Executive Lounge Review: JW Marriott Panama City (Panama)

04/06/202513/06/2026wareontheglobe Leave a comment

I spent five days at the JW Marriott Panama City in April 2025. This post reviews the JW Marriott’s M Club Lounge. Before getting into the M Club Lounge review, the JW Marriott Panama City is a nice hotel located in a high rise building, with most (if not all) rooms having views of the Pacific Ocean. The hotel also has a beautiful pool area, complete with two infinity pools and a heated regular pool. Like many JW Marriotts, this one boasts a M Club Lounge for visitors with certain Marriott status and those staying in certain room categories. I have Platinum Status with Marriott, so I received access to the Club M Lounge for me and one guest during my stay. This post reviews the M Club Lounge at the JW Marriott in Panama City.

Room views from the JW Marriott Panama City.

The M Club Lounge

As you likely know if you are reading this article, M Club Lounges are lounges at certain Marriott properties that certain guests can access, including those with certain status and others staying in certain room categories. While club lounges vary widely in terms of quality and offerings, Marriott club lounges often feature complimentary food, complimentary drinks (sometimes including alcohol during limited hours), and a quite place to spend time away from your room. I generally enjoy a club lounge and find such lounges to be a nice perk at hotels.

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5 Days in Panama City, Panama – An Itinerary

01/06/202531/05/2025wareontheglobe 1 Comment

This year’s spring vacation took us to Panama for a week, spending the majority of our time in the capital, Panama City, with a day trip to the San Blas Islands, and a few days in Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast. Panama was beautiful and we had a relaxing time, but Panama was more expensive and more Americanized than other Central American countries that we have visited. We definitely need to return and spend time in other parts of Panama to get a better feel for it. Panama City, however, makes a wonderful winter/early spring getaway for those coming from the NYC area and looking for something different yet not too “foreign.” This post details what we did during our time in Panama City over 5 days and how you can recreate this trip for yourself!

Panama City at sunset. The rooftop sunsets were fantastic.

OUR 5-DAY ITINERARY IN PANAMA CITY

DAY 1: THE PANAMA CANAL & A DELICIOUS MEAL IN CASCO VIEJO

United flies direct from Newark to Panama City overnight, so we took that flight, leaving around midnight NYC time and arriving around 4:00 AM the following morning in Panama. We booked our hotel, the JW Marriott Panama City, for the night prior, so we were able to checkin immediately on arrival despite the early hour (you should absolutely do this if you can swing it; well worth the money). We slept for a couple hours before having breakfast in the JW Marriott’s Lounge and using its stunning pool area (featuring TWO infinity pools and a separate heated pool – it is rumored to be one of the nicest in the area!).

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Restaurant Review: The Floridian, St. Augustine, Florida

16/05/202516/05/2025wareontheglobe 1 Comment

I spent 24 hours in St. Augustine a couple weeks ago, in April 2025, after attend a family wedding in the area. I wrote a post about St. Augustine as a whole here. While touristy, St. Augustine offers some decent places to eat, and I really enjoyed my lunch at The Floridian – a true Florida restaurant owned by Floridians and using local ingredients. This post details my lunch at the Floridian, which I very much recommend visiting if in St. Augustine.

Welcome to the Floridian! A adorable old-Florida sign.

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Itinerary: 24 Hours in the USA’s Oldest City, St. Augustine, Florida

14/05/202513/05/2025wareontheglobe 2 Comments

St. Augustine is a small city on Florida’s northeast Atlantic Coast. Founded in 1565 (yes, a whopping 200 years before the USA was founded!), St. Augustine’s claims to be the United States’ oldest city and is loaded with early American history. Today, the town is quite charming, offering visitors a walkable old town, gorgeous Spanish Architecture, including a castle(!), and tranquil beaches. St. Augustine makes a fun weekend getaway or a stop on a longer Florida itinerary. One could easily spend several days in and around St. Augustine, but if you only have 24 hours, this itinerary is for you! Based off my recent weekend in St. Augustine, this post explains how you can make the most of St. Augustine in 24 hours!

The group at Flagler College’s Dining Hall during our 24 hours in St. Augustine. And that is, indeed, Tiffany stained glass behind us!

WALKING ST. AUGUSTINE’S OLD STREETS

Begin your time in St. Augustine on Aviles Street, aka the city’s oldest street, preferably in the morning to avoid the crowds of tourists and get the best pictures (without said tourists). There is nothing you really must “do” on Aviles except walk and take in the old timey sites (Aviles Street really leans into its status as “oldest street”). When you reach Plaza de la Constitución, what I would describe as one of St. Augustine’s main squares, walk up to the water to view the Medici Lion Marble Statutes (copies of the real Italian ones) guarding the draw bridge and then circle back to Plaza de la Constitución to view its gorgeous Oak Trees with Spanish Moss and the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, which is a very beautiful and old Catholic Church. It still holds mass every Sunday if you are interested.

St. Augustine – the oldest city in the USA.

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Restaurant Review: Dishoom Breakfast, Kensington, London

06/05/202505/05/2025wareontheglobe Leave a comment

Loving our Dishoom Edinburgh experience so much, we returned to Dishoom in London (Kensington, specifically) for brunch on the last day of our trip. This post reviews our excellent brunch at Dishoom Kensington.

Rainy Kensington – we even saw a real Dalmatian!

Dishoom Kensington

There are numerous Dishoom restaurants in London, and there is a great one right in the heart of Kensington. We made a brunch reservation a few weeks in advance, but we probably didn’t need it on this wet, January Sunday. In fact, numerous parties walked in around the same time without a reservations and were seated without issue. Dishoom Kensington’s interior, and sign, has an art deco vibe that I absolutely love.