I know you can get better accommodation than this near the airport for the same $35 price--at Vida Tropical. First, the positive: Marc at reception (the owner's son) was great--very helpful. I had a private room with a strange little bathroom arrangement--the sink was in the shower! Bed was OK and room seemed clean. I certainly wouldn't want to spend more than one night here. Breakfast was below par. Guests were left to fend for themselves with a bread, jam, bananas and not very good coffee.

we stay there the 1st and last night in Costa Rica; very close to the airport ( 5 USD for taxi ride!!), close to the centre, the owner will bring you to eat or drink something in Monteleone restaurant just accross the corner. The hostel is clean and simple, the problem is that's very noisy, if you have problems to sleep with noises at every hour of day and night don't stay there

I realized I was booking a hostel for our first night in CR but the glowing reviews on TA just don't match up to our experience.

The room was very clean. That was great.
The staff were very nice. That was great.

The biggest problem: the rooms didn't have walls that go to the ceiling so we listened to the TV in the lobby until 1am and then it started again at 5am. No sleep after a long flight doesn't make for a good start.

The backyard is cute but the kitchen was pretty filthy.

There seemed to be a lot of long-term tenants living in the hostel. It felt a little unsafe. Two or three drunk guys wandering around all the time.

Even though we were told we could pay with CC and they have stickers in the window, we had to pay cash which wouldn't be a big deal except that the cash machines weren't working for 12 hours.....

My husband and I just stayed at the Cortez Azul for the first and last days of our honeymoon. It was super cheap and we just loved it.

Pros:
- Very friendly staff (we quickly made friends with Luis and Johanna, who were managing the place when we stayed there. Love them!)
- Cute open-air kitchen with all the amenities you need to cook or bake whatever you'd like
- Lots of personality (interesting artwork and nice garden area)
- Free wifi
- cable tv

Cons:
- the water in our room (#6) only barely made it out of the freezing cold zone
- beds were not the most comfortable in the world

If you are interested in a low-cost place with a lot of personality, this is a great one. If you're interested in luxury, not so much the place for you.