Voyager International Hostel

Rude staff, overpriced, dingy, terrible atmosphere.
I agree with every negative comment about this hostel rude staff, dreadful atmosphere. Even the people who stay here manage to turn dour after only one night. Another girl who stayed for only one night asked if they could call a taxi number she had been given and book a taxi for the next morning. As she was traveling on her own she was cautious about standing out on Ave Argentina at 4 a.m. in the dark. They refused to give her any help despite the fact she was going to pay a dollar for a fifteen-second call. The hostel itself is dirty and very unorganised. Books and magazines are strewn everywhere. There is no communal information for backpackers. The entire place is a dump. We spoke to a guy who "worked" maintaining the computers and told him how disappointed we were with the whole place. A smile does not cost a thing! We told him we would be sure to tell everyone we meet in the next four months, not to go near the place. "Oh don't put me out of a job!" was his reply. You'd be better off staying in a decent hotel, which would cost the same price, especially if you are staying as a couple. Beware!

Avoid it
Depressive and dark at night and not well kept. The four-beds room I shared with friends have old and ugly walls and it's so told private bathroom has no shower, what was hidden of me when dealing with them by e-mail. The staff, not that helpful, works without shirts as if it were in its own home and not dealing with clients. No professionalism and the manager humor (David) changes each day. One of the shared bathrooms are ok, the other has a shower for dwarfs (don't ask me why!). Breakfast sucks with powdered milk. Even if well located and close to a market, I have traveled and slept in hostels from more than twenty-five countries and this one, by far, was one of the worst. If all you want is a sleep, forget what I said.

Do not stay here
Firstly, it has moved from the advertised location. There is no longer a balcony and pretty much everything advertised doesn't exist. The vibe is really depressing as everyone is shocked and feels trapped there so not the most fun place to be. Also, the new area is quite deserted at night so didn't feel so safe at night (it's now on via argentina). The staff honestly suck, don't even try unless you speak spanish -- and even then don't expect any help. I've stayed in many hostels all over the world and this one was honestly the worst.

You get what you pay for
The manager of the hostel, David, is a pretty complicated guy. He kicked out a friend of mine that came to meet me because he wasn't a guest at the hostel. He is also capable of waking you up before checkout time just to ask you if you're going to be staying another night even if you told him you'd tell him a day in advance when you planned on leaving. Also, you may stay a week there and, with a 5 o'clock bus, he wont let you leave your bags in the lounge for two hours without paying for the "you can keep your bags here" price (5$ or so). He will also kick you out of the hostel if you give him any lip. I must've seen this happen four times in six days. However, if you aren't an annoying spoiled guest, you wont have any problem whatsoever. You pay, you sleep in decent beds in air conditioned dorms, meet lots of travelers, enjoy the quality toilets, watch TV, and drink beer in the terrace for a relatively reasonable price. The Voyager is a business and the management treats it as such. In the mind of David, people skills aren't important. But then again, do you want a bed or a butler?

Terrible
The only good thing about this hostel were a few of the other people who had the misfortune of choosing it like me. The staff are rude and the supposedly "included breakfast" has to be made yourself using stale bread and some horrible hacked up butter. Do not come here!

This hostel sucks donkey d*ck. I looked for a negative rating, although the lowest I can post is a one. I understand that a hostel is a hostel, but this exceeds all means of normality. This place hit me like a kick in the nuts, and it should be set ablaze with a f***ing nuclear bomb. The staff snorts coke, totes guns, and blows cock. About fourteen sluts were all after me that I had to leave after the first night. Obviously I love women, but clean, respectful, and dignified women. I have been many places in the world, seen a lot of things, and met a lot of people, but this is just simply incomprehensible. I am a professional musician back home and I carry one of my guitars everywhere I go. One of these women actually asked me to shove the neck of the guitar up her vagina. You know, I would never write like this, but people need to know not to go to this place. If you might think it's good for finding a girl, good for you, but don't cry when you're told you have fifteen f***ing diseases. I have never seen such filthy beds.

It was not at all good. The staff was horrible and unfriendly, the hostel seems like it's falling apart, it seems very dirty. I have been backpacking for a while, and it is the worst hostel I've been to. The only good thing is the balcony -- that is all.

I did not like the hostel at all. they do have a nice balcony, but I have never seen as unfriendly staff as in this place! no one is interested in you having a good time and all they do is tell you what you cannot do. there are way nicer opportunities! no reason to stay here! I don't expect much from a cheap place, but a hostel is still a guest house, and that's how we should be treated!

