Tropino Kinderclub — Local services in Schenkenländchen

it was 3rd time we stayed, not so many options in Europe, unlike previous times we opted for a Premium Deluxe Room, instead of a premium Tent, big mistake: At our arrival the draw on a map where is our room, we get there and it's not premium at all, dark, with moquette on the walls, on the external perimeter with a window facing outside the dome, and with the shower occupied by unremovable handicap seat, all dirty as hell. We go back to the reception and we ask for a different accomodation as the one provided doesn't look like what we booked... in the center and near the lagoon, so after some german confabulations between them , they tell us to go to look at rooms between 1416 and 1419 , we go to look and while not exactly near the lagoon, we chose 1417, they gave us the key, but unsurprisingly the room was dirty and with not changed bedsheets, so we went back and they 'kindly' gave us all the keys of the rooms available and asked to choose ourself another one or move on our own the bedsheets from one room to the other one... very nice ... So we opt for the 1418, at least having bedsheet in order... we notice immediately in the bathroom, little insect with shape of little scorpions that will be our mates for the 2 remaining days... We went to the lagoon to swim, it's nice, but we noticed that the temperature is much lower than in the past, seems like the structure is struggling to maintain the heat, of the water but also of the air, not so tropical as previous times we were in the structure. We went to have dinner, at the Palm Beach Restaurant in front ot the 'Sea' ... we ordered a Signature dish... that revealed to be the worst piece of meat we ever ate... a really cheap and ugly cut of meat, full of big pieces of fat and unchewable parts, surely not worth 60 euro... Only acceptable thing was the beer . At the time of paying the waiter tells me that my bracelet has only '70' euro while I never used it... so I had to go at the reception to check... there they probably enabled it for the first time... and gaslighted me saying that it was ok, with 250 euro limit. We then enjoyed the Ohana bowling, that all counted was the only positive experience , besides the fact that from time to time was failing to count correctly the score... To get to the Ohana structure we had to go through a corridor with rooms, because the main access is work in progress or under maintenance... All this feeling really cold to be in a tropical Island... so much that I went back to the room to take a hoodie. Next day we have breakfast, all fine I would say, we go to check the 'south sea' and it was incredibly overcrowded, so we go back to the lagoon, and then we had lunch at aroi dee restaurant, I appreciated the food but the service was very very slow and speaking only german... In the afternoon we had the Sauna, also extremely overcrowded, were my wife probably got a virus, that destroyed our evening, while at the restaurant she had shivers, and so we needed to checkout from the restaurant ( again Aroi dee) and we had to ask repeatedly to let us pay with the waiter saying 'i am coming' and never coming and even making other people pay on the fly... however we go to the reception to ask for paramedical, that were not answering at the door, so they call them and they measure temp and it's 38.4, they say that they don't have any medicine (not even paracetamol), and that in case she feels worse they can only call an ambulance. So we go to sleep.. In the night I needed some water, and I wandered around looking for it, the only two dispensers inside the dome were out of order, I had to go out using my card instead of the bracelet paying 4.20 euro for a 50cl water bottle. At checkout the machine collecting the bracelet was not working, and we had to stay in queue to give back the bracelet... All this for 250 Euro per night... plus 300 euro for the restaurant and bowling and 14 euro for the parking...really not worth it. PS not clear why Saturday costs more when there was no one, no animation, nothing at all......

I went to Tropical Islands having quite low expectations after reading all those negative reviews online. I was honestly scared of getting scammed, I was scared of crowds and just an overall disappointment with the place. However, I’ve got to say I was proved very wrong. It’s quite an impressive place and it was truly a very pleasant experience with lots of space for fun, as well as unwinding and relaxing. I went for 2 nights (2,5 days) with my partner for his 30th birthday and it couldn’t have been a better gift. The place is huge - I had been scared we’d get bored quickly, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. In fact, I feel like we didn’t use it to its fullest potential, and we were doing something every minute of the day. The sauna area was definitely our favorite - a perfect place for unwinding. But we also used the slides, multiple times and the pools, as well as some other activities (bowling, bars, restaurants…). It was so great. Here is what I liked in particular:

1. The place was EMPTY. If you can, please go during the week (Monday-Thursday). We were shocked when we arrived on Thursday afternoon and saw the place to be quite literally empty. All the pools and slides were OURS. Seriously, on the slides tower it was me, my partner and one kid. It made the whole experience feel unreal. Friday and Saturday obviously brought many more people, but still - it wasn’t overwhelming at all.
2. The payment system (a wristband) is extremely convenient, especially because there is multiple machines available to make the payments easy and quick at the end of your trip, without any unnecessary queuing.
3. Everything feels very well thought through. You can tell the place has existed since 2003 - they have everything figured out, the payments, the available information etc. It makes the experience feel that much more smooth and intuitive.
4. I was very impressed with the nature. There are real, huge tropical plants growing everywhere and it makes the place feel magical. I especially loved the tropical forest part. Going on an evening walk, being the only people there, felt surreal.
5. The breakfast (included in the overnight stay) was quite delicious. Of course it’s not top of the top standard, but everything was fresh and very tasty. Highly recommend.
6. I didn’t feel invigilated by the staff. I know this might sound weird, but something I really hate is feeling like my every step is closely watched in places like that.

