Amon Plaza Hotel
 

Hi, anyone stayed at Amon Plaza Hotel in San Jose before? expedicionestropicales.com advised me to stay at this hotel though I inquire about Hotel Don Carlos and Best Western Irazu (for convenience). The rate quoted is 70.00 including breakfast. How long will it take to go to downtown by cab?

Hey lachat. . .me chiming in again! We walked past Amon Plaza in March while staying to Hotel Don Carlos. It is just down the street a block or two--on Avenida 9. Nice property, casino, high rise (compared to other hotels in the area), etc. I've spoken with a couple of airline pilots who have overnighted here and they thought it was okay. You are just a very few blocks (5 or 6) from downtown if you stay in this area. It is a nice walk. . .a taxi would charge a couple of dollars. We took a taxi one night after attending the Teatro, but that is just because we didn't feel comfortable walking at night. In the daytime, no problem other than you should always be alert and use common traveler sense (not flashing money, keeping any kind of bag over your opposite shoulder, etc). Also, be aware that pedestrians don't have the right of way. . .you have to watch and cross carefully. It is not a bad area of town in which to explore and feel safe. There are a lot of shops between the hotel and the downtown area that you might want to look around in. Also nearby is a supermarket where you can buy great coffee (for a lot less than you will find it at souvenir shops).

A short walk puts you right at the Plaza de la Cultura (Gran Hotel with a plaza in front) and across from the Teatro Nacional (beautiful building and you can go in and look around). Also nearby is a pedestrian mall (street closed except for pedestrians) and if you walk west 3 blocks or so, you will come to the Central Market (Mercado Central). Several parks are also in this area. Beneath the Plaza de la Cultura is the Museo de Oro (very state of the art gold museum). Also nearby is the Jade Museum (on top of the insurance building which is sort of a landmark because it is so tall). There is also a Holiday Inn (the Aurola, I think) that is even closer to the sightsee area. It is also a landmark because it is so tall. Whichever hotel you choose will be happy to give you directions and advice!

hola shillmac, so good to have you again. thanks for the details. as hotel don carlos is highly recommended in this forum, i believe there's something magical about it which i love to experience myself. however, my friend prefers a bigger and more upscale hotel. i read in the website of the amon plaza that they'll charge an additional $20 in the bill (dont know what this is). also they'll add compulsory charges of $1 for the bellboy and $2 for the maid per room per day. i dont mind to tip, but get negative feeling about they making it a compulsory policy.

lachat,
I've never heard of compulsory maid tipping! Could the $20 add on per day be referring to tax? Hotel tax is about 16%, you know. Well, I don't have a clue. You know what? In downtown San Jose, these are pretty much your choices: Don Carlos, Amon Plaza, Holiday Inn, plus several other smaller but nice hotels comparable to the Don Carlos. If you want something more upscale, check out Hotel Gran de Oro (a bit further out from downtown, but still in the city) or the Melia resort out toward the airport. I don't think I know how to help you. You'll figure something out. It's all pretty darned wonderful!

lachat,
You are right. I checked the hotel's website and it seems they do request $2.00 for bellboy and $1.00 for maid service. We tip these people anyway--those same amounts usually--so this is really no big deal. The $20 extra is for an extra person in the room. This is standard practice in all Costa Rican hotels (and just about any hotel anywhere). It means that the price is for 2 people in a double rooms. If you add a 3rd person (for example, when our daughter travels with us), you pay $20 extra for that person. This doesn't sound like it would affect you.

We stayed at Amon on our CR trip 3 weeks ago. Rooms were big and clean; in-room safe provided . Breakfast is a nice buffet spread, with an omelet station where your omelet can be made anyway you like. We walked to all those places shillmac mentioned, but we like to walk. On our first day in SJ, my husband confused calle central with avenida central, and got lost on the way back, almost near the hotel. For unknown reasons, no one could give us directions, and we ended up taking a taxi for 300 colones (about 75 cents).

The office of expediones tropicales is right across it, and its location came in very handy for us when dealing with them. Also, El Pueblo shopping center which has several restaurants, bars , and dance clubs, is walking distance.

We stayed there the night before flying out, and since we had to leave before breakfast was available, the front desk arranged take-out for us.

banares, thanks for your sharing. amon plaza hotel sounds nice. would you mind telling me the room rate you paid including tax 3 weeks ago? do they provide free luggage storage service and free shuttle to airport? we'll be in and out of the hotel for 4 times to do overnight trip in tortuguero and arenal, so we need to store our luggage.

Hi lachat!
It costs $12 for an airport taxi. I don't know of any San Jose hotels that will provide free shuttle. They will, however, make your shuttle arrangements.

hi, lachat, I paid about $93 a night for 2 and includes breakfast. CR tax is pretty high. The hotel provides free luggage storage, but I did not have a need for that service. Shuttle service is not free