Hotel City One

Disappointed

The hotel is in a bad area of San Jose (the red light district). The desk clerks advised me not to walk alone at night. The clerks (exception one gentleman who works at night) are uninformed and not helpful. My room was spartan at best - however very clean (as was the rest of the hotel, kudos to housekeeping). Mattress and bed pillows were "paper thin" and sleeping was uncomfortable. The room safe costs extra to use! A/C unit was good. Room lighting is very poor, difficult to shave. One morning there was no hot water. Corridors & room floors are tiled and I could hear people walking and rolling their luggage at all hours. The restaurant & bar on the 4th floor has a great view and is where the comp breakfast takes place. Offerings - bread that could be toasted (the toaster mechanism doesn’t work easily), juice, coffee and some cubed fruit. I wanted to order eggs and bacon - couldn’t. I was told by staff, that a new menu was being prepared and nothing else was available other than cheese burgers, fries, & chicken sandwiches. The bar is poorly stocked & there is no complimentary happy-hour as advertised. I wouldn’t say my experience at City One was awful, but it was memorable. I doubt that I will stay there again. Next time I’ll pay a little more for a better location and service experience.

Traveller's tip on dining

Donde Carlos Restaurant 1 block north of the Fatima Church in Los Yoses (San Pedro). Reasonably priced. Very stylish and popular. Excellent Argentine food - steak is terrific and the wine list impressive. I will dine there again!

Great value for a good location

The Hotel was a great value. Rooms were well maintained. English was not spoken by all desk staff and that presented a few challenges, but nothing major. The neighborhood the hotel is in requires travel in pairs at night. Hotel doorman Santos was particularly helpful. Rooms facing the street were a bit noisy in the morning. Was close to shopping and downtown area and the lounge was clean, people pleasant and a nice breakfast was included in the price.

Very basic and bad neighbourhood

The Building is O.K. located in a bad neighbourhood noisy at night. Rooms are clean and you get half decent breakfeast.