Tropicana Inn--your opinions?

[stampinshauna]

I'm trying to find a hotel to stay at when we go to Disneyland in September. I'm really hoping for good AP rates so we can stay at a Disney hotel, but I need to book something in case we can't get good rates. We stayed at the HoJo last year and I wasn't all that impressed. I'd like something a little closer and a breakfast is a bonus. If you've stayed at the Tropicana, please give me your opinions. Thanks.

 

[RangerPooh]

It's nothing spectacular, but it's a room with a basic continental breakfast none the less. We've stayed there a few times and from what I heard they had a renovation a few years back. It is close to the park which is a plus. Parking is tight like at many of the other hotels. Plus you can usually get a good rate there.

 

[Lrrysgrl]

I'm trying to find a hotel to stay at when we go to Disneyland in September. I'm really hoping for good AP rates so we can stay at a Disney hotel, but I need to book something in case we can't get good rates. We stayed at the HoJo last year and I wasn't all that impressed. I'd like something a little closer and a breakfast is a bonus. If you've stayed at the Tropicana, please give me your opinions. Thanks.

We are staying there in May-I went to the Tripadvisor site and there are some GREAT reviews of the Tropicana Inn there. =o)

 

[Thumpersmom]

We are staying there on the 17th-the 21st

While it is in no way the GC it is very close and clean. We have stayed here a couple of times and have recommended it to others and everyone is always pleased with the price they have payed and how clean it is!

The pool in the parking lot always makes me laugh though!!!!!!

 

[Amy&Dan]

My family of four stayed at the Tropicana for five nights two months ago. We loved it. We absolutely love to stay onsite but this was a last minute budget trip. Our two choices on Harbor were the Tropicana and the HoJo. We had stayed at the HoJo and thought it was fine but were disappointed, probably because we read tripadvisor reviews that ranked it above the Disneyland Hotel. I totally don't get that to this day but maybe its just me! In any case, I found the walk to the HoJo to be a pain since my fil is generally with us and is disabled. Also our room at the HoJo was clean (except for this nasty mold in the bathroom but that can happen anywhere) but to me it was dated. So we decided to opt for the Tropicana. We could not have been more pleased. The difference in distance to Disneyland between the Tropicana and HoJo was huge for us. In normal life it wouldn't be but after walking around Disneyland and DCA all day it was so nice to have such short walk. The room was nice sized and much more updated than the one we had at the HoJo. It was immaculately clean and you could tell it had been recently remodeled. The bathroom was spotless, nice sized and no mold! The free breakfast was pretty basic, pastries, croissants, muffins, lemonade and maybe apple juice. They also had apples and oranges and told us to be sure and take one for a snack later in the day which we did. It was nice to have something free and easy to start our day. The Tropicana's pool is not as large as the HoJo's, but its nice, they have plenty of chairs a few tables and a really large hot tub. It was nice and clean too. It doesn't have the lovely, extensive grounds the HoJo does but it does have some nice landscaping touches. The staff were all very nice and helpful. We really enjoyed our stay there and since we went with no expectations we were pleasantly surprised (which is the title to my tripadvisor review incidentally). It is nothing fancy, but our room was so nice and clean it made our stay there perfect. I have also stayed at the Park Inn (which is owned by the same people as the Tropicana) and the Tropicana wins hands down over that motel. Although I believe its getting a remodel now too. If you go to mouseplanet, there are some very good reviews on the Tropicana on that website too. Its definitely not the Disneyland Hotel but its so much cheaper and still so nice (and actually closer) that it comes out great in my book. Good luck, if you can't get a good onsite rate, I think you would be happy there. I was surprised when I posted about this property before our stay it doesn't get much mention on the disboards since it is so close. To me it was the perfect option if you are looking for cheap, clean, nice and close to Disneyland!

 

[HeatherAnn23]

