Hotel Costa Tropical

The Costa Tropical is in the tourist resort of Nuevo Horizonte in the Costa Antigua region, 5 mi from the capital, Puerto del Rosario, and is set back from the sea on the eastern coast of Fuerteventura. The airport is 4 mi north of the hotel and transfer time is around 5 minutes. A promenade runs along the rocks by the sea to Castillo beach, which is 1.2 mi away. This is a 30-minute walk.

The Costa Tropical is open all year round, like all the hotels on Fuerteventura, which enjoys good, mild weather all the time! The setting is peaceful, but sometimes disturbed by planes taking off or landing at the nearby airport. Built in 1993, the Costa Tropical can accommodate 300 guests. The majority are French. A car park, launderette and supermarket are also available. You can withdraw money from the ATM machine located in the lobby of the hotel. The beach is not close by (1.2 mi away), but a free shuttle service takes you there hourly, in ten minutes.

A member of the Spanish Globales Hotels & Resorts group, the Costa Tropical has 90 apartments and 53 bungalows arranged around a beautiful 5 ft deep swimming pool, crossed by a wooden bridge. A few palm trees provide some welcome greenery on the solarium terrace, which has parasols, pergolas, deckchairs and showers. However, there are no towels: you have to take your own. The pool bar allows you to quench your thirst without leaving the water! There is also a small diamond-shaped swimming pool for children. The small well-being centre provides a fitness room, two saunas and two whirlpool baths (one for men and one for women). Built in 1993, the hotel was renovated in 2007.

The apartments at the Costa Tropical have a kitchen equipped with a microwave, a toaster, two electric hobs, a sink, cutlery, a refrigerator and tea and coffee-making facilities. The rooms have tiled floors and are pleasant, with wooden furniture and white walls adorned with three pretty paintings, one of which is in the bedroom. The rooms have two single beds, a square wooden table, two chairs, an armchair, a safe deposit box with a key payable locally, satellite television (22 channels) and a telephone. On the other hand, there is no air-conditioning; however, it is rarely too hot on Fuerteventura. The lounge area has a sofa-bed and a coffee table. French doors that are rather difficult to open lead out onto the balcony. Furnished with a round white plastic table, they all have a sea view. The small bathroom has a bathtub with a flexible shower, a bidet, a toilet and two bars of soap. There is no shower gel, shampoo or hair-dryer. The hot water tank is very obvious, so you cannot miss it!
The bungalow maisonettes have a bathroom and bedroom on the first floor with a terrace, but it does not overlook the sea. A lounge area and a small patio are on the ground floor.

The Costa Tropical has three restaurants: the buffet serves breakfast between 8am and 10am and dinner between 7pm and 9.30pm. It is not very gourmet and lacks variety; however, the small dining room has pleasant and convivial decor. You can also opt for the Mama Mia pizzeria (when it is open) or the à la carte restaurant near the bar. The latter has a television and provides musical entertainment in the evening.

Every hour, a free shuttle service runs between the hotel and Castillo beach, which is 1.2 mi away. It is called Castillo beach after the old fortified castle, listed as a historical monument, located inside the Barcelo Club El Castillo hotel. This beach has quite coarse, brown sand with a few pebbles in a small cove and looks like a shallow lagoon with clear water and is sheltered from the wind, which is a change from the immense wave-stricken fine, sandy beaches you generally find on Fuerteventura. It is quite busy but peaceful and there are plenty of rubbish bins dotted around. More enthusiastic guests can try their hand at beach volleyball. There is a very sweet little port on the left that you can reach by the promenade that runs the whole of the length of the beach, where there are several bars and restaurants. There is a water sports club nearby. Dromedary trips are offered on the beach.