The owner, Gaucho (I believe) was helpful and friendly. He offered me some of his homemade dinner and set me up with a taxi early in the morning to catch my flight the next day. The location is in a quiet safe neighborhood just a few minutes walk from downtown Alajuela. The house is modern and has his modern Art throughout the home. The upstairs rooftop balcony is a treat and offers great views. Very hospitable experience which I enjoyed and would love coming back again.
Casablanca delivers where chain hotels fail. If your looking for safe comfortable inexpensive place to experience the culture of Costa rica, here is your gateway. If you want an air-conditioned room to watch TV while raiding the minibar, go to Marriott.
Overpriced hostel, we booked a 2 bedroom suite with 2 king beds and a bunk bed, according to the decription. There was supposed to be an ensuite bath. They gave the 3rd floor dorm with no king bed in site. Charged us for the extra people in the party but did not provide towels or blankets for the extra people. It was clearly an office suite converted to a bunk bed room, still had the name of the office on the see thru glass door! The staff was trying to accommodate us but the description did not match the room at all!
They overbooked the hotel & sent us to another one downtown in a very loud area. No true windows so tons of bug bites, only cold water, gross, weird, nice guy working the front. We were the only people staying at this hotel for a reason
The stay was great. Ricardo was very helpful. We were unable to spot the hotel when we reached, Ricardo came to pick us up at a Central location. The house is new and clean. View from our bedroom was mesmerizing. Close to the airport, this was a good choice we made.