Gran Hotel Costa Rica, Curio Collection by Hilton
San José's 1930 grand hotel on Avenida Central, facing the National Theatre
About this stay
The cathedral is the neighbour here, two minutes on foot, and its bells set the rhythm of a morning better than any alarm. Below the rooms, the piano bar keeps the ground floor busy into the evening and the restaurant opens onto a street that has been the centre of the capital for a century. Rooms and suites are contemporary rather than period, with air conditioning that most Central Valley buildings do without, and the gym and room service round out the four-star listing. Free breakfast, free parking and free Wi-Fi are included, which is not the norm among the larger downtown hotels. Full-service laundry helps at the end of a trip, and accessible rooms are available. Bar Y Restaurante 1930 sits four minutes away when the in-house kitchen closes.
- Opened in 1930, historic architectural monument since 2005
- Faces the National Theatre on Plaza de la Cultura
- 79 rooms, Cultura 5 restaurant and rooftop piano bar
- Hilton's first property in Costa Rica, reopened in 2018
- 9.2 guest score from 2,038 reviews
Our take
Opened in October 1930 and declared a historic architectural monument in 2005, the Gran Hotel Costa Rica faces the National Theatre across Plaza de la Cultura on Avenida Central, in downtown San José. Hilton reopened it in 2018 as its first Costa Rican property, with 79 rooms, indoor gardens, the Cultura 5 restaurant and a rooftop piano bar that looks over the theatre. Guests rate it 9.2 from 2,038 reviews, a remarkable volume for a city hotel. It sits in the old centre, not in Montelimar, so plan it as a San José night between flights and tours.
- ✓Book a room facing Plaza de la Cultura for the National Theatre view, or one on the inner side for quieter nights above the busy pedestrian street.
- ✓Take a drink at the rooftop piano bar at dusk, when the theatre facade below is lit.
- ✓The Gold Museum lies under Plaza de la Cultura, a few steps from the entrance, for a short visit before checkout.
- ✓Suite guests get butler service and an executive lounge with evening hors d'oeuvres; check which room category includes it.
Why we love it
- Two minutes on foot from the Metropolitan Cathedral
- A piano bar that actually gets used
- Free breakfast and free parking in the centre
- Air conditioning in a district that mostly skips it
Why guests love itFor a family spending one or two nights in San José before heading to the volcanoes or the coast, this is the most characterful base downtown: the National Theatre, the Gold Museum and the pedestrian Avenida Central are on the doorstep, and the hotel adds a gym, a restaurant and free breakfast. The trade-off is the setting. Plaza de la Cultura is busy and noisy, street parking is scarce, and the old centre has little green space for small children. The airport is under 15 miles away, but the drive across the city can be slow at rush hour.