A so-so hotel in a terrible city. Very simple accommodations. No AC, twin beds, armed guard out front and a very limited restaurant/bar. I can't imagine any place in San Jose Costa Rica being very good, so this will do for an overnight stay if you start your vacation in San Jose. It was clean and simple. The staff were very nice. There is a grocery store 2 blocks up the street on the right, we were able to get food and water to get us through until we left San Jose. We were advised not to walk around San Jose at night, so we also skipped the strip club across the street too-Ha ha! Request a room off of the street to be quieter and safer.

Our room was on the ground floor, and did have a window, which faced onto the veranda and main street. The street outside was busy with trafffic late into the night and early in the morning. The furnishings were old and dated, and the net curtains looked like they hadn't been washed in years, the same could be said for the bed quilt too. The towels in the bathroom were quite threadbare. The breakfast was served in a dingy basement, and consisted of a meagre portion of fruit, and a small amount of dried up scrambled egg. The waitresses were quite sullen. Would rather have stayed somewhere else, but this hotel was arranged through our tour operator Kuoni. Luckily it was only for a couple of nights, but it didn't make for a nice, restful place to unwind after a long flight.

We traveled with a flexi drive program with over 100 motels/B&Bs to choose from all over the country. This was their first choice to pre-book our first night. It was full so they booked us at the Fleur de Lys (which was great...I wrote a review of it also). When we returned to San Jose at the end of the trip, we booked this place and were not happy.

The hotel itself had a creepy dead atmosphere. We were put in a basement room that had no windows. The restaurant is completely covered in dust and WAY over priced (even if you are used to paying US hotel prices). It is across the street from a gothic club that really gets going on Saturday night (the only night we were there). There is also a strip club across the street. We had to walk back to the hotel after sunset and we were fine, but it certainly did not feel as safe as other areas.

The room was clean enough. It was small but sufficient. The bed was nice.

After having an expensive six days in Monteverde and Arenal, I decided that I just needed an inexpensive hotel to spend the night before my flight out of San Jose. My transfer from Arenal put me into San Jose around 4pm and I needed to leave at 4am the next morning to make a 7am flight out of the airport. I paid around $70-75 for my stay and quite honestly got what I paid for. Don't get me wrong, the room, bathroom and sheets were clean but everything was just.......worn. I had an inside room with no windows and the room just had a dark, unwelcoming feel to it. I'm paranoid about going barefoot in any shower that I don't own, so I just wear flip flops. I wasn't particularly thrilled with the fact that the water was slow to drain, soI quite literally washed my feet after getting out of the tub. I remember not really wanting to sit on the comforter and the sheets felt a little rough. I didn't discover it until the next morning, but I don't know if I'm particularly comfortable with staying at a hotel where they literally lock the gates at night. There was a guard standing post and I understand it's to ensure the safety of their guests, but still! All in all, I wanted something affordable and I got exactly what my money paid for. I wouldn't stay at this hotel again, however. Considering it takes about 20-30 minutes to get to the airport, there are hotels in Alajuela that are much closer and cost a little more than $100. I paid $40 to be dropped off to the hotel, so in the end it all balances out. If you absolutely insist on staying at Hotel Brittania, I would strongly discourage you from staying longer than one night.