Only So-So; nothing special & no major complaints.
Written: Apr 23 '07 (Updated Apr 23 '07)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: All under one room: hotel, casino, shopping, shows, restaurants, right on boardwalk.
Cons: Hotel service below-average, I did not feel anyone cared about us.
The Bottom Line: I would not recommend the Tropicana, although if there were a show I wanted to see, I'd go again for sheer convenience. Otherwise, I'd recommend going elsewhere.
|
|
|
| gsx1300r's Full Review: Tropicana Casino and Resort |
To celebrate our 17th anniversary, my wife and I decided to take the drive to Atlantic City, which is about an hour and a half from our home in Staten Island, New York, for a special night at the Tropicana. We stayed at their new “Havana” Tower. We found the hotel acceptable (not exceptional), the casino to be a lot of fun, the comedy show acceptable (not exceptional), and the shopping expectedly overpriced. There were a few minor issues that stand out – nothing that ruined our stay, but things that left a bad taste in our mouths, nonetheless.
My wife made the arrangements over the phone and mentioned our anniversary in case there was anything “special” that they could do for or offer to us. Apparently, suites are not available to the public and none of their rooms have Jacuzzis. They told her that we’d be getting a nice room with a nice view and that we would not be disappointed.
Per the instructions of the hotel personnel with whom my wife spoke, we visited the website and pre-registered for their “Diamond Club” card with the promise that by doing so in advance, our parking would be paid for. Not that it’s a big deal, but upon checkout, that turned out not to be true and it actually cost us $10 ($5 per guest) for overnight parking.
When we arrived at the hotel, the person at the desk saw the notes and wished us a happy anniversary. He told us we were getting a very nice corner room with a view of the beach and we were very excited to hear that. When we got to our room, we were happy with the room – which was very large, and was indeed a corner room, however we were disappointed to peek out the windows and discover that both views were of parking lots – not the beach. Not a big deal, we really were not there for the view.
We unpacked and settled in and decided to go downstairs to do some gambling before the comedy show at 11. After about 5 minutes of trying to get the safe in our room to lock, I gave up and called the front desk for help/instructions. My call was met with, “oh, room 6135… yes, that room has a broken safe… it’s right here on my list.” My wife was willing to take all of our valuables and money with us to the casino and comedy show, but I refused. We called back and asked whether they could fix/replace the safe or move us to a room with a working safe; they chose to move us. We were moved to a suite, which had a nice view of the beach and were very happy.
The suite was tremendous. There was a large living area, about 15 by 15, tremendous bedroom with a king size bed, about 20 by 20, and two bathrooms, two televisions, and if someone wants it, there’s high-speed internet access (both wired and wireless).
We secured our valuables in our working safe and went downstairs to enjoy the casino & the comedy show. At the casino, we had lots of fun gambling, bouncing from slot machines to the tables. The employees and dealers were all friendly, helpful, and very courteous.
We browsed through some of the shops throughout the casino, which is laid-out to feel like you’re walking through the streets of Havana. The cobblestone floor, balconies, and sky-painted ceiling really make you feel like you’re outdoors walking through real streets. The stores are over-priced, but nothing unexpected under the circumstances. Overall, the look of the place is very well-done, and not too gaudy.
The comedy show was OK, but the entertainment was not what I would consider “top-notch.” There were three comedians, the first of which got no laughs, the second was just OK, and the third was actually very funny. The service in the comedy club was not too good, and the couple of drinks we ordered took a while before being delivered. And, the place was fairly empty with maybe 35 in the audience where probably 200 would fit.
After the evening was over, we returned to our room and I went to get some ice from the ice machine. The machine was empty, literally. It looked more like it was out of order rather than over-used, but I could not tell for sure. Either way, I called room-service to ask for some ice. After literally 5 minutes on hold, the person who answered told me to call maintenance. Maintenance told me to call room service. Instead of getting stuck in that circle, I tried the front desk, who was on voicemail. Then I tried the concierge. The woman who answered told me that I should try the ice machine on the next floor. Thinking that was ridiculous, and not wanting to change out of my pajamas for a trip on the elevator, I asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor reiterated the advice: check another floor. He told me he’d put the ice machine on my floor on maintenance’s to-do list, but that if I wanted ice, it would be up to me to find it on a nearby floor. We went without ice.
It’s worth mentioning that after the comedy show, we tried to find a restaurant in the complex at which to eat. Turns out that by 1am, all but one of the restaurants is closed. We ended up at the one that was open, but could not find anything on the menu that appealed (we were in the mood for Italian). Ultimately, when we returned to our room, someone had shoved a take-out pizzeria’s menu under our door. We ordered dinner from them and were happy with their food. Although we are not normally “night people,” we were surprised that so much of the casino’s amenities and restaurants closed by 1am on a Friday night.
The next morning, upon waking up, we called room service to order coffee and juice. We were told the wait was at least an hour and fifteen minutes, even though we did not want anything that required actual preparation. So we cancelled the order and went down to get coffee in one of the restaurants. The coffee was good.
When we checked-out, we discovered that the parking was not included in our stay, despite our having pre-registered our Diamond-Club cards. Also, because we did not know to have dealers at blackjack table where we played take our cards, we only used the cards on the slot machines – and apparently, did not reach the necessary point at which parking would have been paid for. Next time, at whichever hotel we do stay at, we’ll remember to show those cards to the people at the tables where we spend any money.
Overall, we were happy with our stay at the Tropicana but obviously, it was really each others’ company that we were there for; although I feel the stay could have been better had the hotel been more concerned with *us*. Obviously, they spend more attention on the casino, the shops, and the general appearance of the place and less on individual guests and rooms.
We are more likely to stay at a hotel that has the show we want to see, so if the Tropicana had a show like that, we’d return. Otherwise, I would not visit the Tropicana again just for the sake of the Tropicana.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
gsx1300r
|
 - Top 1000 |
|
Member: pete weinman
Location: Staten Island, NY
Reviews written: 61
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
Husband, Daddy, NYC Marathon Runner, and motorcycle rider. You can trust me, I'm a lawyer.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.