Hotels near Landmarks | Costa Rica | Escazu

The Alta Hotel
My wife and I stayed here both at the beginning of our trip and at the end. The Hotel is very nice in appearance, the food was great at La luz and the rooms were clean and comfortable. The only improvements needed: the plumbing in the shower in both rooms we stayed in was not good, it was like trying to tune in an am radio station to get the right combo of hot and cold in the shower and the water was dangerously hot, I had to jump up onto the shelf surrounding the tub at one point, and I have a fairly high tolerance to hot temps on my feet, I'm the guy that walks across the beach in August without any problems when everyone else is dancing a jig across the sand. So be careful!! only other thing, the service needs a little work, we had a VERY loud (and no I'm not old!!) group staying two rooms away out on their balcony attempting to wake the dead and we had to call the front desk 3 times and eventually I had to pay a personal visit to the night desk clerk to "express" the need to fix the problem or move us!! I dont think that a guest should have to go to this length in a Hotel such as this to get simple service at 1 am. All told though, it was a great stay, and I want to give a big thank you to our driver "Jason" definately a big plus for this Hotel, and outstanding young man who went out of his way to be helpful, informative and communicated with excellent english, he also tolerated our butchering his native language, even gave some great spanish lessons!! Final note of advice, if you are looking for an out of the way, relaxing and comfortable Hotel in a safe "relatively" quiet environment like my wife and I were, this is the place to stay, do not stay here if you want the hustle and bustle of San Jose, or if you want to walk out the front door and be able to walk to the local museum or trinket shop....More

Beacon Escazu
A beautiful new hotel that radiates luxury and clean lines, we expected a great experience. The Costa Rican staff was very helpful and polite, but management was lacking. There were several problems. The hotel is in a very bad area and all points of entry to the hotel are barred night and day. We were uncomfortable driving there at night and would not even walk in that area in the day time. Upon arrival in the basement parking, we were informed the one elevator for the hotel was for baggage only and guests had to walk up to three flights of steps. We arrived Sunday night. Monday morning in the garden outside of our room they started work with a sledge hammer at 8:00 AM. They then opened the raw sewage system which remained open for three days. The smell was in our room and in the dining area. Several other rooms had the same problem. Although most of the hotel was empty, they did not move us away from this terrible odor and sight, not adjust our bill. We saw in the hotel guide book that breakfast was served until 11:00. However, a poorly translated handout we received at check in said until 10:30. We got there at 10:00 AM and were told that the breakfast buffet was closed at 10:00. However, they did make us a small meal at extra charge. The hotel guide and the desk manager assured us that laundry received in the morning would be received back the same day. They lost our laundry for three days but it arrived eventually with no apology but at full price. We asked three times to speak to the manager - who reportedly comes in at 9:30 AM. She never found time to talk to us. The staff seems to try hard, but the managers remain hidden and aloof - especially from problems....More

The Alta Hotel
We had a wonderful, albeit brief one night stay at the Alta. The hotel and it's surroundings are beautiful and the rooms were very clean and nicely appointed. Staff was very courteous and friendly. Food was excellent and service as well....More