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Hotel el Descanso

2.0 star property

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Photo gallery for Hotel el Descanso

Hallway
Staircase
Point of interest
Reception
Basic Double Room (Habitacion 1 Cama Queen) | Free WiFi, bed sheets

Reviews

6.8 out of 10

Popular amenities

  • Free Wi-Fi
  • Laundry room
  • Housekeeping
  • 24/7 front desk

Explore the area

View in a map
Avenida 2 con calle 22, 22560304, San José, San José, 10103
  • Place, Sabana Park
    ‪13 min walk‬
  • Place, Central Park
    ‪14 min walk‬
  • Place, National Stadium of Costa Rica
    ‪5 min drive‬
  • Airport, San José (SJO-Juan Santamaría Intl.)
    ‪24 min drive‬

Room options

View all photos for Single Room

Single Room | Free WiFi, bed sheets

Single Room

  • City view
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 1
  • 1 Single Bed

View all photos for Basic Double Room (Habitacion 1 Cama Queen)

Free WiFi, bed sheets

Basic Double Room (Habitacion 1 Cama Queen)

  • City view
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 2
  • 1 Double Bed

View all photos for Standard Double Room (Habitacion de 2 Camas)

Standard Double Room (Habitacion de 2 Camas) | Free WiFi, bed sheets

Standard Double Room (Habitacion de 2 Camas)

  • City view
  • 1 bedroom
  • Sleeps 3
  • 1 Single Bed and 1 Queen Bed

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About this property

Hotel el Descanso

This smoke-free hotel features laundry facilities, a 24-hour front desk and tour/ticket assistance. WiFi in public areas is free. Change of towels is available on request
Hotel el Descanso offers 25 accommodations with a ceiling fan. 32-inch LED televisions come with cable channels.

Bathrooms include a shower. This San José hotel provides complimentary wireless Internet access, with a speed of 100+ Mbps (good for 1–2 people or up to 6 devices). Change of towels and change of bedsheets can be requested. Housekeeping is provided on a daily basis.

During your stay at Hotel el Descanso, you'll be within walking distance of Sabana Park. Features include free WiFi in public areas and laundry facilities.
  • Free Wi-Fi (speed: 100+ Mbps (good for 1–2 people or up to 6 devices))
  • Services include tour or ticket assistance and luggage storage
  • Within a 15-minute walk of Sabana Park and Central Park
Hotel el Descanso offers its guests tour/ticket assistance and laundry facilities. Public spaces have free WiFi.

This San José hotel is smoke free.

Property amenities

Internet

  • Available in all rooms: Free WiFi
  • In-room WiFi speed: 100+ Mbps (good for 1–2 people or up to 6 devices)
  • Available in some public areas: Free WiFi

Parking and transport

  • No on-site parking available

Family friendly

  • Laundry facilities

Conveniences

  • 24-hour front desk
  • Laundry facilities
  • Luggage storage

Guest services

  • Change of bedsheets (on request)
  • Change of towels on request
  • Housekeeping (daily)
  • Tour and ticket assistance

Accessibility

  • If you have requests for specific accessibility needs, please contact the property using the information on the reservation confirmation received after booking.
  • 17 steps to reach entrance
  • No lift
  • Well-lit path to entrance

More

  • Smoke-free property

Room amenities

Bedroom

  • Bedsheets provided

Bathroom

  • Shower
  • Towels provided

Entertainment

  • 32-inch LED TV with cable channels

More

  • Ceiling fan

Policies

Check-in

Check-in start time: 1:00 PM; check-in end time: 6:00 PM
Late check-in subject to availability
Minimum check-in age - 18

Check-out

Check-out before 11:00 AM
Contactless check-out
Late check-out subject to availability
A late check-out fee will be charged

Special check-in instructions

Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property
If you are planning to arrive after 6:00 PM please contact the property in advance using the information on the booking confirmation
Information provided by the property may be translated using automated translation tools

Access methods

Staffed front desk

Pets

  • Pets and service animals are not allowed at Hotel el Descanso

Children and extra beds

  • Children are welcome.
  • Rollaway/extra beds are not available.
  • Cots (infant beds) are not available.

