Hi everyone:
After having to put off this trip twice, we're finally off to Costa Rica on Wednesday! At the end of the trip, we'll fly back from Drake Bay to SJO mid-day (arriving 1:00pm), then stay overnight before our 7am flight the next morning. I've read several old posts about hotels and B&B's around SJO, and I'm not sure which is the best place to stay. We're not visiting any volcanoes on our trip, so I'd like to stay near Paos possibly, or somewhere 20 minutes away from the airport with nice grounds, hiking, etc. But after spending a week away from everything, maybe it would be fun to stay in downtown Alejuela (not that it's exactly a metropolis, but at least populated).

What would you recommend? I'm looking at Pura Vida Hotel and Vista del Valle, and I received a recommendation for Hotel Brilla Sol, which has really good rates. Suggestions welcomed! Thanks.

Orquideas Inn is really popular on these boards. We stayed at Grano de Oro which is more of a city hotel and really liked it - great service, wonderful restaurant on site, and rooftop garden with hot tubs. It's built in an old mansion. Vista del Valle had beautiful grounds, but our room was very dark and didn't have any window coverings, so I think it's important to get a good room there. We also had huge spiders in our room, which I've never seen anywhere else in CR. I think other people have had better experiences there. The pool and hot tub areas were very nice. www.granodeoro is the link for Grano de Oro; they arranged all our transportation for us.

If you want to get out and explore Alajuela, Orquideas is not a good option (bad part of town, it's very "gated in"). Lovely hotel, though, for just hanging out on the premises.

For walking around, we like Hotel Villa Bonita. Safe area, and we can walk down to town center, the park, etc. My husband has a favorite barber in this area. LOL And there are good restaurants within a couple of blocks. $50 or $60 per night. Great rates, good breakfast. Place to park your car so that it will be safe after dark (always a huge concern).

If you want to be up near Poas, Siempre Verde is a fabulous option up the road (from Orquideas) toward the Doka Coffee Estate. It is about 25-30 min. from the airport. Lots of coffee fields to explore, and of course the Doka tour is really good. Nice gift shop. Pretty property, out in the country. About $70-80.

Grano de Oro, in San Jose proper, would also be a good choice, as Vgirl suggested. Very elegant with a restaurant reputed for excellent food. It will give your pocketbook one last tug before you get out of the country, but would probably be worth it if you are interested in exploring around town a bit.

Downtown Alajuela is no paradise. Better to stay just outside in the country. We liked Orquideas Inn, especially for the price and convenience, but there are other good options too.

Make that www.granodeoro.com. I forgot the .com part. We stayed in their most basic room which was about $100 per night, but they have some beautiful suites and rooms with their own gardens if you want to indulge.

Xandari is another spot that gets good recommendations - supposed to have pretty grounds with waterfalls, but we haven't tried it yet.

Most basic is now $115, I think. We have just booked for June 17. They didn't have much availability on that night, so I guess they stay pretty busy. Have always wanted to stay there. Grano de Oro. . .

shillmac, we had great service when we were there. We had arrived from Manuel Antonio and had a long drive without stopping to eat. We were there only a few minutes when someone knocked on our door and delivered a gorgeous fruit plate as a welcome gift - it was so good. I don't know if they do that anymore, but it was indicative of their service level. They also had a little area of books where they invited people to leave a book they were finished with and take a new one for free. The food at the restaurant was very good, nice atmosphere. Also lots of great historical pictures throughout the building. Don't miss the hot tub on the roof - kind of neat for a city hotel.