the interior of the hotel is quite striking--new, whitewashed, airy and open, wrought-iron railings overlooking a small multi-storey central atrium (watch your children though so they don't play near/on the railings!)
friendly staff. when i arrived, there were no sheets or pillowcases (!), but the staff quickly corrected this issue. The neighbourhood of the hotel is poor to say the least, but really, the entire city of colon is rather unsafe and dilapidated, and that's being very charitable. The government plans to bulldoze large segments of the city and revitalize buildings, but it is a really rough city and this process will take years. Quite an awful city, and I've been all over the world.
There appeared to be a fenced-in parking lot with guard , and other local vehicles also used this large parking lot overnight (such as the bakery truck, the local delivery trucks). Believe me, in the city of Colon, you sure wouldn't want to park your vehicle on the street at night!
In striking contrast, the nearby town of Portobelo (by nearby, I mean a 1 to 1.5 hour bus ride from the Colon bus station, but faster by car) is absolutely charming, quiet, and friendly with three beautiful spanish forts, a pleasant location on the water, nearby beaches, boats, some plesant restaurants... stay in that town instead!!!