With the opening of the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo at the end of last month, it is the sixth sofitel Legend hotel in the world over the top.

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A UNESCO-listed district is quite rare to be able to claim a new addition as part of its repertoire. Since the 17th century, Casco Viejo (also known as Casco Antiguo in Spanish) has been the historic quarter of Panama City and its brick-lined streets have remained largely untouched.

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The presidential palace and centuries-old churches rub shoulders with Colonial-style pastel buildings with wrought-iron balconies reminiscent of Puerto Rico's Old San Juan and New Orleans' French Quarter. There are a number of iconic buildings in Casco Viejo, but one of the most iconic is the former Union Club, which was built in 1917. 

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As the former backdrop to film like the 2008 James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace," the abandoned shell of the abandoned building sat empty for more than 30 years. Now it has been transformed into the area's newest hotel: the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo.

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Only the original French colonial façade remains of the building, which was bombed in 1989 during the American invasion and supposedly once housed Panamanian politician Manuel Noriega. The architect Jose Manuel Choy used old photographs as inspiration for the building's design.

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As a guide during the five-year restoration project that resulted in the opening last month of the 159-room Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama, the images served as an inspiration for the hotel's interior design.

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Strategically sandwiched between the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal and “new Panama,” the skyscraper-filled financial district, this hotel is on the edge of Casco Viejo, where cruise ship tourists can find Panama hats on the ground. “We are a hidden oasis,” says David Kianni, the general manager. “When you are looking at the building from outside, it looks small, like there’s no life behind it.”

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When looking at the exterior, it is hard to gauge the hotel's size. My first experience of Panamanian culture was when I was greeted by doormen wearing Panama hats and women dressed in cream-colored, embroidered dresses as I entered the same art nouveau-columned entrance that Albert Einstein and Queen Elizabeth II once passed through. 

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As a result of Federico Visuetti's inspiration from yesterday's Panama, the uniform recreates the elegance of the 1940s, '50s, and some of the 1960s by fusing Parisian chic with local touches, including embroidered details reminiscent of the beautiful and expensive La pollera traditional dress, which is one of the world's most expensive traditional dresses.

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During Casco's French canal era, the patterned cement floor and wall tiles mimicked a pattern invented in Paris during the 1860s. During this time, many Casco Viejo buildings were constructed. The décor is centered around the Panama Canal, with nautical motifs, historic, black-and-white photographs, and a large tile mural of the canal.

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Panama has more than a thousand species of orchids, but most of them are exported, but a variety of types are displayed in bouquets on tables and in courtyard gardens in the central plaza. As a side note, I observed Gloria Estefan eating lunch in those gardens the day I arrived.

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“Architects worked diligently to preserve as much as possible of the history and patrimony of the building, which holds an importance both for Panama and the Panamanian people,” Kianni states. “We wanted to make sure we had this historic, colonial feel, but even though the rooms feel colonial in many ways, they are also very French and stylish — they’re still contemporary.”

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With its elegant standing tubs and bronze and porcelain handles and an evening sunset ceremony with elaborate costumes and dancing, Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo seamlessly integrates elements of Panama's past, much like Panama City maintains its cultural heritage through Casco Viejo while modernizing the newer part of town.

The hotel's 35 suites come equipped with Diptyque toiletries, but my majordomo brought me a selection of scented artisanal soaps and drew me a lavender-bud-sprinkle bubble bath.

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There's a sophisticated indoor bar where you can get juices, smoothies, cocktails, and the country's namesake beer delivered straight to your sunbed, as well as the largest pool in Casco. Aside from being just steps from some fabulous restaurants like Fonda Lo Que Hay, the bustling fish market Mercado de Mariscos, and family-run coffee shop Sisi, tanning poolside felt like slipping away to a private island resort.

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The five restaurants and bars are owned and operated by Italian chef Lorenzo Di Gravio. He sources as locally as possible, with flowers and greens coming from a farm in the province of Chiriquí; meat from the Volcán Barú area; fish from two boats based in the Atlantic and Pacific, including red snapper and grouper; homemade corn buns and chicken tamales (served at breakfast) from an artisanal producer in La Chorrera, an hour's drive from the capital.

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The chef hopes his signature restaurant, Caleta, will reflect what's available right here in Panama with ingredients that are modeled after a Mediterranean brasserie. In addition to suckling pig with taro root puree and escarole, Di Gravio serves seafood salad with aioli flavored with mandarins and lemons.

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A fifth-generation Panamanian coffee producer, Santos Café, provides the specialty coffee for Vera Café. I know since I've eaten my fair share of croissants in France over the past decade that I've lived there. Vitrines display freshly baked croissants as delicate as you'd find in Paris. In contrast, Casco's soon-to-debut rooftop craft cocktail bar, Ammi, will provide stunning views of the city's skyline.

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Panama is a hub, connecting all corners of the globe through its canal. While the country lies at the crossroads of North and South America, on the isthmus separating the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, it is less known as a tourist destination than as a cruise ship port of call. “We recognize that the country is a gem, that there’s so much to offer,” Kianni explains. “Now, with a luxury hotel like us coming in and promoting the destination, we’re showing just how rich Panama is culturally.”