However, as always, not everything was perfect. There are a couple of things that did bother me:

1. The prices of food are ridiculously high, which is actually very much expected from a place like that, but still.
2. Water is cold. I don’t know how else to say it. I was hoping for water that just makes you wanna sit in it all day; meanwhile, the water in the pools is quite literally cold. 28*C is the temperature of most sport swimming pools. I think that a “tropical” water park should do better than that. I’m sure it’s mega expensive to keep up, but still, we had two swims in total during our trip and that’s it. The water was too cold for a pleasant experience.
3. Most of the staff were rude. I understand they could be tired of people constantly coming up with queries, but if you work at the INFORMATION DESK, isn’t that what you should be expecting??
4. There could be more slides. The ones that are there are fine and fun, but they cannot even compare to the ones in Suntago (Poland) for example. It’s a completely different story.
5. As much as I appreciate the information being available everywhere every step of the way, it’s also worth acknowledging how ridiculous the advertisements that surround you EVERYWHERE are. For example, they advertise a drink refill cup for like €18 a day, which is an OBVIOUS SCAM (unless you get one cup per family of 4, that makes sense I guess), while it’s portrayed as if it was the best deal in the world. After a couple days I started believing that myself!

All in all, I...

We’ve just returned from an amazing stay as a family of four (with two teenage girls), and overall, we had a fantastic time. Having read some of the more negative reviews before arriving, I honestly don’t recognise many of the complaints – we were pleasantly surprised across the board.||Accommodation:|We stayed in a Sunrise 4 home, which was ideal for our family. It had two bedrooms – one with a double bed (technically two singles pushed together) and another with two single beds – both en suite, plus a separate toilet. The space was generous, spotlessly clean on arrival, and came with a well-equipped kitchen. A great bonus was that your accommodation wristband also acts as your water park ticket – really handy.||Tip: Take a photo of your wristband numbers when you arrive. If you lose one, the information desk can easily reunite you with it using that number – all lost bands end up there.||Getting Around:|If you're staying in a Sunrise home, you’ll likely need to use the free shuttle bus to get to and from the main dome. It runs every 30 minutes and was generally punctual during our stay.||Tip: The shuttle timetable is posted opposite the information desk (just past the turnstiles) – take a quick photo of it on your phone so you always have it handy.||Water Park:|The water park is huge, clean, and well maintained. The metal pool bottoms really highlight how clean the water is – a great touch. There’s a massive main pool, a tropical lagoon, a large play structure with slides, a dedicated kiddie area, and an impressive slide tower. Outside, there’s a large pool with a lazy river and a fun white-water run. Plenty to keep everyone entertained for hours.||Food:|The food across the resort is decent for what you'd expect from mass catering in a theme park setting. The Ohana restaurant offers a slightly higher standard, although the menu is still mainly burgers and similar dishes. It’s a good spot for dinner when you’re showered and dressed up a bit.||Spa Area:|One of the hidden gems of Tropical Islands is the spa – and yes, it’s a textile-free area. As Brits, this isn’t the cultural norm, but we were surprised by how normal and freeing it felt. No one stares, and there’s a respectful mix of body types, genders, and ages.||Tip: Don’t be put off – you’ll likely adjust quicker than you expect, and you’d be missing out on a brilliant part of the experience if you skip it.||Extras:|We also tried the hot air balloon ride which was great fun – not a cheap extra, but we understand the price is likely in place to avoid overbooking and overcrowding.||---||Now for the cons – mostly around the 'Easy Way' package:||Both lunch and dinner are served in the buffet restaurant, and unfortunately, the food is almost identical at both meals. This might push some guests to dine elsewhere, which comes with a €10 per person surcharge.||There was confusion and inconsistency with staff around what’s included in the Easy Way package. For example, the Palm Beach restaurant didn’t charge us the expected supplement – even when we queried it. Also, we were only told Sawadee buffet was included at dinner, not lunch.||The dedicated sunbed area didn’t feel particularly VIP – it’s located upstairs and far from everything, meaning lots of up-and-down trips for drinks, toilets, etc. It also wasn’t well monitored, with many people clearly not on the Easy Way package using the beds anyway.||Lastly, if you’re on the Easy Way package for more than a day, they expect you to get new refillable plastic cups daily. This isn’t great for the environment. We asked to reactivate our existing cups from the previous day, which caused some confusion, but was eventually sorted.||---||Summary:|Tropical Islands delivered a brilliant, action-packed family break, and we’d definitely return. Just be mindful of the Easy Way package if you go for it – it’s good in principle, but the execution needs work. Otherwise, embrace all it has to offer – especially the spa...