We stayed for one night after arriving in Costa Rica. Upon arrival in our room, we found a large grouping of mice droppings in on corner. We tried to let it go, reminding oursleves that we were in a foreign country and we'd be okay for one night. As we went to bed that evening, we heard mice running rampant through the ceiling and screeching. The hotel was very nice and immediately changed our room.

The grounds are beautiful, the staff went out of their way to make sure my requests were satisfactory.Zoo across the street is informative and a great way to learn about the birds and animals of parts of Costa Rica.Breakfast comes with the purchase of the room every morning there is a hugh platter of sliced fruit,bananas,papya,pineapple,oranges,etc.coffee,hot mile for cereal and or coffee.All the above and more on a buffett table.After you pick a nice table out on the terrace they ask if you want (local dish)guillo pinto, rice and beans.I happen to like it. eggs anyway you like,and bacon. You can make your own toast if you want it.Not sure what the tipping is,but because I received such great service I left what would have been acceptable in the US.Lots of on site thing to do.The individual doors to the rooms have hand carved panels,representing the history of Costa Rica.I would definately stay there again. This is where I stayed as a my jumping off place to go to the Osa area,two night there,then when I came back I chose to stay again for 1 night before I left.(15 minutes to the air port)

We stayed overnight a few times to get to the airport. This year we decided to stay a few days and tour from there, excellent choice.

We took day trips to Grecia, Sarci, Poas Volcano and the Zoo. All worthwhile. Martino has a good restaurant, we also ate at two of the local sodas for some variety. The breakfast was hit and miss. They seem short handed when the occupancy is up. The room was nice and big with two good sized rocking chairs.

We were quite pleased with the Martino and we would come back again. It had all the charm you would find in a small Central American town complete with the sights and sounds at night, which we happen to enjoy. If you're a creature of comfort and expect the luxuries of The Sheraton, or even just The Holiday Inn, this is not the hotel for you. However, it is an excellent value. It is in a safe location, 15 mins from SJO, the rooms are clean, there's a fridge in every room, plenty of hot water, fresh towels every day, nice pool, decent breakfast. We stayed for six days and basically just used the hotel at night to sleep because we were gone on day tours, which the hotel also arranged for us. We were pleased with all of them.
If you did not rent a car, expect to spend $20 on cabfare to go to town and back if you plan on eating out, there is no other place to eat close by other than the Italian restaurant. It's ok but after eating there two or three times, it gets old. Ask for Ricardo at the front desk, he can take you where you want to go, he can also take you shopping for souvenirs at Alajuela.