An old-world grande dame of pastel salmon reinforced concrete, this hotel sits proudly across from the neo-classic Teatro Nacional, on the southwest corner of the vibrant Plaza de la Cultura. Its four bottom floors were built in the 1930s to satisfy the government's need for a first-class hotel to accommodate distinguished international visitors, and then topped a decade later by a fifth floor that features gracefully arched windows.Declared a Historical-Architectural Landmark of Costa Rica, the hotel fortunately took out the jarring casino that once filled the ground floor. It is now a spacious lobby with a tropical wood front desk and a series of lounges adorned by Victorian-style furnishings and massive flower-filled vases atop Spanish colonial tiled floors. The effect, along with old photographs on the walls, celebrates the hotel's grand past.