San Jose - Hotel Recommendations

[Tj Texan]

Lots of construction going on there right now, as they are putting up a new casino right next door. I was there for three days last weekend but checked out early because of this. If you are sensitive to this kind of noise, you might want to stay away for a while. Rooms closer to the front of the hotel might be somewhat quieter. This place has some good things going for it, and I will give it another chance when ALL work is completed.

They told me about the construction, but as I was there during a Fri-Sun stay it was probably big time tempered. Also, I had the very front room which was really convenient.

[Nixonbd]

I stayed at the Hotel Del Rey in December 2008.

I had booked online about a month ahead of time. I emailed and told them my flight would be arriving about 10PM, and asked whether a late check in would be a problem, and they said it was fine.

So although the first night was really unpleasant, and I was planning to go online and really trash the hotel, I was very impressed by the manager apologizing and smoothing things over.

That happened to me when I used a travel site to book at the Balmoral Hotel. I arrived late due to weather and they didn't have any rooms. They sent me down the street to a nice old hotel, but not chica friendly. I was pissed until I went back the next day and they upgraded me to a bigger room. I don't think room space is a problem nowadays with travel being down and all.

[Evianist]

This is one reason I almost always, pay the extra money, endure the sort of "run-down" rooms compared to other nearby hotels. Manuel, Edgar and HDL always do right by me. And you don't have to cab back and forth to ground zero.

What hotel down the street did they send you to? The Morazon?

Can't remember now, but morazon might be correct

Let's not be too effusive with the praise, they did fuck me over pretty bad the first night
But if it was an isolated incident then I'm willing to forgive

[JazzPlayer]

I stayed at the Hotel Del Rey in December 2008.

I had booked online about a month ahead of time. I emailed and told them my flight would be arriving about 10PM, and asked whether a late check in would be a problem, and they said it was fine.

I arrived at the hotel at about 11:30 or 12 and the guy at the desk told me they had given my room away and that they would send me somewhere down the street. Really not something you want to hear on your arrival in a foreign country at midnight.

The next day when I checked in again the lady at the desk asked whether I wasn't supposed to be there the day before, and I told her I came to the hotel and they told me they didn't have any rooms. She seemed surprised by this.

A few days later I was eating breakfast across the street and a guy came up to me and asked if I was [my name] and I told him yes and he told me he was the hotel manager and very genuinely apologized about what had happened and told me the meal I was having would be on the house. I really don't know how he knew who I was or how he knew I was across the street eating breakfast at that time.


So although the first night was really unpleasant, and I was planning to go online and really trash the hotel, I was very impressed by the manager apologizing and smoothing things over.

This is one reason I almost always, pay the extra money, endure the sort of "run-down" rooms compared to other nearby hotels. Manuel, Edgar and HDL always do right by me. And you don't have to cab back and forth to ground zero.

What hotel down the street did they send you to? The Morazon?

Chau,

Jazz/

[Mr Jetsetter]

Recently stayed at the Dunn Inn, can't say enough good things about the place. Location is fine, service is good, clean and the food is pretty damn good. Not the cheapest in SJ, but a great value no less. Friendly place.

Lots of construction going on there right now, as they are putting up a new casino right next door. I was there for three days last weekend but checked out early because of this. If you are sensitive to this kind of noise, you might want to stay away for a while. Rooms closer to the front of the hotel might be somewhat quieter. This place has some good things going for it, and I will give it another chance when ALL work is completed.

[Evianist]

I stayed at the Hotel Del Rey in December 2008.

I had booked online about a month ahead of time. I emailed and told them my flight would be arriving about 10PM, and asked whether a late check in would be a problem, and they said it was fine.

I arrived at the hotel at about 11:30 or 12 and the guy at the desk told me they had given my room away and that they would send me somewhere down the street. Really not something you want to hear on your arrival in a foreign country at midnight.

The next day when I checked in again the lady at the desk asked whether I wasn't supposed to be there the day before, and I told her I came to the hotel and they told me they didn't have any rooms. She seemed surprised by this.

A few days later I was eating breakfast across the street and a guy came up to me and asked if I was [my name] and I told him yes and he told me he was the hotel manager and very genuinely apologized about what had happened and told me the meal I was having would be on the house. I really don't know how he knew who I was or how he knew I was across the street eating breakfast at that time.


