Tropicana Gardens - Isla Vista, California

Samuel Valderrama Sanchez

Miserables, condiciones de vida que dan vergüenza.

Sosa C

Angela Ho

Electricity and wifi have gone out with no warning, blocked me in with the maintenance golf cart so I couldn't leave the parking lot, even though I turned in my application early to get an earlier selection time for rooms, Laura messed up the male/female ratio of the rooms and put me in a random room with people I did not choose. Messed up my billing over the summer.

Rohit Yadav

I stayed at Tropicana Villas from April to July 2023, and while the stay itself was acceptable, the checkout experience has been a nightmare. Despite numerous emails and calls, I have yet to receive my $1,100 security deposit. As an international exchange student at UCSB, I’ve learned that local students had their deposits returned promptly, but my request has been delayed countless times without any valid explanation. It feels like they are intentionally neglecting international students. If you're an international student, I strongly advise you to demand your security deposit before leaving California, or you may end up in my frustrating situation. My time at UCSB was great, but Tropicana Villas has left me deeply disappointed with their unprofessional behavior.

Bree Ortiz

Tropicana is a great place to stay! Good distance from UCSB and the meal plans helped me out a lot! The front desk staff is very welcoming and helpful.

Chiara

In 2024, Tropicana Gardens is an all-around excellent place to stay. Catering better than many places in IV. Staff that genuinely care. Single rooms (good luck securing one elsewhere). Nice rooms. Close to campus. Activities and opportunities. A community environment. Does it have its quirks, yes. Do any other places hit all these points? No (as far as I’m aware). A year and a half ago, I would not recommend it. Now, I absolutely do.

The rest of this review is dedicated to the food, which is my favorite aspect of Tropicana Gardens:
Ok, so there are 3 meals available a day, each with both buffet options and a prepared hot meal. Additionally, if the gods bless you, there’s sometimes an ‘action station’ which is basically customized meals (pasta, poke bowl, etc) prepared HOT in front of you. My biggest recommendation is the action station and hot meal options for dinner. Most of the time, I leave the dining room feeling like I robbed them because of how good the food was for the price. It has got to the point where I befriended the head chef and various chefs because of my enthusiastic compliments. On the plus side, if you’re a picky eater, there’s always options. Not a fan of the hot meals? Make your own bagel and throw stuff in from the salad bar (like chicken etc). Or, if you want a treat, try the late-night order, which is more fast-food-esque. Each week the food centers around a different cuisine (I think that’s how it works), so you’re guaranteed to get options that aren’t available on campus. One time, though, I got their Mongolian beef -a dish I usually eat at Su’s bowl in IV- and I generally thought it was better at Tropicana. Better, for cheaper. Another great change that was small but made a big difference was the quality of the buffet items. For example, the bagels and oat milk last year would alternate between a much nicer (presumably more expensive) brand of bagels and oat milk and a much worse brand. The worse oat milk cartons would sometimes not even open without breaking or leaking. This year, representing a microcosm of their improvements, there’s only the expensive kind of both. Add to that an all-new vegan/gluten-free area for desserts.

Victor Diaz

Great amenities. Good food. Lived here twice and enjoyed it.

Sarah Heckwolf

I have lived in this place for 5 weeks and even those 5 weeks were too long.
The rooms weren’t cleaned by arrival as promised. I stayed with Ef there and was told that the rooms will be cleaned once a week. In the time I was there, my room has never been cleaned. After asking for cleaning supplies, I was told to buy them myself.
The rooms in general are unhygienic and old. The sink is rusty and the showers are moldy. The floor is disgusting and sticky. The vacuum that we could get, often don’t work and don’t clean the floor.
We had to clean the sink ourselves bc the water wasn’t draining and it seemed like it has never been cleaned before since there was a lot of dirt and hair in the drain. .
The food is acceptable. However there are not many options for dinner as a vegetarian. For the last 5 weeks I ate pizza because the other food often tasted bad.
The staff is unfriendly and most of the time not helpful.
The outside of the rooms was good. The sun deck is cool and the pool is also good, but the rest outraged those small positiv aspects .