Hotel: weirdest architecture I ever seen - massive concrete blocks with tiny windows. Lack of light everywhere, very depressive and ugly. Lack of signs, especially in English, makes difficult to find places and services you need, especially first days. Many of lobby armchairs are old and broken. Swimming pool is clean but located in a kind of concrete patio, surrounded by unpleasant looking walls. At least twice a week they have there extremely noisy all-day events for children, making it impossible to relax near the swimming pool, and flooding all hotel with amplified shouts and screaming. Poor cellphone coverage, not finding provider, missing signal. Internet is extremely slow - you have to spend a lot of time to check and send couple e-mails.

Room: is clean but very basic, with uncomfortable old beds, only one chair. Ocean view but no balcony to enjoy it. Old noisy air conditionr, leaking shower.

Staff: most of the staff doesn't speak (or they don't want ?) English. As a result it takes a lot of time and efforts to get simpliest things (like tea, beach towel, etc.) No smiles, no polite questions - just stone-cold faces. When we were leaving hotel administrator just took our key, not even saying good bye. And tips-tips- tips - nobody won't move a finger if you don't tip them all the time, even for things they have to do or to serve.

Food: poor choice, tastless, recycling old food from meal to meal. As a result we got upset stomach on the second day. So called "24 hours" snack bar is open (if you are lucky to find barmen) two hours before lunch and two hours after lunch - the rest of the day (and night) no food anywhere in hotel's vicinity, even for money. No mineral water included in "all inclusive" packeage - they claim, they just don't have it (while it's sold in convenience store in the front of hotel.

Beach: to get there you have to cross a busy road with no crossings anywhere. The beach itself is dirty, with heavy nights parties traces. Their idea of cleaning is a couple of local guys collecting late in the morning (before that beach is a complete mess) some bottles and cans, ignoring plactic cups, pastic bags, paper, plastic strows, and other garbage. Innocent remark in previous reviews "popular with locals" means that it's plenty of locals passing back and forth, a lot of noise, drunck teens, young girls soliciting certain "services" - especially on weekends.

The only "pro" is proximity to Havana with free shuttle bus.

There are a few things that should be said about the Tropicoco. I was there from March 26- April 2 and thought it was a good fit with what I wanted to do in Cuba in general and Havana in particular. I wanted an economical clean hotel with a nice beach, free drinks and food, with free, easy access to Old Havana. ( There are no hotels with beaches in Havana proper) . The Tropicoco filled these reqirements and I was happy overall with my choice. I had a good stay here. I agree with what a previous reviewer said about the "hotel is not for high maintenence people", and it is not for those that need to be spoon fed experiences like at most 5 star AI resorts.

The hotel itself is a Brezhnev era design, with lots of concrete and stone construction. what I saw was in fairly good repair, some parts needed paint but everything was clean. I was on the third floor and didnt see any bugs. The room I was in had an AC unit that worked ok but the power went off momentarily sometimes (usually in the early morning) that would kick the AC off. Power failures are common in Cuba, most places have backup generators. Even some of the villas in the area surrounding the hotel had them.
The room was well cleaned every day, I didnt notice any issues with bedding, etc.

The buffet was ok, but nobody comes to Cuba for the cusine. There were fresh buns, citrus, tomatoes, and sliced cucumbers every day, along with fish, pork, and chicken, not too often did they have beef. There was sometimes pasta and pizza as well. the desserts and coffee were very good. Some things were recycled from the previous buffets, such as the leftover cooked bacon from breakfast being used in the cream sauce for the pasta at lunch. The recycling didn't bother me, They are simply making the best use of what they have. There was almost always fresh omlettes and pancakes cooked to your order for breakfast. The staff was polite and helpful.

The bar staff were also freindly for the most part, and the beach bartender was outstanding. I dont recall having any problems with any of the staff at all.

The beach is about a 50 yard walk from the front door of the hotel. There are lounge chairs and umbrellas provided for guests. the beach bar is nearer to the hotel than the beach. The beach is fine white sand, not the cleanest in the world but very nice for a 2 star place. There are staff that pick up the loose litter in the morning. The weather was hot , with a nice breeze off the ocean during the day.

There are several stores, restaurants and a bank within a few blocks of the hotel. They are not well marked, so ask the front desk staff for directions. The shuttle bus to Havana left at 9:30 am and 2:30 pm from the hotel, and 1 pm and 6 pm from Havana. There was time to eat at the buffet either coming or going. The Shuttle saves you a lot of $$ in cab fare. The street vendor stalls are set up on tuesdays and saturdays, close to where the shuttle drops off.
2 things travellers should be aware of at this hotel and Cuba in general: 1) People can and do smoke any time in the common areas of the hotel and on the beach, etc. 2) You will see some older men hanging out with young Cuban girls (chickas). This is a common thing, and by my own count i had one marriage proposal and no less than 22 solicitations, mostly when I was in Havana. Nothing was said inside the hotel itself, however.
One afternoon at the beach i was relaxing, and near me 4 cuban girls were hanging out with 4 old european guys. As the afternon wore on the men bought drinks and meals for the girls. near the end of the day a plainclothes (shorts and tshirt) police officer came up, waved id, said something in spanish and led the girls away. One of the men walked by me after and I said to him " Das Party Kaput? " and he replied " Ja, Ja" The powers that be are aware of what is going on and seem to be doing something about it. There is a strong police presence in Cuba, and not all of them wear uniforms.

In Havana itself you will be approached about buying cigars on nearly every block, a polite but firm "No fumar" will keep them at bay.

