The Tropical is located in a nice tree-lined residential area with a fine park across the street. We got a spacious 1-BR suite at a bargain rate. It is a professionally-run hotel with a friendly, multi-lingual staff that was anxiuous to please. Food was good, but not spectacular, bar is nice (we listened to a fine pianist while watching old Charlie Chaplin movies - nice). All our requests were met, including an upper floor location (to avoid the street noise). Requests for taxis were quickly met. The buses are reliable and cheap, and a great way to get around. Walking is best. Don't expect to be pampered in Salvador - it's not for the pampered tourist, but do expect to see a great old city with wonderful, smiling people. We loved the place.

Stayed recently at the Tropical Hotel da Bahia for a conference and vacation. We fortunately upgraded to a Junior suite and were quite pleased. We had oringally planned on staying at the Sol Marina but after reading reviews from this site, we were thankful that we made the switch. We did visit Sol Marina and the views are quite impressive, but the hotel is a bit frayed around the edges.

The Tropical was a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't rate it equivalent to a 4-star in the U.S., and it does have some dated features, but it was quite good in comparison to what else is available. A buffet breakfast is included in the room rate, and was above average, but after spending 7 nights there, it becomes old. The evening dinner was much better but you can only get menu service on selected nights. Other times, it's either a limited menu or buffet. The food was pretty good at dinner. The piano lounge and bar are nice and the free wireless high speed was good, but only accessible from the main lobby and bar. If you order food from the bar, be prepared to wait. We ordered on 3 separate occassions, and the shortest wait period was 35 minutes to have the food delivered. I don't think it was the fault of the restaurant, but the wait staff. On all 3 occassions, the food arrived cold and was obvious that it had been sitting under a heat lamp waiting to be picked up. On the flip side, we did order room service, and were amazed at how fast the food arrived and the quality of it. The room service menu is much more extensive than the bar menu and the food was very good. If you don't want to eat in the restaurant, skip the bar and order the food in your room.

Our room had a separate bedroom and living room and had a gorgeous main bath with separate shower and tub, all lined with marble. The was also a 1/2 bath that had another sink, bidet and toilet, and makes it quite comfortable if you have 2 or more people. We had two television and a view of the water, but most of it was blocked by a big apartment building in front of us. Insulation was good and blocked out most of the street noise (we were on the 11th floor) and the bed was a bit firm.

The staff is helpful and went out of their way to please. Ask the front desk staff for restaurant recommendations and let them hail the taxi for you if you don't speak the language. Not only will the call up the cab, but they'll translate your destination to the driver and usually confirm the amount of the trip before you hop in the car.

There are parts of the city that you may not feel comfortable wandering around, but I felt as safe as if I were in NYC or DC. The best restaurant by far is in the old town district and is Jardin des Delicious. The food is to die for, and live music is played every night.

Overall, you'll like the hotel and service and the people. Sra. Augusta took care of our room and she was one of the shining stars of the trip.

Obrigado!

I just came back from the Tropical da Bahia; overall, it was a good experience. The rooms, as noted by others, are pretty average, though I thought the bathrooms were fairly nice and more modern. The view is not great (though we could see a slit of ocean from our room) but the location allows you to access both points north (Pelourinho, Mercado Modelo, Igreja do Bonfim) and South (Farol da Barra) pretty easily.

There was a mix-up with our reservation, which we had changed prior to arriving (though, to be fair, it was kind of a confusing change) but the staff was very helpful in resolving this; overall, the staff was great, which is why I am giving a higher rating.

If you want to do day trips without the big groups, Mr. Carlos is a cab driver (not to mention organizer of one of the biggest carnaval groups in Salvador, Filhos de Ghandy) who is trusted by the hotel and who can make you a deal to take you to various points around the city and to the airport. We also enjoyed dinner at the Solar do Unhao; they have the big buffet and folkloric show indoors, but we went later and were able to eat a la carte on the dock.

The tropical Bahia is a quite good hotel, even if the rooms look a little old.
One thing just got on my nerves is their stupid rule to avoid anyone visiting the guests : they refused my sister who to visit me, and there was no way to have them change their mind in front of a narrow minded
manager. This is really a shame when your a guest in
an hotel being treated like a child who is refused to meet his friends.
That's why it deserves a bad mark.