Hotel Bougainvillea

Set among 10 acres of lush gardens, the unique and comfortable Hotel Bougainvillea  is a place where guests can truly experience the world famous beauty of Costa Rica, just 15 minutes from San José downtown and 20 minutes from the airport.

Our large and bright rooms harmonize with the tastefully decorated lobby, restaurant, and common areas.  Original pieces of Costa Rican art complement our stunning landscaped tropical gardens dominated by tall trees, plentiful flowers, ponds and mountain views. In Hotel Bougainvillea we offer you the chance to enjoy our country from the first minute of your vacation.

Located in a quiet residential neighborhood in Santo Domingo de Heredia, Costa Rica, Hotel Bougainvillea features 81 hotel rooms within a short 20-minute ride from the San Jose International Airport. Amidst the typical coffee farms of Santo Domingo, the hotel rooms are distributed in 4 Junior suites and 77 Standard Mountain View rooms.

Hotel Bougainvillea has the charm of a family owned and operated hotel. Every detail of the hotel and restaurant is personally supervised by owner Hans van der Wielen, who brought his experience and style when he came to Costa Rica in 1961.

A real value for family vacationing, honeymooners, business men or special interest groups alike, Hotel Bougainvillea’s home-like feeling and staff warmth make a harmonious combination of relaxation and office extension.

Well deserving of its reputation for top standards, guest services and an eye for detail, the Hotel Bougainvillea truly sets itself apart from the rest. Featuring 81 rooms, facilities include an inviting lobby and an extended aura of delicate European charm.

Just off the lobby, the Hotel Bougainvillea offers you the graceful charm of our Vitrales Restaurant and Bar; serving continental, international, and Costa Rican cuisine to the delight of our guests. The atmosphere is unperturbed, with friendly and superb service.

Our maitre d’ hotel seats our guests in a tastefully decorated dining room, either at a front window table or at a table with views of softly-lighted paintings of traditional Costa Rican scenery—on tile, in oils and watercolors.

Before you read the menu for the larger meals of the day, we would like you to know how carefully we consider the health of our guests by taking into account the nutritional value and balance of the meals we prepare. The quality of our clean water is regularly monitored by a laboratory. We can assure our guests that the water at the hotel is completely safe to drink, as it is drawn from our own well some 150 meters (nearly 500 feet) deep originated in a forested watershed area.

Breakfast:  enjoy our buffet breakfast while looking at many spectacular native birds right outside the window facing the gardens. Our buffet breakfast offers a wide variety of tropical fruit and local Costa Rican delicacies. You can also order à la carte one of the local specialties: gallo pinto, (being this the traditional dish for Costa Ricans breakfast, consisting of rice and beans) or huevos rancheros. (ranch-style eggs cooked in a rich tomato sauce and served with warm corn tortillas) Renowned, fresh, Costa Rican coffee comes in three different varieties: Regular Dark Roast, Espresso, and Decaffeinated.

Lunch:  at mid-day we offer our Menú del Día, which is a 3-course meal. Nonetheless, there is also lighter fare as the Bougainvillea salad or hearts of palm salad. Fresh salmon is flown in from Chile, while corvina (sea bass) is a favorite Costa Rican fish. Bougainvillea chefs enjoy preparing Costa Rican food like the regional vegetable dish called Casado Vegetariano. (Rice, black beans, tomato, avocado, and plantain fried in vegetable oil, two types of vegetables and a tortilla topped with beans and white cheese)

Dinner:  in the evening, ceviche is a light and popular dish which can be served as an appetizer: delight in this corvina marinated in fresh lemon and cilantro. Local beers, Chilean, American and European wines go along perfectly with your meal either at you table or in the adjacent bar. You may also find Costa Rican Güaro among the best recommended liquors. This local spirit made from sugar cane can be drank straight or mixed into a güaro sour. After coffee, you might enjoy some golden cream liquor Café Rica, made from Costa Rican coffee.

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