Barrio AMON

What Lonely Planet’s latest edition says about our location:

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“This pleasant neighborhood is one of the few remaining colonial districts in the city, and home to many of the city’s few surviving cafétalero (coffee baron) mansions. Recently, many of these buildings have been converted into hotels, restaurants and offices, which makes this district PERFECT for a leisurely stroll.

“Barrio Amon, which is one of the SAFEST areas in the city, is becoming increasingly popular with tourists, and there are currently talks of creating a pedestrian walkway and restoring many of the historic buildings.” (Lonely Planet 2008, page 86)

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ABOUT BARRIO AMON

Barrio Amon is Costa Rica’s only neighborhood that is declared a NATIONAL HERITAGE site because of its architecture. The safe and quiet neighborhood is rich with history and culture remnant of the first coffee exporting families that built their mansions here, dating back to the late 1800s.

Located on the northern edge of downtown San José, Barrio Amon is the city’s largest hotel district. Just two blocks from Hostel Pangea you will find San José’s only five-star hotel, the Aurola Holiday Inn, along with many others nearby, including Hotel Don Carlos, Hotel Santo Tomás, Hotel Britania, Hotel Dunn Inn and the Clarion Hotel. Of course along with the big hotels of the city, all of the main tourist offices and tour companies such as Expediciones Tropicales and Rainforest Aerial are located in Barrio Amon.

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CULTURE

For those interested in politics and culture, Pangea is only three blocks away from Casa Amarilla, or the Yellow House (Costa Rica’s White House), and other important government buildings such as Instituto Nacional de Seguros, which is known as one of the city’s major landmarks. This is the main office of Costa Rica’s insurance company and home to the famous Museo de Jade (Jade Museum). Most of San José’s museums are located within a few minutes walk of Pangea, including Museo Para la Paz (Museum for Peace) Museo de Oro Precolombino y Numismática (Pre-Columbian Gold and Numismatics) and Museo de Arte Costarricense (Costa Rican Art), to name a few.

Also within walking distance of Pangea is Plaza de la Cultura (Plaza of Culture, San José’s central square), the impressive Teatro Nacional (the National Theatre), built in 1897, San José’s only zoo, Zoológico Nacional Simón Bolívar, and many city parks including Parque Nacional, Parque Central, Parque Morazán, and Parque España. This means a lot of families are out walking around Bario Amon during the weekends, and it’s the perfect location to get into a little bit of Costa Rican culture and history and find travel and tourist information about the country. And you can do all that without ever getting into a cab or on a bus.

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RESTAURANTS & NIGHTS OUT

Planning a night out? You are at the right place. The most highly recommended restaurants of San José are located within walking distance of Pangea. Enjoy pasta on a garden terrace at the popular Cafe Mundo or try Lonely Planet’s pick, Bakea, which they name as San José’s trendiest restaurant. There is a never-ending list of cheap places to eat just a few steps out the door of Pangea, from sodas to cafés, restaurants and great little corner dives. We can tell you which ones are the best in town and which are our favorites, so just ask.

Just five minutes from Pangea is El Pueblo – San José’s TOP NIGHT SPOT – as declared by Lonely Planet. Start the night at La Cocina de Leña for traditional Costa Rican fare, then party the night away at your choice of more than 20 bars and 10 clubs, all located within El Pueblo and open ’til sunrise. Remember: at Pangea we do not have a curfew, so party all night long if you desire.

Looking to spend the night in? We want to make your trip easy, so we have a restaurant, bar, movie theatre and pool tables right in Pangea. Try our inexpensive restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner – all cooked with premium and fresh ingredients. And of course, all of our Costa Rican dishes are prepared by Costa Rican cooks.

If you are looking for a good grocery store around, we are the only hostel with the city’s best supermarket, Auto Mercado, located only 3 blocks away and known for its variety. It has everything you can imagine: all the products you miss from home (like peanut butter) or the Costa Rican products you love (like coffee). Walk one more block and you are at Avenida Central, with even more restaurants, cafés, fast food, and shopping.

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MONEY

Looking for a bank? Need cash or to exchange dollars to colones? Cash traveler’s checks? The Banco de Costa Rica is just at the corner from us.

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SHOPPING

Since we are located only a minute’s walk from downtown San José, the best shopping is found right near Pangea. Four blocks away is Avenida Central, San José’s central avenue that is only open to pedestrian traffic and lined with shops and restaurants. The city’s central market is located on Avenida Central, only 10 minutes away from Pangea, and is the perfect place to shop for cheap souvenirs, handcrafts and liquor. In the opposite end of Avenida Central is the open market with hammocks and more souvenirs and presents to take back home.

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TRANSPORTATION

If you are using San José as your hub to get around the country, Pangea is the perfect location. We are within 5 minutes away from all the bus stations – you can walk or take a taxi. We have all the bus schedules, maps and travel advice you will need to help you along your journey, so just ask us at the front desk. If you require a taxi, no need to make a phone call – we are located on a main avenue and there are taxis driving by 24 hours a day year round.

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CITY SAFETY

Is it safe to walk around the city? ABSOLUTELY. Cities around the world have the largest concentration of people and therefore have areas that are safe and areas that you should avoid. And like any other city, San José has its good and its bad, but with a little common sense (like don’t walk alone at night) and knowing where you are and where you are going, you will experience only the good. If you aren’t sure, talk to us at the front desk and we will give you directions to all the places you can visit in San José by foot.

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HOSTEL SAFETY

Your safety is our priority and is something that we take very seriously. Just like at the nicest resorts and private parties around the world, when you check in at Pangea, you will receive a wristband that is changed daily. We are a large hostel and keeping track of all guests can be difficult, so this is one of the measures we take to ensure the safety of our guests and their belongings.

Hostel Pangea is the number one hostel of the country and very well known, so people often try to take advantage of what Pangea has to offer – but we are strict on security, as all reputable hotels must be. We, and our guests, feel better knowing that the only people that enter the hostel are those staying there. This includes all areas of the hostel – movie theather, computers for internet use, the pool, bar, and restaurant – because we want to make sure only YOU as a guest have the priority of using those services, and no one else. We were the first hostel with this measure in Costa Rica and are proud of it. Now we know our friend J from Rockin J’s in Puerto Viejo is using them, and many hostels in Panama are doing the same thing.

Of course there are other hostels that don’t want to spend the money and time to provide a safer atmosphere, and they will try to make you think that their hostel is better because you don’t have to wear a wristband. The truth is, well you know it, their place is lacking of security and amenities desired by all travelers.

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WHY PANGEA?

Hostel Pangea is downtown San José’s first hostel and Costa Rica’s number one hostel, catering to  guests from all over the world every year. We are 100 percent owned and operated by Costa Ricans, so if you want to experience Costa Rican culture, this is the right place. Why come all the way to Costa Rica to stay at a place that is owned by someone from a foreing country, interested only in the profit they can make out of Costa Rica. We are here for the long haul, and that shows by our investments into the Hostel and its amenities. Costa Rica is our home; we were born and raised here. We love Costa Rica, we are proud of our country and culture, and we want to share that with you. We can give you the best advice about where to go, where to stay, and how have the best experience in Costa Rica.

Pangea was the first hostel located in historic Barrio Amon and you can see now how others are trying to get into the neighborhood but it is hard to beat our location , right in downtown San José. We have the most convenient location, steps from all of the major museums, shopping, restaurants, nightlife and bus stations.

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