As I sit on the bed that smells like pee, we have had no room service for three days I wonder why we stayed here. Asked for a hammock three days ago, never got it. The shower is gross and goes from freezing to scolding hot, nearly burning my wife. Turned fan on and paint chips rained on us while we slept. Noisiest room I have ever stayed in and I travel all over the world. Breakfast was overpriced and burnt. Rude receptionist, but hey right on the beach.

We did not stay at the Hotel Tropico Latino but booked spa treatments there after the owner of our hotel recommended their spa. I am extremely picky about spa treatments--and I was not disappointed. Maria and another therapist provided the Four hands bliss treatment--it was so amazing! The coconut scrub made my skin incredibly soft and the massage, facial and reflexology were amazing. Thank you so much-- I highly recommend this spa!

We spent the tropical portion of our honeymoon at Tropico Latino and had a great time. Luz is fantastic, she helped us out left and right. We arrived unannounced a day early, and they were able to accommodate us in a nice room, then the next day we moved to our beachfront cabina - which was perfect! We arrived the day of a festival and had great food, surfing, and tremendous fun.

To the reviewer who thought they had branches scraping the roof - perhaps it was a roof iguana? There are ropes all over between the roof-lines and trees, I'd imagine to keep heavy iguanas from plopping down on guests heads. This isn't just Tropico, it's all over the area. Metal roof = nice warm place for reptiles to get a little sun. Our roof iguana moved around to the same spots each day, following the sun, and we thought he was quite cool.

Overall, if you're used to a serf buffing your toenails for you upon your arrival at a hotel, this isn't the place for you. If you respect yourself and others, and your planet, want to be right on the beach and have some of Santa Teresa's best food, by all means go to Tropico.

We stayed at Tropico Latino from December 24th to December 28th/ 2011. Our kids are 15 & 13. The location is great with regards to proximity to banks/ grocery/ other restaurants/ etc. All within walking distance.

The hotel itself is sweet, lovely/ lush grounds/ meandering pathways through the greenery...very pretty and private. Take note though...to walk on the gravel paths you def need flip-flops or some form of footwear, lol...or ouch! We were in Garden View Bungalow #4. It was perfect in respect to beach proximity/ proximity to pool/ restaurant/ etc. It's large enough with 2 double beds, coffee maker, small fridge, nice bathroom with large shower. They have air co as well as fans, and a very large deck with table, chairs and hammock. We also had a little outdoor tap area to rinse feet. All in all a sweet little bungalow. There were red squirrels & howlers on the property daily btw. All of the "garden view" bungalows are along the same path that runs from the pool/ restaurant area towards the road. So, even #1 which is the closest to the road in truth isn't that close to the rd. Ultimately, the difference between being in Bungalow 2 or 5 is literally a few extra steps, so don't fret over that. The "beach" bungalow does have an ocean view.....but I don't think I'd pay the extra to be in it over a garden view. Now, there are the standard rooms which are at the back of the property by the parking lot/rd. They are large rooms & the least expensive, but farthest from the beach...but "far" is relative...30 extra steps if you are on a budget ....no big deal. They have a beach front suite unit, and the new Beach house...both more $$$, but very lovely. If you are at the pool restaurant area facing the beach they are off to the right a bit.....very lovely indeed if you have the $$. The 2 bedroom house is in behind these in the jungle, a bit by itself.

Now for the restaurant....it recently changed from Al Chile Viola to Shambala so I think they are trying to find their "footing". Staff was sweet and friendly in the resto, but they were only 2 and thus it was quite slow( we weren't in a rush ). But....we found the portions very small & the prices high in comparison to other places of similar rating. Thus, we didn't frequent the restaurant on the property which was a bit of a pain. They need to adjust their prices....

The reception staff was sweet & helpful( thank you Diego) calling cabs, making reservations for us, etc. Check in and check out was fast & great.

The beach directly in front has a bit of rock formation, but a few steps left or right and its no issue...plus the little pools at lowtide are fun.

Santa Teresa is a cool little town, the beach is very beautiful, especially towards Florblanca. So north of Tropico Latino towards Florblanca is the prettiest stretch(imho).Things are indeed stretched out along the one long, dusty rd. You can walk it, just be careful. We cabbed it to restos further away ie Kikas. That would have taken a good twenty minutes to 1/2 hr. And I would never do it at night.

We ate at Kikas, Brisas del Mar, Vista de Olas, and Gumbo Limbo. Our steaks were fab at Vista de Olas. Our meal at Kikas was great. It was "good" at Brisas which is apparently "the" spot....but our best meal was at Gumbo Limbo. And great, friendly service from owner.

Our bank card did get eaten at one bank, and the other was out of cash. We got our card the next am, and the other bank had $$. It was a bit of a pain in the butt to always be going to the bank to get cash....one doesn't want to carry too much $$$ around at one time, and very, very, very few places take credit card. Keep that in mind with your planning.

Ultimately Tropico Latino was a good choice, and we got our bearing with regards to where things are...the layout, etc. Since in the end we cabbed it everywhere ( with the exception of banking/ grocery ) staying up towards the Florblanca area/ or in Malpais would be no issue. WE chose Tropico because we thought it might be more "active" for our teens, ultimately...it wasn't a dealbreaker.