Looking for some feedback from anyone who has stayed in Panama City…since I won the honor of paying big bucks (for a good cause, of course!) for my entry, now I have to figure out where to stay. Besides the host hotel (which may be sold out–I’ve not yet called them), I see a list of condos in the area as well…but I’m pretty lost at this point, never having been there and not knowing anyone that has.
So, help please!!
IM Florida is one of the few races where its inconvenient to stay at the Host hotel, The Boardwalk. Its nice to be close, but the parking is in a remote lot and a hike to your car. The hotel is a little seedy, but they are building new condominiums.
There are lots of condos, some are walking distance to race activities. Only the close ones sell out early.
Support Crew
We have a reservation at the Dunes of Panama which seems to be like timeshare condos that they rent out. They have 1 bedrooms and larger. I got it from the list on the ironman website.
Kind of in the same boat and dont know if it is a good choice or close to the race site?
i’m a bit of a hotel snob so panama city is not a good place for me. that said, i raced imfl in 2002 and stayed about 15 minutes away in a beautiful marriot (i think) with room service and whole nine yards.
i highly recommend it as it’s close enough to the race to be convenient but far enough away to avoid the hype and, um, panama city.
Mike -
Just stayed at the host hotel in May for the Gulf Coast half (was there in 2002 for the full IM). I think 2002 was the last time they had cleaned. The staff is very friendly, but the hotel is a shithole (is shithole a compound word?). I would NOT stay there again, unless you can pay through the nose to be in the new condos. They look nice.
This has been covered before in prior threads so if you do a search, it should come up. I stayed at a condo near by called the Inn at St. Thomas Square and my wife and I thought it was great. We shipped our bike there and the rooms were fairly cheap. The boardwalk requires a 5 day stay, and we only stayed for 4 days so we saved a lot of money. If I were to do it again, I would ship my bike and use Inside/Out sports services to do everything with my bike. It has been highly recommended by others on this forum.
It is my understanding that a new condo building just opened that is part of or just next to the boardwalk. That’s where I’ve made a reservation.
Mike, I’ve never been, but I’ll be there this November, too! My girl and I got a great rate for a week in a one-bedroom condo at the Snnbird, which appears to be part of the whole host-hotel complex. The pictures on the web are pretty nice. We’re pretty easy to please, I think being close to the beach and having a full kitchen is the best thing!!
-Colin
There seems to be no problem with Hotel availability as this is low/shoulder season in Panaman City, so lot’s to choose from. Host hotel is good and conveinient, but definately better deals up and down the beach. Be careful about distances though. No one in Panama City seems to have any idea of distance. Whats up with that? I talked to three different people at the hotel we ended up staying at and they had no idea how far it was to the Boardwalk - 50 yards, 5 miles or 50 miles?? Turns out it was about 5K, but I had to figure that out myself!!
Fleck
Try shopping on www.vrbo.com - I eventually ended up at the “Gulf Crest” condos. At GCT this spring I found out that the condos are only less than a mile from “race central” right on the IMFL run course so we can get to the prime area easily and probably won’t need to move the car at all (no parking hassles).
E-mail and call some of these folks in order to get “the real scoop” on how close anything is to the “Boardwalk”. Another poster was correct too in that the “real estate folks” in the area don’t really know how far things are but some of these condo owners do and are happy to share…
my.02
Paul
In 2003 I stayed at the Holiday Inn Sunspree about a mile or two down from the race site. $79 a night with no minumumvery nice clean rooms, a huge pool and jacuzzi, great breakfast and tons of other IM racers there.
Thanks for all the replies, everyone…very useful information. One of the reasons I spend waaaaay too much of my free time here…
After I emailed the Boardwalk, I saw the link to the condos and I think that’s the route I will go…the pics look pretty good and the rates seem very reasonable. We shall see what happens.
Mike or
Anyone interested - shoot me an email - andrewjjoyce@sbcglobal.net
I found an absolute beachfront condo - close to the race site - renovated last summer - I had to change my plans and not race last year - so I have no personally seen it - but the owner can contact you directly with a whole bunch of info and photos - the place looked great and was more than affordable - a little small but much cheaper than everything else around
I can then forward your details to the owner directly - as of last week the place was still available
One of those rare treasures where the owner does not realize the potential income race week - and keeps prices stable
Andrew
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I stayed at the Summit last year…and it is what it is…a former spring break destination. The condo was okay, but there was so much wear and tear that it just wasn’t that comfortable. This year my wife and I are staying at the new condos at Boardwalk. It’s more expensive than some of the other places, but after training for months for this race, I don’t care about spending a few extra bucks on a nice Condo. BTW, we were going to stay at the Gulf Crest, until we saw that Boardwalk had built this new condo. We did some recon last year and Gulf Crest is definitely nice. If you do rent, as someone else already suggested, use www.vbro.com…much better prices.
good luck