www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I made a Reservation via the internet for 45 a night (discounted from 75 for paying cash) , just to give you a little background, I'm really not that picky about hotels and such, but for 45-50 a night I expect not to be put in a hostel type place, and this place reminded me of a frat house that rents out rooms. there are basically no outlets for anything except the tv, and there is NO a/c in the room i was in, even thought they said it was there "delux" room. The windows keep out no noise what so ever, and there is a big envelope on the bed that says "tip for maid" , (not that I dont tip, but i dont like it shoved in my face)
Trying to think of something good to say, as I dont like to be all negative.. hmmmmmm, they had matches at the front desk..

The breaskfast consisted of a bowl of hard boiled eggs and a bowl of rice.

I had to check out a day early and they wanted to charge me for the whole stay, they didn't have my credit card number, so i said would only pay for one day. Darren threatened to call the police, and I said to do it, (since they said they had AC and they didn't), he bulfed, and came back and said 15 late fee and all is good.. I should have thorwn down 45 for 1 night and left, but I gave him his late fee and put the whole thing behind me.

I checked in early to the Armon Plaza, and no problems (65 a night),, for 20 dollars more a night I went from one of the worst hotels to one of best in San jose.. The Armon is great! Night and day..

bad start to the trip, but hopefully things will take a turn for the better..

I promise ill post something more postive next time,,, if it happeans..

FUZZY

I should mention that I dont about chica fees for this hotel as I was to embarrassed to bring back a hooker to this hotel. but it worked out as she thought I was playing hard to get and just called and is coming over to the armon. freebie??

Say it ain't so! After a few really good reviews and a recomendation, 10sguy set us up a reservation there for june 1-10th. The manager set us up with the "deluxe" AND took the credit card info! No A/Cs at all? Crappy breakfast? No outlets?!?! What to do?

More people write in on this one, please.

You might want to see if you can get out of it for a certain fee, might be worth it. I hear some people got alot better rate,(like i said went via the internet/SL lodge to book mine) so if you got the "delux" room for $10 a night, that should be your moneys worth. I think 2 rooms have A/C in that place.. my "delux room" #8, did not..
and you can uplug the tv , to plug in your stuff.

9 days there seems painful, 1 was all it took for me to bite the bullet , good luck

FUZZY

I've enjoyed the months I've spent at Hotel Castillo. I often wonder what standards people have who complain about every hotel in CR. Of the 9(?) places I've stayed in San Jose, I consider it to be an excellent compromise for location, price and accomodations. Obviously some people disagree, being bothered by things like lighting and so on. What I do know is that each time I've been there, I've seen many of the same people. The hotel has a very loyal repeat clientele of CR veterans. I look on this a far better indication of what a hotel is like than complaints by rookies. As always, YMMV. If you expect a 5 star hotel that would cost $150 a night in the US, you'll be disappointed, but if you would be ashamed to take a lady back to Hotel Castillo from the Del Rey, you really don't have a glimmer of a clue what Central America is like.

myself and the NUCK stayed there last month, room 16 and 17 , some rooms have ac some do not. no problem bringing working girls back. you can get a safe for 500 colones a day . a clean hotel. yeah the breakfast is nothing to email home about. pura vida

Only a bowl of rice for breakfast? When I stayed there they had rice and beans for breakfast!

Seriously, I spent 6 nights at Hotel Castillo the first week of April. A board member here recommended the hotel to me. I was completely satisfied with the hotel. If this is your first trip, which I believe it is, don't worry about a/c. A/C is not needed in CR.

The hotel is clean, safe, and close to ground zero. For the money I think it is a great deal. Free Internet access and no chica fee. True the breakfast is nothing to write home about but it is enough to get you started for the day. Breakfast was fresh fruit, toast, boiled eggs, rice and beans plus your usual coffee, tea, juice, and milk. For me it was enough to start the sobering up process. If you want a full breakfast you can take an early morning 5-minute safe walk to a number of places and feast your heart out.

By CR standards I would rate Hotel Castillo 4 chicas……oops I mean 4 stars.

A word of advice, when you return do not log onto CRT as it will only remind you of a great place to visit and make you want to return ASAP.

Pura Vida

P.S. My review was based upon staying in the rear building of the main Hotel. I believe the building has 12 rooms. I stayed on the second floor. All 12 rooms have a/c. I used the a/c the first hour upon arrival and never turned it on again.

This my friends is a typical Tico breakfast. You can get it all over CR (last I knew 2100 colones at the Hotel Gran Costa Rica).

Try to be a little adventurous and forget getting a Gran Slam at Denny's
try to blend in a little and enjoy a different culture. It's all part of traveling to a different part of the world.

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Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

Should be no problem cancelling with this much notice. 48 to 72 hours notice is the norm isn't it?

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Chica Chaser

Yes, I know it's typical. I didn't mean to sound unrespectful and unadventureous. At the time I wrote crappy, the guy had only said rice and eggs. It sounds much better with the fruit and toast. The best breakfast I had last trip was at the Presidente, pancakes american style, with banana slices and strawberries. Very good. Oh and this is my second trip. I did the "gulch only" tour last trip.

Hi guys. I usually make it a point to check out at least one hotel in which I haven't stayed while visiting. In February I toured the Castillo. The staff was very friendly and eager to please. The guests I encountered seemed happy and nice. I inspected 3 rooms. Personally, I thought it was dreary.

Good price though! Just not my cup of tea.

I had a similar experience there @HC, but they moved me from #7 to #12 and that helped alot...yeah the breakfast is enough to hold me for my walk over to the Pres every morning to eat bacon & eggs and watch the chicas @ 7:30.....the main reason i'm going to stay there again in Sept. is, its just so close to NF & ZB, among others!!! there's nothing like walking out their door, hanging a right and in 20 steps or so you're at NF's door , then a short 2 blk walk to ZB .....and the resturant next door has some great NACHOS!!.... HC has its PRO's & CON's.....the noise in the main house was my biggest dislike.

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u reap what u sow

I also checked out HC last year, found it below par for my standards.

One of the most important reasons for bipassing HC, besides all of the above shortcomings--- NO TELEPHONE in rooms
Maybe by now Tel connnect is available

Also, as Pidd posted, if and when you arrive LATE, it takes some effort to wake up the residence manager to open up the front gate.

Cygnus

room #8 , did have a telephone. and like everyone said on this thread YMMV at the HC . but for me I will never return.

on a postive note, hit the KUMAR last night (first time), wow ,they make stripping look like an art form. the 4 girl "arab show" was great, I never knew a bar could get so quite for 15 mins..

FUZZY