Payment types at the property

Important information

Optional extras

The fees and deposits listed below will be charged at the time of service, check-in, or check-out.

  • Late check-out is available for a fee (subject to availability)

This may not be a comprehensive list. Fees and deposits are subject to change and might not include tax.

You need to know

This property is managed by a professional host. The provision of housing is linked to their trade, business or profession.
Extra-person charges may apply and vary depending on property policy
Government-issued photo identification and a credit card, debit card or cash deposit may be required at check-in for incidental charges
Special requests are subject to availability upon check-in and may incur additional charges; special requests cannot be guaranteed
This property accepts credit cards, debit cards and cash
Cashless transactions are available
Safety features at this property include a fire extinguisher
Guests arriving after 6:00 PM must make advance arrangements by contacting the property using the information on the booking confirmation. Front desk staff will greet guests on arrival at the property.

We should mention

  • Pets and service animals are not allowed on site.

Property is also known as

Hotel el Descanso Hotel
Hotel el Descanso San José
Hotel el Descanso Hotel San José

Hotel el Descanso Reviews

Reviews

6.8
Rating 10 - Excellent. 13 out of 48 reviews
Rating 8 - Good. 10 out of 48 reviews
Rating 6 - Okay. 12 out of 48 reviews
Rating 4 - Poor. 5 out of 48 reviews
Rating 2 - Terrible. 8 out of 48 reviews

7.0/10

Cleanliness

7.4/10

Staff & service

5.6/10

Amenities

6.2/10

Property conditions & facilities

Reviews

4/10 Poor

Verified traveller

Travelled with family
Liked: Staff & service, room comfort
Disliked: Cleanliness

Ok

Would have been ok for the price ($25 a night) but there were a lot of cockroaches. I killed a couple dozen.
Stayed 2 nights in Aug 2025

10/10 Excellent

Roberto

Stayed 1 night in Apr 2025

10/10 Excellent

Conny

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great location, friendly staff

Friendly and nice staff. Quite comfortable. Very good location, in city center of San Jose, was able to walk everywhere. Supermarkets, convenience stores, fast food are near. Great sodas located on the first floor, under the hotel. Very good price overall. Someone here complained: The hot water is near the beginning of the knob as opposed to the back. There are some roaches in the bathroom and they stayed near there, which is the only downside.
Stayed 7 nights in Feb 2025

10/10 Excellent

Lina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great hotel

This is a great hotel. It is in downtown San Jose Costa Rica. The staff was excellent. I highly recommend them.
Stayed 16 nights in Feb 2025

6/10 Okay

Richard

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service
It was ok cheap
Stayed 2 nights in Feb 2025

2/10 Terrible

Allen

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Be Warned: avoid this hotel, the room amenities presented by expedia.ca, are misleading, and are often not provided by the hotel. The hotel will not provide any customer service to resolve the issues, and they will not refund you. Expedia.ca needs to revise their listing info because the room info they are presenting is misleading. I know since the past two years, I have booked several stays on expedia.ca at hotel Descanso. My most recent reservation for Jan 21, for a single room, the online room info clearly displays: one twin bed, private bath, city view, ceiling, fan, free Wi-Fi, 32 inch LED TV, and cable channels. These amenities were not provided, which is misleading and unacceptable. Worse, the hotel management made no effort to resolve matters, despite being a repeat customer. And so I declined to stay, and the hotel refused to refund what I had prepaid online for the accommodation. In fact, only a few rooms actually have a city view. Most of the rooms are located off the noisy second and third floor corridors, with no city view, and no fresh air, and are hot, and insecure. The 32 inch LED TVs tend to be cheap old models, often the remote controls do not work. The cable TV system was not functioning, and another hotel guest told me that the cable TV had not been functioning for several days. The hotel amenities offered on expedia.ca are not in fact provided by the hotel. So I urge expedia customers to not reserve this hotel. Regards, Webster, Ontario, Canada.
Stayed 7 nights in Nov 2024

