Courtyard by Marriott San Jose Airport Alajuela — Hotel in Río Segundo

After spending a wonderful week exploring all of the beauty and friendliness of Costa Rica and their people, we needed to get close to the airport AND get a COVID test to return to the states. The Courtyard satisfied these requirements, and we are loyal Marriott Bonvoy users plus Marriott Vacation Club owners plus Marriott credit card users. On our arrival day we were directed to their mobile app to check-in, and that was okay until we arrived and tried to get to our room without going to the front desk. That was a a disaster. Couldn't get the app to work on any door or elevator, and the staff was unable and not interested in figuring out why. They gave us a room key and that worked well. Our COVID test was scheduled for the wrong day: 5PM the next (checkout) day instead of 5PM the day we arrived. Did anyone think it odd that we would want a COVID test 8 hours after we had checked out and five hours after the plane left the airport? Fortunately the staff was able to get a doctor in that evening at 6, so we got our onsite test. The results came back in about 2 hours, but since they misspelled our names the results were of no use. Again, fortunately the staff was able to contact the doctor and get the spelling corrected, but the online United check-in app was just as poorly designed as the Marriott app and once they reject a test result you can't fix it. So we had to cross our fingers and hope we could get it fixed at the airport. We had a glass of wine which was half the size we had been served everywhere else in the country and twice as expensive. The website said there was a breakfast menu so the next day we went down for breakfast only to be told there was no menu, only a very expensive buffet. Frustrated, we decided to try something nearby and with a little effort we found a nice little local place about five minutes away where we were served a delicious breakfast with juice and coffee at about 1/3 the buffet price, and the service was excellent. The bottom line: Costa Rica is a beautiful place with beautiful and polite and friendly people just waiting to serve you and please you. Try the boutique hotels, try the small 'Soda' restaurants, and only use the big US corporate hotels and restaurants when...

I didn't planned to stay at the Courtyard San José. I missed my flight so I was forced to get a room. The reservation process was smooth and easy. The reception was quickly but we some lack of information about membership to the Marriott's Program. I got an upgrade to an executive suit which wasn't requested but grateful. I spent just one night and I took dinner outside the hotel so I can express my opinion only about a few things. The room was excellent. Bigger than common rooms, with free spaces, good furniture distribution and a comfortable bed. The bathroom was a little better than standard but probably would be superlative with a bathtub (this is just a wish :-)) Regarding the working area, I was enough for a laptop and a few papers beside the TV but would be even better if the desk had more space. It's not a complain, but a suggestion. Finally the overall hotel comfort was better than expected, except for the fact that it's close to the airport but far from the city and taking in mind we are talking about San José, this is a problem because of the traffic jams. The only meal I took at the hotel was breakfast, and it was good enough but with a limited offering of food. I was prefer to have more fruits than banana and apple, but again in an overall rating I was good. My final opinion is that it is a better than standard hotel. The positive key points are room space (executive rooms), bathroom space, and closely to the airport (for those to need to be in the area of the airport). The negative key points are the lack of some options at the breakfast and the closely to the airport (for me that are going for work at...

Our short stay was ok. As expected. We had some hours free in the afternoon, time for a short visit tot San Jose. We were advised not to take the bus, because not reliable, but to take a taxi. We asked the reception to order a taxi. What they did.We asked to order a taxi. We were astonished that a hotel regularly asks this question and therefore has a sustainable partnership with that society, so trust. However, we were scammed. I certainly see our part in that, namely too much trust. We arranged a round trip engagement and we paid at the end of the round trip both trips. However, we were not allowed to pay in dollars and the taxi driver led us to an ATM to collect colones and charged us that we had to collect 300,000 colones. We certainly should have reacted more alertly, but the confidence was there. Converted we paid 450 dollars! In addition: the man did not pick us up to get back to the hotel and we had to book and pay for another taxi, which, given the traffic and flooding, took more than 2 hours to drive, but we were charged a reasonable sum of 40 dollars. Conclusion: don't be as naive as we were, we assume good people, also in Costa Rica (= our responsibility) . @ Mariot: provide reliable partners in your network - that is stated in the mission (=responsability of...