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Grano de Oro

  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
  • Grano de Oro
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An atmospheric and elegant converted colonial mansion offers luxurious rooms in one of central San José's most stylish buildings.

The delightful Grano de Oro oozes charm on a quiet, tree-lined street just off the capital’s main thoroughfare. It occupies a converted turn-of-the-century mansion. The corridors are decorated with period photographs and paintings by local artists, and the interior courtyards are studded with tropical plants and fountains.

All the guest rooms and suites are different in size, shape and layout: each individually decorated with wrought iron beds, works of art and locally handcrafted furnishings.

There is a rooftop deck area with a secluded garden, hot tub and an independently-run spa. The restaurant has the reputation as being one of the best in San José and offers the option to take meals in the tropical courtyard, the sunroom or the intimate dining room.

Bartolome, Galápagos

What our clients say

  • A brilliant mixture of hotels. Excellent standard and great service. Beautiful settings and well located. 

    LW, NW11 Aug 2011
  • Everything was organised like clockwork but without feeling intrusive.  The whole itinerary fully met our needs with fabulous hotels and some really exiting journeys.  The flight from Punta Islita being…

    LD, Harpenden Jun 2013
  • Highlight?: This is difficult! We loved Tortuga Lodge, Bosque de Paz and Aguila de Osa Inn. Made new friends who we will remain in contact.

    MG, Uckfield Apr 2017
  • Highlight? We did a night hike in Monteverde and saw snakes, sloths, owls.

    SW, London Feb 2020
  • Everything was good.  An unexpected highlight was the chocolate tour to the local conservation chocolate plantation in Sarapiqui.

    DS, Coventry Jan 2017
  • Great mix of high adrenaline and chilled activities to suit all the family.

    JS, London Feb 2016
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Our Expert's Opinion

Hannah
Hannah Waterhouse - Travel Expert

Hannah had an early introduction to Latin America when her family moved to Ecuador and she returned to study in Buenos Aires for a year before backpacking across the continent.

Papagaio

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Bartolome, Galápagos

Meet our team

Real Latin american experts

  • Charlotte
    Charlotte Daubeney - Travel Expert

    Charlotte's fascination with Latin America began with a family holiday to Belize. She went on to study Spanish in school and at university before spending a year living in Santiago, Chile.

  • Juliet
    Juliet Ellwood - Travel Expert

    After graduating with a degree in Anthropology and History and having been fascinated by Latin America since childhood by the book featuring photos of Nazca, Juliet first visited the region in 2003. Since then, Juliet has visited the majority of countries in Latin America but has particularly extensive experience with Peru, a country she loves for many reasons but not least, its incredible archaeological richness and delicious food!

  • Paul Winrow Giffin
    Paul Winrow-Giffin - Travel Expert

    After graduating in Computer Science, Paul spent seven months travelling from Colombia to Argentina and came home hooked on Latin America.

  • Hannah
    Hannah Donaldson - Travel Expert

    Having spent part of her childhood in Colombia and worked in Brazil and Costa Rica, Hannah's ties to Latin America run deep. Hannah is a much valued Travel Expert in our Tailor-made Holidays and Group Tours sales team.

  • Sallly
    Sally Dodge - Travel Expert

    A former Journey Latin America tour leader, Sally spent 7 years working, travelling and living throughout Latin America before returning to the UK to help people arrange their own adventures to this wonderful destination.

  • Maggie
    Maggie Wilson - Travel Expert

    Maggie visited Latin America on her first backpacking trip when she was 19. Since then, she has taken every opportunity to travel, and has managed to explore a lot of the region in subsequent trips.

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