Costa Verde Inn

This is more of a lodge or summerhouse than a regular modern hotel, so make sure that kind of stay suits you. I stayed in an apartment with a city view and balcony. It's an old wooden building, and every step or movement makes it squeak. There's no sound or heat insulation from outside, and lizards, flies, spiders, and big ants shared the apartment with me, even in the dry season. The apartment has a full-size fridge and kitchen, but no AC. It gets hot during the day, especially in the upstairs bedroom. Restaurants and shopping malls are further away, about 10-15 minutes by Uber or car, though getting an Uber at any time of day was no problem. Nobody cleaned the apartment on the first day, so I had to ask. Staff could be loud outside in the evenings. Cash payment is preferred and comes with a discount.

The hotel itself was nice, though it's far from the airport. Insects were crawling around in the room I'd booked, and I ended up sleeping on the couch. I should have taken some pictures. I told the manager, who thanked me for the information, but after that I canceled my other booking here.

The location in Escazú worked well for us, away from the heart of San José but still not too far from parks and museums. We spent two nights here and had a great time. The staff were super friendly, breakfast was delicious, and check-in and checkout were simple. The rooms were clean, apart from a dead roach in ours. The breakfast courtyard has the pool in the middle, which felt a bit awkward if you wanted to swim while people were sitting around it.

Tucked up a hill off the main road, this older hotel is in a nice, quiet spot and is relatively peaceful for a city hotel. The rooms are well soundproofed. It's over 50 years old, I was told, but doesn't feel dated, with modern upgrades and exquisite woodwork throughout its classic Costa Rican architecture. The staff were nice, and the day manager speaks English. I like booking directly at the desk since it saves the hotel internet fees and usually saves me a little money too. They were happy to offer a discount for paying cash as a walk-in.