This trip stayed almost 4 weeks at the Tropicana in a standard newer room on th 4th floor. Nothing ever changes here - but it shows more wear with each passing day and year. Our room, 406 had 1 electrical plug and it sparked, broken cable ends so TV did not work, toilet did not flush until after 3rd try - and flooded once. Shower drain plugged and overflowed. This hotel is a 2*-3* at best but says its a 4*. While maid service is great, food is mediocre, and pool waiters - while attentive are motivated by tips. So why stay here you might ask....its ALL about location and the pool area. Best beach area hands down, spacious palapas - good beach security. People return year after year and get to know each other - which is really nice. Even with the problems we will be back.

The Hotel Tropicana is a great little hotel in a perfect location on the South Side of town on Playa Los Muertos.

Check-in was a breeze with absolutely no problems. As we had requested in the reservation, we were given a superior oceanfront room. It was fantastic. While simple and a bit spartan (some drawers to put clothes into might have been nice) the room was spotless. The bathroom was well-sized with an enormous walk-in shower (no bathtub, which suits me just fine). There was a TV with plenty of channels.

I do wish the rooms had in-room safes, but my fear that getting to the safe in the lobby would be a hassle proved to be unfounded. The front desk was always quick to help when needed.

Food is the hotel's weak point. The included breakfast buffet left a lot to be desired. The food tended to sit out too long and dry out, especially the fresh fruit. We managed to find something to get us going for the day usually. Their chilaquiles were a treat when they did have them.

We ordered some snacks sometimes around lunchtime and they were nothing to write home about. Getting beach service was often an issue of trial and error if the waiter would remember your order or not. Our best lunches came from all the great food vendors on Playa Los Muertos. Search out the full fishes on a stick (not the little filets they walk around with).

The beach is Playa Los Muertos, so be prepared for the vendors and bigger crowds. This is a drawing point for us. The hotel had plenty of both palapas and umbrellas for guests to use, There's a nice pool area, but honestly most people seemed to hang out on the beach.

The hotel grounds are nice, if a bit haphazard in places. You can tell they have combined buildings and spaces for a while, making things feel disjointed as you made your way around. there are lots of little stair cases everywhere getting you where you need to be. The plants and grass areas are kept in good order.

You do get the feeling that with a little TLC here and there, this hotel could be so much more. Luckily it is already pretty darn good, and having stayed at the Playa Los Arcos a few times before it was a nice change to never see a line of grumpy people begging to change rooms. We found the service and room at the Tropicana to be a significant upgrade in general.

Locationwise, it's is perfect if you plan to explore the south side. It is just a few blocks away from plenty of great restaurants and bars. The malecon is just a short hike along the beach over the new bridge.

One of these days someone will wake up and realize that with a few upgrades, this hotel just oozes potential. In the menatime it's a great medium range hotel on the beach.

In the meantime it suits me well. I would gladly return to the Tropicana. You should stay there too!

We visited PV in October, 2007 and stayed at the Tropicana for four nights. While the views are stunning from the rooms on the higher levels of this hotel, the elevators were under repair or not working. Climbing 6 flights of stairs in the opressive PV climate (humid and very hot), was often overwhelming. We consider ourselves to be in good shape, but this was exhausting because often you need to go in and our of your room at least a few times a day. The beds are similar to what Fred Flinstone slept on. Rock hard. The air conditioning units in three rooms (yes we had to be moved due to this problem) were not working and the ceiling fans were loud. You simply can't be comfortable in the room without air conditioning. The location is ok, but you are literally hounded and often physically grabbed by vendors on the beach and on the streets whenever you try to have a nice walk. We will never go back to PV or the Tropicana Hotel. We had another bad experience later in the trip when we changed hotels and that made our decision to "never" return to PV quite final. There are so many other magical and wonderful palces to visit in Mexico, why go to the Las Vegas of Mexico?

