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Added by Jopie, at 13 January 2017
Opening Hours
- Monday Open 24 hours
- Tuesday Open 24 hours
- Wednesday Open 24 hours
- Thursday Open 24 hours
- Friday Open 24 hours
- Saturday Open 24 hours
- Sunday Open 24 hours
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18 Reviews
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29 April 2018
Was not expecting to stay in San Jose for more than one night but had to wait for my delayed baggage for 4 days.
Beautiful atmosphere and outdoor area. Everyone has been super friendly and all staff very helpful, especially the owner Tomas who makes the effort to introduce himself to all guests.
Lovely breakfast and room cleaning included too which was a bonus!response / report this review -
29 April 2018
This little hotel was converted from a historic house, with substantial additions over the years. Perhaps the centerpiece is the courtyard, which has a swimming pool, well-maintained gardens, and a unique hot tub which is elevated with a slide leading to the pool below. Rooms are a bit dated and uneven in amenities which might affect your experience, but all are kept meticulously clean. We stayed in one of the economy rooms, and economy is what we got. The proprietor personally showed us a few of the improved rooms and on a future visit, we'll certainly spend a few extra bucks.
Breakfast is included, and several options were available including the traditional gallo pinto as well as kid-friendly options. But the real feature of the breakfast is Tom, the gregarious American-expat owner of the hotel, who makes daily rounds at breakfast to chat with the guests. I won't tell you his stories here; just sit for a breakfast here and you are bound to hear a few.
A gated parking area is available for an additional charge, so you don't have to worry about where to leave your car. Space is limited, so consider calling to reserve a space if you want it to be guaranteed.
Like many small hotels in San Jose, the rooms are not air-conditioned, but the temperature is fairly consistent year-round, with nights sufficiently cool in the low to mid 60s, and warm but bearable days in the mid 80s. Personally I wouldn't have used it if we had it.
So why not five stars? Two main reasons: Noise and location. The walls feel solid enough, but sound goes right through them. You're substantially insulated from street noise, but from sounds inside the hotel come through unmuffled.
The location is a little troublesome. During the day it's fine, but at night there are more than a few shady characters to be found on the street. Prostitution is legal in Costa Rica and you may than a few right across the street from the hotel. Keep that in mind if travelling with children. I saw nothing to make me feel unsafe, but perhaps travelling by car is a good idea, especially if you don't speak the language.response / report this review -
27 April 2018
The hotel is located very well for sightseeing in the city. A few short blocks to the city center. VERY clean rooms with high ceilings. I stayed four nights in two different rooms and both were excellent. Had a nice basic breakfast every day. Front desk staff helped me book an excursion and get a rental car. I didn't use the pool or hot tub but other guests were. When I return to San Jose I will be staying here again!
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17 March 2018
An absolute pleasure to stay here. This is a local hotel run by an American who really wants to spread the love and share all that he has built here. The rooms are nice and the staff is great. There is a lovely central pool and breakfast was fresh and tasty. Within a block is Parque Morazan which is nice but a further walk up Av 3 leads you through a lovely park where you can see so much life in the city. Plenty of good food to be found locally too. Will stay here again.
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26 February 2018
Hidden gem. Don't let the curb appeal worry you. Nothing to look at outside but a very spacious and surprisingly quiet hotel. Nice pool, breakfast area, complete gym and convenient and helpful front desk staff that allspoke English. Very reasonable prices that match the site with no unknown add-ons!
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17 February 2018
The grounds were beautiful. The hotel was unique and clean. The pool was also very nice and clean. Many staff members were bilingual and able to speak English—including the lovely owner. It is in a nice location for walking to museums and parks, just ask the front desk for advice on where to go and a map, otherwise you can end up in some sketchier neighborhoods! Overall we loved it here. We gave it 3 stars because it is just is not a resort and doesn’t have those type of amenties, but we knew what we were signing up for. If you want to submerge yourself into the culture more, we recommend staying here.
The walls were very thin and we could hear our neighbors. The style was antique/vintage, so you could call it outdated, but that’s all part of the look of this place.
Overall we loved it, and recommend it, especially for the price.response / report this review -
09 February 2018
I decided to treat my boyfriend for his birthday as it landed on a day when we were in San Jose waiting for our friend to arrive into Costa Rica before we headed down to the beach towns. We stayed here two nights. The positives were the hot tub and good water pressure from the shower. But the minuses outweighed the positives. The pictures of the hotel must have been taken in the 80's or 90's when the hotel was actually in good shape, when you get there you can see that the hotel has deteriorated quite a bit. The energy of the place felt cold, outdated and abandoned. We only ate breakfast one morning there because it was so bland and mediocre, the fruit was old, they flop one egg on your plate and call it breakfast. We had to go find food elsewhere the second day. The owner did come to breakfast to greet people but spent most of his time flirting with two young blonds from Australia, then on to the next young pretty girl after they left- I'm just trying to paint the picture here. The photo I attached is of the view from our room, as you can see it is not the quality as pictured online. I hardly ever write "negative" reviews but I have to call this one as I saw it, as it disappointed both my boyfriend and myself. I would not recommend staying here, unless you're really just going for the hotub.
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05 January 2018
Complimentary breakfast was delicious as it is what the owner likes to eat every day himself. His wife makes the verde hot sauce from scratch. Owner makes you feel very welcome. Family owned and run for 30 years. Love the design of the elevated jacuzzi with a slide into the pool - design inspired by owner's daughter when she was eight years old. Water is crystal clear. Convenient location for walking anywhere downtown. Very nice, staying a second night and probably a third.