Sorry to be the negative one here - but we stayed there last Thursday, 4/30 and we hated it. We decided at the last minute to extend our time at DL, and everything we looked into was totally booked up. We were staying at the GC (which was wonderful) and we have happily stayed at HoJo before. We had our 11 month old with us on the trip, so we wanted something very close. The only place with availability for our group (we needed two beds) was the Tropicana - and based on Trip advisor, and posts on here I went with it. We went over to check in around 12:00, right after we got things wrapped up at the GC. They were very polite, and I was hopefull! Of course they didn't have a room ready, and I didn't expect one, so that was fine. They asked that we check back with them after 3:00, and gave us a parking pass so we could leave our car there - plenty of open spaces. Being our last full day at the parks, we went back in, and stayed until my 2 kids were about to drop at 8:30. We then headed across the street, and it was a nice short walk. We checked in, and got our room on the third floor. There were tons of teenagers all over the parking lot and pool area, yelling, playing, screaming. It bothered us because we knew we all had to get to sleep, but we understood that it was spring break, so we hoped that the room offered some insulation from the noise. Hahahahaha. It was so loud in our room my husband thought the room was open! My 5 year old immediately went to sleep as soon as we got in the room. If he hadn't we probably would have requested a new room. In the first 15 minutes we uncovered a hat, women's makeup, men's underwear (EW!) and sticky stuff on the floor. I have an 11 month old baby, so he was walking and crawling through this! I can deal with cheap and cheerful, but this place was loud and dirty! When we mentioned it to the management the next morning they didn't care in the slightest. They made my husband wait 30 minutes to talk to someone, told him the manager was unavailable, and brought down the head of housekeeping. The employee actually asked him if it was our stuff!! They weren't apologetic, and didn't seem to care at all. I totally realize that coming directly from the GC probably skewed my opinion a little bit, but this is not a place I'd go back to! (They also have the gross plastic covers on the mattresses that are so loud!!!)

 

[Amy&Dan]

Well, I feel bad for the above posters since she stayed there after reading reviews which probably included mine! I think Spring Break at any Disneyland area motel/hotel is going to have hoardes of teenagers in the mix. Sorry they had a bad experience. I had recommended this motel to a co worker of my husband's, she was there sometime the end of last month and they loved it. She did mention that there were tons of kids there, maybe a church group or something, but said they quieted down when her husband called the front desk around 10:00 one night. And as for the plastic covers on the beds, they are very easy to remove. I asked about them at check in because I had heard so much about them. The front desk offered to send someone up right away to take them off. We left them on and they didn't bother us a bit and were only noisy when we got in and out of bed. They unzip at the top of the mattress, near the headboard and would be easy to remove.

 

[familyoffiveAZ]

How is the bathtub situation there? In the past some reviewers complained about there being a shower-only in the bathroom. But I haven't heard that being said now so much. Did they renovate to include tubs? Or are there still shower-only setups, but so few that odds are one could get a tub?

 

[Mom2Joce]

I had a question for you. I am an AP holder (a new one) and we're planning another trip this June. I waited too long to book at one of the resorts and now the prices are sky high. I went ahead and reserved a room at the Candy Cane Inn but thought I'd go to the resorts when we got there to check and see if there was availability in a price range we could afford.

My question was, how, where, when do you look for AP reduced rates for the resorts?
Many thanks, Kel

 

[stampinshauna]

My question was, how, where, when do you look for AP reduced rates for the resorts?
Many thanks, Kel

I've called Disney's Central Reservations Office a couple of times to check on the AP rates. Last night I was given the same amount as a month ago (which didn't even seem like a discount). So, I asked the CM when they normally come out with the good AP night rates and he said they are usually put out each month (for that same month). So, I booked the Tropicana with the hopes that when I call Disney in August or September, I'll be able to get good AP rates and switch to the GCH. I made sure of the Tropicana's cancellation policy before booking.

 

[Mom2Joce]

Thanks for the tip! So if I am planning on a June trip then I would call them the first of June?

 

[stampinshauna]

Thanks for the tip! So if I am planning on a June trip then I would call them the first of June?

I'd say call about a month ahead and then call again at the first of June. I think availability depends on how full the hotel is and such. Since you have a back up hotel, it is definately worth finding out.

 

[Mom2Joce]

thanks

 

[SamIAm21]

Plastic covers on the bed? Now at first, I thought that's got to be awful. Now I know they protect the mattress against accidents and accidental spills, but then it also dawned on me that those are pretty useful in keeping out bed bugs.

So, maybe Tropicana is just being cautious?? Which isn't entirely a bad thing? I would probably ask to have them removed.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Plastic covers on the bed? Now at first, I thought that's got to be awful. Now I know they protect the mattress against accidents and accidental spills, but then it also dawned on me that those are pretty useful in keeping out bed bugs.

So, maybe Tropicana is just being cautious?? Which isn't entirely a bad thing? I would probably ask to have them removed.

Yes, they are there for sanitary reasons. I think due to the high volume of people staying there, many of them kids who wet the bed (yuk) they probably added them on after their remodel to keep the mattresses as sanitary as possible for as long as possible. For me they were not bad, I was all prepared to take them off. Well, I unpacked first and my daughter fell asleep on one bed, my husband on the other and I didn't feel like waking them up so I thought we could keep them on one night. It ended up not being an issue. They make some noise when you get in and out, but the standard cloth mattress cover is above the plastic one except on the outer edge. I can see they might be hot in the summer but we were there in February. The front desk told me they would send someone up right away if I wanted them to. I have to say the bedding seemed really clean, you could tell the blanket was new and bedspread looked nice and fresh too. They smelled like fabric softner. I was always noticing big bins of clean blankets and bedspreads in the housekeeping laundry room as we walked by. Also, they brought extra blankets one night when I requested them and they were still warm from the dryer. I kinda dug that since I have watched way too many Dateline stories on nasty hotel bedding!

