The hotel is well located, a 10-minute walk to Bairrio Esclanate and a 15-minute walk to the city center. And in the street, there is also several places to eat.
The rooms are simple but comfortable.
It has an amazing breakfast.

I've stayed at The Aranjuez many times over the last dozen or so years. I still enjoy the atmosphere for all the reasons others have mentioned, but there is no doubt that there has been a decline in service. Just as a single example, we had an early departure (before 07:00hrs) recently, and received written reassurance that we would get a packed breakfast in lieu of using the excellent breakfast provided (which isn't available when we had to leave). I confirmed the arrangement when we checked in. Next morning the desk clerk said he knew nothing about our packed breakfast, and could do nothing to help us. Some days later I contacted the hotel by email to tell them of this, and I have never heard back.

I love staying here when passing through San Jose on my way into other parts of Costa Rica. The decor has so much charm with local art adorning the walls. The breakfast is awesome and we marked off 4 new birds in our bird book while drinking coffee in their beautiful courtyard.

This is definitely not a high end hotel, but its clean and comfortable. Its a bit of a hike to get into downtown, so if thats your thing you may want to be a bit closer to the action.