Ok, so it's hot at night, and dorms are cramped but for the price it was great, including breakfast and free internet. I wouldn't complain about it, and those that do should go and stay in a hotel not a hostel. I thought the staff were really friendly, and it is one of the best places I have stayed for meeting other travellers. Excellent location and terrace.

Our stay at Voyager was decent but not very enjoyable. Our dingy room was crammed with 5 bunk beds with uncomfortable mattresses and a fan (no air conditioning). The washrooms were okay but a little run down. Security could be better as there was a key for the entire floor but no key for the individual dorm rooms. I did however like the free Internet access as well as the patio that overlooks the downtown area. Location wise, it is close to a supermarket and an "Internet café" where you can make long distance calls for a ridiculously cheap price. Overall, this is an okay place to stay for the price, but I probably wouldn't go back again.

The Voyager Hostel was far the worst place we ever stayed at during our seven-month trip! Only one room has air-conditioning, the others are incredibly hot and cramped with cheap beds and thin, dirty mattresses. Eight people had to share one single fan — it was a real fight during the night over it. The bathroom was ok and mostly looked after. What really made the stay horrible was the bad management, who does not care about the people who stay there. E.g. they made us change rooms three times in four nights, because there was always a reservation for our beds made by someone else online. The online reservation system seemed the only important thing to them; someone who just walked in, like most travelers, had no rights at all! Many people were moved from one room to the other every day and there was no point in arguing about it, as they just said that if you don't like it that way, you could leave! Many people stay there because they think it's the only place with a kitchen, but there is also Casa Carmen, which was recommended to me! The kitchen hours at the Voyager are more than strict. Half an hour before they close it (closing time is 9:30 p.m.) they come up to you and tell you, even though you just started eating your meal, that you can not finish it, because you have to wash your plates now! They would even run after you, if you forgot to wash up your spoon or if you left your hot frying pan to cool, before washing it up! All the dishes had to be washed (except the plate we were eating on — how nice of them) before starting to eat, no matter how hot the pots or how fast your dinner got cold! I met people who had already nightmares of the management telling them off all the time! The only nice thing about the place is that you get to know many people and that there is a great veranda with an awesome view over the city! But all in all this should not be the reason why you want to stay there! Close by there are many new cheap air-conditioned hotels for the same amount of money!

This was one of the worst hostels I've stayed at. This hostel is very cramped and very hot. It misleadingly advertises that rooms are air-conditioned, when in fact most are not. I was in a room jammed with ten beds and only one fan. All night, it was hot and sweaty. Some of the toilet stalls don't have locks, and there is no hot water. Given that the weather is so hot, this wasn't a big problem. Overall, the place feels rundown. The mattresses vary in quality, but mostly are cheap and thin. The place seems disorganized. Several guests were forced to switch beds each night and were upset by the hassles. On the plus side, the neighborhood seems safe, the kitchen is clean (although the refrigerator is too small), and the hostel is well located near a large supermarket and many restaurants. The guests were friendly but the hostel managers were indifferent. I would not recommend this place. You can find rooms in Panama City in smaller hotels for about $20; it's worthwhile to pay more for the air conditioning in more comfortable lodgings.

I never stay at the Voyager but I stop in every once in a while to check out their bulletin board. The last time I did this was Feb. 2005. I found David to be a little discourteous and Harold or Harry to be 180 degrees the other way. The setting on the balcony of both floors is excellent, for the view and the opportunity to meet fellow travelers, especially at breakfast. The Voyager is also located in a pretty safe area with lots of access to upscale shopping and good Internet access. It's an hour plus walk down Espana or whatever it's named (it changes to on the way down to Casca Vieja or San Filipe district). The bus for all or any part of it runs often, but it's a safe daytime walk, though the bus smoke may get you gagging. Inside the Voyager it can get very stuffy and the bathrooms are a definite reminder of high school physical education. It's definitely a good niche for the younger backpacker but has limited appeal to anyone outside of that category. Except for maybe the bulletin board, which usually can help in getting transport to Cartagena.

I was there last year on a Central and South American trip. It has one of the finest views of Panama from the kitchen. Abdiel is nice, and so is the American Michael — remember the Dutchies!!! marijnwellink@hotmail.com

I really did not think too much of this place and I left after two nights. The hostel is cramped, the rooms are hot as all hell, and for the money you pay here (if there are two of you) you can stay in an air-conditioned spacious double, with a double bed, cable TV and private bathroom just 10 minutes further down on Via Espana. Voyager gets the nod with travelers only because they don't know any other options. Take a look around Panama City and you'll realize just what a bad hand of cards you've been dealt at the Voyager.