My husband and I spent 4 nights at the Hotel Tropicana in January, 2008. We went to Puerto Vallarta for a friend's wedding, but couldn't stay at the wedding hotel. We had Room 549 which is a king bed, superior room. We also had a friend who stayed in Room 627 which is a standard room with a single and double bed.

The superior room was pretty nice. Nothing fancy. Great view with the ocean wave sounds at all times. The bed was to be expected--hard, but comfortable. Room was a little small, but not bad. The only thing that would have been nice would have been a hair dryer and an iron. Other hotels that I have stayed at in Mexico which rate themselves as 3-4 stars normally have those amenities. I just wish I had known to pack them. I would not say this is a 4-star hotel, as painted on the outside of their building, but probably closer to 2-3. You get what you pay for.

The standard room was nice also, but older. It was great for my friend who stayed there by herself. Both rooms and the hotel was very clean.

We spent another few bucks to have breakfast included and it was a pretty good deal. The buffet was always full of a large variety of things and after staying out late, it was nice to just go downstairs and eat immediately. If you have a chance though, go to Fredy's and get breakfast (they serve it all day!).

The hotel pool was great to lay out by because they wouldn't allow the constant vendors to ask you for tatoos, braids, necklaces, hammocks, etc. On the beach it was quite a heavy vendor flow, which got annoying especially while trying to enjoy a meal. I would say the vendors were more than other places I have traveled. Oh yeah, and if you want to drink at the hotel, go with the bucket of beers, it's a lot cheaper.

The hotel location was nice. It was a couple of blocks from the majority of bars and restaurants which made it a lot quieter. Plus, it was a pretty easy walk just about anywhere in the Romantic Zone or Old Vallarta. The entire area of town seemed very safe while we were there. We had no issues with security, etc. My husband enjoyed getting flirted with by the guys=).

The only complaint was that the staff was so-so. We arrived on a late flight and they harrassed us about wearing these bracelets to show that we were staying there. Of course they tried to give us at first the ones that didn't include breakfast, until I verified myself that that was the correct one and then they switched them up. Our friend had the same problem. They weren't too thrilled when I refused to wear the bright blue bracelet for 5 days since I didn't really feel like having it in wedding pictures, etc. But, with some convincing it was fine. They only asked to see them ONCE the entire 5 days we were there and that was when we spent an afternoon at the pool.

The staff also walked into our room at 830 am without knocking first to try to clean it. It woke us up, freaked us out, and then they slammed the door shut again. The rest of the nights we used the sign on the door the night before so we wouldn't get woken up so early. Also, after I called to confirm a late check-out because of a 5 pm return flight, they called me at 12:15 to see why I wasn't out of the room and to remind me that check out was at noon. I explained to them that I had already called and that we were in the process of packing. Then, it wasn't an issue, but somewhat unprofessional as I had just spoken with them a couple hours prior and the lady was quite indignant who called our room.

I speak Spanish, but my husband does not. Some Spanish would definitely be helpful as he had some troubles communicating with the front desk. But, there are definitely individuals on staff that do speak some English in case it's an issue.

One word of advice--We went on a tour on the Santamaria boat which was advertised to us as a cheaper alternative to Puerto Vallarta Adventures' whale watching tour. Do NOT be douped. We actually weren't supposed to be on the Santamaria, but our boat tour to Yelapa apparently didn't get enough reservations. So, without telling us, that morning, they grouped us with the Santamaria "booze cruise" crowd of several hundred mostly annoying individuals. There were no whales and it lasted ALL DAY. Once we got to Yelapa, and got ripped off again and the guide AGREED that we had not gotten what we had paid for, we paid a few bucks to take the water taxi back to Boca and then another buck to take a bus back to PV instead of wasting another 2 hours on the whale-less booze cruise. If you actually want to see whales, pay the extra money. If you want to drink all day...then, pay the $35-40 and take the all day Santamaria tour. The Santamaria was not the name of the company, but the name of the boat that they have on their phamplets. Just know what you're getting into.