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Hotel overview

Situated in vibrant San José, the capital of Costa Rica, and in the quiet residential area of Uruca, sits the Barceló San José. This recently renovated hotel offers 254 spacious and comfortable rooms, three restaurants, a bar with live music, an outdoor swimming pool, fitness area, wonderful views of the city and mountains, and more. For those seeking a more elevated experience, our Premium Level accommodations offer private check-in, our best rooms with the best views, priority restaurant reservations, personalized concierge service, and more. This hotel serves as a convenient base for exploring San José including La Sabana Metropolitan Park or national museum of Costa Rica, or venturing further to the country’s sandy beaches and lush tropical rainforests. Business travelers can take advantage of up to 17 fully equipped meeting rooms and a convention center with a 1,100 person capacity. Live up to more at Barceló San José.

Location

San Jose
Liberia, Costa Rica - Liberia (LIR)
San Jose, Costa Rica - Juan Santamaria Internation : 15 miles

Property information

Year Built: 1990
All rooms non-smoking: 254
Floors: 8
Total rooms: 254

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Hotel details

Dining

Dining options are available for this property.
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Amenities

Multiple amenities are available at this hotel.
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Activities

This property offers numerous activities.
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Hotel advisories

Advisory *Important Information for Our Guest* As of April 2012, the destination of Costa Rica has gone non-smoking in all public buildings and areas. All hotel rooms are also non-smoking.
Advisory *Important Note* Costa Rica will impose some restrictions for Holy Week. Alcohol is not permitted to be sold or consumed. This ban on alcohol starts the Thursday prior to Easter and runs through Easter Sunday. A few hotels purchase special permits to serve alcohol, but generally it is not available. In addition, most restaurants, shops, and bars will be closed for the same time period. Restaurants in the hotels will be operating. The City Tour will not be operating.

General policies & fine print

Check In: 2:00 PM
Check Out: 12:00 PM
Minimum Check-In Age: 18
General Policies:

Check-in Policy - Hotel requires a credit/debit card authorization or cash deposit upon check-in for incidentals; this will place a hold on your funds.

Convention Policy - Individuals attending a convention cannot book this property for their stay. If found attending a convention, guests may be subject to higher room rates upon arrival.

Hotel Spring Break Policy - This hotel cannot guarantee a Spring Break-free environment.

General Information - Room taxes are included in vacation price. Minimum night stay restrictions may apply. Reservation changes may not be permitted unless authorized by the hotel.

Service Charges - Maid: per room, per night, payable directly to the hotel.
Bellman: per person, per stay, payable directly to the hotel.
Pet Policy Pets Not Allowed

Ratings & reviews

TripAdvisor traveler rating

TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_4.0 3038 reviews
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 5.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Hotel Barcelo San Jose

    Very nice hotel. We enjoyed our stay there. Would stay there again if we go back to San Jose. The hotel is beautiful and the gardens and pool area are very nice. There is a restaurant by the pool area and although we didn't eat there, we did ear at one to the other two restaurants at the hotel and food was very good.

    Apr 22, 2025
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 1.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Dismal service and product standards

    Check in by Lucia was great as she is nice and efficient. The bellman and all the lobby security guards were not happy or nice. Our room was spacious and the bed and linen were comfortable. The coffee maker was very dirty. The bathroom had mildew and mold, caulking was bad, towels were old and tattered, toiletries were dismal. When you take a shower, the floor gets flooded as shower door is defective. Room WiFi is very weak. The lush gardens were beautiful but the pool was very cold. We had lunch at Anfora and the food was dismal especially the fried plantains that were as hard as a rock. Server Javier rudely lectured us that it is Caribbean style. We ate at several Sodas or local restaurants and the food and service were great. Our transfer in was poorly managed by Charlie and he rudely told us to wait 2 hours at the airport. I also engaged Juan, Erick and Kevin and they all said to wait 2 hours. A very nice taxi driver Pablo helped us get to the hotel. I asked for the General Manager and they said he went home already and cannot be contacted. Our transfer out was at 4am and the sleepy driver was reckless and rude. The night clerk and bellman were also rude. The hotel is nice but the service is dismal. Employees look very unhappy, disengaged and not guest focused. This reflects poorly on the hotel leadership especially the General Manager.

    Apr 17, 2025
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 5.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Always my 1 choice when in San Jose

    Great rooms comfortable bed, amazing food and buffet. Love to look at San Jose (stadium) from the room, and the privacy of having a balcony in the room.

    Apr 08, 2025
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 1.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Too slow

    Check in took 50 minutes with 10 unfortunates standing behind us. One overwhelmed check in girl at 5:00 on Friday! Looks like the restaurant people are trained to be extra slow too. Eating dinner was a 90 minute ordeal.

    Mar 31, 2025
  • TRI_LOGO_ANCILLARY_ 2.0 star tripadvisor rating
    Rude Staff, hotel need improvement

    Outdated rooms. Bathroom needs improvements. Found hair in the bath. Staff extremely rude in the VIP salon on the executive floor. Need to go several time to the front desk to reactivate the card.

    Mar 31, 2025