(note: our last trip to costa rica was 2years prior. Website won't allow me to use an earlier date.)
My husband is costa rican and we traveled to costa rica often. We were always looking for a better hotel close to the airport because we would always arrive late and didn't want to make the 4 hour drive at that time. A few years back we found Vina Romantica online and gave it a shot. The host, Sherry, was amazing, even accommodated our rental car in their garage. We arrived very late but they still fed us an phenomenal home cooked meal. We slept in an upstairs room and it was clean, the beds were comfortable, and it even had a coffeemaker (unusual for costa rica). In the morning we had a wonderful breakfast before we were off. We enjoyed it so much that we booked a room for the night before our return flight and enjoyed it just as much. It's a wonderful little hidden gem in Alejuela that you should not miss out on. I am appalled by the bad review below as our stay there was our favorite hotel in Alejuela. I won't mention the other hotel names, but we've stayed in 7 different ones, and Vina Romantica was hands down, the best! Btw, great communication via email.

My husband and I chose this Hotel because it was near the airport. What a find. We were greeted my a delightful women named Ann who has just taken over the Hotel. Ann is from the South in the US. She knows what true Southern Hospitality is and has extended her charm to her visitors at the Vina Romantica.
She has been a tour guide in Costa Rica and can tell you where to go, how to get there, and the things to avoid.
Vina Romantica is a perfect place to stay with very comfortable beds in a friendly village. It is a safe area with beautiful views of the Poas Volcano from the upstairs balcony.I The courtyard in the back yard had beautiful bouganvillia flowers draping the walls along with other tropical foliage. We even saw hummingbirds hovering in the garden. If you want to see how the real Costa Rican people live this is the place to stay. The village has several good restaurants within walking distance from the Hotel. Local places with great typical food and drink.
It is a great place to stay for a few days to take in the tours to the Doka Coffee Estate and the Poas Volcano Park.
If you want to feel taken care of this is the place to stay. We recommend it !

Sherry, the owner, was quite hospitable and made my stay very pleasant. As an American, I appreciated having a host who could give me the inside story on local culture but still relate it to my background. The location of the hotel was perfect for me -- close to the San Jose airport, on the way to the primary areas I was visiting in Costa Rica (La Paz wildlife park and the rainforest lodge at Selva Verde). As some reviewers have pointed out, the hotel is a bit isolated (in the middle of a local neighborhood) and the street noise is noticeable, but those factors help give the hotel a local flavor. (For those bothered by noise while traveling, by the way, I highly recommend my portable white-noise machine.) My upstairs room was very good -- clean and comfortable, with a view of the coffee plantation. I had free internet access and a pleasant breakfast. Overall, a very nice experience.

For family vacation we rented the whole house for 2 periods, electricity was extra. Manager/owner was out of country (known to us) & out of contact w local part-time caretaker more than we were informed. Needs more help. We had to do most things for ourselves which we did without complaint. We're experienced, bilingual travelers.

Good: beds & bathrooms, part-time caretaker was helpful but did not have resources & present very little. Good view. Close to airport, bus.

Very poor: management, one bedroom had a rat in wall making LOUD noises all night, could not sleep--2x had to change room during the night. We reported to caretaker who could not solve. She said she had not heard from owner for several days. Kitchen very disappointing: rusty refrigerator dirty & had old food. We took out trash, etc. Only 1 TV in whole house. Living room--inadequate furniture. Large trash bags in garage smelled. Out of town--few local conveniences.

Dispute w owner over electricity charges even though we asked caretaker to read meter the morning we departed. Charges could not possibly have been accurate.