Barceló San José

I liked the location, it is very near to the sabana park and the airport.

I think breakfast can be improved by adding more choices. On the other hand, to use towels for the pool you have to do a nonsense protocol. First, you have to ask for a ticket in the lobby, after that, go to the gym to ask for a towel in exchange for the ticket and they make you write your name, room number and sign. After you use the towel, you have to return it to the gym where they exchange it for the ticket and finally, you have to return the ticket in the lobby. If you don't do that, they charge you 20 USD for each towel.

The staff was incredible and the facilities were stunning! Great view from the pool and beautiful breakfast area. The breakfast selection was great and there was a complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. Great options and value! You can walk downtown from the site however it is about an hour and a half to the central market/downtown core. I did walk it in the daytime and the local police mentioned to be cautious as normal when you are a tourist in foreign countries. I would not recommend walking at night.

The jacuzzi wasn't working that week 😕 and the dinner isn't recommended in my opinion. Remember this is my opinion that is why I booked the hotel stay with breakfast only.

The facilities and amenities were worth the hotel rate -- although the premium cantin in particular was often out ofwater -- overall were nice. Staff was helpful but the AC in the first assigned room was not working. The elevator is strangely designed to open between two floors so that, for example, if your room is on the 2nd floor, guests have to carry their luggage and walk down 12 steps to get to their room. It was a challenge for us because our luggage was quite heavy (for a 17-day stay in Costa).

The breakfast was lacking of vegetables and boring.

Breakfast and evening meal had limited choices. Good fresh fruit and salad buffet but very little hot options. Loved the bedroom, large, very comfortable, good bathroom, toiletries and always beautifully cleaned. We chose to be on the premium (top ) floor which had a small lounge with complimentary snacks and drinks open all day which we enjoyed. Nice swimming pool area with plenty of loungers and towels available. Good poolside grill restaurant Also loved the beautiful gardens.

Sometimes hard to get a table due to large groups already seated.

The included breakfast was so delicious! It is well worth it. From 5-10:30 AM they served the breakfast buffet style. Extremely flavorful. I was concerned there would be a lot of pork options, but they had beef, chicken, and Turkey. The fruit was amazing. The room service was on point as well! We got massages there, and I think they took our souls :D. Needless to say, the massages are well worth it, we got them the morning of leaving to go back to the US. The shower is made differently, I got water everywhere the last night but I was also very sore from excursions. They offer excursions, but they are more expensive compared to trip advisor and Viator. They only have hand towels and regular towels, so bring your own wash cloth. Shuttle was quick also! I highly recommend! The bed was hard when I sat on it, but I slept so good so complaints! We stayed 5 nights. Also, try the lemonade with peppermint.

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The bed was huge and so comfy, with beautiful sheets. The pool area is fabulous, hammocks and shade, food was good (portions too big). Man on desk was great, I needed to use a computer urgently and the facility was shut for maintenance all week, so he arranged a temporary solution.

Some staff could be a bit more proactive, telling you helpful info, not just answering a question. On arrival my key card didn't open my room, I went back to reception, and the lady just did something and said try again. 5 star, I would expect an apology at least, or an explanation that sometimes they don't work? This sounds minor, but there were a few examples like this. Still highly recommend it.

Really nice hotel - high quality but also have the exotic feeling of being in Costa Rica despite being in the city. Had a free breakfast buffet which had a nice spread. Nice views from restaurant and room. Free airport shuttle (although only comes every hour so can be quite a wait).

We were offered a free upgrade by Bookings to the premium level (I.e. the top floor). Really nice and spacious room but kept hearing noises in the roof all night. Was a bit disturbing and quite loud. Suspicion that it was rats but potentially could have been birds.

Beautiful hotel with great restaurants, and a nice pool with outside bar and restaurant. The 24 hour room service was amazing and not too expensive. The premium level service was excellent and the premium level bar/restaurant was fantastic. Definitely my go to hotel for Costa Rica.

The wifi signal was weak, which was annoying at times. It would have been nice to have Netflix or something other than basic channels in the room. Other than that it's an excellent hotel.

Everything was great. Loved the VIP service with all day buffet for food and drinks.Also the spa on site was really nice. Airport shuttle very convenient and also the breakfast buffet was great. Late check out at 3pm. Overall I was very happy with my choice to stay there.

The room smelled a bit old. But I opened the window and then I had a great time. The sauna was not really hot, but I still used it 2-3 times.

Spacious rooms with very comfy beds. Pool well maintained with plenty of sunloungers. Great breakfast & food/drinks from pool bar good. Location close to airport with free shuttle which ran smoothly

Booked & paid more for a Premier room on floor 6 with access to the lounge but weren't given this room. Unable to get late check-out due to availability. When we questioned reception staff about the advertised premier lounge & 10% discount in restaurants, we were told these were also subject to availability & not available for our stay. Would still recommend the hotel, but don't bother paying more for extras that aren't actually available!