I was so disappointed with this hotel but I now know why they don't put pictures of their rooms on their website. In our king bedded room there was a king bed...and nothing else. No end tables, no chairs, no luggage rack, and no artwork. The rooms were painted the color of claret with drapes green drapes. One of the two ceiling lights didn't work. When I tried to replace the light, I couldn't because a light bulb was broken in the fixture. The other light in the ceiling fan didn't have a globe on it. The room was exceeding disappointing.
I hoped things would look better in the morning after a shower. And while the room did, the cold shower was a further disappointment.
All in all the only high point was the delicious breakfast in the morning.
Oh - and the directions to get to the hotel are wrong on their website and printed materials.
Also - you must have to ask for a key to lock your door. We never got one or were offered one.
This sadly goes into one of the very few disappointing places I've stayed in Costa Rica.

I wasn't sure what to expect here on my last trip but it was great. I stumbled across this place and read that it was not too far from San Jose. It turned out to be a very nice get away. The only tough part was getting the directions right. Make sure you ask clearly for directions to the hotel. The roads are good quality, but curvy in some places.

The hotel was great and very clean. I consider this place higher end (in terms of quality) compared to some other places I have stayed. If you're looking for a comfortable place thats not too far from San Jose, this place is great. The view at night is a great view of the city. When I was there I was lucky enough to have a lightning storm off in the distance. It was amazing to see lightning bolts over the city.

The food was good. The included menu (part of the package I had) was limited in options but if you want to go for the full menu and pay a little extra, they have a great selection. The breakfast was one of the best, if not the best included breakfast at a hotel. Instead of a cheap "continental style" breakfast, they brought out the works. Empanadas, huge selection of fruits, rice and beans, coffee, juice, etc.

This is really a beautiful spot. Rooms are musty from the humidity. Otherwise, it is awesome. Decor, food, staff, surroundings are fabulous. More of a hotel than a B&B.

On our honeymoon to Costa Rica we came upon this gem by looking up hotels in the area on our gps. It was so beautiful in Atenas {mountains and rolling hills} and the hotel owner, Romy, was so kind and welcoming {he said "welcome home" with a warm smile, as we arrived with no reservation} that we just HAD to stay. We also got a great deal; $60 a night with breakfast, 2 people, in the green-season; even though it was at the time, when we returned home, advertised for $100/night.
We were pleased with the beautiful and unique architecture of the house and grounds, the plentiful {all you want!} awesome, and authentic Costa Rican breakfast with grown-there {!} coffee, and breakfast on the cute terrace overlooking the mountains. In the morning {5 to 6 am} you heard the sheep, roosters, and birds from all over the valley, to us a beautiful part of waking up in paradise.
The owner Romy was always pleasant and gave us great recommendations for a fabulous seafood reataurant near-by; he sketched us a detailed and accurate map to get to a waterfall/park a good mountain-drive away. He allowed us our space and at the same time was friendly and attentive. We spent some time getting to know him and how he came to own this little piece of paradise, which was a lovely story and quite enlightening as one day I hope to own and live in a BnB.
Our room had great views, I wish I remembered our room number; comfortable, spacious and had a nice sized patio with a sliding glass door/screen. The days definitely weren't hot {for a Floridian}, nights were cool and we loved leaving the windows open, beautiful breezes and cools down a lot at night {no a/c; we were there in Oct. and really we thought a/c wasn't needed}. There was a huge picture window in our room that was very unique, it was huge and curved, a semicircle; perfect for the breathtaking views! We got some neat pictures sitting in front of it {see my photos!}
There was plenty of hot water, rooms were clean and comfy, no luxury here but clean and spacious, great for our needs. A community refrigerator for guests to use downstairs, and did I mention the breakfast is phenomenal!? The grounds were just, I don't know how else to say, impressive?! and we enjoyed exploring them; there are coffee plants and fruit trees everywhere, and the pool was nice at the end of a warmish day hiking around. It was a good mini-workout, the hike to and from the pool, down the hillside. There were plenty of private areas and beautiful nooks on the grounds, and beautiful vegetation everywhere, with little benches and such here and there for you to chill if you so desired.
We will definitely return to El Cafetal in the near future, and have told friends that frequent Costa Rica, as we do, that this is the place to be when in the vicinity of the airport or north of there {San Jose} and perfect if you are in between San Jose and the Pacific coast. We stayed for three nights, and could have easily stayed for a week! {or forever}
This was a real Costa Rican hotel/bed and breakfast. It wasn't an American hotel. It was our favorite surprise find on our honeymoon.