Tropicana or Park Vue Inn?

[dmked]

I am still hoping for the Ent. rates for Hojo for our dates in August but I need a backup plan! Tropicana and Park Vue Inn are about the same price and look to be about the same distance, so which one is better out of the 2?

 

[mystic_path]

Honestly I have never stayed at the Park Vue, but I have stayed at the Tropicana and will be again at the end of this month. I will have to say though that my friend just got back from the Park Vue and loved it. She said it was super basic, but clean and good staff. The Park Vue is a few steps closer then the Tropicana too.

The Tropicana has wonderful service, the rooms again are basic but really clean. The beds though are a bit firm but that doesnt bother me one bit. A rock could feel like a cloud at the end of a busy Disney day when I am tired. But they have a decent good sized free continental breakfast, a nice pool, and there is a late night convenient store attached to the Tropicana which sells all sorts of things. Snacks, drinks, alcohol, cigarettes, t-shirts, sandals, Hygienic items, etc. They even have computers in there for internet use. Although keep in mind anyone at any hotel can use this store its not just limited to Tropicana visitors.

Personally I think either of those choices would be good. If I had to stay somewhere I would try the Park Vue, just cause I have never stayed there before and the reviews have been just as good as at the Tropicana. I dont think you could go wrong with either.

I am going to suggest going to Tripadvisor and see what others have to say about each place, and I am sure there will be visitor pictures posted. Possibly video too!

 

[DizNee Luver]

We enjoyed our stay at the Tropicana & had no complaints. I can't advise on the other one since we've never stayed there.

 

[bnbheartdisney]

This was our go-to hotel growing up. We religiously stayed at this hotel until our family began to expand. The location is great, the rooms are plain but clean (I'd love to see them upgraded!), the breakfast is simple and the staff is friendly. I'm not sure how many are in your party, but they also have a suite(s) with a large kitchen. I, personally, cannot comment on the Park Vue, but my sister has stayed there and she liked it.

 

[Angel Ariel]

We just left the Tropicana on Monday, and we enjoyed our stay there. We had a king room (one of hte ones that juts out over hte parking lot, and it had a balcony), and it was more than enough room for hte 2 of us.

The shower is a shower stall, not a bathtub (at least in our room it was). Not a big deal for us, but we don't have kids.

Also, the Tropicana was replacing the furniture in all the rooms the day we left. I have pictures from when we checked in that I'll post in the hotel pics thread later tonight, but the furniture will be different. (The bedding I believe had already been replaced..it was just furniture they were taking out and replacing)

We LOVED how close to the park this hotel was, and we would definitely stay there again!

 

[dmked]

Thanks for the replies! It seems like both seem ok, no bad comments so far, that is always good! Does anyone know if either have roll-aways and how much they charge for them if they do. And does the Park Vue have actual bathtubs, we do have kids and they are not really old enough to shower by themselves so a bathtub would be nicer than a shower stall.

 

[mystic_path]

The tropicana has beds and the last time I checked it was aroun $10 a night. The tropicana also has bathtubs. Your kids will have a place to bath there.

 

[tinksdreamwishes]

I stayd at the Park Vue on April 26th and 27th. I was very excited to stay there- always heard great things... but I doubt I would stay again. I will point out that the location is awesome and you cant beat that! The staff was super nice and always ready to help with a smile.

The bad was- more annoying then anything- I made my resi three weeks prior- I told them I was coming with my 2 year old. (so just 1 adult and a baby). You would think that with a motel with no elevators- a single adult with luggage, carseat, stroller, food, diaper bag, etc and a baby to haul around- that they would put you downstairs! I was given an upstairs room- and they claimed they had no downstairs avail. This didnt make me happy at all, and made me wonder who was the moroon who assigns rooms.

That wasnt the only bad thing- the room smelled musty or something wierd. Its all over my luggage, my souveniers... all my clothes my hair ... it was nasty. I didnt notice the smell lingered on to me and our stuff until I got home! How embarrassing.

The bathtubs holder to kepp the water in the tub didnt work. So no bath for Ds. The carpets were filthy. I never experienced black socks in a room before- and this was a first, hope to be a last. Not only where they dirty carpets- they was not vacummed either. I found out that way when Ds dropped his corn on the cob on the floor. YUK! He wasnt happy when I tossed it. Forget the washing it off- it was gross.

