By Tinker Belle Diva
Since I prefer to stay within walking distance of the Disneyland Resort, when Tropicana Inn and Suites had a special nightly rate for those attending Touch of Disney, I took them up on it as this is a hotel we have not visited before. We stayed here one night in March 2021 and two nights in April 2021. This hotel is nearly as close as you can get to the main gate. There is just one hotel between it and the cross walk entrance on Harbor Boulevard into Disneyland. It takes mere minutes from the hotel to the security check point, which is a great reason to stay here. Is this hotel right for you beyond location? Read on…
Hotel Layout
Like most of the hotels along Harbor Blvd, this hotel is narrow in the front and extends far back into the property. The room are in a U-shape around the perimeter with the outdoor pool/jacuzzi and parking in the middle. Most rooms face into the parking lot, but there are some that are accessed from the back and have windows looking into the parking lot. It has a mix of two and three stories buildings and this is a 100% non-smoking and no pet hotel. The hotel has several staircases and elevators to assist you in getting into your room. On both of our recent stays, we were on the 1st floor. The pool and jacuzzi are located in a small, fenced-in area in the parking lot with some lounge chairs and tables and a most of the rooms around it have pool views. There is a coin-operated guest laundry center and there is not a fitness center.
Queen beds with sleeper chair
TV stand with microwave and fridge
Rooms
This hotel has EIGHT choices of rooms – one King bed ADA room with a sleeper chair, two queen beds, two queen beds with a sleeper chair, park view suite, kitchen suite, two-room kitchen suite, family suite, and two queen beds ADA room with a sleeper chair. On both our trips we stayed in the two queen room with a sleeper chair. We found the rooms to be spacious and I like that the bathroom sink is separate from the toilet/shower, which helps get us all ready for our day. The room has one sink and a very long counter. The sleeper chair is for one child, and my small teenager felt it was too small for her, but a child to pre-teen will fit fine. Our room also had a microwave and refrigerator, which are two more musts for me on our vacations, as well as a single cup coffee maker, a safe for your valuables, an open closet in the bathroom, and a hairdryer.
Bathroom sink and open closet
The rooms are clean, everything has been recently updated, and the bedding is comfortable. The room has an air conditioning unit below the window that is also a heater/fan and worked well for our trips. The only issue we found with the rooms is that they were not very quiet. Our room on the second visit was a connecting room, and our neighbors were up around 5 am each morning talking. I could hear their voices muffled, and could even understand an occasional word. Then one of neighbors would go into a coughing fit for a good 10 minutes. We stuffed a towel under the connecting door, which slightly muffled the sound. One of my good friends stayed at this hotel close to the pool in early April 2021, and she was up at night hearing the pool equipment making noise. We did not notice any noise problems on our first trip when we did not have a connecting room. If you can, ask for a room that is not connecting or ask for a room near the back of the hotel to be away from the pool noise. DIVA TIP – if you do want a connecting room for your two parties, call the front desk when you book if you need connecting room since not all have this feature.
Amenities
There is a heated pool and jacuzzi (open 9 am – 10 pm), and a coin-operated laundry room. The pool furniture is first-come/first-served (no reservations), and the pool rules include no splashing, no jumping or rough housing in the pool area. This hotel does not serve a complimentary breakfast, but it has an on-site market and cafe called The Cove on Harbor Market and Cafe. It has coffee, breakfast treats, snacks, drinks, and sundries. The hotel has free WiFi and we never had any issues getting a connection, maintaining a connection or issues with slow speed. Check in is 4 pm and check out is 11 am. If you need your luggage stored, they will do this complimentary for you at the front desk, and you can also ask for a complimentary crib. DIVA TIP – if you need an electric scooter, wheelchair, or stroller rentals, One Stop Mobility is located next door at the Camelot Inn & Suites. They will deliver to Tropicana Inn and Suites!
Fees
The good news for those that are do not drive, there is no resort fee. But if you do drive, there is a $17 per night parking fee. There is a one vehicle per room limit, but if you have a second car, the charge is $27 per night. We have never had a problem finding a place to park our car in the hotel lot, even our large SUV. Just make sure you add that parking fee into the pricing structure when comparing this to other hotels as it is taxed at the 17% Anaheim hotel tax rate. You can ship a no-signature required package to the hotel up to 7 days prior to your arrival for a handling fee of $5.00 per package. However, it is against hotel policy to accept deliveries of groceries, medical supplies, scooters, and strollers on guest’s behalf unless rented through One Stop Mobility.
Staff
Due to COVID, we did not interact with any of the staff. The check-in process was through a window to the outside from the lobby, so we only passed cards in the slot under the window as our interaction. During our stay, housekeeping services were on pause. You could call the front desk and ask for new towels, soap, etc. and then leave your used items outside your door, including trash. The staff was not allowed to enter a room.
Walking back to our room after a day at Disneyland
Summary
We felt very comfortable at this hotel and the location is perfect. The rooms are recently updated and it is really nice that they can sleep up to 5 in a double queen room without any extra fees. While I was not happy with the level of noise in our room, I will still consider staying here in the future if the price is right and that I ask for a non-connecting room. Since this is a Good Neighbor Hotel, they have partnered with Disney to allow you to book a Disney travel package that will include this hotel and tickets. If you want help booking your Disneyland Resort vacation, be sure to contact Patricia at All For Dreams Travel for a free vacation quote.
Looking for other hotel reviews? In March 2020, I reviewed the Best Western Park Place Inn, which is my go-to hotel for being the closest to Disneyland. In December 2018, I gave a review of the Howard Johnson Anaheim Hotel and Water Playground, or HoJo Anaheim, which is one of my favorites for kids due to their great water park. I have also reviewed the Fairfield Inn Marriott Anaheim Resort in January 2021, the Anaheim Desert Inn and Suites in April 2019, the Best Western Plus Stovall’s Inn in May 2019, and the Best Western Plus Anaheim Inn in February 2020. My fellow Diva’s have also reviewed Camelot Inn & Suites and Candy Cane Inn. If you are looking to stay in one of the Disney-owned hotels, you can read my review of Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and the Disneyland Hotel.
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