Hotel Bougainvillea may be right in the heart of Heredia, one of the large metropolitan cities in the Central Valley, but it is a favorite among locals and tourists alike.
With its beautiful botanical gardens, full of vibrant tropical flowers, trees and plants, Hotel Bougainvillea is more than just your typical hotel.
If you’re looking for a hotel in Heredia, this is an excellent choice.
Read our review to learn more or click here to check rates.
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Hotel Bougainvillea Quick Glance
- 20 minutes from San Jose International Airport (no free airport shuttle)
- Has standard rooms for up to 4 people
- Has on-site spa, restaurant, gardens, free parking
- Popular among Costa Ricans for weddings
- Offers a day pass
Property
The entire property is fairly large with a swimming pool, tennis courts, gym, mini spa, business center and 4 hectares (9.88 acres) of gardens and trails.
You can say it’s like a hotel in a botanical garden instead of the other way around!
Besides the beautiful flowers intricately placed around the hotel, there are also displays of unique gems and stones.
The combination makes the entire hotel very pleasing to the eye, and very refreshing the moment you step into the lobby.
The Rooms
We stayed in a mountain view room with two full beds and a balcony on the second floor.
From the balcony we had a view of the city and the Central Valley mountains.
Our room had plenty of space with a closet, small sitting table and chairs, a desk and more chairs on the patio.
It was relaxing to sit outside people watching and listening to the thunderstorms. Very clean, comfortable and spacious.
The Botanical Garden
The highlight of the hotel is obviously the garden.
We spent a whole morning wandering the trails, bird watching and butterflies and checking out the many different plants, trees and flowers.
You can see why this is a favorite for locals to get married, it’s such a picturesque spot!
Many visitors purposefully choose to stay at Hotel Bougainvillea in order to visit their gardens to bird watch.
Lots of birders add birds to their list after a stay at the hotel, especially since it’s only 20 minutes from San Jose International Airport.
Thoughts
We had a great time at Hotel Bougainvillea and loved that it wasn’t too far or too close to the city.
For those reasons, this is especially a good choice for travelers who aren’t renting a car.
Travelers can call an Uber to explore San Jose and the cities in the Central Valley easily.
The breakfast buffet is excellent, the views are beautiful and it’s a great place to go where the locals go.
I recommend getting a garden view room. It’s a bit more expensive but it’s worth it.
The mountain view is nice but you hear all the cars and honking all day and night.
Melanie says
My uncle and aunt took me to the Hotel Bougainvillea for lunch today and mentioned that they had “a nice garden,” too. Lunch was delicious (I had the Costa Rican Tipico lunch with the vegetarian option, which was huge and delicious, but there is also the choice of adding chicken, meat, etc).
After lunch, they asked if I would like to see the garden, and I said, “Sure.” WOW. This is much more than just “a garden!” It was a beautifully landscaped inspiration with mysterious winding trails, tall trees, and stunning flowers, including many types of orchids, begonias, zinnias like you have never seen before, and many more incredible flowers and plants of which I don’t know the names. There was a tower one can climb up for a lovely view from above. Very special and I totally recommend it. You don’t need to be a guest at this hotel to just drive in, enjoy lunch, and then explore this wonderful place.
Sammi says
Yes we will one day! Once we’ve tried more places 🙂 We also have a short aerial video of Los Lagos, Yeison’s neighborhood in Heredia you can check out!
Todd says
Good to see some coverage of Heredia, my hometown too.
You should do an article on good places to eat in San Jose and Heredia.
Thanks,
Todd
John @ Pretravels says
This is definitely my kind of hotel and vacation! I love gardens and botanical gardens are like a small heaven to me. Not to mention that the hotel has such an impressive property!
Sammi says
I hope you can visit it one day! It is lovely!