There is some kind of paved race track out back of the hotel, the only time I saw it being used was a single bike racing around one afternoon. The view from the third floor roof was exceptional. I'd pay to see a Lada vs Moskovitch stock car racing series there!

I recommend the Hotel and Cuba in general, its good value for the money!

Anyone who wants more details can email me.

I had read all the reviews about the Tropicoco months before going to Cuba and sometimes I was wondering if I should stay there, as some of the reviews depicted this place extremely unfavorably, least to say. Well, all this actually piqued my interest and I became very curious to see this supposedly dreadful place with my own eyes! After all, all I wanted was a clean room, warm water and decent food—my major objective was to leave for Havana every morning, take thousands of photographs and come back in the evening—and this is what I exactly did every day (I’m still editing those photos and hope to post them online one day).

My trip took place in mid-January, 2009. After arriving in Varadero, a bus was already waiting for us and after a nice, 2 hour journey, we reached the Tropicoco. I was pleasantly surprised—the lobby was clean, hotel staff helped us carry our suitcases and after lunch and we got a nice room on the top floor (most likely a 5 peso tip sped things up). I agree that those staying on the second floor might have had problems with the noise, but our room was very quiet and offered a nice view of the ocean. Of course, the hotel itself, built by Bulgarians (or, according to others, by Russians), has a rather peculiar communist architecture, but the room was very clean (and the maid did a wonderful job every day—we left her one peso, plus gave her other gifts last day), only once there was no warm water, the air conditioner worked, as did the TV set (not that we spent much time watching it). We used the room safe to keep our passports, money, tickets, etc., but nothing was ever missing from our room. There were some problems with the elevator, yet two technicians were working on it. We never saw one insect in the room—to tell the truth, I see more insects or spiders in my house!

The first day Barbarita, Sun Wing’s representative in Cuba, met us in the lobby and talked about the hotel, shuttle bus, departing for Canada, etc. I didn’t have any further questions to her during my stay at the hotel. In addition, before coming to Cuba I had read 4 tourist books on Cuba & Havana (I especially recommend “Havana” by Christopher P. Baker) and spent hours online, perusing Cuba-related forums and web pages, so I almost felt at home, even though it was my first trip to this country.

The nightly entertainment was quite original, some of the performers really talented and I genuinely enjoyed the dancing, music and their colorful, albeit skimpy outfits.

Every day after breakfast we’d take the free shuttle bus and go to Havana, or got on the Hop-on-Hop-off buss, (5 peso per person), which allowed us unlimited travel in Havana. There were never any problems with getting on the bus and at least on one occasions there were two shuttle buses. The buses were on time, air-conditioned, clean and comfortable.

There were some tourists with young Cuban girls, but not too many; I did not see any swarms of Cuban girls in the hotel (there was a security guard posted at the entrance at all times) and even though I’d often walk in and around the hotel by myself (especially in the evening), I was never approached by anyone trying to offer me any goods or services ;).

Because I went to Havana every day, I only had breakfast and dinner/supper at the hotel. The food... well... some was bland and lacked spices, some meat was stingy, but on the other had, I found turkey/chicken and fish very tasty, I always had plenty of salads/fruits (loved the pineapples!), morning omelets were delicious, breads/buns very tasty and waiters were always ready to bring red wine (so-so) and excellent coffee. One day they were serving something (have forgotten what it was) that was absolutely delicious! In a nutshell, I had no issue whatsoever with the food and actually gained a couple of pounds! Last, but not least, I did not experience any stomach problems and was not aware of anyone else getting sick. Each time we left one peso for the waiter and sometimes for the omelet cook.

The bar, open 24 hours, served excellent coffee and plenty of drinks and I’d spend an hour or so there in the evening. Usually a one peso tip was sufficient.

Most of the time it was cloudy & windy and I spent only 1.5 hour on the beach, but sunbathing was not something I intended to do anyway. The bar on the beach was also open and I had a drink or two there as well.

The bottom line is that I did not go to Cuba for food, comfort or beautiful beaches and had expected this place would be much worse (several years ago a friend of mine went to Cuba, paid more than twice as much as I did, stayed in a four star hotel and her vacation turned our to be a nightmare!), yet I was pleasantly surprised. I paid $625 (CAN) for the whole week and this trip was worth every penny—it was an absolutely awesome vacation
Overall, the hotel did not disappoint me and I’d not hesitate going there again.

Hotel Tropicoco is considered to be a 2 star Hotel, but after everything said and done this Hotel was very good for the price. The outside of the building is nothing to look at, but that is not why we decided to stay at the particular hotel. The location is great! it is located right across from a beautiful beach and a free 20 minute shuttle ride on a nice air-conitioned bus to Havana! The bus leaves twice a day (morning and afternoon) so you can relax on the beach before heading off or take a ride at 9:30am to Havana. The Hotel itself is very nice, the lobby is clean, resturant is good (Cuba is not known for it`s amazing food so remember that before taking your trip), a variety of food every night, the staff was very also good at the restaruant. The drinks were good, there is never a shortage of any kind of drinks. Our room was small but we did not come to Cuba to spend our days in the hotel. the bathroom was a good size and always extremely clean. The hotel is based on a open concept so the floors can get wet if it rains outside.
Overall, Tropicoco is a great destination if you are looking for something close to Havana and you want to relax on a wonderful beach. There is not a lot of night entertainment but they do their best... we went to a few night shows that were fine. The staff was always very nice and inviting.
We spend the majority of our time in Havana so there were no major complaints at all. If you want a more upscale hotel, spend a bit more money but if you are spending your time on the beach and outside of the hotel, Tropicoco is perfect!
Enjoy your trip!!!