Lunas Castle

Great party hostel. Great bar. Good room with decent AC, spacious bunks and quiet despite the bars all around. Ample common spaces and good vibe between guests. Great location! The lower rating is due to the terrible administration. The hostel staff were rude, and started yelling at us when we tried to check in (on time, reserved and deposit paid a month earlier). Other guests in our shared dorm had similar experiences. Also when I booked a taxi through the hotstel the set fare to the airport was more expensive than listed/advertised. Additionally the staff gave us three keys for a group of 4 people (not necessarily travelling together) ....strange. This hostel could be the best in Panama city if it had friendly, helpful or attentive employees. Seems a pity. I would probably stay here again, but more likey find another hostel and visit the bar at this one. (Also huge rumors that half the rooms have bed bugs! Eeek. Not our room this time luckily!!)

I had a great stay here a few months ago but I feel someone should talk about their bedbug problem. I was moved from one bed to another after finding SEVERAL bedbugs in my bunk. The hostel staff cleaned my things but were honestly a little bitchy about it--this wasn't just one or two bedbugs but more like a dozen. Later, I met someone else who switched hostels altogether, due to finding bedbugs in her bunk at Luna's. Once I was switched, I didn't seem to have a problem but as I was leaving a local woman chatted me up and asked if I was going home. I wasn't, I was just switching hostels in an attempt to find something a bit more remote and quiet. I didn't explain, just told her I was switching hostels. She then knowingly said, in spanish, "they have a bedbug problem." Apparently Luna's has a really bad bedbug problem and has had this problem for YEARS. I understand that this is an inherent risk with any type of housing, and that hostels, due to their volume and turnover, tend to be the worst places, but honestly I've never had bedbugs at any other hostel that I know of. Again, it wasn't one bedbug I saw but about a dozen. Really gross. Other than that, it's a very cool hostel, beautiful and centrally located.

A nice place in a good location with friendly staff but the bed bugs (dorm 8) ruined it for me.