Tropicana Inn & Suites or Fairfield Inn?

[IvyWinter]

Hi all! Second Disneyland trip coming up. First time I stayed with a CM friend for a couple of nights and did the Disneyland Hotel 1 night as a splurge. This time I'm headed with my husband and right now we're booked at Tropicana. I've heard mixed things about it, (rude staff, not well-cleaned rooms) but i do love the proximity to the parks. I also was eyeing the Fairfield Inn, which I know is just up the block. It seemed a little...nicer? i guess? I honestly have ZERO experience with the good neighbor hotels. Should i switch or just stick with the tropicana? I feel like we'll be out of the hotel for most of the day, so really its a place to sleep. Any thoughts/experiences?

 

[gerilyne]

I haven't stayed at the Fairfield since 2012 but I really liked it. It was close to the parks, we could see the fireworks from the hotel one night, and I liked walking by McDonald's every morning for breakfast on the way to the parks. I don't know if they still have it but they also had water with lemon and some other citrus in the lobby which was great after the walk back from the parks. The room was clean and quiet. the only thing was the hallways are all outdoors so it feels a little motel like, but I would still stay there again.

 

[pharmama]

We stayed at Tropicana in May and had no issues with the items you mention. Loved the location. I do have a friend who swears by FFI too so I'm sure that's a good option as well. Is there a significant price difference for your stay?

 

[cassiopia419]

I was trying to make this exact decision about six weeks ago and finally went with the Tropicana. We stayed for 5 nights and had zero problems. We're super happy with our decision. The walk to and from the park was so nice (we stayed near Harbor and Katella last time and this was much better).

The room was very nice and cleaned well daily. All of the valet staff that we saw as we walked to and from were very polite with "have fun" in the mornings as we walked past and "welcome back" in the evening. The front desk staff at check-in and check-out were great. We got drinks in the Cove Marketplace a few mornings and staff were nice. In fact, the last morning my DH was wearing his "once a Marine" shirt and the barista gave him $1 off his coffee and thanked him for his service.

We were on the 3rd floor and had no issues with noisy guests. We obviously could hear the fireworks every evening and could actually see them from the balcony right outside our room. There was some noise during the day from the hotel they are taking down next door, but that's close to the Fairfield too, so I suspect you'd hear it there as well.

 

[IvyWinter]

I was trying to make this exact decision about six weeks ago and finally went with the Tropicana. We stayed for 5 nights and had zero problems. We're super happy with our decision. The walk to and from the park was so nice (we stayed near Harbor and Katella last time and this was much better).

The room was very nice and cleaned well daily. All of the valet staff that we saw as we walked to and from were very polite with "have fun" in the mornings as we walked past and "welcome back" in the evening. The front desk staff at check-in and check-out were great. We got drinks in the Cove Marketplace a few mornings and staff were nice. In fact, the last morning my DH was wearing his "once a Marine" shirt and the barista gave him $1 off his coffee and thanked him for his service.

We were on the 3rd floor and had no issues with noisy guests. We obviously could hear the fireworks every evening and could actually see them from the balcony right outside our room. There was some noise during the day from the hotel they are taking down next door, but that's close to the Fairfield too, so I suspect you'd hear it there as well.

Not worried about midday noise since we prob wont even be back in the rooms during the day. Thank you for your thoughts, this makes me feel better about staying there! And seeing the fireworks from the room sounds awesome! Thanks for noting valet staff, we are renting a car so definitely be using it.

 

[lalasmama]

I haven't stayed at FFI, but I've stayed at Tropicana several times now.

When looking at Tropicana reviews, remember that they only finished their refurbishments/overhaul in Oct 2017, so anything before that may be about a non-updated room.

The grounds are a basic motel look. Nothing outside that draws you in and makes you think, "WOW! I GOTTA STAY THERE!" but also nothing that makes you think, "YUCK! WE AREN'T EVER STAYING THERE!" They have a small pool and hot tub that is in the parking lot. We have yet to use it, but no real reason why not--just haven't had the opportunity. Room doors open to the parking lot or walkway (no hallway). I travel on my own all the time, and haven't had a problem with this; I just flip over the other little lock when I am in the room, and feel perfectly safe. The grounds are well-lit at night.

