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.

In June, my wife and I went to Costa Rica for the first time. The over-all experience of the country was positive. Read about the Grand de Oro Hotel, so we stayed there after we flew in and before we left the country. Don't get me wrong, it is not a bad place. However, the hotel is basically a three-stars bed & breakfast but charging a five-stars hotel price. To be polite, I call it over-priced. In street term, it was a big time rip-off. Don't go there unless you want to waste your money.

I stayed one night with my family (my husband and my daughter) in this hotel after reading all the wonderful reviews on tripadvisor.com. What a big disappointment! We purchased a ticket at the airport booth for a cab to get to the hotel. It was a 20 mins. ride and costed 20 US dollars.
Pros and Cons:
Pros:
1. Newly renovated hotel lobby.
2. Check-in staff friendly.
3. Walking distance to the "Mercado Central" market. 20 mins. By cab $3 distance.
Cons:
1. Very small and old rooms. Our room had 2 double beds, a TV, no A/C but 2 ceiling fans, no bathroom amenities and no hairdryer. It costed $145 plus tax.
2. There was renovation going on somewhere during the day, expect banging loud noises.
3. Hotel dinner was OK but over priced. We order 2 appetizers, 3 main courses, 2 desserts and no alcohol. The bill was $150 dollars. And my husband's chocolate cake was still frozen in the center, it's obviously that it came from a box but not freshly bake. Super slow service! Staff was too busy talking among each others than providing services. If you have a choice please
DO NOT eat in this hotel. Big ripped off. We went to the Central market and the local food there was a lot better and it costed less than $10/pp.
4. If you have time shop some where else for souvenirs. The same T-shirt costed $10 dollars more in the hotel shop. The shops in central market has a lot of choices.

I would definitely stayed somewhere next time. I don't mind paying this kind of $$ if it's worth the stay. This is just a marginal 3 star motel charging 4-5 star hotel prices. After one night we then moved on to the Marriott in Los Suenos. Wonderful resort by the beach! No complaints at all.

My two friends and I stayed at the Hotel Grano de Oro during our first and last nights stay in San Jose. The hotel was a part of our tour package with 'Tierra Verde.' (I would highly recommed that tour group - we were given a guide for each day and it made the trip all the more special). The hotels staff was very helpful. On the first day we arrived at approx. 11:15am and we were given a room within 30 minutes of our arrival. This was greatly appreciated as we were extreamly tired from our 12 hour journey. The room we were given was slighly older than the other rooms, but nonetheless clean and very comfortable. My only complaint was slamming noises I heard throughout the evening. I thought this was the closing of a supply closet door, but later learned that it was the closing of hotel doors. If you stay in one of the hotels' newer rooms (as we did on our last night), you will notice that the hotel doors do not easily close, hence, the slamming noise. It's an unforchante situation of an otherwise wonderful hotel.
We recieved breakfast on both our first and last day. It was very good, if a bit small.
My only other suggestion is that they move the computer with internet access to an area where one can sit to use it. It is currently attached to the reception desk. But, the internet access was still greatly appreciated. (We were charged $2 for 15 minutes at another hotel!)
All, in all, a great, clean, hotel with close proximity to the San Jose airport. 4 stars!!!