We had a great stay at Hotel Santo Tomas in January 2013. The hotel is beautiful, very clean and run by very friendly staff. We met Thomas himself at breakfast on our second day at the hotel and he could not have been more friendly. He even gave us advice on driving to various locations while in Costa Rica (we would probably have got lost otherwise). The hotel is in a safe neighborhood and has plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. The included breakfast is excellent - be sure to get the gallo pinto (rice and beans) with some house-made hot sauce over the top. We will hopefully stay again in the future. - James

For 60$USD/night i wouldn't have expected more. To begin with the positive features of this hotel, the staff were all very friendly and helpful. I stored my luggage with Santo Tomas on more than one occasion throughout my travels in Costa Rica between stays and it was always safe, secure and not disturbed in anyway. This served was a great convenience and i was very grateful that my belongings remained safe until i made it back! This hotel is solid and trustworthy!!

On the down side, the rooms are dated which did not bother me, except it appears that the floor of my room was never washed in a very long time. There was a clean area carpet that covered 2/3 of the walkable area of the room but the remainder of the floor was extremely filthy and my socks were quickly ruined. Other than this, the rest of the hotel was clean and i observed it being cleaned daily.

I stayed here on a few occasions and will probably stay here again.

Santo Thomas offered a nice hotel at reasonable prices. I have no real complaints. The hotel room and amentites were nice. The hotel staff was receptive. I would recommend this hotel.

I can say, however, that there are better values in San Jose. The location of Santo Thomas is in a seedy part of town; not good for conservative travelers who are offended by prostitution or for those who enjoy walking around town in the evening. The hotel staff was not as helpful or recptive with service or tourist information as some other hotels. Some some nicer and more centrally located hotels can be found in San Jose at the same price.

As the general manager for a tour company, I have to praise the front desk highly for their efforts to help our group enjoy their stay at this hotel. While there were a few hitches, as with any hotel, the front staff's effort made up for a strong push to give it a 4 star rating.

Starting with the location which was perfect enough to stay away from the hustle and bustle of Central Avenue, but yet, easy to walk to, a merely 4 blocks away. This hotel was a bit dated but nevertheless kept its' charm with the furniture and decor and flat screen TVs.

As for the rooms themselves, we stayed here two separate occasions on our tour, and I enjoyed my second room, number 22 more than number 11. Likewise, with a few of our members, they enjoyed staying in room number 8 more than room number 2.

Each room is different, and has their own certain appeal. So it can be a hit or miss with the rooms unless you specify what you are looking for and whether it is available.

As for breakfast, it is included but it is NOT a buffet. It is the same menu every day, and you are charged for a second plate. Our group was fine with that because we certainly ate well on this trip. There is a restaurant at the hotel for dinner but we did not dine there so I cannot comment on that.

There is a bar with bar food across the street for those who are price-conscious and we certainly recommend it. The food there was pretty good. There is also an AM/PM store right around the corner (go left when you exit the hotel).

The only two downside I would say to this hotel is the lack of modern safe (their safes were a lock and key instead of a digital strongbox) and the quality of the neighborhood after dark. While we did not have any issues walking at night, do not be surprised to find prostitutes hanging out on the corner.