Right off the bat, I would recommend this place for solo travelers looking for one night. The place is about a 20 minute walk to Pike Place Market, a 3 minute walk from the Light Rail. For the location and the price, it's not bad.
However, most other things were unpleasant. Check in was a process as they took both mine and my fiances' ID and made copies which was new an unexpected for AirBnb, then explained that you had to call a number to be let in the front door (as an FYI, the front door was unlocked half the time we were there and the other half there was a doorman).
The building itself is old, which was expected in the listing. As such, expect the floors to creek every step of the way as well as the doors. A few reviews mentioned that you can hear street traffic from the room, but I did not expect it to be so loud. Rooms start on the 2nd floor, where we were, and you can hear conversations on the sidewalk at 2am as if they were outside your door. Cars honking, trucks and their airbreaks, and police/ambulance sirens were on full blast, all while our window was double checked to be closed. I had to wear earbuds with music to get a comfortable night sleep.
The shower situation was uncomfortable as well. I was very well okay with a shared shower, however, I was expecting a better shower room. There is only one shower per floor, and it only has a tub, door hook, and towel rack. There's nowhere to put your clothes other than the floor to change, nor is there a bath mat to keep you from slipping. The shower curtain is a bit short so the floor does get wet. My biggest complaint, however, is the hot water situation. My first night I thought there was no hot water so I just took a quick cold one. My fiance then mentioned that the left knob is the hot water and you had to wait. So every night after I did. It took at least 5 minutes for it to heat up comfortably, which is unfortunate because I hated standing outside wasting the water. You have to pull the plunger to let the shower heat up, if you just run the faucet til it's hot the shower for some reason won't.
Someone also mentioned that their room was connected to one next door by a slim wall. This was correct, however, it was a door that was slightly ajar. On our second or third night, someone checked in at 1am and their light was shining into our room perfectly onto our faces. Said person also was listening to a radio or a video for over an hour as well that we could hear.
The bed is also a pain. The mattress I found comfortable, but the bed is incredibly creaky. Slight movements or getting out of it just makes a loud springy noise, so your partner may not appreciate it.
Last point to note, there's apparently cats running around. The lady who checked us in had one by her after I got out the shower the first night and said there were about 4 running around. I didn't see any after, but I don't recall seeing an animal note in the listing so this is just an FYI for anyone with allergies.
I understand that many of my complaints stem from the fact that the Panama Hotel is first and foremost a historical museum. The flooring and walls are all original and rusty, there's a notice about how the building is eco friendly and runs on low power (which I'm a fan of), but overall it isn't exactly a comfortable place to stay when you're on a getaway.
Regarding this being a museum, you likely just need to take a tour. There's note in the room about the hotel and a link to buy a book to learn more, and there's photos in our room and the front desk that show some history, but other than that you may not get much appreciation on your own.
Overall, as stated in the beginning, because of the price and location I would recommend this ONLY if you're needing one night. If a hot shower and good nights rest is important to you, then you may want to stay away here.