Hotel Martino is a wonderful choice when starting or ending your trip to Costa Rica if you fly to and from San Jose. The hotel is only 10 minutes away from the airport in the right direction, away from the city of San Jose, in the "garden district", many of the other hotels are the other direction and it's not nearly as pretty or as safe. The hotel grounds and pool are very nice, the room are great, large with balconies, lots of carved wood. The food is great, homeade pasta and breads, breakfast is included and was very nice. We stayed three different nights , the second night as we were driving from one coast to the other. The service and rooms were consistant.. We felt like it was home away from home. The Booth Family

I was not impressed with the Martino. First day they could not find the key to our room, it took them one hour to find the key. Twice we had to take a shower with cold water and the towels they left in the room were falling apart at the edges. Also there was some kind of rodent living inside the roof, we could hear it running around every night. I was looking forward to the casino, but it was always empty,no dealers, no people. It had the feeling of a ghost town. Some of the staff was kind of friendly but some were a little cold, unlike the rest of the people in Costa Rica. Breakfast was sad but dinner at the restaurant was very good. Also the grounds needed a little more TLC. We will be back to Costa Rica next year but the Martino is not in our list of places to stay.

I stayed in the Martino "Luxury Hotel & Spa" for two nights. The whole place looks somewhat worn down and the room was infested with three different types of ants as well as several other insects. The shower and fridge didn't really look too clean and the pool area was quite dirty as well. Breakfeast consisted of some white bread and a choice of eggs as well as some left over fruits (I didn't even bother to go there on the second day). The hotel is ok if you're looking for a place to stay close to the airport but to style this place as a luxury resort the way they do on their website is an insult on the intelligence of the customer. I've stayed in quite a few very nice hotels (espicially throughout Asia) and the value for money is much better at other hotels. To be fair the hotel prices and level of service/luxury aren't that high in Costa Rica in general (about the same you can expect in the US) so for someone accustomed to US niveau it should be ok but don't go there if you expect anything along Asien or European levels of service/luxury.

We stayed at the Martino hotel for a week and were very impressed and very happy there. The hotel has a classical feel to it - for example, we could have a breakfast or lunch on the restaurant's lovely balcony, overlooking the hotel's Greek or Roman-inspired swimming pool and well-kept grounds. The food was excellent (and reasonably priced!) and I would highly recommend the tilapia - like nothing I'd ever tasted before.

Let's get one thing clear - this may not be a "5 Star" resort in the sense that some of us Americans have become overly accustomed to. If you desperately need a mint placed on your pillow and some kind of luxury honey almond bar soap in your bathroom, then there might be other (and much much more expensive) hotels for you.

But frankly, I don't think you could find such a stylishly designed, clean, well-maintained and thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing a hotel for anything near this price in the U.S. Its staff were very useful for helping us book trips to Arenal (a must see!) and advising us on getting to Manuel Antonio (a one-of-a-kind unspoiled beach and nature park).

Overall, a great hotel as part of a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica. We will be back!