GRANDO DE ORO
FROM THE BEGINNING:
The Hotel Name? We were searching for a real name, with Costa Rican
identity, and "Grano de Oro" refers directly to the coffee bean.
Known in Costa Rica as the "grain of gold" despite of being such
a small fruit, coffee has represented one of the main economic activities
of the country. In the same way this hotel, compared to traditional
big hotel chains, is as small as a grain of coffee, but as important
to hospitality industry as coffee has been to the economy.
History:
The Hotel Grano de Oro is located in San José, in Barrio Don Bosco,
on street 30 between avenue 2 and 4, very close to Paseo Colón.
It was inaugurated in December 1991, consisting of 21 rooms, a gift
shop and a modest café type restaurant. The building originally
was a private residence belonging to the Pozuelo family and was
built around 1910, with tropical Victorian architecture.
A Canadian couple who frequented Costa Rica on vacation, decided
to venture into the hotel business; although they immensely enjoyed
the natural beauty of the country, they felt that within San Jose
there was no option of "boutique" style accommodations offering
a personalized service. With this concern and with the conviction
that they had a good business opportunity, not caring they had no
experience in the hospitality industry, they began to search for
a house that could be renovated to function as a hotel (fortunately
the family Pozuelo agreed to sell this house), and the adventure
began…
During the first year of operation the hotel did extremely well
and quickly gained recognition from local and international agencies
for offering great service. There are two historical events that
contribute to a massive influx of tourists to Costa Rica and consequently
helped the initial success of the hotel: the first in 1987 when
the President Oscar Arias was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, for
actions in pursuit of peace in Central American territory (which
for so many years had suffered serious conflicts). This international
recognition helped to raise awareness of the country within the
world, and was admired by millions of people in many countries for
being a Central American country and having survived without an
army all the while promoting peace. The second historic event was
the football World Cup Italia 90; our country not only qualified
for the first time in a World Cup, but also had an outstanding performance
winning two games. These two historical facts (the Nobel Prize and
the World Cup) placed Costa Rica as an exciting new tourist destination,
exotic and with an amazing biodiversity.
Many of the tourists coming to Costa Rica appreciated the service
presented by the Hotel Grano de Oro. Considering this successful
first year, the hotel owners decide to buy a second property (also
originally of the Pozuelo family), to carry out an expansion, which
was ready for the month of December 1994; with this renovation the
hotel jumped to having 34 rooms, as well as adding a terrace with
2 jacuzzis and a first extension of the restaurant was made. At
this time a positive evolution in the restaurant began to take shape
causing the decision to improve the restaurant in all aspects, new
dishes, an extended and more sophisticated menu, more kitchen and
restaurant staff to improve service. All this occurred of the hand
of the new chef Canal, who along with the hotel owners was determinate
to convert the restaurant in one of the best of the city.
Over the next 10 years the hotel continued to stand strong as one
of the best lodging options in San José, and the fame of its restaurant
made it not possible to serve all of the customers who wanted to
come to eat, especially the large number of local customers. Again
based on the situation a decision was made to work in the next phase
of the hotel: the owners bought yet another property next door (on
the corner, where the current restaurant is) and in 2005 the construction
of a beautiful building maintaining the original tropical Victorian
style of the original house began. Currently the new building houses
the restaurant, with 30 tables and a capacity for 108 people, a
beautiful terrace, a spacious bar, a wine cellar and a lounge as
well as 4 more hotel rooms. The remodeling was completed in May
of 2007, with a total of 6 new rooms, parking for up to 22 vehicles
an enlarged reception area and lobby. Shortly afterwards the gift
shop was remodeled too.
Since then and until now the Hotel Grano de Oro worked to please
its customers and is always looking to exceed their expectations.
