We stayed here the night before our morning flight home from San Jose. It was small but clean and comfortable. Theres nothing much more special about it than that. It was basic and convenient for 1 night, but I wouldnt have liked to stay here as part of a longer holiday. When we got up early for our flight, the nightman (who I think was local) greeted us with a smile and made us (much welcome) mugs of coffee for while we waited for our taxi which was nice.
The price for a double room with private bathroom including breakfast and tax was US $37 so its a real bargain.

One thing worth mentioning- the owner has about 6 cats that wander about the property so if you are allergic, make sure you pack your antihistamines!

There was a cheap take-away place nearby (5-10 min walk) where you could also eat in, so we went there for dinner. The food was good but greasy and definitely no frills! To go to somewhere decent to eat you would have to get a taxi out.

It was US $7/8 for a taxi to the airport.

One thing we hadn't realised is that you have to pay an airport fee of $26 EACH to leave Costa Rica. I had assumed that charges like that were included in your flight price- not so (at least not with Continental Airlines). If you pay this charge by credit card, they put it through as a cash advance fee (with the huge charges associated), so make sure you have some spare dollars to exit.

We stayed here for two nights at the beginning of our trip to Costa Rica and two nights at the end mostly because it was reasonably priced and fairly close to the airport. We ended up finding this place one of the best bargains in Costa Rica and a delightful place to relax for breakfast (buffet-style fruit, juice and toast, included) and dinner.

This small hotel (more like a bed and breakfast) attracts quite a few Europeans, partly because the owners are German. At dinner (optional, but well worth the modest cost) our final night, we listened to guests speaking German, French, Spanish, Catalan and English -- it was a great place to meet and chat with people from all over.

Although the home/hotel is obviously an older building, it is kept immaculately clean. The rooms are simple, and there's not much here in terms of extras other than wireless Internet. The Coconut House is in a safe and quiet residential area within walking distance of downtown Alajuela, and about 10-15 minutes via taxi from the airport. The hosts are very helpful with providing travel information and arranging transportation or tours. If we ever return to Costa Rica, we'd definitely stay here again at the beginning or end of our trip.

The hotel is located in a residential part of Alajuele opposite to a small city park, 15 minutes from the International Airport of San José. Great for your first and last nights in Costa Rica. Inexpensive. Very friendly owners. Another way to see real Costa Rica. A place to meet Europeans either living in that country or coming there periodically.

This was a great budget choice for the first and last nights of our trip - when all you want to do is have a cold beer (only $1 from the fully stocked fridge!) and sleep on the first night and then be near the airport the night before you leave. I doubt you'd want to stay there for very long as there's not much going on in Alajuela and it's far enough from San Jose to be inconvenient.

Personally I would have liked the rooms to have been a bit more uniform in terms of decoration and bedding, as I felt a bit like I was depriving some child of his/her bedroom, but having said that, you can't fault the hospitality and at that price they could have put me in a room made out like Barbie's castle and I would still have been happy!

The owners and staff are lovely and extremely helpful, the breakfasts are filling and they do a good job of convincing you that escaping Europe for more tropical climes makes perfect sense. It's not going to blow you away, but as a convenient stop near the airport you'd have to try hard to beat it for less than $40.