 

[HeatherAnn23]

Well, I feel bad for the above posters since she stayed there after reading reviews which probably included mine! I think Spring Break at any Disneyland area motel/hotel is going to have hoardes of teenagers in the mix. Sorry they had a bad experience. I had recommended this motel to a co worker of my husband's, she was there sometime the end of last month and they loved it. She did mention that there were tons of kids there, maybe a church group or something, but said they quieted down when her husband called the front desk around 10:00 one night. And as for the plastic covers on the beds, they are very easy to remove. I asked about them at check in because I had heard so much about them. The front desk offered to send someone up right away to take them off. We left them on and they didn't bother us a bit and were only noisy when we got in and out of bed. They unzip at the top of the mattress, near the headboard and would be easy to remove.

I'm sorry if my original post was misunderstood, I was irritated by all of the groups of loud kids - but I totally understand that it's going to happen during spring break! I also knew I had the option to remove the mattress covers, but my oldest pooped out as soon as we got to the room like yours did, and we weren't going to wake him to take off the cover! My husband and I actually woke at about 3:00 laughing because the loudness of these covers was nothing short of comical! We were disturbed every time our oldest rolled over in the bed next to ours, and every time my husband and I changed positions. Maybe we're light sleepers? My BIG complaint about this property was the cleanliness, and apathy from the staff. When I find a pair of men's underwear in my hotel room, that DON'T belong to anyone in my family, I get grossed out. If they didn't notice articles of clothing on the floor, how well was my room cleaned? Hopefull it was because they were so busy, but we weren't even offered an apology.

 

[Amy&Dan]

I'm sorry if my original post was misunderstood, I was irritated by all of the groups of loud kids - but I totally understand that it's going to happen during spring break! I also knew I had the option to remove the mattress covers, but my oldest pooped out as soon as we got to the room like yours did, and we weren't going to wake him to take off the cover! My husband and I actually woke at about 3:00 laughing because the loudness of these covers was nothing short of comical! We were disturbed every time our oldest rolled over in the bed next to ours, and every time my husband and I changed positions. Maybe we're light sleepers? My BIG complaint about this property was the cleanliness, and apathy from the staff. When I find a pair of men's underwear in my hotel room, that DON'T belong to anyone in my family, I get grossed out. If they didn't notice articles of clothing on the floor, how well was my room cleaned? Hopefull it was because they were so busy, but we weren't even offered an apology.

Oh believe me, if I was you I wouldn't have liked the Tropicana either! I had a similar experience at the Howard Johnsons, we didn't enjoy our stay there nearly as much as I thought we would based on the reviews it got here and on tripadvisor. One of the reasons was the mold in the shower and also some really unexpected personal items left in a drawer! So I know where you are coming from. I still recommend the HoJo because all the other people can't be wrong, we just didn't have as great of an experience. It only takes one bad experience for me to pretty much rule out staying at a place ever again too! I just feel bad because I gave it such a glowing recommendation and then you had such a bad stay. And that is inexcuseable they didn't apologize. The Hojo staff was great and very apologetic about our problems. Which redeemed them to me and my husband. I am hoping what happened to you won't happen to others. If I see more postings like that here on the dis I won't be saying such nice things about them anymore!

 

[Dukland]

We stayed at the Tropicana last June, and will be staying there again this July. We didn't have any problems, everything was clean, and we did have a bathtub in our room. It never occured to me that some hotels wouldn't have a bathtub. I would have been upset and complaining if I got up to our room, only to find no bathtub! Our kids were 4.5 years and 19 months last year, so showers really aren't happening at that age, you know?

The continental breakfast was okay, and we did that more than once. It was close to McD's, also, which was nice. And it's very close to the entrance to DLR. With a 19 month old, you know that's a plus when it gets to be naptime! We went to the parks 5 days, and even had an extra day, where we just explored DTD, and I think 4 of the 6 days dh brought our ds back to the Tropicana for naps. They had no problems napping in the middle of the day. And we were able to see the DLR fireworks from our room window, on the couple of nights we were in our room at that time.

We didn't do the pool, as we were there for DLR. We can drive 15 minutes from home to go swimming at Grandma's, if we want to. But my SIL and family did go swimming on their last day there, and seemed to enjoy it just fine.