So although the first night was really unpleasant, and I was planning to go online and really trash the hotel, I was very impressed by the manager apologizing and smoothing things over.

[Tj Texan]

Recently stayed at the Dunn Inn, can't say enough good things about the place. Location is fine, service is good, clean and the food is pretty damn good. Not the cheapest in SJ, but a great value no less. Friendly place.

[Superman06]

...Also had the good fortune to meet a very knowledgeable punter named "Alex" at the Del Rey. Alex is not his real name. I want to protect his privacy. He lives in SJ and really knows the scene down there and was very willing to share his vast array of knowledge with me. I learned a lot and want to thank Alex again. If your read this Alex, please PM me with your email so we can meet up again next time I am in SJ.

Paddy from Prague

There is a brotherhood of mongers in CR. There are several expats there that are generous with information on the scene there. Thanks to CRT no monger needs to feel alone in a strange country. I'm glad you had a good time.

[Stevewxly]

Thank You, Stevewx, for the piece of advice!

San Jose appears to be an EXPENSIVE city; I was expecting a Tourist Shuttle Bus doing the round of the good hotels in San Jose that would charge HALF the price of a taxi (Grayline type of service).

As much as I like the action at the Del Rey or similar hotels, I prefer to be close to the airport.

By the way, does the taxi service downtown to the airport COST AS MUCH AS the fare from a hotel close to the airport like the Hampton?

The fare for a taxi from the downtown to airport will run you around $ 20.00.

But to take a taxi from say the Hampton Inn - which is only about a mile or so from the airport should only cost you about $ 2.50 to 3.00.

You can get a shuttle bus from the airport to downtown or vise a versa - but the scheduling of it is a little difficult as you mainly need a reservation for that bus - the reservation usually is made thru the front desk of your hotel.

The shuttle bus would be a little cheaper than taking a taxi - but since you are only going to do this once or twice - it is just more convenient to grab a taxi when you are ready instead of having to go to the hotel desk ( and this would usually be the day before you wanted to travel - so they had time to schedule you and pick you up) and make a reservation for pickup by the shuttle.

The shuttle buses - and there is Greyline as wel as Interbus are more for trips to the beach or other outlaying towns to and from San Jose.

Most of the locals would take the bus between airport and downtown because of the cheap price....they simply for the most part do not have the money that we would have available to us. While most gringos or other travelers would opt for a taxi - as we would have lots more money than almost all the locals.

So it is simply a matter of convenience and budget.

Like the difference between doing most of your grocery shopping at one of the large supermarkets in San Jose and then doing the same shopping at say the Mercado Central - the central market.

Gringos and wealthy people will shop at the supermarket where they will pay more than double the price than the locals will have to pay at the central market or at one of the local outdoor vegetable markets.

[Victorn]

The hotels that Victorn told you about are not close to the airport. They are near downtown San Jose. Mostly in what is called Barro Amon (a secton of San Jose that is around the Zoo)- all of these hotels are about 13-14 miles distant from the international airport.

If you need to stay close to the airport to make an early flight you should look at the hotels near the airport. Like the Hampton Inn with a Denny's Restaurant & a casino next door. That hotel is within a couple of miles of the airport. So if you had a taxi pick you up at your desired time you could be at the airport in about 5 or 6 minutes. As opposed to staying at a hotel near downtown. Where it would take you at least 35. 45 minutes to the airport by taxi depending upon the volume of traffic at that time of the morning.

Stay near town while you are visiting San Jose. But if you feel that you need to be close to the airport on your final night. Then get into one of the hotels out near the airport. You can do a search on Google to find several of them.

I always stay at hotels in town. And even if I have a 6:30- or 7 AM flight I arrange to have a taxi pick me up at my hotel at say 5 AM. Which allows for the longer trip to the airport.

If you are new to San Jose. Then forget about trying to get a shuttle bus. Just stick with the taxi coming and going to and from the airport. They should run you about $ 20. 00. Which should be reasonable for almost any Gringo visiting CR.