2/10 Terrible

Allen

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Be Warned: avoid this hotel, the room amenities presented by expedia.ca, are misleading, and are often not provided by the hotel. The hotel will not provide any customer service to resolve the issues, and they will not refund you. Expedia.ca needs to revise their listing info because the room info they are presenting is misleading. I know since the past two years, I have booked several stays on expedia.ca at hotel Descanso. My most recent reservation for Jan 21, for a single room, the online room info clearly displays: one twin bed, private bath, city view, ceiling, fan, free Wi-Fi, 32 inch LED TV, and cable channels. These amenities were not provided, which is misleading and unacceptable. Worse, the hotel management made no effort to resolve matters, despite being a repeat customer. And so I declined to stay, and the hotel refused to refund what I had prepaid online for the accommodation. In fact, only a few rooms actually have a city view. Most of the rooms are located off the noisy second and third floor corridors, with no city view, and no fresh air, and are hot, and insecure. The 32 inch LED TVs tend to be cheap old models, often the remote controls do not work. The cable TV system was not functioning, and another hotel guest told me that the cable TV had not been functioning for several days. The hotel amenities offered on expedia.ca are not in fact provided by the hotel. So I urge expedia customers to not reserve this hotel. Regards, Webster, Ontario, Canada.
Stayed 2 nights in Dec 2024

2/10 Terrible

Allen

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
Be Warned: avoid this hotel, the room amenities presented by expedia.ca, are misleading, and are often not provided by the hotel. The hotel will not provide any customer service to resolve the issues, and they will not refund you. Expedia.ca needs to revise their listing info because the room info they are presenting is misleading. I know since the past two years, I have booked several stays on expedia.ca at hotel Descanso. My most recent reservation for Jan 21, for a single room, the online room info clearly displays: one twin bed, private bath, city view, ceiling, fan, free Wi-Fi, 32 inch LED TV, and cable channels. These amenities were not provided, which is misleading and unacceptable. Worse, the hotel management made no effort to resolve matters, despite being a repeat customer. And so I declined to stay, and the hotel refused to refund what I had prepaid online for the accommodation. In fact, only a few rooms actually have a city view. Most of the rooms are located off the noisy second and third floor corridors, with no city view, and no fresh air, and are hot, and insecure. The 32 inch LED TVs tend to be cheap old models, often the remote controls do not work. The cable TV system was not functioning, and another hotel guest told me that the cable TV had not been functioning for several days. The hotel amenities offered on expedia.ca are not in fact provided by the hotel. So I urge expedia customers to not reserve this hotel. Regards, Webster, Ontario, Canada.
Stayed 1 night in Dec 2024

2/10 Terrible

wayne harrison

Disliked: Staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
He promised first floor and hot water for $51. I gave $60 cash to hold. When i checked in the room was upstairs. The room down stairs was$71. He said the money was gone so I couldn't have it back. Ater saying I would call the police he said OK for the $60. But no hot water.
Stayed 7 nights in Dec 2024

4/10 Poor

Jesus

Disliked: Staff & service
There was unseen circumstances and was unable to make it to my room. I let them know ahead of time but they wouldn’t refund me for cancellation.
Stayed 1 night in Nov 2024

4/10 Poor

Jordan

Travelled with partner
This hotel is close to the main road in San Jose and the room itself wasn’t too bad for the price but that is where the positives end. It was our first time staying San Jose and the impression that was left with us was a dirty and gross city. Im sure there are nice areas but don’t expect anything better from the area this hotel is in. The walls separating the rooms are like cardboard and we could hear moaning from the sex workers multiple times per night. Other than the moaning the noise from other people in the hotel was also very loud. On our second and final night a man checking in to his room tried to open our door while walking down the hallway. Sleeping here was difficult which is ironic for a hotel called “Hotel el Descanso” and that is why I am leaving behind a bad review.
Stayed 2 nights in Nov 2024

