Hotel Doña Pakyta

We haven't stayed here, only eaten at the restaurant. The menu and food are good, and the service is pretty good too. The big windows look out to sea, though that view isn't much use after dark. I'd say it's probably one of the best places to eat in San José, and a real plus is that it's open all year, unlike almost all the other restaurants in town.

Our two weeks at Dona Pakyta were great. The view from room 114 was fantastic, and the large terrace was lovely for sitting out, even if early March wasn't ideal for sunbathing. The website says there's a pool, but that's an error. There's a beach below, reached by steps from the hotel terrace. I would've liked tea-making facilities in the room, though I suspect that's an English quirk, and room service would bring anything anyway. The rooms were cleaned to a high standard, the meals were excellent, and the staff, especially Ramon and Isobel, always gave first-class service.

Breakfast had a generous choice of meats, fruit, bread and cereals, and the staff were attentive. We got the large room with balcony and sea view that we'd booked, and the blackout was very good against the rising sun coming straight through the windows. There are no tea or coffee-making facilities in the room, a real drawback for thirsty walkers, though reception made us green tea. Wi-Fi had a time limit, which we weren't told about on arrival. These days I expect it to be available all the time after signing in. The corridors are also quite noisy, with no soft furnishings to deaden the sound.

We got a huge room with a private terrace overlooking the sea, which was great for unwinding after a long day's walk. The friendly front desk staff and the good value made the stay well worth it. Breakfast's hot food selection wasn't as good as at other four-star hotels, probably because this is a small hotel, and the Wi-Fi was slow.