Overpriced dirty I was not happy to see there is no elevator even on opening day. Everything is moldy and yuck, but my child wanted to live here. To pay 2K for a rundown place absolutely disgusting. read more

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INFESTED WITH MOLD! For the 19 years that i've been living i've never seen so much mold. Mold is everywhere. Our microwave got infested with mold. Our shower curtain started to randomly get mold. The walls are moldly and all they do is paint over it. Mold grows faster than you can count in here! whatever you do, do not stay here! even if its your last resort! im warning you! Then not to mention the onsite laundromat doesn't always work and no compensation is provided for the times it doesnt work. The dining hall food is nasty and for the price we're paying, a whopping $2010 for a double you would think the food is at least good?? NO one day they served me raw steak. The "biweekly" cleaning service they offer isn't consistent. Theres was a time when our apartment was cleaned for a month. The only good is the front desk, the workers are helpful. read more

Tropicana Gardens - University Housing Near Me - Goleta, California

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Please, do not live here. Paying 1800 a month for a triple is insanity. Mold, mold, mold.

Update to my previous review: https://yelp.to/hngZ3yZSYW Since I made that review, my apartment here at Tropicana Gardens has been broken into by another resident. She lives two doors down from me and despite bringing it to the attention of everyone in management I possibly could, the school, and the police, nothing has been done about her. Tropicana management is unbelievably uncooperative and has the biggest stick up their ass known to man. I truly do not understand how a company could be so unprofessional. My roommate and I have felt extremely paranoid and unsafe in our apartment and our requests for help have gone almost completely ignored. Tropicana refuses to respond to our emails at this point and we've had to take legal action against them in order to get released from our contracts to find new, safer housing, not to mention more affordable. It's not the main point of my complaint but the way the prices have gone up $1k in a year is crazy. $1700+ for a small double the size of a parking spot is ridiculous. Please listen to my reviews when I say this place is genuinely hell and Tropicana management will do nothing to help improve your stay if you do end up living here and having problems. They'll pretend to care and then ignore you when you want something other than the bare fucking minimum. Their employees play favorites and the ones who don't just flat out don't care and make it incredibly obvious too. Some more things that have happened since I wrote my previous review: attempted kidnapping down the street (RA and management did nothing to ensure safety of residents at Tropicana), active shooter across the street from us (RA and management did nothing, again), Tropicana resident in our building was arrested for rape (RA and management did nothing, big surprise). I'm sure there's other stuff I'm missing but I genuinely can't be bothered to give this fuckass company any more of my attention. I can't wait to get out of this hellhole. read more

Chloe the Reslife manger is absolutely incredible, Organized, passionate, and speaks so positively!

This is my second year living at Tropicana so I wanted to leave a review about my experience. The staff at the front desk and the cafe are always very nice and helpful and the meal plan is very good. I always liked the food and the cafes are open most of the day which is convenient. My friend lived on campus last year and chose Tropicana for this year because of the better food and housing! Definitely recommend living here if your in IV :) read more

Literally the WORST place to stay. overcharges for rent per month (most expensive place to live more than apartments), choose favoritism over any resistant needs, doesnt take anything seriously. they support UNDERAGE drinking, RA's dont care if 18/17 yr olds are drinking and if you report it to the front desk they do NOTHING about it. honestly thiniing about sueing the place bc why do they support underage drinking and do nothing abt it?! i heard a broke in happen and the girl STILL lives there and i feel unsafe every night bc its not too far from where i live. they dont take concerns to any consideration at all and when someone talks abt w them they have an attitude, if you want to have a good time at ucsb, do NOT and i repeat do NOT stay here unless you want to be miserable. all they want is money and literally nothing else, if you have proof something happened, they actually wont care. dont say i didnt warn u abt this place. read more

Money grabbing facility, food is ass and disgusting. Not disable friendly, washing machine breaks and takes a bunch of money and they say "well there's nothing we can do". Paid an arm and a fucking leg for a parking pass only for the spot to be taken almost every time and when you call the desk guess what they say "well there's nothing we can do" truly disgusting facility read more

