Some 75 percent of the properties in Costa Rica are small, independently owned lodgings with fewer than 30 rooms, even in San José. An individual style imprints each of those lodgings, from scruffy hostels to fashionable inns. What these places lack in a concierge and business center they more than make up for in style and memorable experience. The chain hotels are beginning to take hold in Costa Rica, especially on the North Pacific coast. But the fly-'em-in, fly-'em-out mass tourism, fine-tuned in Mexico and the Caribbean Islands, remains in its infancy here. That can make a visit to Costa Rica a bit pricier, since you are usually purchasing your lodging, airfare, transportation, and tours à la carte. But it also keeps tourism here more small-scale and exclusive.
