schriste

I don't understand why 2 people have said that. Compared to a resort property on the beach... well ok mabey... but for a city hotel it is a very nice and large pool with a waterfall and second kiddy pool below.

GregWTravels

I suppose I am comparing it against other resort properties I have stayed at in Central America and the Caribbean. As compared to a hotel in a city, it was an average size, but as compared to other resorts in Central America, I found it small.

...and no swim up bar either.

craz

just got back from CR and spent 2 days at the LS.

Its a beautiful place just leaves you feeling as if you're at some resort in the States, but beats everything else out for MILES, heck the BW in Jaco is probably 2nd best and thats wosre then a Motel 6.

A few short-comings. 1-No adult swimming pool, the water was less then waist high on me (Im 6'2") and the kids all around took away from being to just relax in the pool. 2- No Hot Tub at all, after a full day of touring be it a RainForrest or Canopy Tour, I really needed and wanted to relax the body by sitting in a hot tub. 3- It would have been nice if there were Hammocks around just to relax and watch a beautiful sunset. 4- If you arent a Plat be preparred to wait & wait & wait for your preassigned room. That happened to a friend who tagged along. I got my room 1-2-3 and when I asked about a different room type was offerred 1 w/o a balcony so I kept what I had. My friend who was preassigned a reg King room was told it would take another 1hr. OK we got there at 2pm and offical check-in is at 4pm. Dropped everything in my room and we waited , the hr passed and was told 15 mins more, then another 10 then another 15. Well the room was finally ready just under 2 hrs, 1 hr later then told but a few mins before the offical check-in time. The problem was them telling us NOTHING else was available, DUH! what about the other available room you offered me w/o the balcony, prob was that was an Ocean view so its an upgrade from the room type booked. Now the place was FAR from booked out. So be prepared to have to wait it out or get there as close to the Offical 4pm check=in time as possible.

The gym had top brand new equipment but besides that and CLEAN spotless changing rooms and a sauna , nothing else. Didnt Golf so cant commment on that. I guess the problem was I was expecting alot more, ther biggest disappointment was no Hot Tub and Adult Pool.

craz

Flew from SJO tonight, was given a Tico Times (local English paper). There was an article that Marriott will be breaking ground to build a JW Marriott up in the Guanacaste area of the country. To be completed by 12/07. Seems to be a Resort.

This would be Marriotts 1st Hotel up in the North part of CR. Which is the same area that The 4 Seasons has recently opened a Hotel in.

eduboys

Sounds like a great place to snatch a 7 day reward stay when it opens up!

sugrfree

We are going to stay at the Los Suenos Marriott in Costa Rica, and was wondering if we will need a rental car?! Please advise

socrates

Cabs are available at the bellstand (you can prepay the hotel for them as well)...it's also easy to call the hotel from town to have them send a cab back....I was there for a week and didn't rent a car (roads from SJO to the hotel are TERRIBLE)

snorkmaster

If you discount the incredibly thick fog, narrow winding road, mud/treeslide that took 2 hours for some enterprising drivers to clear, and the SUV-swallowing pothole that gave us a flat, we thought the road down from SJO was just fine.

Perhaps I've driven too much on poor Central and South American roads, but I thought the road conditions were manageable, and wouldn't let them deter me from renting a car again. With that said, I don't think I'd drive down to the coast in the night and/or poor weather conditions again.

SanDiego1K

I wouldn't want to be without a car. We liked driving down to Quepos and Manuel Antonio Park. There's lots to see and do (and an airplane under whose wing you can eat) that you can easily access with a car. Otherwise, you are isolated in a hotel compound that could be anywhere in the world.

kersie

My husband and I will be staying here one night as we kick off our Costa Rica trip -- after a 5 hour flight, we're just not ready to move onto our first destination. After longish flights, we often like to go for a massage to settle in. Anybody tried the spa here?

cargo13

There are several Marriott options in San Jose/Costa Rica area---Los Suenos is 1+ hours outside the city on the western coast. Spa is good--staff is well trained. Its easy to get to from San Jose pre or post flight. In addition to the Marriott San Jose (which is across the street from offices of British American Tobacco), there is a Courtyard a bit further from the airport, off the highway. They have a shuttle bus to/from the airport. I remember the Courtyard being substantially less expensive than the Marriott but both are new, clean, with good staffs.

travelexpert

Just stayed over President's day weekend. Decidedly mixed impression. Fabulous pool--especially for kids. Service average, rooms bland (and definitelly not worth $300/night). Adjacent beach is pathetic. Buffet breakfast very ordinary, food overall mediocre. Great fruit in Costa Rica--but hotel's smoothies are made from syrups (and awful)!

You must visit Manuel Antonio Park. It's about 1.25 hour drive from the hotel. We rented a driver for the day at the hotel tour desk--$30/hour, 8 hours minimum. At the Park we hired an excellent guide--three hours for $60.

Best dinner was at El Pelican--just a five minute taxi ride from the hotel. Outdoor--excellent fish--go early for faster service (6.45 pm). Worst meal--El Galeon in the Los Suenos complex. Overpriced, average food.

kersie

Unfortunately Los Suenos sends us the wrong direction since we are just using our one night stay at the Marriott San Jose as a bridge between our flight and the rest of our Costa Rica vacation and are heading out the next day. We've opted to do our spa thing at the next place we are staying as we've definitely heard good things about the spa there and haven't really heard anything about Marriott San Jose. Thanks for the input!

kersie

Has anybody successfully used the shuttle service from the airport. Given the inability of some people to find it, I was going to call the hotel, but wondered if anybody had already successfully pulled this off.

sjk616

From my recollection of my trip to Costa Rica 2 years ago,the Marriott shuttle was just outside Arrivals area ...no calls were needed on my part...