First time visitors to Costa Roca, my wife and I just returned from an incredible seven nite adventure, where the first two nites and dinners were at the wonderful Grano de Oro Hotel.
The building, inside and out, is well maintained and decorated with plants and flowers. The interior open courtyard is surrounded by the bar and restaurant where tables are open to the sky if not raining or give the dining room tables a Spanish-style courtyard view during the frequent rain showers.
Our room was modest in size with a nice open walk-in shower with interior windows facing a space with a fountain and more plants. Only complaint is that the walls are thin and, though the place is mostly quiet, we could hear voices of guests walking to their room. We did take advantage of the rooftop jacuzzis where, like in the rest of the hotel, great care has been given to block out views of not very pretty San Jose and the somewhat commercial neighborood.
Food and service in the restaurant were outstanding, though not inexpensive. They had live musicians one nite playing violin & guitar mood music while we lingered over dinner, drinks and dessert served by a very attentive staff.
Front desk staff could not have been more helpful and the computer with internet access also at the front desk helped us keep in touch.
Our only negative is San Jose itself. The area around the hotel is not spectacular and the city is dirty.
Overall a great experience for us and we have visited many cities and hotels around the world. We felt we were in Costa Rica while staying at the Grando De Oro, not just staying at another chain hotel in a foreign country.
