The NYU-SCPS Panama City Study Tour visited Tántalo Hotel Boutique on October 20, 2011. We were eager to learn more about the development projects happening in the “old town” of Panama City. Tántalo is a boutique hotel in the heart of Casco Viejo, Panama City. The hotel will have 13 rooms, an amazing rooftop bar (uncommon in Casco Viejo), and will serve a variety of delicious tapas style dishes.
Adam Rosenberg, Vice President of Blesso Properties in NYC and leader of the Tántalo development project, gave us a tour and described the construction of the hotel. Adam highlighted the design details unique to the hotel from the glass covered staircase to the rooftop deck wood (IPE) harvested from the Panama Canal. All of the guest rooms are equipped with custom millwork have been thoughtfully selected by Adam onsite in China. The restaurant tables were bought in Panama from sustainably harvested Panama Canal submerged wood.
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| Adam Rosenberg, Vice President Blesso Properties speaks to NYU students from the soon to be rooftop bar of Tántalo |
The name and the design of the hotel was influenced by Tántalo (Spanish for Tantalus), the son of Zeus and king of Sipylos. Tántalo was uniquely favored among the mortals … because he was invited to share the foods of the gods…. [Unfortunately,] he abused his guest-host relationship and was punished by being ‘tantalized’ with hunger and thirst …. he was immersed up to his neck in water, but when he bent to drink, it all drained away…. [When he went to reach for the fruit hanging above him] … the winds blew the branches beyond his reach (Hunter, 2004, para 1).
Tántalo is considered a Robin Hood-like figure because he stole the divine food and drink of the gods and gave them to the mortals. Adam assured us that the fine food and drink at Tántalo would not be withheld from guests. The hotel is scheduled to open in December 2011.
References
Hunter, J. (2004). Tantalus. Encyclopedia Mythica. Retrieved from http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tantalus.html