Hi twocents. Anything outside of the city is automatically cheaper than in the city but unfortunately I can't give any specific recommendations as I'm very much a full-fledged city mouse. If you are looking for anything in Panama City, I'd recommend you check out the El Cangrejo zone, where everything you need is pretty much within walking distance (all kinds of restaurants, casinos, banks, night clubs, supermarkets, etc.) and there are A LOT of hotels and suites to choose from. There are aparthotels like Sevilla Suites
www.sevillasuites.com, or Torres de Alba
www.torresdealba.com.pa - they have swimming pool, internet, cable, kitchen, breakfast included, etc. There are also other aparthotels and regular hotels in the same block, like Las Vegas Suites, which charge a lot less but are not that fancy. It really depends on what you need and feel comfortable with. Then again, if you are staying for more than a month it might be cheaper to rent a nice apartment for $1500 to $2000 a month.