Inca Real Hotel

comfortable local find on a budget

The Inca Real is located in a block with a lot of other Hotels in Barrio Amon and ironically if you look in most guidebooks you will see the hotels listed which surround it (like the Brittania, The Pangea, and the Dunn Inn.) but it will not be listed. When I stayed there the rate of the moment was 45USD per night. The rooms are situated to face an indoor courtyard which is inside the building and shielded from the elements. While this is charming (and well decorated with glass and plants) it is a bit noisy. One thing that I noticed all over Costa Rica is that walls are thin no matter where you stay. You can hear everything happening in the other rooms at all hours. (Also Costa Rica is a major sexual tourism destination because prostitution is legal there). I'm sure that you can put two and two together and realize what I am trying to get at. The unfortunate reality is that you are going to encounter this wherever you lodge and since the Inca Real is a family hotel you have less of this there than there is at other hotels. What is a problem is all of the noise coming through from people milling about in the lobby. The good thing is that the bed is pretty comfortable and the room is a good size. You get full cable and there is a free WiFi connection. In the lobby there are two computers with Internet access for those without laptops but you have to pay for it (this doesn't really make sense to me but, again, they make their own rules in CR. ) Breakfast is included but it is meager. I'm talking about a couple peices of fruit, a glass of juice, and some toast with jam. Still, you can't complain too much because the room is clean and at this rate, with the amenities offered you can't beat this price in CR.

Unique Quality: Each room has windows but since your front door opens up to the inside of the building your windows face out to the lobby as well. An opaque sun roof lets in sheilded light from the sun and there are a number of potted trees in the lobby giving you the impression that you are outside. There is a travel agency and a gift shop on the first floor and they create the illusion that your rooms are looking down on a street scene outdoors. The rooms on the 3rd floor are the least noisy. The staff is really nice and helpful. The only problem that I had with them was when I decided to stay for about 3 weeks after a trip I made to the beach in Samara and they acted as if they were not used to people staying for such a long time. They kept asking me to pay the bill every few days or so and seemed to be worried that I would skip out on them in the middle of the night or something. That was annoying.