Hotel Palma Real — Hotel in Mata Redonda

I stayed in PALMA REAL HOTEL AND CASINO in Costa Rica November 12th till November 17th 2020. I booked a junior suite in this hotel for 5 nights and paid $449.51.

I arrived to this hotel after a long flight and checked in to the room but had to leave for an appointment. When I came back from my appointment and about to go to bed around 10:30 pm at night I saw bugs crawling all over the bed head board, so I went down stairs to the reception desk to complain about the bugs the agent told me that he has to call the hotel GM and he did, then the hotel GM told him to go and check it out as if he didn't believe me, so the agent went with me to the room to check the bugs that I am complaining about. He saw the bugs and wipe it out with his hand that was already very dirty, then he told me it is gone now!!. I told him it is not gone as I can still see bugs crawling, at this time I demanded him to call the GM to move me to another room. He called the GM and he told him that he will be on his way to the hotel. I waited for this GM till almost 12 am and I am extremely exhausted from a long flight and a very long day. The hotel GM arrived and wanted to look at my room AGAIN, then he told me this is nothing what do you expect this is Costa Rica!!. I told him I paid a lot of money for this room so I need to move rooms as I can't sleep in a room that has bugs crawling like this. He told me that he only has another room that is dirty and not cleaned yet, now it is almost 1 am in the morning of the next day and I am still awake. I moved to the room after he touched up the room (not cleaned) as I was very tired and just want to sleep. When I woke up next morning, I found this room is WORST than my first room. I found bugs crawling on the kitchen counter where the cups, coffee machine and the ice tray is. Also, on the mini bar, the bathtub, the toilet as well as all over the bathroom sink counter (VIDEO ATTACHED). I went to the front desk AGAIN to complain and ask for my money back so I can leave as this is too much to handle and it seems that this hotel is VERY DIRTY and FULL OF BUGS. The GM talked to me in a very UNPLEASANT, UNPROFESSIONAL way, he told me that I complain a lot and he will not give me my money back. He told me again that this is Costa Rica and what do you expect. He became very HOSTILE with me and told me to do whatever I need to do but he is not refunding me back a dime. At this moment I felt hostage that I can't just walk away from almost $500 and was very worried about my well-being with him being very hostile towards me. I came back home and had to throw away all my cloths as I didn't want to bring any kind of bugs to my house. I traveled all over the world but never ever in my life had to go through such a horrible experience.

At the end I stayed in a room full of bugs for 5 nights and treated with disrespect from this hotel GM and didn't even get a dime as a refund nor an apology.

I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL TO ANYONE. DON'T STAY...

This hotel was very reasonably priced for what you get. It was a good experience for the price. If you are used to staying at a five star resort then this may not be for you. However, if you are looking for an economical place to stay, that is also clean and somewhat modern this is a good place. It is located about 20 min from the airport and only about 10 min to the downtown San Jose area. The rooms are not dirty, but are not newly renovated looking. They could use a little updating. It is advertised that there is AC. However, it felt more like a fan blowing cool air out of the unit. So if you like a very cold room you may be disappointed, but it's not hot. You can open the room windows to get fresh air as well. The hotel concierge Javier was wonderful! He booked all of our day trips, greeted us every morning, and always looked out for us. He speaks English and that was also helpful as we asked a lot of questions about the area and the day trips. The full breakfast each morning was decent especially for the price of the stay. The restaurant prices for lunch and dinner were reasonably priced as well. Overall, this is a very decent hotel for the price. We knew we just needed somewhere clean and safe to stay for 7 days in the evenings because we spent each day out of the room. I would say this hotel met our expectations. For the low price, you also get free Wi-Fi, and free breakfast. Our wi-fi worked well each day from the room. The casino is a plus if you gamble. It is small, but it is a casino. There is also a fitness center. There is no pool on site, but if you choose to swim you can use the pool at the apartments next door. It is a...

The service and amenities are good and the restaurant prices are more than fair. Free full breakfast buffet in the mornings is pretty standard for San Jose hotels and the one here is right in line with others I've experienced. Though try to get there on the earlier side. Later in the mornings it can get a little stale.

There are only a couple of disappointing things about this hotel.

The photos on the website are not very representative of what you get with a standard room. I'm sure the rooms in the photos are in the hotel, but standard rooms are about half the size and have only a safe and a small mini fridge with items for purchase. The room was clean and well stocked though, I can't knock it.

In street level rooms you are right next to the Casino entrance, which can be a bit loud when it closes (around 3 am). Bring some rest plugs.

All-in-all this is a good hotel that worked very well for me. The staff is very attentive and everyone I met here went out of their way to help me whenever I needed it, and stayed out of my way when I didn't.

I would stay here again if I needed a room in the La Sabana area, though I might request a room away from the Casino...