The rooms were soooo super small. I cant do small rooms like that! Although the fridge was very cold and bigger then most. The bed was nice- they had a rollaway in my room- even though I had put a crib on my resi. They came and switched it out. I thought it was odd how the clock by the bed was still the wrong time- they never turned the time last month. which made me think thats how long this room had been unoccupied.

Another thing that bothered me- there was signs posted everywhere- about Please keep the noise down etc... in the rooms, lobbies, pool area, stairs... everywhere! So why would they put a 2 year old toddler upstairs? LOL. My kid likes to run in the rooms esp after being in a stroller most of the day. I didnt get a complaint call though.

And one last thing- they have their breakfast room upstairs- with no elevator how are the guests with handicaps supposed to get upstairs?

That was my experience. I like my hotel stay to be wonderful, makes my trip even better. So my expectations are higher then most. I hope this helps with your decision.

 

[bnbheartdisney]

Also, the Tropicana was replacing the furniture in all the rooms the day we left. I have pictures from when we checked in that I'll post in the hotel pics thread later tonight, but the furniture will be different. (The bedding I believe had already been replaced..it was just furniture they were taking out and replacing)

Good to hear!

 

[mystic_path]

We just left the Tropicana on Monday, and we enjoyed our stay there. We had a king room (one of hte ones that juts out over hte parking lot, and it had a balcony), and it was more than enough room for hte 2 of us.

The shower is a shower stall, not a bathtub (at least in our room it was). Not a big deal for us, but we don't have kids.

Also, the Tropicana was replacing the furniture in all the rooms the day we left. I have pictures from when we checked in that I'll post in the hotel pics thread later tonight, but the furniture will be different. (The bedding I believe had already been replaced..it was just furniture they were taking out and replacing)

We LOVED how close to the park this hotel was, and we would definitely stay there again!

Do you know if they were replacing the mattresses too?

 

[bnbheartdisney]

I'll post in the hotel pics thread later tonight

Would you mind sending me the link? I was unable to find it.

 

[BlueBayou]

There was nothing wrong with the Tropicana - with the exception of the shower and no bathtub (two of us take showers and two of us enjoy baths).

The staff was very friendly.

But of all of the hotels we have stayed at at DL it was probably our least favorite (but not by a huge margin). The smaller room and lack of tub made the difference.

In addition to the Tropicana, we have stayed at the BWPI, HOJO, Desert Inn and Suites, Camelot (also as Park Inn International) and the Grand Californian.

 

[mystic_path]

Its funny there is talk here of only showers and no baths. When I was there last I remember having a late night soak.

 

[Angel Ariel]

Do you know if they were replacing the mattresses too?

I think they had already replaced everything bedding wise before we got there...but you may want to call the hotel and confirm.

Our mattress was actually rather comfy (to me anyways). As were the pillows...I got a few nights of really awesome sleep

 

[Angel Ariel]

Would you mind sending me the link? I was unable to find it.

I'll post it later tongiht when I get home. I have an event tonight, so it will be later...I'll post the link in here when I've uploaded hte photos to the other thread

 

[Angel Ariel]

Its funny there is talk here of only showers and no baths. When I was there last I remember having a late night soak.

We were in a King room - room 259 (it's one of hte ones that extends into hte parking lot..has a balcony), so that's the only room I can speak of.

Perhaps double rooms are different?

Our room also wasn't what we'd consider small...there was plenty of space for DH and I, and our stuff with a lot of extra room to spare. But again, the doubles may be different.

 

[BlueBayou]

Its funny there is talk here of only showers and no baths. When I was there last I remember having a late night soak.

I am not sure the percentage of rooms that are shower only - but I believe there are quite a few. We had a room with two beds (so it is not just the king rooms).

I don't know the room number - but we were on the ground floor on the side with the lobby (left side if you are looking at the hotel from Harbor). We were pretty close to the pool.

At the time I felt like a horrible DISer for not knowing a tub free stay was a possibility.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I added pictures of the Tropicana from 4/29/2010-5/3/2010 to the hotel thread

One addition I forgot to mention is that they're replacing the old Projection TVs with flat screens. As of 5/3 they didn't have the Flat Screens in, but they were coming.

Link to the hotel thread