About CascoViejo360
Trusted Recommendations • Editorial Integrity • Personal Experience
When I created CascoViejo360, I wasn’t trying to build another travel website. I wanted to create the kind of visitor guide I spent my entire hospitality career wishing existed. One built on personal experience, professional standards, and recommendations people could genuinely trust. About Casco Viejo 360 begins with that belief and explains why every recommendation is made with care.
After more than four decades working in luxury hotels, restaurants, convention centers, destination weddings, meetings, and tourism, I learned that visitors rarely ask for hundreds of recommendations.
They ask one simple question.
“Where would you recommend?”
CascoViejo360 is my answer to that question.
It is a carefully curated publication dedicated to helping visitors discover the very best of Casco Viejo through experience, integrity, and a genuine appreciation for one of the world’s most remarkable historic neighborhoods.
My Editorial Independence
One of the principles I value most is editorial independence.
About Casco Viejo 360 reflects the editorial standards and professional principles that guide every recommendation published on this website. Businesses may engage CascoViejo360 for the professional time, editorial expertise, photography, content creation, and ongoing work involved in producing and maintaining a high-quality publication. That relationship, however, never guarantees a recommendation or determines whether a business is featured.
Every recommendation reflects my own independent professional judgement, shaped by more than forty years in hospitality and years of firsthand experience in Casco Viejo.
If I don’t genuinely believe a business delivers the level of quality visitors deserve, I won’t recommend it. Protecting the trust of my readers will always be more important than commercial opportunity.
That commitment has guided CascoViejo360 from the very beginning, and it always will.
My Story
In 2008, I purchased a home in Casco Viejo.
Although Casco Viejo became my home base, I continued to work and consult internationally within the hotel and hospitality industry, returning regularly while watching this remarkable neighborhood evolve year after year.
I had the privilege of seeing historic buildings restored, boutique hotels open their doors, outstanding restaurants establish themselves, and passionate entrepreneurs invest in creating something truly special.
As someone who had spent a lifetime working in hospitality, I could see that Casco Viejo wasn’t simply becoming a popular destination.
It was becoming one of Latin America’s great historic neighborhoods. I also realised something else. It deserved a publication that reflected the same level of quality and professionalism as the businesses helping shape its future.
That vision became CascoViejo360.
My Philosophy
After more than four decades in hospitality, one lesson has never changed. Visitors don’t want hundreds of recommendations. They want recommendations they can trust. That belief is the foundation of CascoViejo360. About Casco Viejo 360 explains the philosophy behind every recommendation I make. I believe quality is more valuable than quantity, personal experience matters more than popularity, and trust is earned through consistency. Every recommendation begins with one simple question.
“Would I confidently recommend this to my own family, friends, or colleagues?”
If the answer isn’t yes, it doesn’t belong on CascoViejo360.
My Editorial Standards
Every recommendation published on CascoViejo360 is approached with the same professional standards that have guided my hospitality career.
Wherever possible, I personally visit the businesses I feature. I take the time to experience the atmosphere, observe the service, meet owners and managers, and understand what makes each place unique. About Casco Viejo 360 also reflects my commitment to maintaining regular relationships with hotel concierge teams and hospitality professionals whose daily conversations with visitors provide valuable insight into the experiences guests genuinely remember.
Recommendations are earned through consistency, professionalism, authenticity, and the overall visitor experience. As Casco Viejo continues to evolve, I continually review and update the website to ensure the information remains accurate, relevant, and worthy of your trust.
Supporting the Community
One of the unexpected rewards of creating CascoViejo360 has been the people I’ve met along the way.
Over the years, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know chefs, artists, architects, hotel professionals, tour guides, entrepreneurs, restaurateurs, and residents who care deeply about this community.
Their stories deserve to be shared. My hope is that CascoViejo360 introduces visitors not only to exceptional places, but also to the people whose passion, creativity, and commitment make those places memorable.
When responsible local businesses succeed, everyone benefits. Visitors enjoy richer experiences, entrepreneurs continue investing, historic buildings are preserved, and the unique character of Casco Viejo continues to thrive.
Hospitality Shapes Everything I Do
Forty years in hospitality change the way you look at a destination. When I walk into a hotel, I notice the welcome before I notice the architecture. When I visit a restaurant, I pay attention to the teamwork, leadership, pace of service, and atmosphere long before the first course arrives. About Casco Viejo 360 is shaped by those same observations and the professional standards I’ve developed throughout my career.
I’ve learned that memorable guest experiences are rarely created by one moment. They are created through hundreds of small details working together. That perspective influences every recommendation I publish. My goal isn’t simply to tell you where to eat or where to stay.
It’s to help you discover experiences you’ll remember long after you’ve returned home.
Looking Ahead
Casco Viejo continues to write new chapters in its story. New restaurants open, historic buildings find new purpose, boutique hotels welcome visitors from around the world, and talented entrepreneurs continue investing in one of Panama’s most remarkable destinations. About Casco Viejo 360 is my way of documenting that journey while helping visitors discover the people, places, and experiences that make this community so special.
I’ll continue documenting that journey with the same commitment that inspired me to create CascoViejo360 in the first place.
Technology will continue to change. The way people discover destinations will continue to evolve. But the principles behind CascoViejo360 never will.
Integrity.
Professional experience.
Personal knowledge.
A genuine love for this community.
And always putting the visitor first.
About Me
If you’d like to learn more about my hospitality career, the experiences that shaped my philosophy, and why I created CascoViejo360, I invite you to read my full story.
Over more than four decades, I’ve had the privilege of working with luxury hotels, restaurants, convention centers, destination weddings, meetings, incentive travel, and tourism organizations in the United Kingdom, Europe, the United States, and Panama. Those experiences continue to influence every recommendation I make today.
Welcome
Whether this is your first visit to Panama or your tenth, I’m delighted you’ve found CascoViejo360.
I hope the stories, recommendations, photography, and local knowledge I share help you experience this extraordinary neighborhood with confidence and a deeper appreciation for everything that makes Casco Viejo so special.
Welcome to Casco Viejo.
James P. Rice
Founder & Publisher
CascoViejo360.com
Meet James
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Read BlogJames P. Rice
James P. Rice purchased a home in Casco Viejo in 2008 and brings more than 40 years of hospitality, restaurant, tourism, and convention industry experience to CascoViejo360.com.
His background includes leadership positions with Ritz-Carlton and Hyatt Hotels, executive roles with major convention centers, and ownership of restaurants and pubs in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
Every article, hotel, restaurant, rooftop venue, attraction, and experience featured on CascoViejo360.com is selected through local knowledge, personal experience, and professional review, with careful consideration given to visitor experience, service standards, authenticity, and its contribution to the overall Casco Viejo and Panama City visitor experience.
