Thread: San Jose - Hotel Recommendations
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05-27-14 20:42 #683
Posts: 266Hotel Amistad Experience
Hello Gents.
Just got back last week from San Jose and Jaco Beach trip. We stayed 2 nights at San Jose and 3 nights in Jaco Beach. After reviewing all of the information on this board we decided to stay at the Hotel Amistad due to its positive reviews and the all inclusive aspect of the hotel that can be added for only $10 more. I must say that overall the Hotel Amistad is a pretty good value for the money, and guest friendly. They charge from $89 to $129 for queen, king, studio, and penthouse sized rooms. The queen and the king rooms are the same size; but you will pay $10 more for the room with the king size, but for those who like larger rooms I would go with a studio or penthouse room. The hotel is kept up in decent condition but is an older hotel; however all of the no guest fee hotels in San Jose are older. The all inclusive aspect of the Hotel Amistad means that you can order anything off of the menu in the restaurant downstairs and eat there anytime for breakfast from 7 am to 10 am, and lunch or dinner are served from 12 pm to 11 pm. You may go to their website and see what's on the menu but they offer pastas, shrimp and fish dishes, risottos, meats, and chicken menu including appetizers, soup, salad, and order as much as you can eat. Also, you are allowed unlimited soda, bottled water, well drinks as often as you would like from the restaurant and bar there. So, if I figured the cost out, it would have run as least $35 to $40 bucks in food and drinks if I ate in local restaurants with comparable food and drinks, and you have the added convenience of not having to decide where to eat, taking a cab, etc. The rooms were very basic in decor, somewhat spanish traditional style, and had free WiFi, air conditioning, comfortable beds, clean, and are probably 3 star quality, whereas Del Rey looked 2 star. I did tour rooms at the Sportsmens Lodge and would consider them comparable or a tiny bit nicer and cheaper without the all inclusive starting around $65 for a basic room, so even if you had to eat outside, it would still be a good value. For those that want the nicest rooms in the Gulch area, book the Sleep Inn but be prepared to spend around $120 per night and add $25 for your guest / joiner fee.
One other excellent thing I found to be awesome at the La Amistad is that they will offer a free cab ride to Jaco if you are returning to stay there or pick you up from Jaco if you are staying there. So we got a free ride and back to Jaco which would have cost us at least $160 ($80 each way was cheapest we were quoted by taxi drivers to Jaco). The hotel is managed by a nice guy named Don and he is American so that showed in the customer service aspect as the staff addressed all of our requests and were very friendly. So all in all, I would strongly recommend La Amistad as a good option in San Jose which has few options for nice hotels which are girl friendly.
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04-15-14 01:59 #682
Posts: 66Originally Posted by Love Bite [View Original Post]
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04-14-14 23:28 #681
Posts: 80Holiday inn?
Any one stayed at Holiday Inn is it chica friendly or? How much they charge for that Chica to bring in the hotel?
Thanks
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04-03-14 02:52 #680
Posts: 88Originally Posted by Dgfd [View Original Post]
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02-18-14 21:52 #679
Posts: 345There's no free lunch in this area. If you just want a chica friendly hotel in the gulch on the cheap, the Morazan is that. But it's a shit hole. The Amistad is probably the nicest, but it's at least 200 meters from the Rey. SL is ok, but the decent rooms aren't cheap, and the cheap rooms aren't decent. And it's not much closer than the Amistad.
Originally Posted by Noidz [View Original Post]
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02-15-14 02:02 #678
Posts: 5Hi all,
Seeking your wise recommendations on a clean (not depressing) hotel at the center of action in SJ.
I'm looking for something in the range of $50 to $70.
Have a current offer from La Amistad for $70 but I "feel" it's too much for La Amistad and it's not at the center of action.
Of course this is all considering "no guest fee" policy.
Thanks in advance,
Happy mongering!
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02-13-14 05:42 #677
Posts: 89Hotel Santo Thomas GF?
Originally Posted by Jonesie [View Original Post]
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02-05-14 21:31 #676
Posts: 136Originally Posted by AssMan12 [View Original Post]
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02-05-14 16:44 #675
Posts: 3042[QUOTE=Jonesie; 1512014]it is only my opinion. Feel free to have your own.
