Do not stay at this hotel. I made the mistake of bidding for one on Priceline and I will never do that again. I asked for a hotel at the Riverwalk between a 3 and 4 star. I ended up with this dump. It is very old, it has an odd smell to it and the carpet in all 4 rooms we had was badly stained. I feel bad that put my family in this hotel but it was non refundable so we were stuck. The Front desk staff was very indifferent and didn't smile once the entire weekend. Debra the bar tender was very friendly and nice and was a nice conversationalists. The parking was dreadful! It was $18 for you to park your own car and it was very dangerous having to go up a very narrow two-way ramp. Once you parked you have had to walk back to your room down the ramp and in the street or you had to go down these very creepy stairs in the back. Either way was unacceptable. We asked the guy at vallet to park for us so we wouldn't have to endure this nightmare and he refused. Our view was of a crane in front of the building, not very attractive. This hotel says it's on the Riverwalk but you might as well stay off the Riverwalk and get a nicer hotel. It took us 20 minutes walking down the Riverwalk before we saw civilization. In the evenings there is always a Police officer in either the lobby or the bar. He was very creepy and stared at us the whole we were there, it made us very uncomfortable. Do yourself a favor and DO NOT stay at this hotel.

We wanted to be able to enjoy the peaceful part of the new riverwalk, the art walk and the museum along with the history of that part of the riverwalk. When I read about El Tropicano I thought it would be a good choice but was worried about it being too old.
We had a room (2nd floor) looking out over the river and just steps away from a screened in porch area and a nice outdoor area in which we sat and drank our morning coffee. With the awesome design of the hotel I kept feeling like I was back in the 50's or early 60's and kept picturing Pres. Johnson with his family along with some of the famous movie stars that had stayed there.
The breakfast was above what most others offer and the staff helpful and friendly.
My 26 yr old daughter and I truly LOVED the hotel and our weekend stay there. The pool area is wonderful and nice for families. I would recomend the El Tropicano to anyone and hope that many others experience a great stay as we did!

Spent 5 nights at the El Tropicano for a reunion. Staff was friendly, but firm on the check in time, do not arrive early. The hotel being on the Riverwalk was a great asset with having outdoor seating/patio area for guests to visit at the reunion. The rooms were clean, building older, but maintained character of the area and location. There is a parking lot fee. Most guests used the riverwalk boats or walked to town and grabbed a trolley back to the hotel. The breakfast came with our room price but noted there was a charge otherwise. They served eggs, potatoes, and bacon/sausages. The eggs were always cold and on the runny side. Enjoyed the fresh fruit. A very nice pool area on the second floor.

We stayed here two nights and each day our opinions of the place declined. The first night's room had an air conditioner that was so noisy we had a difficult time sleeping. The WiFi was unreachable. Parking was $18.00 per day (it was $5.00 per day across the street). The location is at the very end of the River walk and the water taxi turns around outside the hotel and goes back downstream. A typical breakfast buffet will run you $11.00.

After complaining the next morning we were able to move to a room where the air conditioner worked just fine. The next time we go to San Antonio we will stay elsewhere.