Hotels Near Iglesia de Barrio San José de Altagracia in Birri

I arrived in Costa Rica and this is where I spent my first two nights as I prepared for an extensive journey through the national parks. This hotel provided a fine room. The building is in the shape of an ”O”, with the pools and dining areas in the middle. There were many different types of birds flying around, the traffic noise was minimal inside the pool area, and I enjoyed relaxing in the pool area. Breakfast was excellent and available to all guests. Dinner was purchased in a smaller bar/dining area with an overhead view of the pool area. I ordered salmon, and it was surprisingly good! This is not a destination hotel, but it was just what I needed, as I got my international bearings. There is a tour desk, in which one may schedule a variety of tours and day trips of San Jose or areas around Costa Rica.

PROS: Very clean, air conditioned and modern for a good rate. Wifi and decent breakfast included. The stromanthe triostar plants in the lobby were very nice. CONS: Staff is miserable and takes no accountability for customer service. Stephanie literally lies to your face and tries to overcharge you. Examples: -”oh your safe is broken? just reset with code 123456.” nope. the safe code was set by a previous guest and left open so this didn't fix the problem. We had to take all our valuables on a 13 hour tour because of this - very inconvenient. -”oh, you need another towel because we only gave you 2 despite 3 people in the room? we'll send someone up right away”. no one ever shows. when you call back, if they ever pick up, they say the same thing. -”your shuttle from the airport is confirmed and the driver will have a sign with your name on it” nope; after a long trip we had no one to pick us up. The driver didn't have my booking (he had another name on the sign), so he called the hotel and they confirmed nothing had been booked for us. -”well there's no booking because you obviously have to book it in advance; how would we know you need a shuttle?”. Excuse me? Yes, in fact, I did book it in advance and showed them the email chain (7 emails) with her own confirmation 3 days earlier! -”ok so you found the driver, perfect”. No, not perfect as we've been searching in the sweltering heat, walking up and down through the crowds for 45 minutes with a small child after a long trip. An apology, not a dismissal would be more appropriate in this situation. After speaking to the driver and Stephanie (we are still in the heat outside the airport), Stephanie who confirmed the booking by email then blamed her colleague who in fact didn't book it, And, they still charged us $16 USD for it - which was like rubbing salt in the wound. -”it will be an additional $20 USD for the shuttle” - when they previous told me $16 USD (thankfully in writing) -”it will be $16 USD to have a child in the room” - when my confirmation clearly shows children stay free (thankfully in writing) -guests aren't ”allowed to use the stairs”; long wait for the elevator

The staff are so attentive and kind and friendly. I don’t have one bad thing to say about them. The maid was top notch. She left our room spotless with extra towels, soap, lotion and waters ever day we were there. The service at the reception desk, restaurant, bar, valet, bellhop etc. were so professional and welcomed us with a smile no matter the time or request. The staff in the restaurant were outstanding. We got to breakfast late our first morning (we thought it ended at 11 but it was 10) and they welcomed us in, left all the food out for us to fix plates, brought us a huge plate of delicious fruit and let us sit until we were ready to leave. Sheila was an absolute delight and welcomed us every morning with a big smile and a kind word. I would absolutely stay here again and would recommend this hotel to anyone staying in the San Jose area. Oh…the view on the mountain side is spectacular!

Used to have one of the better breakfast buffets in San Jose until our last visit. They did not have the pork links they had in the past but rather had some kind of glorified hot dogs which were terrible. The scrambled eggs were runny and watery, fresh was fine but you have to wait. No bacon and only cold deli style ham. They also seemed to quit a fairly decent banana bread. This may sound trivial but was very important to us. We will give it another shot on our next trip but if the situation is the same we will be looking for another hotel. The rooms have always been adequate but the breakfast was what made it for us.

The best hotel I’ve ever been privileged enough to stay at. Barcelo San Jose this Gorgeous building, and it only gets more breathtaking when you walk in. High quality rooms and high quality service. Excellent property and very convenient to USC activities. Front desk staff is extremely efficient, pleasant and helpful. Property is clean and has a fantastic old time charm.

I have had several short stays (＜5 days) at this hotel since 2016. Every year, hotel is a little worse for wear. It is getting old, and apart from renovated bathrooms I do not see any change. I also see a standard decline in quality of service. Breakfast is mediocre at best. This morning I was shocked to find out that during buffet breakfast, if I wanted to have a second fried egg I had to pay 3 dollars! Also, they were rationing out the orange juice. I think there are much better hotels in the area for the same price.

We stayed here on our first night after we landed in San Jose. It is a great location only 60 min away from the airport. They pay attention to all the small details like having an umbrella outside your room. Nestled in the countryside they have multiple trails to choose from.

With friendly and helpful staff, this hotel is sweet, easy to get to, and shuttle every half hour for domestic and international terminals. The food was pretty good - though breakfast is expensive. It would be nice if you could order ala carte.