El Rodeo Estancia Boutique Hotel & Steakhouse

The El Rodeo is located about a 20 minute UBER ride away from the S.J.A/P. ($26.00 us) Uber ride. Also about a 25 min. ride into San Jose. The atmosphere/location is a nice mix of urban and rural with lots of trees, birds chirping and even a rooster nearby calling the day..And even Makela..the hotel cat was friendly... We had the Superb room and it was more than enough space for the 2 of us.. Beds were very comfortable. The room had a small microwave and a fridge to keep your food or drinks cold. It's not a minibar. The compound is completely enclosed and has attendants at the front gate all evening. It's not that it's in an unsafe area. We did walk outside at night and never felt threatened or endangered. It's just that almost every hotel and home in C.R. is enclosed or gated. Every member of the staff was very helpful, friendly and as accommodating as can be. Finally, in our 4 night stay that included breakfast..I must say we were more than pleasantly surprised. The Steakhouse on the property wasn't just good, it was Excellent...We ate dinner there 3 of 4 nights. If you don't want a 3 to 4 hr trek to stay at the oceanside beaches or near the volcano/ waterfalls near Arenal or Monteverdi, this is a very nice location. You can always take an excursion. But most of them to those places start pickups at 6 or 7 from San Jose.

Although the hotel and property were very clean, I think I might have rated El Rodeo even higher had it been updated some. We did not like the very high walled bathtub/shower. It had a step up block just to get into the tub to give you an idea. The bottom of the tub is dangerously slippery with no non slip grip or bar to hold onto when you're in it. Getting out was as dangerous as well. If you're elderly or impaired in some manner, IT WILL BE very challenging. The other negative is that there is really no shops or restaurants nearby in walking distance. Ferdy's has really good food. Very rustic indoor/ outdoor and is about a 3 block walk. But you'll be on torn up paths and sidewalks to get there and not a lot of streetlights...

We needed to stay a night in San Jose for our flight the next day and El Rodeo was a really good hotel for that. The room was clean and comfortable (though in need of some updates) and the front desk staff was really helpful. There was even a great billiards table downstairs that we had fun playing on. The on-site restaurant is surprisingly good (we had dinner there as well as the breakfast that was included with our reservation). The only big disappointment was the pool, which looked like it hadn’t been cleaned or swum in for at least a year. But other than that, a great stay!

Pool. Not cleaned and not really swimmable.

Very big bed in the suite Facilities like swimming pool, pool table, tennis court Big bath tub in the suite and in general a very spacious room Safe parking very nearby on premises Good effort to have a green surrounding Close to the airport Very good steakhouse restaurant

Reception staff was quite stiff with very normal questions Quiet dead hotel Rooms were up for refurbishment; it seemed they were still the same as 20 years ago. There was a gym, but clearly there had been no reinvestments in the past 10 years. Also here, with some rework this can become a very nice place, while now it was very mediocre and old. Lights in the room were very bright white, try using some warmer colours.

We arrived late and the 24-hour security were fabulous getting us to our room. Room was a wonderful, spacious and clean in a boutique hotel style. The gardens were well taken care of around the property. The included breakfast was order from our table. (Not a buffet.). The service at breakfast was very professional. All hotel employees, even the grounds keepers were very welcoming. Great first night stay. I would stay here again.

Nothing

The hotel is right in the city, but feels like you are outside of the city as it is behind tall stone walls and is on its own land. The feel is of an Argentinian ranch. The deocrations in the hotel and especially the restaurant are very lovely and themed. The restaurant was excellent (for steak) with an extensive wine list. It is a very high-end restaurant for the locals so if you go for dinner try not to show up in flip flops and bathing suits. My family enjoyed the pool table. The rooms are large and each has its own entrance from the external corridor. Breakfast was nice, served not a buffet with a selection of approximately 4 dishes (pancakes/local/etc). Of note is it is on opposite side of city from airport -- an easy drive, but did have morning work traffic. I mapped it at a similar day/time the week prior to understand actual time and not only distance. I recommend putting that in your calculation if you are using it for overnight stay before flight out. If you have a late flight in, I wouldn't recommend booking this hotel for late night arrivals.

Rooms are furnished with the basic necessities, bathrooms are very basic. Stay here for a spacious place in the city with easy car parking, not for charming rooms.

This hotel was FABULOUS value. We stayed here for two nights before our flight out of San José; wonderful rooms (we opted for AC, not sure if all rooms have that), easy check-in, good WiFi, comfy beds, lovely shower, delicious breakfast. There IS a gym, but like all hotel gyms we found across Costa Rica…it’s small, very old, and absolutely sweltering. Lovely pool. It’s nice to have a restaurant there for sure for dinner, but be warned it is absurdly overpriced (it was as much as the room!) and takes FOREVER. We waited probably 45 minutes for our check, and then more to actually pay. Easy parking and quick to get to airport — on same side of San Jose.

Just the slow, pricey restaurant with weird fake Western decor.

We travelled as a couple with our 7 months old daughter. Close proximity to the airport and ideal stopover location when arriving in San Jose. We arrived late about midnight and there was a guard guiding our parking space and handing over the keys. Excellent breakfast. Unfortunately we arrived too late to have the steakhouse experience, next time we won't miss it. Also provided a baby cot.

The rooms are good but clearly not brand-new. Hotel is situated on an uninspiring road. But the value for money more than outweighs any negatives.

Excellent breakfast, varied choice with quality fresh fruit and well prepared coffee. Not a buffet style, but lovely. Free pool table. Quiet (although I was told by a regular guest that under normal circumstances it can get a bit noisy if your room gives onto the common area) Close to the airport without noise pollution. Very secure, residential part set well back from the security gates, and 247 security guards taking it turns to walk round the whole property Spotlessly clean with pleasant, friendly front desk, cleaning and restaurant staff

Pool wasn't cleaned regularly enough, or well enough 2 out of 3 cardio machines in the non-air-conditioned gym didn't work. (cross trainer and treadmill). Only the sit down bike worked. None were plugged in initially, and the maintenance people didn't seem to care or have a clue about the machines. It's basically open air, so very humid, although protected from rain - almost certainly the reason the mlachines don't work, but if you advertise and show photos of a gym....the machines you show should work, and was a main reason for choosing this hotel. Shower floor was very slippy. We were provided with a shower mat on request though, but still had to take care with younger and older family members.

This hotel solidly lives up to its name of Boutique! Anchored by the excellent steak restaurant at the front of the property, the grounds are well kept with tennis court and swimming pool available. All of the rooms are generous in size, well kept with ample bathrooms, great beds and lots of pillows. Wheelchair access (true ground-floor level) is available. The western theme is tastefully done throughout the property.

Not being able to enjoy a last breakfast because our flight was too early? So hard to find something we didn't like about this property!

Nice very spacious room, close to a main road but because the rooms are located at the back of the property it was nice and quiet. Gardens and pool look nice, restaurant with good food and friendly staff. Good breakfast. Very convenient location if you want to stay near the airport ( 20 min) but like a relaxing place.

Pillows were too high.