I have already been to the Tropicoco in the past...some things change...some don`t, like the beach is close and pretty good...the rooms are adequate, but don`t expect luxury rooms here. You can rent a car directly in the hotel with a very friendly and reliable person. The things that changed and do not help in having an enjoyable experience in this hotel is the fact they closed the small bar on the side and stairs that made it possible to actually get to the lower lobby for intimacy without any problem. They must have changed the staff in the kitchen since my last stay two years ago, since now on numerous occasions the doors of the kitchen are left open thus the smell and heat enters the dining room, the food in the past was adequate, hot and edible...now it depends on what you eat and the quality has suffered...so out of my fourteen days...four was the number of ones I actually ate at the restaurant! So, when using this place as a home base for travelling into Habana and enjoying the beach, it`s a great solution...if you want a good room and food...go to another hotel.

Here we are again, staying at the Tropicoco for the third time - for all the positive reasons that previous commentators cite - proximity to Havana, beach, friendly staff. And two more: the interesting guests you meet in the dining room, lured by Havana culture as much as sand and sea. And the food!
Oh, we know -- they all say it: "No one ever goes to Cuba for the food."
Why not? We just had rabbit stew, cabbage, rice and much more. "Ugh!" we hear you say. "Rabbit!" Yes, juicy, lean and tasty rabbit.
"Best meal I've had in Cuba!" said our retired teacher friend Jocelyn (here on a month-long Spanish course from the Ottawa Valley).
This morning we sat for half an hour on the steps in a plaza in Old Havana watching boys and girls from a nearby school playing soccer. Not a fat kid amongst them.
Could that be partly because they eat the same sort of diet we get back at the Tropicoco? Lots of greens (some we've never seen before), fabulous fruit, especially the papaya, pink guava and those sweet little bananas, beans, tons of salads, cucumbers, tomatoes, beets, sweet potatoes and fish(One day there were big, tasty sardines). And we can't help mentioning our sweet-tooth favourite: their delicious rice pudding.
The Tropicoco, and most other Cuban hotels too, serve many of the foods our doctors and nutritionists are pleading with us to switch to. Not rich, gourmet cruise-ship style food, certainly. Plain food, healthy stuff. Sure, you can have bacon and egg, beef and pork (both, we found, inclined to be tough). Certainly the food lacks spices, but the true value of the Tropicoco-style diet may appear only when you step on the scales when get home, and are pleasantly surprised.
There's not a lot we would change about the Tropicoco. But here's one: the steps as you enter the lobby cry out for a ramp to help older and challenged guests. We'll look for that next time.

Built by the Russians this hotel is a concrete jungle, and lacks alot in character. The rooms are very basic we stayed in a room on the 3rd floor with a view of the sea. Whilst fairly clean there was mould on the walls near the bed. The reception staff were quite rude as were some of the staff in the restaurant, with the exception of a few (the lady chef who cooks breakfast is lovely),
we found that a cuban cuc went along way and that the staff where alot more helpful once money had exchanged hands. As an All-Inclusive we found the food to be ok but rather bland, but did notice that what was left at lunch reappeared at dinner in a different disguise! Also dinner starts around 6.30 and if you want to get a good choice of meats it is worth going early as after that not much is replaced. The pool area is very small and half of the deck chairs are broken, also it should be noted the pool water is freezing! The hotel does provide nightly entertainment which starts around 9.30 and finishes at 11. The internet service is very intermittent and very very slow, you buy cards from reception to us it. The hotel is just across the road from the beach and you do have use of loungers. there is usually a band playing around sunset which is entertaining. There is a hotel shuttle bus to take you into Havana which is about 30 minutes away. This runs 3 times a day and you need to book a seat at reception. However there is a bus stop outside the hotel that has buses every 30m minutes and cost $3 for a return trip. We noticed that a lot of clientele were older men with local young ladies. Some interesting characters were to be found in the place we nicknamed "The Asylum" Would I recommend this place not sure really I guess you get what you pay for and if you are looking for something cheap and you are on a budget, it would probably tick the box!

I stayed at the Tropicoco with my daughter for 5 nights as a Sunwing vacation (paid 1300 for the trip, taxes included). I read the reviews and agree with what others said about the building etc - it could use some colour on the walls inside. To me it is like a super 8 but you see the ocean (we were on the 4th floor) and left our window open at night to hear the waves. I felt save in the hotel (43 year old Mom and 17 year old daughter) and the hotel manager is wonderful and does his best to fix anything that is not right and he spends time with his guests - very nice. The beach is wonderful but you have to use the chairs saved for the Tropicoco guests (Near the canoes etc) or you will be asked to pay 2 cuc to rent one) as it is also a public beach for other tourists and locals. You do get hasseled a bit by venders but they are not too bad - there are men who always seem to look and try to talk with young women (17 and over) so parents keep an eye on your daughters esp. in Hanava!! For the hotel, I would recommend you bring extra shampoo and conditioner (esp. if you have long hair) I brought an old beach towel and didn't rent one - it was just easier. The beds are twin and are soft.. but I slept fine (no bugs or other critters at all) there is a store across from the hotel you can buy bottles of water, wine, rum and snacks (pringles) - there is a bank up the street but you can also exchange money at the hotel. there are no water coolers at the hotel so you have to take a thermos (provided in the room) to the lobby bar or restaurant and have it filled there. The food was okay and we didn't starve.. if you are a real fussy eater you can always go up the street and buy a small pizza for about 1 cuc or enjoy a meal in Havana (La Floridita has a great chicken sandwich for 8 cuc) but at the hotel I managed to find something everytime we ate there (the freshly made omelettes were excellent in the morning) and my daughter liked the fruit. They have a variety of food such as beef, chicken, fish, salads, pastas, fruit and breads. The wine is great as well! (no tea for those of you who like tea so bring your own as they provide boiled water) We used the shutte bus to Havana almost every day but you have to reserve a seat at the front desk or they won't let you on (keep the paper they give you as well). We went on two excursions the Rio de Vignales and the Havana at night tours. Both were really good (the Rio trip was AMAZING... worth the money for sure) Havana at night was more expensive but it included a show at the National hotel (which by itself is 30 dollars or so). Would I go back to this hotel? Depends, if so, it would be mainly because of its price and location (across from the beach and 20 mins from Havana). It is wonderfully quite hotel so don't expect parties everynight unless you bring your own gang which was fine by us as we were pretty tired after visiting Havana or being on the beach all day! We stayed at the hotel Jan 30 - Feb 4th - five days was enough for what we wanted to do and my daughter didn't miss too many classes and I didn't miss too much work. The sunwing experience (the flight, bus to hotel, the rep and the guides on the excursions were No. 1) we learned a lot about the Cuban culture and lifestyle!