town of Casco Viejo, one is particularly spoilt for choice. The scope of rooftop bars means that if you aren’t content where you are, you can essentially peer over your shoulder and peek at how things are going at the other nearby rooftops, which you can either see directly or hear the music playing from. Panama City is an urban wonderland filled with music-loving Panamanians who relish dressing well. So, get your dancing shoes on and join the glitterati in the sky.
1. Tantalo Roofbar at Tantalo Hotel
Photo credit: Booking.com
Take your Panama City experience to new heights with a visit to Tantalo. This is one of the most popular rooftop bars in Panama City and has been the pulsating heartbeat of Casco Viejo’s nightlife scene since 2012. Tantalo Roofbar sits atop the ten-room Tantalo Hotel, with a bar and restaurant on the ground floor, which doubles as a rotating art space, with mural-covered walls that change regularly. The rooftop terrace is the jewel in its crown, however. The rooftop offers a full food and drink menu and regularly hosts DJ sets and themed nights. The sunset lovers start arriving in the late afternoon to wine and dine on well-dressed culinary creations. If you’re visiting Casco Viejo and want the classic rooftop experience, this is still the go-to.
2. Capella at Hotel La Compañia
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Cappela is the rooftop you wander up to expecting a drink and end up staying for the whole evening. Up on this rooftop, with a clean 360-degree sweep of the city and Casco Viejo at your feet, the past and present sit together like old drinking buddies at Hotel La Compañia, a hotel stitched together from French, American, and Spanish heritage wings, each lined with artifacts and relics dating back centuries. Capella is named after Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga, a celestial beacon that has fascinated astronomers for centuries. And somehow, the name fits.
3. Ammi Skybar at Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo
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A hotel this grand in Panama City’s old town was never going to open without a fabulous rooftop. Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo swung open in 2023 and has the coveted position of being the only waterfront hotel in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s historic quarter. At Ammi, there is ample space and countless corners for rambling, sampling delectable bites, and soaking up the views. Panama City’s skyscrapers glow on one side, Casco Viejo’s centuries-old bones on the other, and you’re suspended between the two with a well-built cocktail in hand.
4. Lazotea at Hotel Casa Panama
Photo credit: @lazoteapanama on Instagram
Lazotea was one of the first of the rooftop bars in Panama City to have a swimming pool you could actually swim in. Unlike some neighboring Casco Viejo rooftops, the music at Lazotea stays deliciously manageable until night properly unfurls, making it perfect for early gatherings that slowly melt into something more electric. There is an elevated deck made for wind-kissed dancing, and if you’re marking a milestone, you can even reserve it for your own sky-high soirée. I’ve toasted birthdays, reunions, and delicious new beginnings here.
5. Bella Vista Sky Bar at Gran Evenia Panama Hotel
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High above the buzz of Panama City, Bella Vista Sky Bar offers a front-row seat to the skyline. Perched on the 10th floor of the Gran Evenia Panama Hotel in El Cangrejo, it’s a local favorite for cocktails with a view, live DJ sets, and laid-back weekend vibes. Between salsa nights, barbecue events, and sunset cocktails, the energy shifts from chic to celebratory without ever trying too hard.
6. ALMA at JW Marriott Panama
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Experience the envy-inducing view at ALMA at least once in your life. When next will you be able to say that you saw the sunset at the highest pool bar in Panama and Central America as a whole? Formerly known as Panaviera, ALMA sits pretty on the 66th floor of the iconic sail-shaped JW Marriott Panama Hotel. Lamentably, you can’t actually enter the pool, but you probably wouldn’t want to anyway, given how spectacularly you dressed for the occasion (hint).
7. Wet Deck at W Panama
Between the massive 6,800-square-foot space, eclectic design, and always-on music, the Wet Deck at W Panama feels more like an open-air playground for grown-ups than just a hotel pool area. The bar is a brightly-painted repurposed Panama Canal container, should you forget that you’re in the home of one of the world’s greatest feats of engineering. It’s not a rooftop in the traditional sense, but you’re encircled by skyline views. Come for the sun, stay for the scene.
