So how’s the Tropicana in Atlantic City doing these days? I got curious enough today to check out the vox populi of tripadvisor.com.
There are reviews for July up, so this reflects the property well after the Columbia Sussex retreat. And most of the people are happy, though the ones who aren’t have some horror stories.
Here’s one example that the AC tourism folks should really examine, since it’s written as representative of the city as a whole, not just the Trop:
Every staff member I encountered acted as though they were being inconvenienced by my arrival. Smiles? none. Eye contact? Minimal. Clear answers to questions? None. The room was not bad, the carpet appeared new but the bedclothes looked shabby. The hallway was also shabby and pooly cleaned. The location of the Trop is rather far from the center of the Boardwalk and the guys manning the pedicabs looked dangerous. Atlantic City as a whole is a bit of a joke and the Trop is doing nothing to make it better.
Of course, many other guests found the place passable or even pleasant, and one even said that it was “lovely.” So obviously the Trop has some fans.
Here’s the funny thing. Over on ratevegas a while back, there was a debate over the Sahara offering $200/night room rates after a mythical remake. Lo and behold, the Trop AC’s average rate is $218 a night. Now, I’m as big a fan of the Morris Avenue corridor as anyone, but that seems like a big price for not such a great location or experience. Then again, the nearby El Greco motel has an average rate of $173 a night, so that might be a smoking deal. The Borgata, by comparison, is $349, so what this says to me is that, judging from the pricing, the Trop is closer to the El Greco than the Borgata. That’s food for thought.
But the Tropciana is ranked #9 on TA’s list for AC hotel, absolutely annihilating the Borgata’s new Water Club, which is really getting hammered.