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10 December 2017
I loved this place! We were delayed by several hours due to inclement weather in Atlanta, and arrived at 3:30 am local time. The owner was kind enough to not only answer the phone at that hour, but also guide our taxi driver to the hotel. The staff are all bilingual, friendly, and keep the place in tip top shape. They're also very helpful when planning travel or outings. It's a gorgeously remodeled historic building, with a cool jacuzzi that slides down into the pool in the courtyard. The complimentary breakfast is really good as well. Lots of traditional Costa Rican options made to order. It's centrally located and walking distance to anything you could want. I would definitely recommend this place, and return again in the future! Mucho Gracias, Hotel Santo Tomas!
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11 November 2017
Really good hotel. It's a bed & breakfast type of place. Clean and cozy rooms. It is not modern but colonial style. The breakfast is included and it is really good. Highly recommend it. Specially for the good location and the friendly staff
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06 November 2017
Everything you read in Hotel Santo Tomas' blurbs is correct. This is a wonderful place to stay in interesting central San Jose. Great value and friendly people run this place.
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31 July 2017
Great place to stay when in San Jose. Close to just about everything. Super nice and helpful staff too.
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09 July 2017
What a great hot tub! The staff was very friendly and the room was clean. The wifi worked well. We were on an interior room with no ac or windows so it was a little close but it was still with it. Centrally located so you can get anywhere easily. The free breakfast want exactly spectacular, but it did the job.
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22 February 2017
The Hotel Santo Tomas is a gem in San Jose. I just completed my second stay there, and my partner is still there. People complaining about the property being gated (read: safe in a city and in line with most properties in the country) and not having shampoo (read: seriously? it's not the Westin) need a reality check.
The staff is incredible - warm, inviting, helpful and the owner puts a lot of effort into meeting his guests and maintaining a safe and comfortable stay for everyone. He accommodated 2 of us on a prior trip, and TEN of us this trip. Not only that, but I feel like the location, value and security of the establishment was a great option for my partner to stay by herself for another week. I know they will look after her. How many places while traveling abroad can you say that?
There is breakfast available every morning. Yes, it's the same thing - as it's a typical Costa Rican breakfast. Go to Denny's if you have expectations of custom orders being fulfilled. It's set up to be fast and protein packed so that you can set out and about on your day.
Everything you need is within a 2 block walk (bank, supermarket, pharmacy, coffee, food, bakeries, flip flops, etc etc), and it's just a little further to the museums, public market and parks that are the cultural center of the city.
Could some things be updated? Sure - but then it would lose a lot of its charm. The tiled floors, artwork, fountains, woodwork, etc make the hotel what it is - comfortable and quaint.
If you're looking for a 5 star hotel in San Jose - go there. If you're looking for a soft landing and a safe, cute, cool and quiet home base where the owner and staff care about your stay -- go here.
This is definitely our go-to spot for future trips. You can't beat the staff, location, and value.response / report this review -
10 February 2017
The beds were very comfortable and the location is great. There's basically no basic amenities in the room. The "safe" isn't even a safe, it's a drawer with a lock on it. There's not even an ice bucket. You have to literally pay $1 per zip lock bag of ice you need. There's no restaurant/bar except for the complimentary breakfast served. So good luck if you're hungry at night. There's no fridges or even enough ice to keep food/drinks in your room cold. The walls are so thin I could hear the person in the room next to me snoring all night. The wifi is super spotty. And the owner had the nerve to come up to me while I was laying at the pool and tell me I was getting to much makeup on the wash clothes. Last time I checked that's a basic amenity provided by a hotel and costs about a dime to replace. The street out front is lined with prostitution, so I wouldn't recommend being out past about 9pm. I wouldn't stay here again.
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02 February 2017
We began the first three nights of our trip to Costa Rica by taking day trips from San Jose. It worked really well using Hotel Santo Tomas as a home base. It was clean with a hot breakfast each morning. The owner, Thomas, checked in with his guests at breakfast, so this was helpful to answer questions or give suggestions on what to do in the area. We really appreciated David, the desk clerk. He was enthusiastic and always seemed so glad to help in any way to make our stay wonderful. He was helpful on such things as checking on which bus terminals would be needed to get around, or where to find shops or restaurants. It's the little things that make a difference. For this reason, we chose to keep Santo Tomas as a home base each time we came back to San Jose from other regions. It felt like coming home.
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24 January 2017
Our 3 weeks holiday in Costa Rica starts with off with a night in San Jose at Hotel Santo Tomas. We had an economy standard double room locating in a corridor opposite the gym. For the price we paid through trip advisor, it is good value and a decent 3 star hotel for one night but we would most definitely not come back to that particular room due to lack of ventilation. (Each time we had a shower, the room steamed up, even though we had the door and windows open.) Brilliant location though!! You can walk to town and everything is within walking distance. Walking at night don't look or feel as great as there were prostitutes right outside the hotel and we got called and followed by a few scary locals for money. We would definitely use this hotel again but only in a room with more space and with air-con. Oh yes, I would give 5 star to their traditional costarica breakfasts.
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20 January 2017
Nice little hotel. They make you free breakfast in the morning. Not on the greatest looking street but I had no trouble walking out after dark. Jaccuzzi is awesome and works wonders. The slide is fun for kids. Wifi was decent though you lose service in the bathroom. Overall would stay again!
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