Hotels near Juan Santamaría International Airport - SJO, San José

First of all: This place is not in Rio Segundo. It is in Alajuela in a neighborhood. The cab driver could not find it and had to call the property in order to determine it is not in Rio Segundo but in Alajuela. The entrance to the place was unattractive but the interior was fine. The money I saved by staying away from the airport was consumed by cab fares to and from SJO. I did not experience the breakfast as I left for an early morning flight at 4:30 am. The kitchen looked nice and clean. The staff was helpful in arranging a $:30 am cab ride and I appreciated that. Good WiFi connection and speeds.

Quite noisy and a bit dirty. People are nice, but food was a disappointment - it was almost impossible to find fresh vegetarian food that hadn’t been processed. Everything was fried in grease and had meat in it.

For us La Rivera is a take off and arrival point, so the easy airport access is important. It is an easy walk to a phone store or Pali supermarket for some basics, and the local pista, church and park give you a safe introduction to Costa Rica. There is not much else to do in the immediate area.

This was a great place to stay for one night. For a small additional fee, I was picked up at the airport and very early the next morning I was taken to where I had to meet my tour bus. Also, after I left I discovered that I had left my phone charger in the room. I contacted them and they were kind enough to take it to the hotel in San Jose where I would be staying in a few days.

It’s the best location to stay on your first night, especially if you arrive in the evening and don’t have an “all inclusive“ vacation booked; and best location for your last night in Costa Rica, due to the proximity to the airport. Be warned, the red taxis are really expensive and Uber drivers are allowed to drop you off at the airport, but are not allowed to pick you up from the airport. Most places that offer accommodation, also offer a pickup service from the airport. Take it. The closer to the airport, the cheaper they get; prices start at $5 and could get to $35, $40 US dollars , depending on the distance to the airport. Most rental cars offices are around the airport, so, look for a place to stay not too far away from the airport and one that offers drop off to a rental car office. If not, it’s always an Uber driver available. The closer to the airport, the better, for first and last night stay, because driving in the city could take a veeeeeery long time. If you have time, walk the streets of Alajuela, people are very friendly and ready to help. Be very careful, the water tranches along the pedestrian walkways, are very deep, and the holes on the uneven pavement are deep as well, but definitely go to the city’s fresh market; it is a very interesting experience. Make sure you calculate well the prices, from corones into dollars, lots of vendors will try to take advantage of you, if you don’t pay attention. You can pay in US dollars everywhere, except for buses (long distance or local buses); the dollar bills must be pristine, one little tear anywhere on the bill, will be refused. All in all is a nice city full of hustle and bustle, with lots of cars and people, with little parks with amazing trees, lots of perrots, delicious fresh fruits and gelatos

We did more in San Antonio than we expected to do. The church in the center of town was welcoming, and there are a lot of restaurants with good food and service. The bussing to other areas (San Jose and Heredia) is well marked and has an appropriate schedule. Plus, the area felt safe to walk after sunset. Because of its convivence, we extended our hotel stay to stay in the area, and only bussed to San Jose for the day.