Trópica Beach Hotel — Hotel in San Juan

I will say the communication prior to arrival was excellent! However, overall for what we paid I would not stay at the hotel again. I booked directly with the hotel website. I love to support boutique hotels and don't like leaving reviews that aren't all positive but I want to be honest and am actually surprised by all the positive reviews especially about the pool!?

I stayed in a King deluxe room (room 135). The cost was $240 a night but w/ tax and service fees it was $297 per night. For that amount Tropica just did not provide the value and expectations of that price point.

It was one of the weirdest first impressions and check in experiences I have ever had. We arrived around 1PM where Ignasico let us in. He said the manager (Carlos) was on his lunch break but not really sure. He really had no idea what was going on and I almost wondered if he even worked there even though he was wearing a hotel shirt. At the time he didn't have any beach towels to offer us or beach chairs to give us. We had asked for early check in but again he couldn't look up anything or tell us anything until Carlos got back. He took our luggage, offered us a welcome drink, which was nice and then we went to get something to eat. (Sidenote: I always ask for early check in and I understand it is always based on availability.) We went to lunch and we're accommodated at 2:30pm for an early check in.

Positive: The staff for the most part were very friendly and attentive. Annie was spectacular and answered all of my questions beforehand and during our stay. Carlos provided towels and water once without asking

Location is good, 1 block from Beach. But you need to carry your own chair and towels.

The texting service is extremely convenient and easy to use.

AC worked great.

Provided a welcome pastry and welcome note.

Negative: The pool shouldn't be advertised as a pool. It is the size of a small hot tub. And that is not an exaggeration. And you need a reservation to use it, at least when we we're there. It was free when we wanted it but it's so small and it's right in the middle of the courtyard/restaurant that if someone is eating you would literally almost be on top of them. It's not a place you can lay at, and say relax if the beach was too windy, which ocean beach was so windy when we went sand was blowing you couldn't even sit and enjoy it. There are 2 chairs literally in the pool and that is it. So if anyone was using it all other hotel guests have no where to go.

The noise at night was really really loud. Until 3am in the morning, the walls are very thin.

The wifi didn't work in our room. Only worked in the lobby.

The outlets didn't work near the bed. The shower didn't have a full door which left the floor soaking wet and the shades were uneven and couldn't pull up and down easily. There isn't a closet, they provide a rack which is fine but again for the price point the room felt unfinished. There is a place to sit and get ready but no mirror. I don't mind a small room, you dont spend too much time in it but it needs to be functional.

There is a mini fridge but it's just placed on the floor. So while nice, feels like an afterthought and again not cohesive. The walls in our room were dirty and could have used a fresh coat.

The coffee in the lobby is a nice but you have to go downstairs to get it. There aren't coffee makers in the rooms. They don't offer anything but powered milk which isn't great for any guest that might like or require a milk alternative and we asked but they said they couldn't accommodate even though there is a restaurant in the hotel.

There isn't an area where you can sit outside and relax. The only option is 2 swing chairs. That's it. Again because we're in PR would be great to have a place to sit or drab a drink outside b/c the rooms are small but you really can't. The tables are for the restaurant. So the only place to sit was in our room.

So overall if this hotel was $100 a night it would have been fine and acceptable. But it's not a 3.5 star hotel and it certainly...

The staff on our first and last day were very friendly, the location is good, and the bed was comfortable, but that's about all the good I can say about this hotel. Lots of little things add up to a not great hotel experience. First we realized that we couldn't open the bathroom door without hitting the counter, everything was cramped into our room. There was a dresser and a hanging rack for clothes, but even with only a few days worth of things it was hard to fit it all. There was a table on only one side of the bed, which was inconvenient for 2 people. The blinds were stuck and difficult to open and close. Our window opened to the restaurant/"pool" area and somehow the conversations there seemed amplified. There was noise in that area every night past 11pm, and 2 mornings before 6am. We couldn't hear it in the hall but in our room we could hear every single word from that area. The restaurant at one point had a DJ out there playing loud music for 5 hours and each time I looked out the window there were 0 people out there even enjoying the music. Hotel staff told me there was nothing they could do since the restaurant is independently owned. The bathroom had no exhaust fan or window, and is slightly elevated above the room, so water would drip from the bathroom into the room. The shower had a fixed glass plate that covered about half of the shower so no way to keep water in. The toilet paper is situated on the wall where the shower opens up, so it would get wet during a shower. The sink was leaking somewhere, though I didn't see where, but when I'd wash my hands everything around the sink was wet. The power outlets only worked sporadically. The TV had a roku but there was no way to tell which subscriptions they had. We were able to access Netflix and Hulu and thankfully YouTube, as we needed background music to try and drown out all of the conversations/music/squealing/yelling in the restaurant/pool area. They do have coffee in the lobby area but they didn't tell us about that area. It's off to the side and up until that point we thought it was just the manager's office. We discovered it ourselves on the third day. Not a huge deal but the sign says they'll only replace towels on the floor to be environmentally friendly, but each time our room was cleaned the replaced all of the towels, even the ones we had hung up. They didn't seem to bother with cleaning the floor though. Any one of these issues alone can be no big deal, but all together it just was a place that...

Why the heck is this a 2-star hotel?!

Just realized I wrote a review about this hotel the 1st time I came. Here is my updated review.

Our stay at Tropica Hotel in Ocean Park, Puerto Rico, far exceeded any expectations for a supposed "2-star" rating. The service was outstanding from start to finish. Andrea and Jessica were incredibly helpful, providing excellent restaurant recommendations and ensuring we stayed hydrated throughout our stay. Their personalized care made our experience feel like we were at a much higher-end resort.

We stayed in one of their suites that comfortably slept four people. The hotel even has a vending machine on-site for snacks and drinks. Tropica also provides beach chairs and towels, which was a great touch, especially since the beach is just a block away. The beach itself is stunning, and we practically had it all to ourselves—pure paradise!

The hotel has a few charming amenities, including a tiny pool, hammocks to relax in, and an outdoor shower to rinse off the sand after a day at the beach. Though small, these details made for a lovely, cozy atmosphere that felt very authentic to Puerto Rico. Honestly, with service and a location like this, Tropica deserves way more than two stars!

THE FIRST TIME I STAYED HERE. OMG!  I was impressed on the impeccable service at the Tropica Beach Hotel.  Chic Boutique Hotel storefront very unassuming, but from the moment you walk in their customer service felt that of q luxurious hotel.  COVID protocols were in place, temperature checks, sanitizing stations set up and they also sanitized your bags.  The room was immaculate with succulents placed strategically in planters.  Lighting and color scheme very zen.  The bed was extremely comfortable.  The bed had a built in topper and the pillows had different levels of firmness.  No phones in the room, everything was done via your phone.  You needed something you’d text the front desk and they’d reply almost immediately with the answer you were looking from.  We were greeted by Wilson.  Everyone who worked at the front desk was amicable.  They also had a work area and a small business set up for those that wanted or needed to do a little work. Nobody in their right mind would want to work there.  Now for the best part...their restaurant.  You need to make reservations.  We were able to have breakfast there on our last day.  The menu had an array of meals to choose from.  Coffee, better than Your favorite coffee shop, with their own...