It'd be hard to find anything negative to say about The Hotel Portocobo, so I won't.
I recently stayed there for 5 days, and paid extra for a room with a sea view.
Located in a lovely bay overlooking The Historic Santa Cruz castle the views are simply spectacular, so make sure to book a sea view.
The location is excellent, with a beach right outside, and a promenade with several bars and restaurants just 5 minutes walk away. There's also several supermarkets within easy walking distance as well as plenty of bars, restaurants, and cafes.
The hotel itself is lovely and quite modern. The rooms feature a good amount of wardrobe space, good air conditioning, a miny refrigerator, hair dryer, and a safe for personal valuables/cash/passports. The bed was comfortable and extra pillows and blankets were readily available in the wardrobe.
The house-keeping staff did an excellent job keep the room clean.
The hotel staff were all friendly and accommodating, although most spoke little if any english. This wasn't often a problem though, and as long as you're willing to try a little bit and maybe learn one or two spanish words you'll always get what you want.