Hotel Grano de Oro is a luxurious 3-star property set in a prime
location in the centre of San Jose. Local tourist attractions such
as Costa Rican Art Museum (Museo de Arte), Museum of Costa Rican
Art (Museo de Arte Costarricense) and Mercado Central are not far
from the hotel. Also easily within reach are Sabana Park, San Jose
Parque Central and Spirogyra Butterfly Garden.
Grano de Oro Situated on a shady street just off Paseo Colón, San
José's main thoroughfare, Hotel Grano de Oro is a true oasis, a
sanctuary in the heart of a bustling city. Converted from a Tropical
Victorian mansion, the hotel maintains the warmth and comfort of
a private home. The hotel's charming atrium terrace and corridors
have sparkling fountains and lush tropical planting, and rooftop
deck offers soothing Jacuzzis and a spot for secluded sunbathing.
The main restaurant at the Grano de Oro is one of San José's finest,
serving continental cuisine in a warm and intimate atmosphere. Service
is paramount and the perpetually smiling staff of the Grano de Oro
welcomes guests home time and again. Guests delight in the tranquil
ambiance of tropical plants and flowers found throughout the hotel.
Additionally, a rooftop garden terrace with lawn beds and Jacuzzi
provides blissful, secluded lounging.
Area information Distances are calculated in a straight line from
the property's location to the point of interest or attraction,
and may not reflect actual travel distance , time to drive varies.
Distances are displayed to the nearest 0. 1 mile and kilometre.
Museum
of Costa Rican Art - 0.7 km / 0.4 mi
Spirogyra
Butterfly Garden
- 1.1 km / 0.7 mi
Mercado
Central - 1.2 km / 0.8 mi
Sabana
Park
- 1.3 km / 0.8 mi
San
Jose Parque Central - 1.4 km / 0.9 mi
San
Jose Cathedral - 1.5 km / 0.9 mi
Children's
Museum - 1.6 km / 1 mi
Gold
Museum - 1.7 km / 1.1 mi
National
Theater - 1.7 km / 1.1 mi
Plaza
de la Cultura - 1.7 km / 1.1 mi
Costa
Rica National Stadium - 1.8 km / 1.1 mi
La
Salle Natural Science Museum - 1.9 km / 1.2 mi
Morazan Park - 1.9 km / 1.2 mi
Jade Museum - 2.1 km / 1.3 mi
Parque Espana - 2.1 km / 1.3 mi
Near Museum of Costa Rican Art
The preferred airport for Hotel Grano de Oro is San Jose (SJO-Juan
Santamaria Intl.) - 14.2 km / 8.8 mi.
We would like to mention that Grano de Oro has successfully completed
the hotel expansion, which includes:
-
Six new deluxe rooms (for a total of 40 rooms and suites)
-
A new reception and lobby area
-
Anew restaurant and bar
-
Two salons for special events with capacity for 16 and 40 people
-
Private parking
Also:
-
We have now completed the process of remodeling all the hotel
rooms. This includes new color schemes and fabrics, and new floors
in some of the rooms. We also changed our mattresses to imported
mattresses of the best technology available in the international
marker.
-
Free internet access will be offered in all the rooms
-
We are introducing a new category called "deluxe king"; rooms
in this category will have 1 king bed, in order to accommodate
the clients that request this bed size.
We would also like to inform you that Hotel Grano de Oro will donate
$5 from each room sold to "Casa Luz", a shelter for teenage mothers
(who have been victims of sexual abuse and exploitation) and their
children.
Finally, we are proud to share with you that for 2 consecutive years
(2006 & 2007), the Hotel Grano de Oro was selected by Travel & Leisure
Magazine as one of the best 500 hotels in the world, and by prestigious
publication Condé Nast Traveler as one of the best 15 hotels in
Central America and Mexico.
We want to thank Adventure and Dive Tours of Costa Rica and Costa
Rica Deluxe Tours for your support since 1987 and to assure you
we stand by our commitment to continue to provide an outstanding
product and an excellent experience when your clients stay with
us at the Grano de Oro.
Sincerely,
Marco Montoya
Hotel Manager |