Tropicana vs. Fairfield Inn

[disneyfanzz]

We usually stay at the Fairfield Inn. For our trip next month we decided to stay at the Tropicana Inn. As our trip gets closer I am starting to get nervous. Does anyone know how these 2 hotels compare? We love the Fairfield but decided on the Tropicana because it is a little closer and it has a microwave. Tropicana has free breakfast too but I heard it was not good so we are not planning on that. I have also thought about switching to the Ramada Maingate but we have never stayed there either. What are your thoughts on these hotels?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

We have stayed at both the Fairfield and Tropicana, although neither during the last couple of years. We actually liked the Tropicana better. The room size was good, the beds were fine, and the room was clean. I don't think we used the microwave that time, but we have in hotel rooms since, so it's handy to have available. The breakfast is something of a joke, but I think we each managed to come away with a piece of fruit or a cup of juice at least. It's something, and I don't remember the Fairfield offering any breakfast. We brought our own foods to supplement. The walk is shorter than the Fairfield. We didn't use the pool, but my in-laws stayed at Tropicana last year and used the pool and said it was fine. Our only complaints the time we stayed at the Tropicana were that parking seemed a bit tight, but since once we parked we never left it wasn't much of an issue, and the front desk staff wasn't too friendly. The hotel was completely booked though and it was 95 degrees in August, so we cut them some slack on the theory that they had probably been dealing with a lot of tired guests. My in-laws did not have any similar complaints when they stayed last summer; they actually raved about the place and said they wouldn't hesitate to return.

 

[disneyfanzz]

Thank you so much. You have eased my fears. It sounds like a good place to stay.

 

[tdashgirl]

I actually didn't like the Tropicana.

The a/c broke in our room and mgmt was VERY slow in fixing it.

Then they have a weird layout where there is an elevator for one side of the hotel but not the other. Therefore, if you're staying on the non-elevator side and you need to use it, you have to walk all around the entire hotel to get to your room.

A lot of the rooms have showers, not tub/showers. Important to know if you have little ones.

Just my $0.02 on the Trop

 

[disneymama83]

I've stayed at the Tropicana several times and my family and I really like it. Nothing to fancy, but it is clean and I've always found the staff to be friendly. I really love the fact that it is right at the crosswalk to DL. If you have little ones it is nice to be that close. You can also request a room that is close to the esclator or one that has a shower & tub if that is what you need.

Enjoy!

 

[disneyfanzz]

My kids are 9 and 13 so I shouldn't need the elevator or the tub, but I can see where that would be a problem with smaller kids.

 

[Funball]

Hey trip planners!!!!

I have still have park maps for Disneyland and DCA !!

 

[tdashgirl]

My kids are 9 and 13 so I shouldn't need the elevator or the tub, but I can see where that would be a problem with smaller kids.

The only time it was a pain-in-the-booty for us was arriving and departing - getting all the luggage to and from the room. It was enough - that since I like other hotels on the "strip" - I don't book there anymore

 

[Mary09]

I've stayed at both and liked both. Our Trop rooms were ground floor so the elevator wasn't an issue. I can see where that'd be annoying, though. We just left the Trop 7/11 after a 4 night stay. We were pleasantly surprised there. I expected it to be small and dumpy and unfriendly, but it wasn't. The breakfast was your typical cheapie donuts/pastries with coffee, apples and oranges. If you need to get some calories in, it works. I didn't eat it but the kids in our party did.