Not close to the airport. If you stay here, allow at least 40 minutes for the drive or you'll miss your flight. When we booked, we were told this hotel was in downtown San Jose 15 minutes from SJO airport, where there was a courtesy phone and free shuttle. There is no courtesy phone, no shuttle, and the hotel is at least 30 minutes from the airport in a dangerous area --in another city called Alejuela. They call it downtown San Jose but it's not. Expect major traffic jams to delay you. There is another Best Western further away that does have a shuttle at the airport, but we had an early flight out and were going for easy access to airport. After 25 minutes in the cab in a traffic jam, the cab driver came clean and showed me on the map where we were and how much longer it would be until we arrived in Alejuela. (The cabbie had also warned us on the way not to leave the hotel compound or we could get mugged). We had a 5 am flight the next day which would be tough to make, so I called and complained about the misrepresentations and canceled the rooms. We stayed at the Hampton Inn right next to the airport. The cab driver said they lie to tourists and don't tell them the BW is in a bad area and ask them to drive a different route to get there to avoid the bad scene on the way. I wish I would have checked trip advisor before I booked. I speak Spanish and I bet if you don't you'd have it even worse.

Spent our first night at the Best Western downtown, big mistake. We booked it to begin w/ b/c our flight arrived around 9pm. Its not recommened to drive anywhere at night, so we decided to crash there, wake up early to grab our rental car and head out to the Pacific. We were looking for something cheap and boy we got what we paid for.

As soon as we got out of the taxi, a prostitute attemped to get our business from across the street. Then we couldnt rebook at the Best Western closer to the airport (which looked safe when we drove by) b/c we had prepaid. We were stuck and worried about our safety all night. I dropped the ball. The pictures that other travelers submitted dont show you what the hotels surroundings look like. So I will try to upload mine. If I am successful they will be called "Hotel Surroundings."

I do have a few positive things to say though. 1. cheap 2. the hotel compound is enclosed. So once you're inside the hotel it looks like your average 2 star hotel. 3. the staff are nice and speak English 4. free shuttle to take you around the city and to/from airport.

I almost forgot to tell you. As we headed to the hotel, the taxi cab driver warned us not to walk on the streets at night and said "how do you say in English... Red Light District."

We stayed at the Best Western this March. It is located a few blocks north of the Central Market. This made for a short walk during the day but it is NOT an area for the faint of heart. The entire area was surrounded by drug dealers and prostitutes at night (we had no problems walking during the day). Best Western did a good job of secluding the hotel so if you only got in and out of taxis you would never come in contact with these people. The hotel did have several security people on duty around the perimeter so even having a car in the lot was okay because there was a huge fence surrounding the lot which was guarded during the day and locked at night.

I uploaded photos I took from our 5th floor room at the Best Western. As you can see, the neighborhood is not great but the pool is nice (but not heated as indicated on their website). We paid $60 a night for the room which included a great breakfast, two free drinks every night, and free airport shuttle. The staff was great and I would consider staying there again.

Check out my blog Costa Rica Slow Lane for more information regarding Costa Rica travel:
http://costaricaslowlane.blogspot.com/

The positives: The Best Western in downtown San Jose offers a free shuttle service to and from the airport. The employees are friendly and helpful.

The negatives: The hotel is located in an extremely bad neighbourhood. Dealers, junkies and prostitutes roam the surrounding streets in the evening and night. This is not a neighbourhood in which to take a stroll.