The recent opening of Tántalo in Panama City’s historic Casco Viejo quarter is shaking things up for a city that, till now, has been better known for being a nautical short-cut par excellence. Eschewing the area’s colonial Spanish and French flourishes, the American architect Andrea Steele has furnished each of the 12 rooms in a spare but modern palette of specially commissioned artwork, a lush two-storey high green wall and furniture made of recycled material and timber from the Panama Canal. The best views in the house are from Encima – the hotel’s rooftop bar that’s accessed via a staircase emblazoned with artwork by a local graffiti artist – which offers cotton candy mojitos alongside a startling 360-degree panorama of the city’s bristling modern skyline and Casco Viejo’s UNESCO World Heritage trove of cathedrals, churches and 18th-century architecture.
ADDRESS
Corner Avenida B and Calle 8 Este
Esquina Ave.
Casco Viejo
Panama City
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Out of office: The Wallpaper* editors’ picks of the weekFrom sumo wrestling to Singaporean fare, medieval manuscripts to magnetic exhibitions, the Wallpaper* team have traversed the length and breadth of culture in the British capital this week
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Doshi Retreat at the Vitra Campus is both a ‘first’ and a ‘last’ for the great Balkrishna DoshiDoshi Retreat opens at the Vitra campus, honouring the Indian modernist’s enduring legacy and joining the Swiss design company’s existing, fascinating collection of pavilions, displays and gardens
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Issey Miyake’s shape-shifting A/W 2025 collection transforms the paper bag into something you can wear‘Can anything be considered a garment, as long as it’s on the body?’ says creative director Satoshi Kondo of the art-infused collection, which sees the everyday reimagined
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Amarla Hotel in Panama City captivates with its leafy rooftop oasisAmarla Hotel is a chic escape in Casco Viejo, Panama City’s Unesco-designated old quarter
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Villa One at the One & Only Palmilla — Los Cabos, Mexico -
Martim — Wroclaw, Poland -
Tattersalls Hotel — Armidale, Australia -
KLoé Hotel — Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -
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Littlenap — Hangzhou, China -
Casa Santa Teresa — Corsica, France
