I stayed for a week at the Tropicana because it is relatively close to the convention centre and is also more affordable than other Durban hotels. As previous guests noted in reviews on TripAdvisor, the rooms are quite dated and need a good “makeover”. The only sign of any intervention in recent times was the new shower-head in the bathroom.

Also, it was frustrating that only South African terrestrial channels are available on television at the hotel. Most hotels nowadays, even in the three-star category, offer a wider selection -- including, for example, BBC World and/or CNN. I also think the hotel could save a lot of money, and be kinder to the environment of a city with water issues, by NOT changing the towels and bed-linen every day.

On the catering front, I went to the grill bar one day and ordered a chicken salad sandwich. What was produced, however, was a full chicken salad, with chips and all. When I asked that this should be replaced, I was given a toasted chicken and bacon sandwich! Really, a chicken salad sandwich is realatively easy to prepare using sliced chicken breast, lettuce and maynonnaise. Any hotel grill bar in the world could do it! I must, however, commend the breakfast buffet; as one TripAdvisor reviewer noted, it was “surprisingly good”.

For me, as a journalist, the most frustrating thing about my stay was that the wifi reception (I was in room 402) was frequently intermittent and sometimes even unavailable. On one occasion, I had to transcribe two stories from my laptop to the desktop in the Business Centre, which was unmanned at the time (it was around 7pm).

I don't think I'd go back until the defects listed above are remedied.

I needed a hotel for three days in Durban and I chose the Tropicana. It's right in front of the beach and has a car parking which came in handy as I had a rental car.

The hotel itself is pretty good. The rooms are nice and spacious, check-in is quick and efficient, the service is good and the breakfast was a surprise. I'm not big on breakfasts in hotels as most of the time it's pretty meager but this one had a very good breakfast (buffet) menu. There were lots of choices from rice dishes, pancakes, eggs, sausages, cereal to fresh fruit.

The location is good if you want to see some things along the seafront. And even the attractions in town are within walking distance. I must say that Durban in general and the waterfront in particular have had a big upgrade since the last time I was here (9 years ago). I didn't feel unsafe at all in the evening on the waterfront, although the regular precautions do apply of course.

The only negative thing I have to say is that the travel brochure said the hotel had complementary parking but I found out that that wasn't so. I chose the hotel because of its location AND the fact that there would be free parking, but during check-in I found out that the parking costs (in my view) a lot of money. The staff couldn't do anything for me in that regard and a letter to the travel agency has had no reply to date.

Beach just across the road and near to ICC, although advised not to walk on own. Staff very friendly. Can get airport shuttle from hotel, much cheaper than taking a taxi, but leave yourself plenty of time as takes about an hour as the shuttle goes around other hotels to pick up.

This hotel is on the beach! What more can you ask for? Unfortunately, it is not a safe area - clients have been mugged at knife-point on the beach and although nothing was taken and there were no injuries or damages, it was a scary experience for them when visiting a 'friendly' city.

If you arrive by coach, make sure the Security stays with the luggage on the pavement. Keys for the group (we were 29 people) were ready, and check-in was done quickly and efficiently. What I do like about the check-in was that Reception ensured that every room-key was allocated together with two numbered luggage tags/stickers for the guests put onto their luggage themselves. This ensured that luggage arrived promptly at the correct room.

The hotel is quite old and has two very slow lifts (but they both work).

I have never had any problems with valuables etc getting lost or disappearing from rooms during my stays (nor my guests), but I do know some colleagues who have claimed that security is not that tight.

Rooms are clean but old style and some look a bit tacky, but you don't feel as if you have to jump from the door to the bed to avoid touching the carpets ...... Bathrooms are clean, and depending on the type of room, most have a shower inside the bath. I hate shower curtains, and here is proof again, that a shower curtain is a waste of time. Most of the shower water ends up on the bathroom floor.

I wish that hotels would stop using stupid little bottles of shampoo or shower gel, as I forever battle to get the last drop out of the bottle. If your stay is longer than 2 days, you have my sympathy for trying to get those last drops out of the un-replenished bottles.

Air-conditioners are really old but you do have sliding windows that you can open if you don't like the aircon noise ..... but remember, you will then get the noise from the road (and the waves across the road).

If you do have dinner at the in-house restaurant, have some of Alan's lamb curry. I don't normally eat stews during a tour, but can vouch for Alan's very hot spicy curry - Delicious!! Buffet dinners have sufficient variety but ask the Restaurant Manager if there are many tour groups in-house, then ensure that you go and have dinner a bit earlier, as the food is good and large groups tend to eat more .....

Breakfast is the normal hotel buffet. Freshly cut seasonal fruits, yogurts, cheese, breads, hot buffet, the usual. Even if you are allergic (read fussy) to certain foods, you can't claim that you weren't able to eat breakfast. The orange juice, is real .... not plastic ...

All-in-all, if you have to stop-over in Durban for a short stay and are on a tight budget, I would definitely recommend this hotel. The rooms are okay, the food is good, and well, just keep your eyes open on the beach or if you go for a walk on the "Golden Mile" .... after-all, you are in Africa doll ....