We were thrilled with our room since their most recent renovations! Most recently, we stayed in room 371, which is a King room. Overall, I love the updated decor--it felt very stereotypical California--blues, with palm tree silhouettes, and some orange accents. Bed was super comfy--nice and soft, but firm enough to not feel unsupported. The lights on the bathroom mirror was great. Yes, it sounds weird to love a mirror in a bathroom, but it was nice and bright, without being overpowering, and went all around the mirror so it didn't give me "shadows" when doing my makeup. In the case of this specific room, it was on the 3rd floor, had a vaulted ceiling, and windows on both the north and west sides, so our grandson could watch the fireworks when we weren't in the parks. The carpet was fairly new, and passed our white-sock test easily.

While we were there, I felt like the housekeeping was a little spotty--the coffee carafe wasn't emptied a few times, no fresh coffee pods once or twice. They took our grandson's top sheet one day, so he had to sleep with just a lower sheet and blanket for the last couple of days (to be fair, though, he had eaten his chocolate-covered Hostess donuts, and wiped his hands on the sheets; at home, we wouldn't have even thought twice about keeping them on his bed, but I could understand housekeeping thinking maybe it was something yucky, and took the sheet away, forgetting to bring a new one. Overall though, those are small things, and nothing that would stop us from staying again.

Staff has always been good to our family. Check-in and check-out are quick and easy. I had one issue with the parking attendants on 2 trips (specifically, them greeting me by name and asking how room number xx was working for me two separate stays when I didn't have a car, when I was on a solo trip) which kind of creeped me out. When we stayed this last June, though, I didn't have this experience. I call for my own taxi/uber/lyft; the first time I had them call for me, I ended up with a service that cost about $20 more than a taxi, and went 90 mph on the freeway.

Tropicana is definitely at the top of our list now.

 

[smartlabelprint]

They’re very equal. I’d stay at the cheaper of the two.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Do Marriott points matter at all? If you think you might be returning to DLR in the future or that you might want to use Marriott points for any future travel, I would choose the FFI (and sign up for Marriott Rewards before your trip).

 

[AuntieMe3]

Love Tropicana...its my go to and once you stay, you get a great return guest rate.

 

[IvyWinter]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! Pricing is near equal. I am not a points member of any hotel chain so nothing pushing me either way on that. I believe we'll stay with Tropicana!

 

[Kittyskyfish]

We love and always stay at the Fairfield Inn. Keep in mind that both hotels are thoroughly renovated. One big difference: the Tropicana has new carpet while the Fairfield Inn ripped out the carpet and now has solid floors. That could either be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. Solid floors are easier to keep clean and hold less odor/moisture. Or you would prefer the feel of carpet underneath your feet.

 

[smartlabelprint]

We love and always stay at the Fairfield Inn. Keep in mind that both hotels are thoroughly renovated. One big difference: the Tropicana has new carpet while the Fairfield Inn ripped out the carpet and now has solid floors. That could either be a good or bad thing, depending on your needs. Solid floors are easier to keep clean and hold less odor/moisture. Or you would prefer the feel of carpet underneath your feet.

Do the hard floors echo & youhear yoir upstairs neighbors more?

 

[Kittyskyfish]

Do the hard floors echo & youhear yoir upstairs neighbors more?

I didn't notice any additional noise. I believe the floors were installed with an acoustic underlayment to soften impact sounds.
Also, most guests aren't wearing hard shoes at this hotel, favoring soft-soled shoes like flip flops, sneakers, and comfortable footwear geared for parks. It's the hard shoes like heels and dress shoes that give off loud foot step sounds.

 

[Indiana Scott]

Both are very nice hotels. You cannot go wrong with either.
They're close to Mimi's restaraunt too, which is a welcome relief from the censory overload of Disneyland.