Spotlight - The Tropicana

Our first trip to Vegas as many of you know, took us to the Tropicana. You could argue that the excitement of it all would mean we’d have been happy no matter where we stayed and you’d be partly correct. As with food and drink, a place has to be pretty horrendous for me to take notice but if I do then believe me, the whole world will know about it over and over again. Jane, on the other hand is more critical and I’m saying that in a positive way so let’s ignore what I thought of the Tropicana and see what Jane thought of it.

The Tropicana is over 64 years old and located at the corner of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard. There are 1,467 rooms and has/had a Tropical theming throughout. It isn’t one of the biggest and neither is it one of the smallest casinos but it is the 2nd oldest on the Strip (The Flamingo is the oldest). The Tropicana has a very interesting history that I recommend you reading here Sixty years ago, the Tropicana opened under Mob’s hidden control | The Mob Museum then consider going to the Mob Museum at Downtown Vegas because the place is brilliant, but for now let’s get back to what we thought of the place.

When you have the very green MGM Grand, the Medieval Castles of the Excalibur and the Statue Of Liberty at New York New York very close by it’s easy to look at the Tropicana and think meh. There’s a lot of white and some palm trees and when you walk in there's a distinct smell of coconut. The first part of this review will be slightly dated as it's from our trip in 2015 and a lot of things have changed at the Tropicana since then.

What hasn't changed is the Tropicana has bungalow style rooms and two towers. The older tower was called the Tiffany Tower but is now known as the Paradise Tower and there is the Island Tower that's close to the pool area but further away from the casino floor. We stayed in the Paradise Tower that opens out onto to the casino floor so unlike MGM where it's so big you can get lost and never find your room, it's much easier for first timers (and the inebriated) to find their room.

When we saw the room we were very impressed, it was 'massive', two double beds, decent sized bathroom, big TV and lots of room. After a few more trips to Vegas and staying at different places we now realise the room was a pretty standard fair by Vegas standards but there was not one thing to be critical of. There was a safe but no fridge but I was able to blag a free fridge which was a bonus.

Food and drink was severely lacking in 2015 - there was a Starbucks that was a regular breakfast haunt and the South Beach Food Court that we never tried because there were far better options out there in Vegas if we wanted a pizza or burger. It's handy the place is open 24 hours but we never bothered at all.

Now in 2021 (not that I can get there) there are far more places to eat. We quite surprised in 2019 as to how much the Tropicana has changed. For eats you have Trop & Go - this is a quick bite place that serves all day breakfast, a burger or two, pizza and snacks. If you want breakfast then there's Bacio Italian Cuisine, located on the second floor, it would serve authentic Italian cuisine but now it's been renamed to just Bacio and specialises in breakfast.

There was no buffer in 2015 but there is now Savor Brunch Buffet - it's a buffet that only really serves food you'd have for brunch such as bagels, donuts, waffles etc. - a concept that we don't really have in the UK, it's breakfast or lunch. If it's in-between, it's a snack.

For sit down Asian cuisine with a western twist there's Red Lotus Asian Kitchen but if you want to go to a high end (expensive) steakhouse the Oakville Steakhouse is where you want to be. Back to something more affordable there is Robert Irvine's Public House Restaurant, a decent sized menu for food and drink it also has Happy Hour 2pm till 5pm where some draft beers are $4 and if you Build a Burger you get a beer. You want more drinks? Beers? Cocktails? Then there's the Trago Lounge - drinks aren't cheap in Vegas so I'd wait for a hand pay before I'd go in there.

As I said, none of these places were there when we stayed at the Tropicana so I can't give you our opinion on them but Googling reviews seem pretty positive (except for portion sizes at Trop & Go). What can be said was there seems to have been a lot of investment into the property since we stayed and I do understand that the current situation has had a big negative financial impact where at one point there was rumours it was to be closing for good. However, Bally's announced they will be acquiring the Tropicana April 2021.

As you walk up to the front entrance, you open the glass door and get a static shock from the door handle if you're me and then up a small flight of stairs you're greeted with the casino floor. There are over 650 slots and a high limit room, table games include craps, blackjack, roulette , poker and baccarat. We found the dealers very patient with idiots like myself who were learning table game etiquette and so I'd like to thank them for that. I've said this in another blog but the relatively small size of the casino floor made it far less intimidating for newbies like us. A Sports book opened up in 2011 - it was empty when we were then in 2015 but it may be worth a visit now its 2021.

In-house entertainment comes in the form of the Laugh Factory - another thing we didn't do. A stand-up comedy club that sometimes has celebrity guests performing tickets are $37.95 plus taxes. Reviews are pretty favourable but I'd assume it would depend on who was performing on the day. You also have the renowned comedian Rich Little, Murray the Magician (who does magic in case you were wondering) and the Prince tribute show - Purple Reign.

After the gambling, drinking and entertaining the Tropicana has a gym (obviously I regularly went there) , a spa and salon. Then there's the pool, going in October meant we couldn't try the pool but it looked very nice and you can currently get 6 beers in a bucket by the pool for $20.

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay the the Tropicana, I have been trying to find something negative and at the time it probably was the lack of places to eat in there but with Vegas having so many choices then it would never be a deal breaker. Starbucks was my loyal buddy throughout and it would be nice to stay there again.

The theming is very muted and for some people that's a good thing, I like themed casinos of all levels and as long as the price is right I'll give most places a try and yes that even includes Circus Circus but for now my heart is with Downtown and that's my first choice when looking for a place to stay.

Ultimately, there was nothing wrong with Tropicana, I'd happily recommend if to people especially if you can get a good deal. Location is pretty decent, away from the hustle and bustle of the Strip but not too far to feel uninvolved. With the new acquisition by Bally's and the current environment we are living in I have no idea what it means for the Tropicana but as one of the oldest casinos on the Strip I really hope it survives.

Before I sign off I've remembered two things of note. One is the bridges to get you from the Tropicana to the strip had a tendency to have broken down elevators and/or escalators. It's a common theme throughout the Strip but these ones seem to always be requiring maintenance. Secondly was the key card, you need it to get into your room (obvs) but also to get from the casino floor to the the elevators to your room. There was so many times I had to get another key card because it kept 'demagnetizing' and not working so that was slightly annoying and expensive as each time it would take me past Starbucks and it'd be rude not to have a drink.

For an up to date look at the Tropicana in 2021 then I recommend watching this video from a vlogger I very recently found on YouTube - Miles to Memories Vegas.

Right, I'm off to make the most of this warm weather before it rains for 7 days straight and my garden is ruined.

Everyone take care and remember we WILL be back in Vegas soon.