Switched our hotel to the Tropicana

[JenDisneylandlver]

As much as I think I would have liked the Carousel Inn, the small pool and no hot tub just wasn't going to work. My DH loves coming back from the parks and hopping in the hot tub in the evenings. Looks like the pool at the Tropicana isn't huge, but that Carousel Inn one just looked pretty darn small for our taste.

I think we'll be happier there, the room still has a fridge and microwave, which was important for us. It ended up actually being a little cheaper too! Not to mention it's even slightly a little closer to the parks! Hoping I did the right thing, but once I broke the news to DH this morning about no hot tub, and seeing him do this . I knew I had to do something! LOL

 

[beckanoah]

I'll be at Tropicana Too. Hopefully it'll be a great time for all!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I hope so too! Looks like a nice place. I noticed that they don't tell you up front if you're going to get a non-smoking room or not. That you can request it (which we didn't do online). I hope that's not gonna be a problem. It says online 95% of their rooms are non-smoking. A smoking room really gets to me. Maybe I should call and ask to request it now?

 

[beckanoah]

I did call 3 weeks ago to confirm, and request it, but she said there's only like 4 smoking rooms, and so our chances are VERY high that they'll be for smokers only!

I can't handle it either. LOL

 

[godalejunior]

The pool is small but very doable and the hot tub was good size. It is in the center of the parking lot but is gated. We stayed there three weeks ago.

 

[kiwitravel]

We stayed at the Tropicana on our first trip and it was certainly OK, the breakfast wasn't very good so be prepared and the rooms a little smaller, however the pool was quite a bit bigger than CI and of course CI has no hot tub...

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Glad to hear there are only 4 rooms that are smoking! Were gonna call to confirm our ressie tomorrow and I'll let them know we want non-smoking. But it's good knowing the odds are still in our favor!

It was kind of hard for me to decide what to do. I read the breakfast was better at CI, but when it came down to it the pool and hot tub ended up just being more important. We usually do a lot of swimming the day we arrive, since were not going in to the parks. And like I said before, DH has to have his hot tub fix in the late evenings! LOL Someday we'd still like to try CI. Maybe on a winter trip when the pool and stuff won't be such a problem.

 

[Mom2my2daughters]

We stayed at the Tropicanna for our 1st DL trip in 2000. I'm very picky and I actually was okay with this place. Our room was on the 2nd floor, non-smoking. I was suprised to read that someone thought the room was small, I thought the total opposite and felt it was one of the bigger hotel rooms I had been in. Since that trip we've always stayed at the DLH and by far the Tropicanna rooms are bigger than those. Our beds were very comfortable which is nice after a day of walking. And yes, the crosswalk to the parks is practically outside the hotel. There is, or was when we were there in 2000 a small mini-mart in the parking lot that we'd buy snacks from. Never did have the breakfast there. The vanity is seperate from the toilet and shower and is a part of the room which does suck if say you got up earlier than the boys to get ready.

The hottub was big, and the pool fine. I do remember the pool being cold, like not heated, when we were there in the month of May.

I was actually pleased with the place, and like I said, I'm picky and have hangups about things

 

[godalejunior]

I think it is open for interpretation. Our two queen room at the Tropicana was so small we had to step over three suitcases just to get to the bathroom as there was no place to put them. We did have a table with two chairs in the room but you had to climb on the bed to get to one of the chairs as there was no room to shimmy by the bed (the table was jammed up between the window and the bed). I think it is all in where you get placed.

I think the second floor would be better since you don't have a vehicle and engine three feet from your door.

Our room at DLH was twice as big as the one in the Tropicana with a sofa and desk-you did not have to climb over anything to get to and an armoire to store things in. Again, I think it is all in where you get placed.

I was disappointed in the Tropicana and trust me, I did not have high expectations. I even asked my Dad and his wife in the room next to us and they said they did not like it either.

I think just like with anything, you share your experience and it is what it is. I am going to try BWPPI next time to see if it is any better.

 

[Amy&Dan]

We really liked the Tropicana. We had a two queen bedded room and there was plenty of room for a rollaway. The room was spotless, the staff was very helpful and the hot tub is huge! I am also very picky, rather neurotic to be honest, I travel with my chlorox wipes and check for bedbugs and all that sort of stuff! The outside was well tended too, I loved the way the staff were always around cleaning the windows, walkways, and pruning the trees and plants. The pool was small but it was clean and had plenty of towels. The breakfast was free, nothing great but I wasn't expecting much. The location cannot be beat. I agree with godalejunior, everyone's experience is going to be different. We generally stay onsite but a last minute trip required something cheap and the Tropicana fit that bill. I think I was just so releived to have something that was that nice and clean for under $70 a night (this was very offseason)! I have now stayed at the Howard Johnsons, Camelot and Tropicana and the Tropicana is my favorite of those three. And to go with that "different experiences for different people" theme, we were disappointed with the HoJo, not in an awful way, just not what we were expecting given the reviews here on the dis and on Tripadvisor. We are trying out the Best Western Park Place Inn in a couple of weeks for two nights, I wanted a suite and they had one available, the Tropicana didn't. So it will be interesting to have another offsite hotel to compare with. The biggest thing to me was that it be clean, and the Tropicana really did excel in that area. It has been recently refurbed and our room and bathroom very much showed that. It was also nice that it had a microwave and small frig.

From my experience, it was great, but I certainly never doubt that others can have a different experience! I hope the OP's is like mine!

