13 Best Hotels in San Jose, Costa Rica

You cannot get more centrally located than this grande dame of San José lodgings, the first choice among travelers who want to be where the action is. A formal dining room and grand piano on the top floor evoke the hotel's 1930s heyday (there's piano music 12:30–2:30 and 6–8 pm daily). Rooms are large, bright, and amazingly modern. (They do not reflect the building's almost century-old history.) But for a hotel that, quite frankly, was showing its age, the renovation is a winner.

This U.S. chain manages to provide all the modern amenities of its well-known brand while incorporating local touches. The lobby sits on the 13th floor of a west-side office building. (The doorman at the entrance will show you the way up.) The sleek modern lobby with polished floors, dark woods, chrome, and modern Costa Rican art, gives way to homey rooms with subdued colors, plush mattresses, and mini-refrigerators. The floor-to-ceiling windows in each room afford great views to the mountains south or north of the city. You can relax in a pool here, too, a rarity among city hotels.

In a country of low-slung buildings, this 31-story skyscraper hotel—it’s Costa Rica’s tallest building—stands out as a veritable Manhattan on La Sabana park. Don’t confuse this place with the similarly named Hilton Garden Inn San José La Sabana—also nice—just two blocks away. From the minute the elevator whisks you up to the 18th-floor lobby, you see this hotel has upped the gleam quotient quite a bit. There isn’t much in the way of local flavor here, but the starkly modern tan and white décor sparkles. Ceiling-to-floor windows offer stupendous views, north and south toward the mountains, with south rooms looking directly down into the National Stadium below. (Who needs to buy a soccer ticket?)

Several 1940s-era houses with extensive gardens and lively common areas—visitors swap travel advice here—make up this family-run lodging. Each room is different; some have private gardens or small sitting rooms. The garden rooms are not that much more expensive than the standard ones and are worth the splurge. The complimentary breakfast buffet is an amazing spread of eggs, pastries, tropical fruit, and good Costa Rican coffee served on a marvelous palm-shaded garden patio. And this property is very eco-friendly, a rarity in the heart of the city. It uses solar panels for heating hot water, and it composts and recycles. Luxurious it is not, but this is deservedly one of San José's most popular budget lodgings; reserve well in advance during the high season. To be on the safe side, confirm your reservation 48 hours before you arrive and on the day of your arrival, giving an estimated arrival time. You'll get a small discount if you pay in cash.

You'll find all the standard amenities of a medium-price business-class hotel here, but leisure travelers also enjoy using the Balmoral as their San José base. You're just as likely to hear Japanese spoken in the lobby as you are Spanish and English; the place is quite popular with Asian visitors. The hotel's bright, airy restaurant, El Patio, dishes up Costa Rican specialties amid two floors of greenery. The Balmoral offers many Web-only discounts.

The European owners of this small east-side lodging have instilled a standard for attentive service in their staff and the result is a devoted return clientele, mostly from Europe. The pleasant public areas contain lots of greenery and a swimming pool. Good-size rooms are bright and airy. Some of the front-facing rooms get a bit of street noise, but overall this is a quiet neighborhood. The highly acclaimed Jürgen's restaurant next door is under the same ownership. When asking for directions, remember that jade is pronounced HAH-day in Spanish.

Adjoining 1926 and 1933 houses fuse to create the cozy Barrio Amón experience at bargain prices. That said, the Dunn Inn is immensely popular, so reserve well in advance. Pinewood dominates in one section; brick in the other. Sun-filled rooms bear indigenous Bribri names. One room has a balcony, and a few do not have street-facing windows but look onto an interior courtyard. All have terra-cotta floors and little touches such as fresh flowers. The delightful, skylight-covered central patio serves as a bar and breakfast room.

Two wooden houses have been converted into one of the city's most charming inns, decorated throughout with old photos of the capital and paintings by local artists; head up to your room for the old coffee-plantation feel for which the hotel is known. Each room is different, and although you can't go wrong with any of them, those in the older, 20th-century house are the nicest, especially the Garden Suite, with hardwood floors, high ceilings, and a private garden. Public areas have a glitzy elegance. The sumptuous restaurant, run by a French-trained chef, wraps around a lovely indoor patio and bromeliad-filled gardens, and has become one of the capital's premier dining venues. The hotel's sundeck has a view of both the city and the far-off volcanoes. It all combines to make this our favorite lodging option in the city.

A largely American clientele looking for all the downtown hubbub enjoys the medium-price business-class accommodations here. The presidente referred to here is John F. Kennedy, who walked by during his 1963 visit as the hotel was under construction. Each of the comfortable rooms has one double and one single bed. The rooftop terrace serves as a calm oasis and a great place to stop by for a drink. The Presidente has spearheaded efforts to encourage other San José lodgings to follow its lead in reducing their environmental footprint—not bad for a hotel located smack-dab in the center of the city.

The front of this century-old former coffee-plantation house is along a busy street, but close the front door behind you and you'll find an oasis of quiet in the center of the city. On the fringe of Barrio Amón, the hotel has spacious rooms with wood or tile floors and lots of deep, varnished-wood furnishings. Some of the tiled bathrooms have skylights. A bright breakfast room adjoins an interior patio, and if you keep traveling back into the interior of the building, you'll find a small outdoor pool, a rarity in a hotel of this size in the capital. The especially friendly, helpful staff makes this a real find. You'll get a small discount if you pay in cash.

The owners of this multibuilding lodging are committed to maintaining a family atmosphere, and you'll be guaranteed peace and quiet during your stay here. The place literally sprawls: one of the three annexes is almost two blocks away from the main building. (And if you drive by too quickly, you might miss the main building.) Inside are bright and tropical but basic rooms with lots of tile and wood; coffee and tea are brewing all the time in the reception area, and you can use the shared kitchen. You'll be asked to sign a two-page agreement when you register, attesting that you'll keep the noise down and won't bring unregistered guests to your room.

This chain lodging incorporates local flair—bright, fresh primary colors and a rotating selection of Costa Rican art throughout—while providing business amenities in a clean, modern hotel. The hotel pays close attention to environmental concerns: solar panels, light sensors, and an active recycling program reduce its carbon footprint. Rooms are spacious, with modern design elements, and have 42-inch TVs and rain showers rather than tubs. Take a dip in the pool here, too; that's a real rarity among San José lodgings.

Our favorite of the capital's many apartotels (part apartment house, part hotel) sits on a quiet, out-of-the-way street north of La Sabana Park. Bright, cheery suites have equipped kitchens and one or two bedrooms. Rates include a big buffet breakfast. Cristina has a devoted return clientele made up primarily of business travelers and medical tourists, Costa Rica's growing tourism segment.