I had a chance of staying at Tropicoco for 7 nights all inclusive package deal. The bottom line is that this place should get MINUS 10 STARS.

What I paid for this hotel and in return what I got was a piece of crap services. I had to change the room five times and the last room was the most lousiest than the ones before. The hotel has a policy to provide the meanest and lowest standards of services to be given to the people who stay there. No fault of the employees but the management is ruthless and would not like to spend any money to improve the hotel and provide some reasonable level of services. The drinks and liquors run out all the time and then so the food items in the breakfast, lunch and dinner, rather are in very limited supply. Do not trust the services of Elevators in the hotel. If breakdown nobody will come to your help but if are lucky to try yourself you can be alive yet as it happened with me. This place is not at all suitable for visitors who are diabetics etc.

The cheapest items such as shampoo and cream are on ration, the air-conditions are 10 years old, century old furniture is falling apart, local telephone rates are too high forget the international. Beds are not done on regular basis.

On the whole this place should be shut down by the Government or replace all the management.

I will never go there even it is free.

Hotel Tropicoco is 1/2 hr. from Havana w/regular bus shuttle 2x daily, booked day before. It is across the street from a lovely beach but watch out for large foot - foot 1/2 long jelly fish of dark color that R on the beach and sometimes in the water in the A>M.
Most times you can swim in the ocean but other times undertoes.

The Hotel for me was a shock and to other North American Travellers. Many steps inside hotel from lobby area with very poor lighting can cause problems. Floors R ceramic thru out.
Very large hotel. If you wish something more inimate, I would advise another hotel. Not your tipical beachfront hotel experience.

Hotel size is 6 floors with an elevator that does not work most times, jerks at each stop, doors do not open, a real problem.

Staff very friendly, also to prostitutes where they give a hotel arm bracelet too as all guests wear staying in the hotel. Prostitutes R brought to hetel and lots of retired single travelling men.

There is security at entrance of hotel.

I arrived at 4 a.m. in the morning.

Food, all mixed together on one plate confuses you as to what is really in the dish because of poor lighting.
The main entre you have a choise of three dishes sometimes hard to figure what it is. Dessert cakes do not taste like ours.
Lots of fresh fruit. Coffee machine runs out of coffee and so you need to go outside of dining room to bar for a expresso.

Guests said hotel is as if it was in the basement.
Pool in the basement (outdoor type) but very cold as not heated.

Rooms on lower floors R damp and smell so ask for room on upper floors. No desk in room or mirror. Airconditioning unit in window and drapes close. Beds for standard R good twin size.
My toilet did not work most of stay. Used pail to flush. They tried to fix it without success and I did not wish to change my room.

Tour guide for local tours available from 10 a.m. but has a couple of days off during the week so check this.

Some tours not available for single traveller

You can get lost in Havana because of the curvy streets but taxi is cheap enough. There is a nice artizan flea market most days of the week where the shuttle bus from the hotel drops you off in Havana.

Went to the Botanical Gardens from Hotel (cost $40 US taxi) but do not advise because gardens/trees overgrown and you do pay more than locals for admission as other areas in Cuba do for tourists.

Best rate to change money to Cuban is a Airport.
Other areas R at banks, at this hotel 1/2 block away.
Always ask for a receipt as they can round off what they give you and keep difference for themselves.

Water tastes really funny, I brought my Brita to purify taste but there was an extreeme chemical taste I can not discribe.\

Across street you can buy bottle water cheap for one convertible paso.

There is two currencies in Cuba. One for locals and one for tourists.

I was disappointed that I could not pay for things as the locals did in most areas.

Did you know that you have to smoke cigars 3 months after they R made????

No problem to bring alcohol in personal luggage on the plane. Do need need to place in checked luggage/

My holiday was for two weeks and tried to get my tour operator to change for another hotel bacause of culture shock but said I would have to pay top dollar as a single traveller because discounts R only available for hotels outside of Cuba and I would have to pay to travel to that location.

And make sure you do not get sick.
Take imodium, pain killers in case you fall.
They do not have same medicine as available in Canada.

Trying to call outside country is a REAL problem and expensive.
Calls made from front reception is cheaper than from your room or phone booths outside of hotel.

There is a doctor on call at hotel that comes by once daily and a nurse during the day but do not speak English.

There is a hotel rep that speaks English to help.
They were all very helpful.

I met a traveller who was at a homestay, but said it was out of the way in the country and very lonely and weather was so cold the past month.

Weather started to be better during my stay 3rd week in January.

At airport you need to have your luggage sealed with plastic before checking in.

No good evening entertainment here and sometimes repetitious.
No disco to dance.

I spent 10 days at the Hotel Tropicoco, while my parents stayed for 3 weeks. We agree with many of the other favourable reviews that indicate the Tropicoco is an average, relatively-clean Cuban resort that offers good value for money. Rather than reiterate the same points as everyone else, we've decided to simply list some pros and cons.