$ 20. 00 would be too much for the locals. But then they are local. So they take buses for the cheap price. As they know exactly where they are going.

.

Thank You, Stevewx, for the piece of advice!

San Jose appears to be an EXPENSIVE city; I was expecting a Tourist Shuttle Bus doing the round of the good hotels in San Jose that would charge HALF the price of a taxi (Grayline type of service).

As much as I like the action at the Del Rey or similar hotels, I prefer to be close to the airport.

By the way, does the taxi service downtown to the airport COST AS MUCH AS the fare from a hotel close to the airport like the Hampton?

[Stevewxly]

I digress a bit but I need to catch an early flight ( be at the International airport for 8:30 a.m.)

Are these hotels far from the airport ? How do you get to the airport ? Cab or Shuttle bus?

The hotels that Victorn told you about are not close to the airport. They are near downtown San Jose - mostly in what is called Barro Amon ( a secton of San Jose that is around the Zoo)- all of these hotels are about 13-14 miles distant from the international airport.

If you need to stay close to the airport to make an early flight you should look at the hotels near the airport - like the Hampton Inn with a Denny's Restaurant & a casino next door. That hotel is within a couple of miles of the airport - so if you had a taxi pick you up at your desired time you could be at the airport in about 5 or 6 minutes.......as opposed to staying at a hotel near downtown - where it would take you at least 35 - 45 minutes to the airport by taxi depending upon the volume of traffic at that time of the morning.

Stay near town while you are visiting San Jose - but if you feel that you need to be close to the airport on your final night - then get into one of the hotels out near the airport. You can do a search on Google to find several of them.

I always stay at hotels in town - and even if I have a 6:30- or 7 AM flight I arrange to have a taxi pick me up at my hotel at say 5 AM - which allows for the longer trip to the airport.

If you are new to San Jose - then forget about trying to get a shuttle bus - just stick with the taxi coming and going to and from the airport - they should run you about $ 20.00 - which should be reasonable for almost any Gringo visiting CR.

$ 20.00 would be too much for the locals - but then they are local - so they take buses for the cheap price - as they know exactly where they are going.
...

[Victorn]

None of the Best Western chain hotels in Costa Rica are chica friendly.

Your best bet would be a place in Barrio Amon like Sportsmens Lodge, Castillo or Dunn Inn. The Freebird is a private hotel that alot of people seem to like lately.

I digress a bit but I need to catch an early flight ( be at the International airport for 8:30 a.m.)

Are these hotels far from the airport ? How do you get to the airport ? Cab or Shuttle bus?

[CultureShock]

None of the Best Western chain hotels in Costa Rica are chica friendly.

Your best bet would be a place in Barrio Amon like Sportsmens Lodge, Castillo or Dunn Inn. The Freebird is a private hotel that alot of people seem to like lately.

[Rey Alvear]

Been to SJ fifteen times; a friend who could F*** Up a wet dream is planning this trip. He has us booked into the Best Western Downtown in San Jose.

Is it Chica Friendly?

Is it close to the Del Rey?

Is my buddy a dip shit?

I know there is a report in there somewhere answering these questions, But I could not find it. Gracias.

[Paddy]

Yes, the Del Rey does have internet. You have to go to the desk every day and they will give you a long alphanumeric code for your laptop, Iphone, etc. It expires after 24 hours. Also, they have two terminals in the lobby which have been updated and are reasonably quick. The ones they had last year were absurdly slow. Guys often got up and left in frustration.

Had a great time at the Del Rey/Key Largo two weeks ago. I found that it is very, very important to be specific and precise about what you want when you take a Tica. Otherwise, they will default into mechanical sex and slap a condom on you before you know what hit you. Don't be shy about asking for what you want. They've done it before. There were a lot of Ticas and Gringos around but I heard and saw that the Gringos are now very judicious in regard to their selections and driving hard bargains. Good for them.

Also had the good fortune to meet a very knowledgeable punter named "Alex" at the Del Rey. Alex is not his real name. I want to protect his privacy. He lives in SJ and really knows the scene down there and was very willing to share his vast array of knowledge with me. I learned a lot and want to thank Alex again. If your read this Alex, please PM me with your email so we can meet up again next time I am in SJ.

Paddy from Prague