Find the Cheap San Rafael Hotels

We stayed twice at Bougainvillea, 3 nights at the start of our birding tour, and one night at the end. It is a great introduction to Costa Rica and birding. We really loved the garden out the back, which had plenty of new birds for us. The buffet breakfast in the morning was probably the best on our trip (the only one that had a good muesli for me!) and the restaurant catered well for gluten free and vegetarian diets, with enough variety when staying a couple of days. The sandwiches are highly recommended. The rooms are spacious. There is a security box that works, and WiFi is flawless. There is a fan in the rooms but no air conditioning, and on the hot days we were there I did find the rooms a little too hot in the evenings when trying to sleep. It does cool down to around 20 degrees overnight, but that is a little hot for me. Service from all staff was excellent. They do money exchange at reception and help organise taxis for going in to San Jose. This hotel is very popular with western birders arriving in the country and it lives up to its reputation. Highly recommended.

Adventure Inn really does feel like home in San jose. The ease and comfort they give you in a 10/10. From the shuttle service to and from the airport, an amazing complimentary breakfast and a beautiful/fun environment. I have stayed at this hotel 3 times now and I wont stay anywhere else in San Jose. Eric is also a great communicator and replies very quickly to any question you have. Also they make the BEST pina coladas! And their restaurant is also incredible. Thank you to the staff for always being friendly and helpful, and big thanks to Eric for making this place so easy for travelers.

We stayed at this hotel at 3 occasions between February and March 2024 and it is a good hotel for a short stay. Rooms, amenities, breakfast, ..., all very enjoyable. I would especially like to mention the front desk clerk Andrey Gomez who was very professional and attentive, with a 'let's solve the problem' attitude. This can not be said about our shuttle driver. We needed a shuttle to the airport (outside the hours when it is free) and the driver was late and upped the pre-arranged price en route to the airport. Due to a misunderstanding with my co-passenger (my mistake) I overpaid the driver, who did not blink and cashed the money, giving himself a 50% tip on an already overpriced ride. This person should be fired immediately.

Good communication, via e-mail, prior to stay as I needed a refrigerator in my room. That was arranged in advance for me. Primarily due to traffic the property is about 30 minutes from the airport. Check-in was smooth. I think this is an older property, but my room was clean comfortable, no obvious wear and tear, renovated bathroom with standup shower and actual towel hooks (seems to be a rarity at many properties these days). All staff was very friendly. The property is somewhat misnamed (at least for a non-resident). The property is not within safe walking distance of the well known La Sabana park. By ‘safe’ I mean it appears that there is at least one major highway that has to be crossed. The grounds around the pool are well-maintained. Plenty of loungers, towels, a couple of covered beds available, but I didn’t see any umbrellas, so the pool was a non starter for me after although some shaded areas in the afternoon. Also, strong wifi in the pool area. The wifi just outside the lobby area was not great. But the wifi at the sports bar in the lobby area covered the front of the property. Note that a password is needed for both the hotel and the sports bar. I did get a takeaway dinner from the restaurant. Food was substantial. A bit strange in that I couldn’t charge it to my room, but if I ordered the same via room service, charging to my room would have been OK. Not a big deal. The breakfast buffet, which I tried once was good with made to order eggs, albeit a bit pricey I thought. The sports bar food was OK, weak house alcoholic drinks. There is a walkable neighborhood behind the hotel. The property uses Gold’s Gym for its gym (free of charge for guests). There is also a sports bar, a Denny’s, a Subway, a supermarket, a ******, and a pharmacy all within a minute walk of the property. Maybe there is a tennis court in the vicinity? I saw many women (but not as a group) with tennis rackets walking through the property. It is a no smoking property, including outdoors. That is a plus. Also, my floor had a filtered water and filtered ice machine. Uber into downtown San Jose works well, but allow for traffic. One trip took me about 15 minutes, returning from the same location, midday took 45 minutes, Plan accordingly. Normally, I’d give a 5*, but in this case just a 4*. I am a IHG Platinum, asked for 1 PM checkout (one hour late). Front desk said all arranged (I re-verified on the morning of checkout day). I had a meeting at noon and didn’t want to be interrupted. Front desk assured me that housekeeping would be advised accordingly. Sure enough, housekeeping was knocking on my door at 12:05 asking when I was leaving the room. The lack of communication between departments is very frustrating. This was a multi-night stay for me as I needed to be in the vicinity for a bit. With the exception of the housekeeping knock prior to my agreed upon checkout time, no complaints.