Amarla Casco Viejo
A refreshing and significantly different addition to the Panama hotel scene, Amarla (translates as ‘purity’) Casco Viejo is an eight-key boutique hotel located in Casco Viejo, Panama’s most historic UNESCO-designated region.
Founded by British entrepreneurs Asher Warr and Robin Faulkner, the innovative group made a statement with its first property in Cartagena, putting a marker in the sand with its genuine values rooted in local culture, community and design, while redefining the luxury hospitality experience.
Born out of a passion for travel, human connection and authentic experiences, Amarla Casco Viejo has been created using ‘purity’ as a watchword, with all aspects of the design based on this philosophy.
Every facet of the hotel has been personally created by Panama’s finest craftsmen, utilising the local arts and artisan practices that are unique to the region, offering something completely different and unique.
Not only is it a striking departure from the staid, traditional hotels that dominate the local hospitality scene, the property is connecting with a growing group of adventurers who are all searching for travel with purpose and inspiration.
Only a handful of cookie-cutter accommodations existed here until now, with Amarla marking a new dawn for the old town, bringing together a like-minded community of travellers with tropical, earthy yet premium, accommodation and social spaces.
Free from formality but uncompromised when it comes to personal service.
The hotel’s love of local artistry is woven through every individually styled space, like the hand-decorated coffee cups painted by a Panamanian tribe, and the hand-spun textiles draped over the beds.
And much like the multicultural Panama City, elements from far-flung corners have found their place beside the locally sourced treasures, including brassware from Morocco in the bathrooms, Indonesian silk in the British-made kimonos, and Portuguese linens.
Perched right in the heart of the historic district of Panama, Amarla Casco Viejo is the jewel in the crown of the rustic old town.
Designed to offer guests the chance to experience understated luxury and local Panamanian culture, every facet of the property is inspired by the local rich heritage: from the architecture to the locally influenced restaurant, Kaandela, Amarla Casco Viejo offers an authentic cultural experience while simultaneously offering comfort and indulgence to modern explorers.
With only eight rooms, Amarla Casco Viejo is intimate and serene and the handicrafts of native artisans tie each of the rustically styled rooms and suites to a Panamanian province.
Each room has a set of photos by Phoebe Montague that depict highlights of the natural, cultural, and human wonders of Panama – from the Darien to Chiriqui.
In the design, the overarching aim was to build a contemporary adults-only hotel, while leaving the surrounding area and local culture untouched as possible.
In doing this, the hotel team created a concept that is greener on the inside than the outside, offering an urban oasis of giant palms and vertical gardens blossoming with jasmine and orchids.
Collaborating with local designers and suppliers to support the local design and artistic community while creating an experience that is eclectic, bold, and colourful is key to Amarla’s process.
Amarla forms the core of a community of like-minded businesses in Casco Viejo, a neighbourhood that is fast becoming Panama’s creative hub, and includes the restaurant Kaandela which is a unique collaboration combining local Panama cuisine with Amarla’s design and architectural expression.
The design is both bold and unique, seamlessly integrated within the centuries-old walls of this historic casona yet contemporary and relevant.
The space is an embodiment of the area—sexy, elegant, laid-back, and tropical.
An overused phrase for hotel designers a few years ago was ‘sense of place’.
Designers were at pains to create interiors that reflected the local community or neighbourhood they were in.
Some of these were successful but most failed to achieve their goal.
Amarla Casco Viejo is an exceptional example of how sense of place can be achieved and it’s simple, really.
Utilise existing building materials, local arts, local craftsmen and practices that are unique to the area and embrace them all with passion, authenticity, and, of course, purity.
Photography: Soulfocus Media