Fodor's Expert Review Hilton Garden Inn San José La Sabana

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.