The Balmoral Hotel is offering a new flexible, furnished lodging option in downtown San José for short or long stays.

Preferential rates are available in a number of different room sizes and types for stays ranging from 3 days up to a year.

The remodeled “micro apartments” range in size from 32m2 to 86m2, and are newly fitted with Italian porcelain floors, fine locally crafted wood furniture, thermo acoustic glass windows, LED lighting, AC, plasma TV, safes, modern bathrooms with granite counters, ample closets, refrigerators and microwaves, said the hotel at the inauguration of the new facilities today.

“The longer the stay, the better the rates and conditions. At the launch of this new product, there will be special offers, but only for a limited time,” said Giovanni Graziano, Balmoral general manager.

The Balmoral is on San José’s Central Avenue, a block from the Plaza de la Cultura where the National Theater and main museums are located. The hotel has received the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for five of the past six years.

Guest services and facilities include a gym, concierge service, laundry, Wi Fi and free cable, a restaurant, a bar, and a coffee shop. Numerous shops, pharmacies, banks, hospitals, restaurants, and more are within quick walking distance of the hotel.

So, whether you are working downtown, visiting for business or some dental work, or just need a comfortable and central place to crash, the Balmoral hopes to attract people who are opting for a convenient experience where they save time getting around.

Up until the early 1980’s, living and working in the historic downtown San José area – the districts of Carmen, Cathedral, Hospital and Merced – was quite desirable and enjoyable.

“Then an exodus to the peripheral neighborhoods began, leaving downtown San José with a stigma that persists in the minds of many, but also an urban imbalance that has slowly created the road chaos that we all suffer today,” said Graziano, who sees the tide slowly turning towards people moving back to downtown.

With about a million people working in downtown San José, and only an estimated 48,000 people living there, the municipality has an active campaign to repopulate downtown.

Citizen groups such as the pro-bicycling Chepecletas and the GAM Cultural’s promotion of cultural activities, as well as several festivals and outdoor activities in the parks are working to make the area regain its former appeal.

“The reality is that many of the best hotels, restaurants, bars and markets of the country are in the center,” said Graziano.

Despite its flaws, San José’s center “is the only place in the country where one can literally do everything on foot and where people of all ages and social segments live together,” he continued.

The 4-star Balmoral has 112 rooms (in 10 different categories, including the micro-apartments).

Micro apartment rates start at $50 per night per person (plus 13 percent tax) in a ‘superior’ room for a 1 –  12 month stay. Stays of at least a month require a one-month deposit plus a one-month advance payment which is non-refundable. Children under 8 stay for free and all rates include breakfast and a discount on laundry. Longer stays have twice weekly cleaning service, and shorter stays include daily cleaning service.

Stays of at least a month in the larger suites have double occupancy rates, and shorter stays also include double occupancy rates. Children aged 8-12 are $7.50 plus tax per night, and additional guests over 12 are $15 per night plus tax, said the hotel.

The hotel also emphasized that no guns, weapons or illegal narcotics are allowed in the rooms, nor are sexual activities with minors under the age of 18 permitted under Costa Rican law.