We stayed at Hotel Presidente for a night upon our arrival in Costa Rica before heading to Manuel Antonio and Monteverde for several days. We stayed in a standard double room (full/queen bed, twin bed).

We arrived at around 2:30 pm (check-in is 3 pm). We were given keys to Room 25 on the 5th floor and when we arrived at the door, we heard loud music and talking coming from the room. We returned to the front desk and they investigated the situation, offering us a free drink at the bar in the News Cafe (restaurant at the hotel). We went to the bar to wait and ordered some food as well - which the hotel actually comp'ed very graciously. After about 30 minutes, the front desk staff, David, gave us the keys to our actual room and apologized for the inconvenience. But it was absolutely no problem because not only did they store our luggage, but we got a free meal. It was really refreshing to experience such great customer service despite the mix-up.

The hotel itself is in a great location for exploring San Jose (although it can be explored in probably less than a day). The streets are very crowded and noisy, but only an extremely light sleeper would have a major problem with the street noise, as most of the shops close around 9 or 10 pm and the number of people in the streets dwindle. Our room was higher up, too, so it was a little further from the noise.

The free breakfast is WONDERFUL and it is a really great convenience to have free internet stations in the lobby. There are lots of guards and staff members on duty so we felt very safe the entire time.

A buddy and I stayed here for 4 nights in October, 2007. It is located on a pedestrian only street, which is convenient and well patrolled. There is a security guard at the door at all times, so there were no beggers, prostitutes or other "non-guests" loitering in the hotel. There are taxis outside of the hotel 24-7. There is a casino on site, but it was so full of smoke that I could not go through the doors without wanting to puke.

The room was not elegant. It was not plush. It was reasonably clean and marginally comfortable, but for $100 per night, its hard to complain.

The tour people were great. They helped us arrange 2 rafting trips and a zip line trip. They also handled our exit tax, which saved time at the airport.

My favorite part of the hotel was the bar. There are seats which are raised and adjacent to the pedestrian street, which was great for people watching. People did come up and beg and try to sell garbage, but a simple "no" was enough to get them on their way. There are numerous televisions in the bar tuned to American sporting events.

The hotel is not a "resort", and certainly is not Four Season's quality, but it does not pretend to be. It is a basic, reasonably priced hotel in a third world city that tries hard.

San Jose is a dump of a city. But we used it as a base for adventure tours, and it was just fine. It's near the country's primary international airport which saved us time on such a short trip. I would do it again, and would not hesitate to stay here, unless the price was dramatically increased.

hotel Presidente is right in town, great location, great rooms and great service. have internet access 24/7 at no charge. great place to stay.

A friend and I stayed at the Hotel Presidente one night, on arrival in San Jose, then flew to the coast for four nights, then returned to the Presidente for our final three nights in Costa Rica. We arrived fairly early the first day, before noon, but were able to check in right away. On our return from the coast, we were also able to check in upon arrival even though it was well before the stated 3 PM check-in time. The hotel allowed us to check a bag at the hotel while we were gone at no charge (although I think this is a fairly common practice in city hotels). Based on a couple of the reviews about street noise, we had requested an upper floor when we made our reservations, and we were given a room on the 6th floor (out of 8) the first night and the 7th on our return. Street noise was about what you would expect from any hotel in the center of town...the a/c drowned the noise out. We found the staff very helpful in arranging for taxis (we took taxis three times and never had to wait, there was always one just outside the door in the back entrance area) and for a tour we took of a coffee plantation (the Cafe Britt tour, lots of fun). We ate at the hotel one night, an OK dinner...but the free breakfasts were great, with made to order omelettes and plenty of other choices. The rooms themselves were basic, business hotel accommodations, but everything seemed clean, which is what I look for given that I don't expect to spend my vacation time in a hotel room. The location is great, on a pedestrian-only street within two blocks of the National Theatre, the Gold Museum, and plenty of restaurants. Despite all the warnings you hear about petty crime, we never felt unsafe when we were out walking. However, if you're going to Costa Rica for the first time, don't plan to spend more than a day in San Jose, because the city itself is not particularly interesting. I'd definitely recommend this hotel for anyone staying in San Jose.