Pros:

- the long, beautiful beach with soft sand and refreshing water (a unique experience for foreigners as this is a public beach)
- the free shuttle bus to Havana (brand-new, spacious, air conditioned buses with comfortable seats)
- good service at both of the upstairs bars in the hotel for coffee and alcoholic drinks (we didn't frequent the downstairs / pool bar in the hotel, and the beach bar was disappointing and unreliable)
- helpful and friendly staff (especially the dining rooms servers and the maids, who even did our personal laundry!)
- predictable, wholesome food at the buffet (not fancy, but always edible, especially the eggs in the morning and the fruit at every meal)
- small but adequate rooms, with working air conditioners (relatively clean, and only 1 day without hot water)
- good location for tourists (safe area during the day or night, located close to a currency exchange office, health clinic, and several convenience stores)
- tours and excursions were easy to arrange through an agent in the lobby
- multiple taxis were always available directly outside the hotel

Cons:

- as mentioned earlier, the beach bar didn't seem to have a regular schedule and had a very limited selection of drinks
- certain front desk staff were less helpful than others
- prepaid cards for internet access were in very short supply (otherwise, when they are available, the computer in the lobby is quick and reliable)
- the only bar with excellent Cuban beer stops serving at 10 P.M.!
- institutional architecture (think: hospital)

Overall, my family and I enjoyed our stay at the Tropicoco. If you're thinking staying here or have already booked your trip to the Tropicoco, please keep the saying "you get what you pay for" in mind. If you've stayed at a 5-star all-inclusive resort previously, it's not reasonable to expect the same experience here. However, it is reasonable to expect a clean room, decent food / drinks, a beautiful beach, friendly staff, and a fascinating city nearby to explore - remember, you're (probably) only paying $50 - $100 CAD per person per night to stay here.

When we got back from the Hotel Tropicoco I expected to write a review that would refute all the horrible things we read about this place just before we left (book now, then read the reviews later, seems to be our motto). But I found that Sir Hilary and funonthecheap have beaten me to it. Guessgirl22 is a little over-the-top in my estimation. If she thinks this is a 5 star hotel, I can show her a few places on the Mayan Riviera that are 5 star hotels. The Tropicoco isn't one, but is rather a 2 star hotel struggling to become a 3, or at least a 2 1/2 star. Expecting the worst I was pleasantly surprised at what we found, thus the "Above average" rating. There's a little action on the streets, but nothing like that described from a few years ago. The rooms have been described well with many negative features, but ours was clean, and kept clean, the towels were new and fluffy, there was only one day with no hot water in the morning, but showering in tropical room temperature water isn't exactly torture, the shower temperature varies somewhat as toilets are flushed and other visitors turn on their showers in other parts of the building, little ants covered our toothbrushes the first morning until we learned to store them upright in the water glass (the toothbrushes, that is, not the ants), the drawers were mouldy so we hung up some of our clothes in the closet and kept the rest in the travel cases, there was no channel changer, but a peso on each pillow the first day, and a gift bar of soap from home resulted in a channel changer appearing as if by magic after we got back to the made-up room, the first two curtain hooks on the light blocking curtains were broken leaving the end hanging down, so I just took one from the middle and attached it to the end of the curtain. Yes, the food is boring and needs something to pick it up. A bottle of Jamaican scotch bonnet hot sauce from home did the trick. We ate once in Habana at a well regarded hotel, and the food wasn't particularly appetizing there either. But all buffet meals get boring after a while, no matter how good they are, so here's the trick. Don't have the same thing every day. For breakfast have an omelette one day, have pancakes the next, cereal after that, and then hard boiled eggs with bread you can toast on the omelette griddle, along with fruit juice and fruit. And the same with lunch and dinner. You're likely going to see some sort of fish (we actually got salmon one day), pork and chicken at the hot table. Don't take a little bit of each, stick to just one. You can get wine, beer, or mixed drinks from your server. I checked the wine and it's an industrial style bulk packaged product from Spain of no particular vintage that can best be described as not bad. The room maids work 6 days straight, and the wait persons every 2nd day from before breakfast until after dinner. I recommend you find a wait person in the restaurant that's somewhat familiar with the concept of customer service, and reward them with a peso or two, and you'll be rewarded with some service. I have to correct something in a previous review. Internet service is available in the lobby but I could never buy an access card that costs CUC$6 for one hour at the front desk. Every time they were expecting more in the near future. But two blocks to the west is the office that rents out the vacation homes in the area, and they have a couple of computers in the lobby and will sell access cards. But don't do what I did, and that's take the card back to the hotel. It can only be used where you purchased it. Also peso coins for tips are sometimes in short supply at the front desk. More are often promised in the near future as well. A ten peso note may result in a 5 peso note, a 3 peso note, and a couple of coins in some cases. If this happens have your partner, or someone else get the 5 or 3 peso note changed. One great feature of this hotel is its proximity to Habana, less than a half-hour away via the twice daily shuttle bus. You can take the early shuttle in, spend the day exploring Habana, then catch the late shuttle back. If they've overbooked keep CUC$15 for the cab ride back. We booked with a loose group, and from the comments I heard, I'm sure some could identify closely with the negative reviews posted earlier. But you get what you pay for, and this would be judged a "Best Buy" in Consumer Reports. If you want a 4 or 5 star all-inclusive, pay the price, but don't expect it from this place at the prices they charge.