El Jardin is clearly not the hotel quality that I seek, or the experience that I seek. There were several things that were substandard. There were panes of glass missing in the window. There was no shower head—just a pipe. The bathroom was so small that I could not change my mind in there, let alone my clothes. There was no hot water. There was no place to wash off one’s feet when returning from the beach. The air conditioner actually worked, but it was right over the bed. We used it sparingly as we did not want to get a cold, or a stiff neck. There were no hangers in the closet. No fan. The TV was actually good, but very small. The pool was murky and uninviting, so I never used it. Because we could not close our window, the noise of the nightly pool party etc. invaded our room. I believe that with a modest investment, they could make it a three star experience.
My biggest complaint is the price I paid per night. It was equal to a four star experience. El Jardin is a hotel aimed at locals, and budget travelers. That is just fine, there is a need for that, but the price that I paid was not in the budget category. Jaco Beach has many other hotels, so I will not return to El Jardin.
Like most places, there were also positives at El Jardin, and that is where I will end the story. The biggest positive for me was the people who own/run the hotel. They are very friendly, and were very accommodating to me and my wife, as were the employees.
