Panama City Beach · Hotel shortlist
The best 3 star hotels in Panama City Beach
Yuna Park Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong
These are my five favourites in Panama City Beach, out of the 49 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, all five scoring 4.6.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Panama City Beach - Beachfront by IHG is the one I would book myself.
Highest rated of the five
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Panama City Beach - Beachfront by IHG
★★★★★4.6 from 2,035 reviews
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Panama City Beach - Beachfront by IHG comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 2,035 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.
It is a 3 star property, found under downtown and around $286 a night on the dates we checked.
49 hotels in Panama City Beach qualified for this list and five made it. Emerald Isle Beach Resort is the one I would book if the first is full.
Why it works for this trip
- Poolsomewhere to cool off between walks
- Spatreatment rooms on site, no booking a taxi for it
- Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
- Restaurantdinner downstairs on the night you land
- Bara drink without going back out
All five, ranked
-
1
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Panama City Beach - Beachfront by IHG
★★★★★4.6 from 2,035 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Restaurant
- Bar
- Parking
-
2 -
3Holiday Inn Club Vacations Panama City Beach Resort, an IHG Hotel
★★★★★4.6 from 522 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Gym
- Parking
- Kitchen
- Kid friendly
-
4 -
5Aqua Beach Resort By Panhandle Getaways
★★★★★4.7 from 108 reviews
- Pool
- Spa
- Parking
- Kid friendly
- Air conditioning
- Accessible
How this list was put together
49 Panama City Beach hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.
Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.
The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.
What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.
Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.
Yuna Park Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong
Negotiated a fully remote contract and works a month at a time from a different city on home-office hours. Eleven cities in two years. Likes the routine in new places more than sightseeing.
Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.