I've been to the Gran Hotel four times on separate trips. It's in a wonderful location and the staff is very nice. The breakfast is wonderful and the view from the 5th floor balcony (a public space) is beautiful. This time around I did not have an ice bucket in my room and there were no chairs, so I had to do all of my work from the bed space. Wifi-internet was not very reliable. No room service menu in my room and no directions on how to call the front desk, so that was unfortunate. Shower was clean and plenty of hot water. Beds were great. I'd recommend it for business and social travelers, but only for one or two days. With the Wifi issues it's kind of a pain if you need to use the computer or do business. Overall a gorgeous old hotel that has issues you'd expect from a gorgeous old hotel. :)

Well location. But old place. Electricity problem. It went off during night. No hot water after 10pm. If you are piky dont go there.

No two rooms are exactly the same in this hotel, which is a cultural and historic landmark in downtown San Jose. The hotel has recently been renovated (and they may be working on some rooms still), so if you see older reviews of this hotel that say that it needs to be renovated, that is being done. The beds are comfortable, the breakfast is great, and the hotel is within walking distance of many cultural attractions (the national theatre, the museum of pre-Colombian gold, the national museum, etc.) as well as shopping.

The lobby lounge and bar are comfortable and the live music is a nice touch (saxaphone player, and then piano).

There's a small gym in the hotel and two computer terminals to use for free. If you have your own computer, there is free internet throughout the building.

A cab from the airport to the hotel is US$30, and there's no shortage of cab drivers waiting to take you there. And when you go back to the airport to leave Costa Rica, there's a US$28 departure tax that you have to pay to the Costa Rican government (you do that at the airport).

The "Presidential Suite" is the one that U.S. President John F. Kennedy stayed in when he came to Costa Rica.

There is a tour desk in the lobby to arrange day trips to visit the volcanoes and such. There's also another tour office just outside the hotel too. You can also make your own arrangements on line.

This is a perfectly located hotel. Many many things within walking distance. The inside is decorated beautifully. The food is average at best. The bar is extremely expensive but very nice. The interior rooms are smaller in size, very European. Comfortable though except for the heat in summer time (of course it's warm there). Interior rooms lack privacy due to sharing the atrium in the center of the hotel and you must leave your window open due to the heat. I wasn't there much only to sleep but it was a nice enough hotel.