The canal was a really cool thing to see. But my wife and I just stayed in a hotel in the center of the city. Any hotel is just a hotel so I wouldn't be able to give real useful advice on areas. And we didn't stay long in the city. We mostly stayed in a little island called bocas del toro. Beautiful Carribbean island.

As for Costa Rica we stayed near Tortuguero. But also went further inland to the hot springs and mountains. Standard touristy stuff. But their way of life and their people, that was just incredible to see. Most of them don't have bank accounts and they all just seem to have this really chilled out and trust based way of life, it was such a stark contrast to the UK.