The bottom-line is that this is an incredibly good place to stay in Buenos Aires for a ridiculously good price.

I read many reivews about Hotel Costa Rica which gave me the confidence to book there, so when I checked into a room upstairs (with shared bath), I was a little surprised it was actually not really good enough. The shared bath thing I just couldn't do. They were cold and it takes lightyears for the water to heat up. The good news is that they were able to move me immediately to a room with a bath, and that room was perfect. The good news is, during my stay they were renovating some of those shared rooms, so I am sure people will be happier with those rooms in the very near term.

That said, this hotel is walking distance (5 - 10 mins) from all of the great restaurants and shopping of the rapidly gentrifying Palermo neighborhoods. I traveled here alone and was totally safe walking around day and night. You just have to be alert and not stupid and you will be fine.

Location is a great reason to recommend the hotel, but so is the hotel staff. Silvina, Jose, and the impossibly charming and handsome Thommi are all young Argentineans who made my stay very comfortable, answering to all my requests, including coordinating taxi to and from the hotel, something I didn't expect since the price of the hotel is more like that of a hostel than a place that would actualy provide additional service like that. These kids were excellent & charming and made the stay great.

The room was perfect. Tiny, but really no smaller than that of the Hudson Hotel in NYC. The modern poured-concrete sink was very cool and had really modern faucets -- details you can appreciate in the otherwise sparse room. The maidstaff were perfect and my bed was always clean & crisp.

Yann the owner is making a number of improvements... I only suggest the following:
- please provide hair dryers in the rooms
- please provide transformers and adapters for US and other international guests to check out at the front desk
- please add alarm clocks to the rooms as well as phones (lack of these two amenities and inability to call the front desk for a wake up call are the only reasons I like to refer to this hotel as a *5-star hostel* - - without these basic amenities, it really is just an awesome hostel, but not quite a hotel.


I will definitely come here again. 5 nights cost only $350 USD. (I pay that for one night in NY easily.) I recommend it for travelers who are too grown up to stay in actual hostels, etc, but are looking for more value and more opportunities to meet other travelers than you would find at a standard hotel. It's perfect for the professional 25 - 35 year old set.

Our first stay at Hotel Costa Rica was only for one night. We stayed in a room with a private bath on one of the top floors. The room was a decent size and the bed linen was nice and very clean. However, the entire bathroom was not much bigger than the size of a standard shower stall in the US. The shower head was all that identified the shower as a shower at all. There was no door, shower curtain, or anything separating it from the rest of the small bathroom. If the shower was turned on, the water would cover the entire bathroom, toilet and sink with water. The right cold water handle, when fully turned on, would not produce any water and the left hot water handle would only produce cold water. You could not sit on the toilet without your legs bumping into the wall in front of you and our toilet would not flush. It was tiny, to say the least. And, it was grungy from age. We reported the two maintenance issues to the manager on duty, who quickly helped us find another room where the plumbing worked correctly, but size and everything else was the same.

In the morning we spoke with the owner, who is an absolutely charming and wonderful man, who patiently explained that this was an older hotel (which we felt had not been kept up that well) that he was working on renovating. So, far they had only gotten to a few rooms so far, and the two we had seen last night, had not been touched yet. He showed us the rooms on the first level, behind the reception desk, that had been fully renovated. They were very modern and done in a minimalist/industrial style, but appeared to be very, very clean and modern. The ceilings were very high and there was a huge bathtub/shower. So, we booked this room for our return stay as we could absolutely not stay in the same room we had the night before. The owner completely understood and arranged for this room swap upon our return in a few days.

On our second stay, we were in renovated room 5 which has a private bath. It was spotless, comfortable and both the room and bathroom were very large, just as explained above. It was quite a bit more expensive than the older room, but worth every penny. It was still a deal for staying in charming Palermo. We would definitely stay here again, and would always request this particular room. While we were there it was obvious that more renovations were going on (but it was never loud or obtrusive), so I advise to request a renovated room and be willing to pay a little bit more…it is worth it.

The hotel staff is absolutely amazing in every way. They were always willing to answer questions, help with phone calls and make recommendations for dining and sightseeing options. They really went out of their way to be helpful and we really appreciated it. Most everyone that we came in contact with spoke excellent English and several spoke French as well.

The location is great! We were only a few blocks from the trendy shops and restaurants at the heart of Palermo. We had some incredible dining experiences that were recommended by the owner.

A great location in Palermo--a fun and hip neighborhood, a fantastically helpful owner, friendly staff, lovely decor, comfortable though basic rooms and amenities make this hotel a great deal. I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again any time!

I stayed in Hotel Costa Rica two times. 5 days on january 2007 and 5 days on february 2007. If i go Bs.As again, i would like to stay in this hotel.
Hotel Costa Rica is a nice and cheap alternative in Bs.As. It is quite, always clean and safe. Hotel has a nice terrace. I also like the sofa (a wide enterence with bar) so much.
Hotel owner Yann Poulhazen is a polite person. He is always ready for solving your problems. He is also a good friend. Also his employes are really good, friendly and polite.
Thankn you.
Alper Erze