I am one of the reviewers who is quite happy that I decided to stay at the Santo Tomas. I stayed two nights (Sun and Mon night in early December, 2007) and found the hotel very comfortable and pleasant.

Many of the negative reviews here refer to the neighborhood - yes, the hotel is in a city neighborhood, but I did not feel any less safe than I would in any other major city. It clearly is an urban environment, so if your goal is to reach the beautiful nature of Costa Rica, you might want to head directly to the mountains or beaches.

About my room... I had booked the least expensive room, and I got a small but very comfortable room on the second floor of a very attractive and well-kept older building. The floors are a mixture of hardwoods and tiles, and are immaculately clean. The room had a ceiling fan that I loved, and the shower was very high-volume with plenty of hot water. My bed was comfortable and I was able to sleep with the window open (facing away from the street) without being disturbed. My room had a free high-speed wired internet connection that worked quite well.

Although my room was small, I saw some of the first-floor rooms, and they were quite large. The breakfast was fine for me - fresh fruit (pineapple, watermelon, papaya) with some unexciting pastries (including chocolate cake, a somewhat unusual breakfast for me).

One of the highlights was the attached restaurant, called the Oasis. I had a terrific sea bass dinner the on one night of my visit.

The hotel has a small pool and garden area - these are small and I saw nobody using it. There is also a small exercise room, but I wouldn't pick this hotel because of the fitness facilities.

Overall, I experienced a small, comfortable room in a well-staffed hotel. I was happy that I stayed at the Santo Tomas.

This hotel is good... comfortable, good staff, good price... the only downside is the location... not in a good neighborhood... but, taxis are cheap and you can easily move around

After reading several bad reviews, I almost cancelled my reservation at the Santo Tomas - I am so glad that I didn't!!! The hotel is housed in a beautiful old plantation home and is lovely. The staff were so attentive. As soon as our taxi pulled up they helped with our bags and made us very comfortable. They also made us breakfast extra early before our flight, called a taxi for us two times (once for dinner and once for the airport), and were helpful at every step of the way. The room was very nice and clean, and the bed was very comfortable. There is a small pool with a jacuzzi on site, which we did not use, but it looked very nice. There is also a small exercise room, which did look fairly outdated.

I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

After reading a few positive reviews and believeing the hotel was prefectly situated for a short, one-night stay in San Jose, I was disappointed by what was offered for a relatively high cost. The hotel's neighborhood is a dump. No question about it. Prostitutes, skinny dogs, flith, noise. There is a reason this hotel has a gated, secure entrance. I did not feel safe to walk around at night, wihch defeated the purpose of staying in San Jose for the night. The room and hotel facilitites were disappinting as well. The room was small, the breakfast miserly (some fruit and dried, old pastries), and you should expect to bring your own shampoo (the staff is quick to direct you to a nearby store). I feel the hotel takes advantage of tourists charging what they do to stay in a ghetto. But the staff speaks English and is friendly.
As other do, we stayed in San Jose only one night before heading out to Arenal and Monteverde. The hotel is far from the airport, and the drive is confusing (Costa Rica doesnt use street addresses, and rarely graces you with a street sign, so directions are hard to follow). San Jose is also the opposite direction from the airport (really in Alajuela)of the road leaving town to Arenal, so much time is wasted driving into and out of San Jose just to see a dump of a city. Save yourself the trouble and stay close to the airport, I am sure any hotel there would have been much nicer and safer (and cheaper).