Hi Jonesie and Fellow HornDogs in Costa Rica: if I ever go back I would stay again at Hemingway. It is convenient, inexpensive, GF, nice breakfast and nice staff. The rooms could be improved but they were clean. Just my. 02.
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02-05-14 03:00 #674
Posts: 11Great info Jonesie. Is there any time in the next few months that is better than another? Planning my first trip to SJ. Thanks for advice. A fellow mongered.
AM12
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01-25-14 07:58 #673
Posts: 345From the looks of this place, I don't think it's going to be chica friendly. Outside chance it's chica tolerable.
Scores' rooms are only $30 these days, and they're chica friendly. The rooms are decent, the bare is new and nice. The MP part of the deal is lacking, but at $30, whatever.
Originally Posted by CFront [View Original Post]
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01-23-14 16:23 #672
Posts: 136Originally Posted by CFront [View Original Post]
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01-23-14 01:39 #671
Posts: 27El Maragato. Fingers Crossed
Damn. Looks like Hotel La Amistad was all booked up. So I booked at El Maragato, reservation for "2 guests". So I'm hopeful they are chica friendly, but being so close to Del Rey. Fingers crossed they know the drill.
My first time to CR, exciting.
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01-07-14 00:54 #670
Posts: 3359It does bear mentioning and / or repeating that La Amistad does NOT allow unaccompanied chicas so it is strictly BYO in that regard.
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12-26-13 11:37 #669
Posts: 345Jonesie's Brief Hotel Reviews for 2013
This year was a tough year for Costa Rica tourism. Even the well run hotels had to innovate to stay on top. Here's a list of the top monger hotels as I see it. I'the consider mine a pretty educated opinion, but at the end of the day, it is only my opinion. Feel free to have your own.
1. Hotel Amistad. Still. It was already a well run hotel with a great restaurant. This year, Matt introduced the all inclusive concept and it's a hit. Sunday and Wednesday hosts great deals for the frugal gourmets not staying at the hotel. Still the best place to stay, and now at the best price.
2. Hotel Cocal. Nice hotel in Jaco that's ground zero for the hobby on the beach. Nice rooms, great restaurant, boutique casino, and very lively bar scene at night. One can usually find 100+ girls at the pool bar on any given night.
3. Sportsman's Lodge. There are two very different experiences one could have staying at this hotel. The first being the mansion wing of this hotel that offers an upscale, quiet accommodations close enough to the bar to be convenient, and far enough to enjoy serenity. The second being the courtyard rooms that would put this hotel further down the list. Courtyard / bar side rooms are generally noisy, a light to moderate sleeper will hear the last bar patrons retire, and the first breakfast patrons chat. Lively bar scene with between 12-30 girls walking around depending on the hour.
4. Balmoral. This is an upscale option that charges a guest fee for chicas. Otherwise it would be number 2 on this list. Plush rooms and a nice restaurant.
5. Zona II. This hotel is only a 4 suite hotel. The nicer rooms from the defunct Little Havana. Has a downstairs bar and cigar room. This is a hotel review, so I'll leave it at that.
6. Dunn Inn. This hotel has nice rooms and a nice restaurant. Poor management makes the place a ghost town. Such a shame.
7. Del Rey. This is not a nice hotel. At all. But, it's still the default choice and ground zero for the hobby in San Jose. Shouldn't be, but it is.
8. Sleep Inn. This is a decent hotel that's proximity to the Rey makes it relevant. Charges a chica fee. If you've got the cash (it's $35 per chica) , and want a cleaner / newer room than the Rey, this is your place.
9. Scores. The more modest rooms of the old Little Havana. Beautiful new bar, same rooms. Place looks great, so why is it still empty?
10. Mona Lisa. This was a great idea, with awful execution. The wrong turns are too many to count.
11. Hotel Castillo. Some wonder out loud how this place is still open. I wonder how it's still standing. Another year of neglect makes a once charming hotel into yet another lost opportunity.
12. Hotel Morazan. I do have to respect one thing about this place, they don't pretend to be anything more than a barely inhabitable dwelling that markets to the dregs.