Holiday Inn San Jose la Sabana

I spent 3 days here 1 day before and 2 days with my Caravan Tour. The hotel room was nice wifi after an initial no connection was worked out, was fine for my stay. The included breakfast was pretty good to get you started in the morning especially the fresh juice. We had 1 dinner included which was a buffet which was also quite good. The hotel is kind of isolated surrounded by major roads so without a car, uber or taxi you are kind of limited. There is a grocery store nearby, a subway across the street and the hotel has a bar, Denny's restaurant and ******. It's 30-45 minutes from the airport and 15-20 minutes from downtown San Jose. Room was nice, mine face the parking lot and road other than pool area so was a little louder starting early in the morning. Still being on NY time I was usually up before the noise picked up. Front desk staff was very helpful in getting me into the city and where to go on my free day post tour.

I had the opportunity of staying at this Holiday Inn while traveling with a group. To be honest, it was one of the most beautiful Holiday Inns I have ever stayed at - the grounds were gorgeous. On top of that, there were no cleanliness issues, my night sleep was fantastic, and the facilities were great. First, the cleanliness. At this Holiday Inn, I encountered no cleanliness issues. There were no bug issues in my room, and that was a pleasant surprise because I expected that with Costa Rica's climate. I did not encounter any stains, hairs, or any thing of the sort in my room. Additionally, all of the lush plants around the hotel were beautifully manicured. My Rating for this Category: 5/5 Second, the night sleep. I slept in a one king bedroom, and personally, I slept great with the beds at the Holiday Inn. One important thing to note about the Holiday Inn chain in general is the pillow situation: on each bed, there are two types of pillows - firm and soft. That general pillow trend was also present at this Holiday Inn, so make sure to look so you can sleep with the type that is the most comfortable for you. The air conditioning and the thick curtains also created a comfortable sleeping environment. My Rating for this Category: 5/5 Finally, the facilities. In terms of facilities, this Holiday Inn was absolutely the best one I have ever seen. There was an expansive outdoor pool with day beds (this is not heated which was fine), an "infinity-edge" style hot-tub, a truly tropical breakfast place, a gift shop for any last minute souvenirs, and more. I think my favorite part was the breakfast because there was a wide array of foods, juices, and pastries to try. The food did seem to have a local Costa Rican flare to it which I enjoyed. My Rating for this Category: 5/5 I am not sure when I will have the chance of traveling to San Jose next, but I do know that the Holiday Inn San Jose La Sabana is a great choice for a short stay in the area. The rooms are clean, you'll get a good night sleep, and you'll also have the opportunity of enjoying great facilities on-site as well. So, I am able to recommend the Holiday Inn San Jose La Sabana with zero hesitations.

Good communication, via e-mail, prior to stay as I needed a refrigerator in my room. That was arranged in advance for me. Primarily due to traffic the property is about 30 minutes from the airport. Check-in was smooth. I think this is an older property, but my room was clean comfortable, no obvious wear and tear, renovated bathroom with standup shower and actual towel hooks (seems to be a rarity at many properties these days). All staff was very friendly. The property is somewhat misnamed (at least for a non-resident). The property is not within safe walking distance of the well known La Sabana park. By ‘safe’ I mean it appears that there is at least one major highway that has to be crossed. The grounds around the pool are well-maintained. Plenty of loungers, towels, a couple of covered beds available, but I didn’t see any umbrellas, so the pool was a non starter for me after although some shaded areas in the afternoon. Also, strong wifi in the pool area. The wifi just outside the lobby area was not great. But the wifi at the sports bar in the lobby area covered the front of the property. Note that a password is needed for both the hotel and the sports bar. I did get a takeaway dinner from the restaurant. Food was substantial. A bit strange in that I couldn’t charge it to my room, but if I ordered the same via room service, charging to my room would have been OK. Not a big deal. The breakfast buffet, which I tried once was good with made to order eggs, albeit a bit pricey I thought. The sports bar food was OK, weak house alcoholic drinks. There is a walkable neighborhood behind the hotel. The property uses Gold’s Gym for its gym (free of charge for guests). There is also a sports bar, a Denny’s, a Subway, a supermarket, a ******, and a pharmacy all within a minute walk of the property. Maybe there is a tennis court in the vicinity? I saw many women (but not as a group) with tennis rackets walking through the property. It is a no smoking property, including outdoors. That is a plus. Also, my floor had a filtered water and filtered ice machine. Uber into downtown San Jose works well, but allow for traffic. One trip took me about 15 minutes, returning from the same location, midday took 45 minutes, Plan accordingly. Normally, I’d give a 5*, but in this case just a 4*. I am a IHG Platinum, asked for 1 PM checkout (one hour late). Front desk said all arranged (I re-verified on the morning of checkout day). I had a meeting at noon and didn’t want to be interrupted. Front desk assured me that housekeeping would be advised accordingly. Sure enough, housekeeping was knocking on my door at 12:05 asking when I was leaving the room. The lack of communication between departments is very frustrating. This was a multi-night stay for me as I needed to be in the vicinity for a bit. With the exception of the housekeeping knock prior to my agreed upon checkout time, no complaints.

Staff are friendly and most speak good English. My room had a balcony overlooking a pleasant garden area. Room had a safe but no fridge. Despite being near main roads I was not troubled by noise. Breakfast is good and served from 6am. There is a Denny’s on site and also nearby a Subway for sandwiches. Just around the corner there is the splendidly named Megasuper supermarket which has a good range of groceries. Although the hotel is on the outskirts of SJ it is in a good location. There is free parking (guarded) and it is right by the Interamericana and the city ring road so you can easily drive to where you want to be. Also it is easy to get into downtown SJ by bus. I could find no actual time tables for the city buses but Moovit was reliable. Depending on the company, you can get into downtown SJ for around 500 Colones (the rate is displayed on the windscreen of the bus). You just pay the driver. The stop to go into town is the opposite side of the Interamericana, when you come back the stop is right outside the hotel. No need for a taxi! Overall, this hotel offered a pleasant experience, and was very good value for money.

I spend one night there and it was great. Biosafety regulations in place, great food, clean areas and spacious rooms, open areas to spend some time, Personnel really kind and helpful/ Pase una noche ahi, excelente lugar. Las regulaciones de bioseguridad super claras, areas limpias y habitaciones espaciosas. La comida deliciosa. Personal amable y dispuesto a ayudarte.