Hotel La Amistad

Read the reviews carefully. I suspect some of the positive ones are fake. I requested a quiet room and was placed opposite a techno rave that went on until 1 pm. The window facing it wouldn’t close, as the photo shows. The trains honk around 5 am too, as other reviewers have mentioned. My two pillows were also so old and gross they’d worn down into lumps.

The bed was comfortable and the location was convenient for getting closer to other things, and the staff were friendly. But I was very disappointed by how the rooms are marketed. The King “Jacuzzi” is just a decorative fixture in the bathroom that doesn’t work. The place needs some basic care: the bathroom mirrors look like ones in a public park, there are stains and black marks on the ceiling that could be mold, and noise carries through the windows when people talk loudly in the hallway. One room had no outside air or windows. There’s no pool and no working jacuzzi. Calling it a three-star hotel feels wrong to me, more like one or two stars. Owners should sleep in these rooms to understand the experience. Please describe what’s actually provided, so guests aren’t left feeling deceived by the “Jaccuzi king room” label. It wasn’t a pleasant experience.

A nice little hotel in a converted mansion, with reasonably priced rooms close to downtown San Jose. The kitchen had just opened and was offering a few good specials.

The hotel is less than 15 m from an active passenger railway, and trains pass about every 20 minutes from 4:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night. The walls are thin, and with only interior windows, you can hear people in the lobby any time, day or night. Our “penthouse jacuzzi” room had several problems: the tub wouldn’t fill because the stopper seemed to leak, and the air conditioner always reset to 29C no matter what temperature we set. With no outside windows, it was musty and dark, except when hallway lights shone in at night. The advertised gourmet restaurant turned out to be a bar where you could order Uber eats from one of their other hotels, delivered in a plastic box that looked nothing like the website photos. Breakfast was advertised as free and made to order, but we had to pay for it. We had a truly disappointing night based on what felt mostly like deceptive marketing. Another review mentioned the trains, and management replied, “everybody knows about the trains.” That’s a pretty weak response. How should people who have never been there know a regional train passes 50 days/day? We live in Costa Rica and had no idea. I guess we’re just stupid. It’s a great way to alienate a past guest. Burn it down!