Holiday Inn San Jose Downtown - Aurola, San Jose

First of all, know that hotels shouldn't cost much in Costa Rica. I stayed at a place that gave a view of the Arenal Volcano from your bed and cost only $60 for a double room. There are budget hotels in San Jose (located in budget neighborhoods) that cost $40. However, San Jose is an iffy town (unless you are just guys) so if you are traveling with family or have children, just go for the Holiday Inn. That's the safest location + parking + near the middle of the city. The reason I gave this place a poor rating is b/c they charged me and my friend $140 for one night of poor amenities (very high price for any hotel in costa rica, including luxury hotels). The room was like a Comfort Inn you would find along the side of the highway in Kansas. Nothing special. The bathroom had mostly cold water and just occasionally some hot. The worst part was the food. It was midnight and the hotel food was the only available so we went for it. I bought a salad for $5 which turned out to be just some old luttuce leaves covered with cheap dressing. My friend got a burger that he took 1 bite out of. Keep in mind that we were starving! That bad! On top of that, they overcharged us by $6. We kept asking how $5 + $6 = $21 and they kept saying, "yes $21, correct". The good part of this place is the staff. Not the desk staff. I mean the bellhop and door guard and concierge. It was my first night there and I thought it was dangerous so they had a guard go out and watch me as I made a phone call at a payphone a little distance away. Oh yeah, here's a great little bit of information. You can't make international calls using a calling card from the phones in the room! Not only that, but there's one 1950's era phone down in the lobby that is capable of making intn'l calls but it's usually out of service! What??! Yeah!! I'm no primadonna - I could make do with just 4 walls and a toilet, sink and shower. But this place was charging $140 and they had less comfort than a comfort inn!

I went to this hotel a couple of years ago and the service was great. But, now is just amazing! I went last week and the hotel was 100% new! They remodelated all the rooms and the hotel looks very nice. Besides, the hotel is located in San Jose downtown, near all the main attractions. It is a good point to start your vacations.

great location and all you need

This was the worst hotel we stayed at in Costa Rica. We thought that it would be nice since it was a Holiday Inn but it wasn't. The sink in our bathroom leaked, the swimming pool wasn't clean, the food at the restaurant on the 17th floor tasted like freezer burn, and the staff was not very friendly or knowledgeable. We were bummed that we wasted our time and money at the Holiday Inn when there are several other very nice hotels in San Jose.