Hotel Don Carlos, A Center of Costa Rican Art

Everywhere you look in the Hotel Don Carlos you will find art. Here an ornate wrought-iron lamp and lattice work set off this colorful stain glass window.

by Michael Miller

(January, 2015)

Hotel Don Carlos, A Center of Costa Rican Art.

If you are fortunate enough to spend some time in Downtown San José, you should make it a point to walk around Barrio Amon.  This is the neighborhood that extends from immediately behind the high-rise Holiday Inn Hotel, north to the Rio Torres.

One of the landmarks of the Barrio Amon neighborhood is the venerable Hotel Don Carlos, formerly a collection of three private homes that have been joined together to become a popular boutique hotel.  Locals and expats stop at the Don Carlos often.  Why? Well, one reason is because it is a great repository of Costa Rican art.

Fountains, oil paintings, statues and other works of art are found throughout the common areas of the Hotel Don Carlos.

Hotel Don Carlos is a place where San José residents proudly bring their out-of-town guests when they want to show off the finer side of the capital city.  The fact that it also has a pleasant cafe and a lovely gift shop, make it a fine place to visit.

Everywhere you turn in the hotel, you will see beautiful works of art.  The walls are filled with oil paintings, there are statues scattered in the public areas, there are hand painted tiles, replicas of pre-columbian stone carvings, elaborate wrought-iron lamps, beautiful stain-glass windows and there are even several coffee tables made from brightly painted wheels of Costa Rican oxen carts.

This comfortable room features a coffee table made from a wheel of a Costa Rican oxen cart. Another is on the wall with an oxen yoke above it. These traditional oxen carts are proud examples of folk art from the Costa Rican countryside.

It is not just the inside of the Hotel Don Carlos that features works of art.  Outside, there are statues greeting visitors as they walk in the front door.  And there is a series of hand-painted tiles depicting Costa Rican scenes of country life that are attached to the hotel’s north wall, along Avenida 9.   (Check out our story about the hand-painted tiles of Barrio Amon.)

"The Conversation," one of several works at the Hotel Don Carlos by sculptor Luis Enrique Castillo.

Most (but not all) of the art is from Costa Rican artists.  And the best thing about the Don Carlos collection, you can view it for free.

Hotel Don Carlos is located on the corner of Avenida 9 and Calle 9, diagonally across from another historic hotel, the Hemingway Inn.

Barrio Amon is a neighborhood that is rich in history and filled with beautiful old homes.  In the early 1900’s, Barrio Amon was the most fashionable section of San José. This neighborhood is where many wealthy Costa Rican families (and well-to-do immigrants) built their “town houses.”

Along the central stairway at Hotel Don Carlos you will see art everywhere.

Today, after decades of neglect and disrepair, Barrio Amon is undergoing a renaissance.  Old homes are being renovated; new restaurants are appearing; art galleries are popping up; a sophisticated wine shop has opened; and there is even a late-night jazz club.

The Hotel Don Carlos has been a vital part of Barrio Amon since the 1940’s.  And it is still a place you should visit.

Hotel Don Carlos, a landmark in the Barrio Amon neighborhood, sits on the corner of Avenida 9 and Calle 9.

San José is a city filled with surprises. The Hotel Don Carlos is one of the great treasures of the real San José.

Michael Miller is the author of the first and only guide book that focuses on Downtown San José, Costa Rica, titled The Real San José. Paperback copies are available for sale at selected retail outlets in San José.  An electronic version of The Real San José is available at Amazon/Kindle.  To access it, click here.

Your questions and comments are always welcomed. You can contact Michael directly by email: therealsanjose@gmail.com You can see additional stories that Michael has written about Downtown San José at his website:  TheRealSanJose.com