It's always best to get your requests in to the DJs early in the evening, especially if there are a lot of parties. They usually play Salsa and Merengue, but occasionally switch to Bachata.
The club requires a minimum $10 charge on your credit or debit cards, so it's a good idea to bring cash if you want to control how much you spend. The bartenders become busy quickly and they don't have time for chit chat, but they usually remember what I want to drink and sometimes beat me to placing my order for me.
Most of the dancers know to practice courtesy on the floor. Be watchful of the people around you and leave them space to enjoy their dances. As the floor becomes crowded, leave the fancier moves for another time.
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Club Tropicana is located on the corner of Fondren and Richmond in a small strip mall that doesn't look very impressive when you're thinking of night clubs. Nonetheless, they have one of the classiest, most elegant layouts I have ever seen -- when the lights go out.
Seriously, if you duck in the door before they have finished setting up the club (and if the staff don't politely ask you to leave right away), you'll see chairs and tables stacked against the walls. The regular ceiling lights are bright and garish. But the dance floor stands out. It's polished hardwood, just like you would expect to find in a dance studio.
And that is apparently no coincidence, since the owner (Juan Carlos Macias) tells me that the facility was indeed once a dance school. The floor is partially surrounded by a railing with small wooden counters. People can pull stools up to the counters, or stand there with their drinks and not have to hold them. The railings, however, are built to provide a convenient rest spot close to the floor, not to impede your freedom of movement.
The whole club has a wide open feel. The dance floor is surrounded on three sides by tables. The fourth side has a stage where bands and dancers shine in the spotlight. A top-quality DJ booth sits in a corner. The V.I.P. section sits to one side overlooking a few tables and the dance floor.
There is a large, well-stocked bar opposite the stage, behind two rows of tightly packed tables. And beyond the bar is comfortable seating along the wall with a few more tables. Each table has a decorative candle. When the lights are dimmed, a few strobe lights over the dance floor and the candles on the tables provide most of the light.
The ambience is magical. You feel like you are passing through a private luminaria. A smoke machine in the ceiling heightens the effect of the openness by hiding the seating areas from the dancers. People who just like to watch the dancing can still see into the smoke as it billows outwards.
Large screens positioned strategically throughout the club let you watch the videos played by the DJs or, if a live band is performing, in-house cameras make sure everyone can see the show. There are very few bad seats in the house, as even the carpeted area behind the bar is as likely to be filled with dancers as with partiers and friends just mingling.
Senor Macias is proud of his club, which has won the Houston Press Award for "Best Salsa Club" two years in a row. AOL City Guide recently named Tropicana "Best Salsa Dance Club", too. Not bad for a venue which first opened in 1988. The typical lifespan of a club or restaurant is said to be five years. Then it is no longer "hot". Many venues actually close down and reopen with a new theme, new management, even new ownership after 7-10 years.
There is something timeless about Tropicana. It conforms to my expectations for a classic, elegant night club, and I when I first entered Tropicana I felt I had found someplace special. And yet, when I asked Senor Macias if he had anything specific in mind with the decor, he told me he had not chosen a specific model. "I got the vision [for Tropicana's design] by visiting clubs all over the country," he said.
The vision has been recognized by others, as Club Tropicana has so far appeared in two movies and two music videos. Just about every dancer I know agrees that Tropicana has the best floor in Houston. We rarely see slips or falls, and since people don't take their drinks across the floors, messes and cleanups are rare.
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