6/10 Okay

Lisa

Liked: Cleanliness, property conditions & facilities
Disliked: Staff & service
Very clean . Staff do not respond well To tourists . Location for Uber is terrible. Taxis and Uber have trouble finding the Hotel.
Stayed 3 nights in Nov 2024

6/10 Okay

Guillermo

N/C
Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2024

6/10 Okay

Guillermo

Stayed 4 nights in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Bradford Chester

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
The staff was great. Rooms are very basic but sufficient. The hotel is located close to the downtown area. The neighborhood is safe but looks dumpy and is noisy. Ear plugs help. There are lots of homeless. Overall, this hotel is a good value. There is a lot of food options. Again, the neighborhood will look scary but its actually very safe.
Stayed 7 nights in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Marco Wilyer

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Sep 2024

10/10 Excellent

Lina

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort

Great place to stay

This hotel is perfect for a traveler who wants to explore downtown San Jose. I highly recommend this hotel. The people were fabulous. The area really wasn’t bad at all and you can walk to downtown. It’s central market just about where you wanted to go so I definitely recommend it. Awesome hotel.
Stayed 16 nights in Jul 2024

10/10 Excellent

Goran

Business traveller
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities, room comfort
Stayed 1 night in Jun 2024

4/10 Poor

Nohemias

Liked: Staff & service
Very very small room too many stairs to get to the room and really near near stairs and very very small bathroom everything's really small I won't stay in a place no more
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2024

8/10 Good

Thomas

Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service, amenities, property conditions & facilities
It was okay for the $.
Stayed 1 night in Jul 2024

6/10 Okay

Gustavo A Murillo, Irving

Liked: Staff & service
Disliked: Cleanliness, amenities
Rooms provide no privacy. Anyone can hear even if you fart. Bed sheets must be replaced [they are washed, but maybe because they're old]. No A/C. And once again, no privacy.
Stayed 9 nights in Apr 2024

2/10 Terrible

giovanna

Disliked: Cleanliness, staff & service, property conditions & facilities
Cockroach party. Literally felt like I had to beg for room service, towels, toilet paper, garbage changes etc. we literally got in trouble for TALKING the room at late hours. The walls are extremely paper thin. And there is a “window” that faces towards the hallway in the bathroom so all noise carries throughout the building. There is no AC. The worst part of it all was I felt like I was being scammed because when my guest would come visit, one of the staff would charge 5,000 colones and some wouldn’t. So I wasn’t sure if the money was getting pocketed. The hotel is very close to San Jose central market and all the hot spots. But it is located on a weird one way corner that a lot of Ubers have difficulty picking up from therefore they would cancel a lot and no near by taxis :(.
Stayed 6 nights in May 2024

8/10 Good

Allen

Stayed 2 nights in Apr 2024

6/10 Okay

Allen

No English speaking channels on the TV The MTS did not work… frustrating Good clean economical room With private bath.
Stayed 1 night in Mar 2024

8/10 Good

Zhong

Travelled with group
Liked: Cleanliness, staff & service

budget friendly helpful staff, convenient location

I like the location, halfway between the cathedral and Sabana park. There's always someone at the front desk. The gate is locked, so you ring a bell for someone to open it. Feels safe. I arrived at midnight, and was able to get into my room. I had some problem with an ATM machine, and one lady at the front desk helped me to call the bank. Fan works, but very noisy. Pretty good wifi. Now the negative: no place to hang anything. No cups. Street noise and the door bell are not good for light sleepers. Thin curtain. Overall, worth the price.
Stayed 3 nights in Jan 2024