 

[kiwitravel]

We liked the Tropicana fine, we even tried to book it again last year but they had put their price up so much we had to look elsewhere and found the Carousel Inn nextdoor. The room is ok but is small if you have 2 adults and 2 children (and luggage), the breakfast was very mediocre but the pool and hot tub were excellent. In the end we prefered the CI as the room was a little bigger, the breakfast far better and the service was exceptional and at $69 per night in July it was about $30 per night cheaper.....

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

Good to hear more good reviews! I honestly think the size of the rooms will be okay, there is just 3 of us, so it usually isn't a problem. Even if it turns out to be on the small side. People tell me the GCH rooms are small, and they've always been perfect for me, so yes it is all relative!

Very happy to hear the hot tub is huge! LOL DH will be very appreciate. Funny how the pool and hot tub is probably more important when it comes to size then the room is.

Amy I'm like you on the clean thing, AND the bug thing. So I'm glad to hear it wins your approval for being clean. That I think is MOST important above all. Like you we usually stay onsite, but this too was a last minute budget trip, that wouldn't be happening at all if we didn't stay offsite. Let me know how you like BWPPI, their suites do look nice! We are also okay with just a small breakfast that they offer. It is free, so I tend to not expect a lot. Were not huge breakfast eaters, and mainly just want a little something to get us going. I think it will be okay. I couldn't justify staying with the CI because of the better breakfast, with having such a small pool and no hot tub. Worst comes to worst there is always McDonalds! Just depends on what you want I suppose! But I think were going to be happy with the Tropicana.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Good to hear more good reviews! I honestly think the size of the rooms will be okay, there is just 3 of us, so it usually isn't a problem. Even if it turns out to be on the small side. People tell me the GCH rooms are small, and they've always been perfect for me, so yes it is all relative!

Very happy to hear the hot tub is huge! LOL DH will be very appreciate. Funny how the pool and hot tub is probably more important when it comes to size then the room is.

Amy I'm like you on the clean thing, AND the bug thing. So I'm glad to hear it wins your approval for being clean. That I think is MOST important above all. Like you we usually stay onsite, but this too was a last minute budget trip, that wouldn't be happening at all if we didn't stay offsite. Let me know how you like BWPPI, their suites do look nice! We are also okay with just a small breakfast that they offer. It is free, so I tend to not expect a lot. Were not huge breakfast eaters, and mainly just want a little something to get us going. I think it will be okay. I couldn't justify staying with the CI because of the better breakfast, with having such a small pool and no hot tub. Worst comes to worst there is always McDonalds! Just depends on what you want I suppose! But I think were going to be happy with the Tropicana.

I really hope you like it. The problem with great reviews is that sometimes they can set people up for high expectations. That was what happened to me with the HoJo, I think I was expecting it to be something it just couldn't deliver! The Tropicana is a basic motel, but its location, cleanliness, recent refurb and the nice staff really made it our new favorite of offsite places we had stayed at. When I stayed there in February of 06, I posted a question about it on the dis and only got a few responses, one of which was very negative. So I was really wary! But when I looked on Tripadvisor it mostly looked good so I went with it. I was really happy I did. My kids loved that pool and hot tub. I posted a review on it when I got back so that others would have some recent info on it. I think its refurb and new ownership have made it more popular again, I see more about it on the dis these days. It sounds like some of the rooms are smaller than others, we were on the second floor, towards the back and it was a nice sized room and really quiet. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

And I will let everyone know about the mini suite at BWPPI, I never see anything bad about this place so I am pretty confident we will like it. And we'll miss you by just a couple of days, we arrive just after you leave!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

I really hope you like it. The problem with great reviews is that sometimes they can set people up for high expectations. That was what happened to me with the HoJo, I think I was expecting it to be something it just couldn't deliver! The Tropicana is a basic motel, but its location, cleanliness, recent refurb and the nice staff really made it our new favorite of offsite places we had stayed at. When I stayed there in February of 06, I posted a question about it on the dis and only got a few responses, one of which was very negative. So I was really wary! But when I looked on Tripadvisor it mostly looked good so I went with it. I was really happy I did. My kids loved that pool and hot tub. I posted a review on it when I got back so that others would have some recent info on it. I think its refurb and new ownership have made it more popular again, I see more about it on the dis these days. It sounds like some of the rooms are smaller than others, we were on the second floor, towards the back and it was a nice sized room and really quiet. Good luck, let us know how it goes!

And I will let everyone know about the mini suite at BWPPI, I never see anything bad about this place so I am pretty confident we will like it. And we'll miss you by just a couple of days, we arrive just after you leave!

I think it's good to sometimes go with not too high of expectations! I try to read reviews with that in mind, because a lot of times people expect a whole lot from these smaller motels. Like where the free breakfast in concerned. I'm just happy that they offer something! hehe

So I'm certainly not expecting it to be the DLH or GCH. Clean, with a decent pool and hot tub is really all were wanting. So I think the Tropicana will meet that okay! I will certainly post a review when we get back! I've heard nothing but good things about BWPPI too, in fact we looked in to staying there but they were booked by the time I was looking. Shame were missing eachother by a few days, would have been nice to have you in that Nemo line with us!

 

[crasher11]

We stayed there just in May and everything was great. The staff was wonderful and you can't beat the location. The hot tub was really nice ofter tromping all over DLR. We prefer this Place when we go to DLR makes it easy to come back for a break in the pm with out waiting for shuttles.