Tropical Princess

I traveled here with some family and friends we had a larger group. This place was nice and relaxing for sure I enjoyed the pool and the staff/service was very good. They are very friendly and accommodating. The hotel seemed a little outdated and could be updated but no real complaints there. I am an older woman so I heard of a casino near by called Avalon so we were able to get a free ride to check it out. I wanted to play on the slots some. We had some fun and played the slots. However a family member of mine lost a great deal of money there gaming and claimed they were cheating. I would be careful!

Was at this resort about 11 years ago - really enjoyed it, so we thought we would go back - big mistake. The resort is need of a lot of repairs - none of the fountains work, the stone walkways are broken and rooms were in bad shape. The first room they gave us: as you walked in there was a bed in a room with a bathroom then you walked into another room that had a bed, washroom, closet and dresser with a TV on it. The room was dirty (waste in garbage can, dirt on walls). The wall art was crooked, the dresser was broken, one bathroom had a ceiling leak (water dripping on floor). So we went to front desk and asked for a different room. After about an hour they took us to the "villa" area and showed us another room where the AC was not working, then another room in same "villa" area and the sliding door did not open, then another room which seemed okay, until we realized that the door did not lock (we had to insert key card fast three or four times for it to lock), and the volume on the TV did not work, no hot water... We gave up and stayed. The first maid we had basically made the bed , put towels on counter in bathroom and left. On day three we had a new maid who was awesome, she cleaned the room, made the bed, put the towels away. Service - At the lobby bar we thought were we invisible - not very good service, it seemed like we were bothering the staff. (Side note: the lobby cleaning staff were great). We found most of the service staff not very willing to help or friendly. Even the bar by the pool area - which was not busy the bartender seemed more concerning about sneaking booze to the other staff than serving customers. So disappointed.

Overall I enjoyed my stay at The Tropical Princess. The Grounds are lovely, 3 great swimming pools, amazing beach, and lots of birds, turtles, iguanas etc in a well landscaped garden to enjoy. Lots of activities and facilities are available for all age groups, and I personally enjoyed the nightly entertainment shows that were put on, that were at times a bit cheesy but none the less also a lot of fun and good spirited. The staff for the most part were also very friendly and helpful. However I do have some concerns; 1/The overuse of plastic....in particular putting of plastic straws in to drinks.....even though there were signs and notices around the resort encouraging environmental tourism and specifically asking people not to do this. I would suggest the hotel needs to seriously review and update its environmental policy as I believe it is behind the times in this regard. 2/The fact that people were allowed in to the resort with Monkeys and Birds and were trying to persuade guests to have their picture taken with these animals. Again this is a highly unethical (and unhygienic) practice, particularly as there are signs within the hotel that advise tourists to stay away from this kind of activity. 3/There is a Royal Holidays Timeshare company based on the Hotel Grounds and their employees were constantly walking around trying to persuade people to go to their presentations and using high pressure sales tactics. Be very wary of this company..... 4/The rooms whilst functional and comfortable were quite dingy, have dodgy electrics, and are in need of modernising. But I understand this is scheduled to happen soon. 5/ Be wary of the mean mosquitos! Take plenty of insect repellant. 6/Why does an “all inclusive” charge for the hire of a safe deposit box”??? 7/Food was of reasonable standard, but at times felt a bit stodgy and repetitive. You can also dine in a la carte options of Dominican and Brazilian restaurants, but Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Chinese and Fish Restaurants cost extra. Also there is a nice French Creperie/Coffee Shop overlooking the pool that is a pleasant place to go to in the afternoon. So all in all I had a good and enjoyable stay......but some of the issues that I have mentioned need to be looked at by the management.

On the very first day we had things taken from our room. Toiletries, contact lenses, snacks, and jewelry. We waited to report it until we could confirm with our family at home that we didn’t leave these things behind. When we reported the missing items the manager and a security guard checked our room in case we had “overlooked” all of these things. No, still missing. But they found a stash of towels in the dresser that seemed to annoy them. We were supposed to have conditioner delivered to our room - one of the missing items - but it never showed up. No one ever contacted us again and when I followed up we were just told that nothing could be done. You can use a safe at $3 per day and note that the staff has to come to your room to set it up. But who would think to put contact lenses or hair conditioner in there? Lol Food at this resort was good. Bed sheets were inadequate as they didn’t have fitted sheets so if you move while you sleep you might find yourself sleeping on the bare mattress. Yuck. Some of the staff were very nice and friendly.... others not so much. Grounds were very nice and Lots of folks on the beach and by the pool trying to sell souvenirs, excursions, hair braiding, massages, etc. Pretty annoying when you can’t go 10 minutes without being hassled. Glad we found out how this place was before we took the whole family here.

I had a great time with my family spring break (second time). The hotel needs a little update, It will be renovated soon and I can't wait. They have to add more variety of food though.. The best from this hotel is the staff, best customer service ever, kind, respectful and fun people. They are always with a smile. Especial thanks to Ramon (Reception), for changing our room fast and with courtesy. Juli from animation team, thank you for making us laugh as crazy, you're the best!! Gerardo and Redison at the lobby, thank you so much, and everyone at the Buffet, pool and restaurants. We definitely will be back.