So I've lived at trop for the whole UCSB academic year of 2018-2019. As it's my first year, I was a bit Naive and late to the housing game so I didn't look at many other places before my mother decided to sign me with trop. This probably isn't the worst place to Dorm, but there are definitely better and cheaper places than TG. I registered with Tropicana to stay in a quieter room on a quieter floor... Didn't work out so well. I had a single room on the third floor, which is about the size of a closet. It's livable, but when I pay $2000+ a month for rent and an extra $1500 for parking I expect to get more bang for my buck. It's also bordering the hallway so I can hear every word spoken in the quad/hallway/by the cafe because of the echo. The third floor is supposed to be "quieter" and the Croix quad is supposed to be chill and it didn't turn out to be so chill. TG is a super old building. The first thing I noticed is that it doesn't abide by the Americans with Disabilities act, no disability accommodations at all as this building was grandfathered in. My mother only visited my room 3 times in the whole 9-10 months I stayed here. Not a huge problem, seeing how she isn't the one living here but I was kinda bummed that my mother and grandmother couldn't access to my room on visitors weekend :( another thing I noticed, the bottom floor rooms are Better furnished/ updated than the top floor rooms. An RA showed us a bottom floor room during the tour and I was totally psyched! When I got to my actual room though.... different story. On another note, when I signed with Trop the "Quiet Hours" was the #1 reason I committed.. They were enforced for a few weeks at most. But for the most part it's a myth. It's loud 24/7 in trop and there are many frat houses nearby as well. So not only is it noisy inside of trop, but the frat houses bump music all the time. But let's be real, this is IV and my fellow gauchos love to party. You won't be rid of noise by staying at trop so if you can't beat em, join em. Or if you seriously need to study, go to the library. About that meal plan.... it's a hit or miss in Trop Cafe. Sometimes the food is superb, the pizza guy is super friendly and he makes bomb pies. But sometimes, especially at breakfast & lunch, I found myself wasting a meal swipe because I would leave as the food choices are nasty/greasy/unhealthy. I'm also plagued with a couple of food allergies and I avoid all seafood just to be safe. it gets MESSY in there, College kids completely turn that Cafe upside down on a busy night and there's a lot of cross contamination. I got sick a couple of times but hey, I'm still alive to tell the tale. Speaking of getting sick I was also hospitalized in the ICU when I was at trop (Totally unrelated to the cafe) and my mother had a difficult time gaining access to my room when talking with an RA on the phone/ at the front desk. I ended up giving her my keys instead and she found a different and very helpful RA to show her how to use the printer/ where my room was. I found that a lot of the RAs dont really know what they are doing, especially at the front desk sometimes. Other than that though, shoutout to Graham and Kayla for being cool RA's. Graham hosted a lot of cool events (wish I would have attended more) and Kayla was a super chill suitemate. In my experience, TG is kinda decent. Not everyone's cup of tea I guess. read more

The Tropicana Gardens administration, every quarter, has but one goal: evict as many as possible. They quite literally trick you or your freshman child to sign yearly leases. Imagine every time you walked out of your front door without a mask, you were charged $175. Welcome to Tropicana Gardens. Every loving parent looks forward to sending their kid off to college, or to help them unload their things and move into their very own first apartment, right? Wrong. that is a $475 offense; welcome to Tropicana Gardens. Here's a few other bullet points of some reasons to not lease here: - at $1900 a month + parking +food + conduct+ security deposit, it is the SINGLE most expensive way to live in isla vista, and for reasons below, that's extraordinarily out of reason - Rats (yes, of COURSE they're in the cafeteria too, don't worry) - Roaches - Spiders - Ants - you will, on occasion, wake up with a frog on your bed - constant gas leaks - constant plumbing issues - MOLD. MOLD EVERYWHERE that causes sickness and skin reactions when in the same room as it for over an hour or so - terrible food (the rats probably don't help) - plenty of leaks in the roof; hope you like pots on the floor - explicit racism (as a white man, I feel perfectly confident noting they punished my minority friends far harsher) In case none of that reached you, hopefully this does. DO NOT LIVE HERE. A triple or double literally anywhere else in isla vista will run you around a third of the price and will cause you a tenth of the problems. Please don't do this to your child, I hope this review finds as many concerned parents and curious students as possible before the spring quarter starts. read more

I lived here as an SBCC student for a year. The suites are relatively nice and the common areas of the building are well-kept. The programs organized by the RAs were amazing and were a great way to meet people. My only complaints were about the food (my roommates got food poisoning from the fish and several times a week I would eat out because nothing seemed appetizing), my bathroom (the heating was broken in the shower and I probably only had 5 hot showers the entire year, even after maintenance had come several times), and lastly how loud people were despite courtesy and quiet hours. There were also times when I was trying to sleep and people were skateboarding in the parking lot from 12 am-6am and kept me up. I made a lot of friends with other residents and RAs and had a great time despite the few things that irked me. read more

I wasn't going to post this but honestly it's too hilarious not to. This place is the absolute worst. It was so bad, that my friends and I laugh about it now because it doesn't even seem real when we look through photos. This a picture of what was served for dinner one night, and they actually had this "meal" for a week straight. I'm pretty sure you get better food in jail. I can't believe this place hasn't been shut down yet. read more

Tropicana Gardens - Cafeteria - University Housing Near Me - Goleta, California

Hey trop so how was it this year trying to make me pay for filming a fight? What was it again like 150$? You guys are fcking ridiculously dumb individuals who just want the the students money. read more

I can't say enough good things about the staff and facility at Tropicana Gardens. Everyone, from the people at the desk, leasing and the executive director , went out of their way to be accommodating. They made a huge effort to make the student feel welcome by having activities every night for the first week. They have a new program to encourage student excellence which includes tutoring,study sessions etc. They also have an person on staff that is completely devoting his time to helping students chart a positive course for the future. The staff, Autumn, Ben, La Donte, all care very much for the students that are staying there. This is not just a dorm. It is so much more. In addition, the facility is wonderful. Clean, well maintained and very nice. read more

If I could give zero stars I would. Tropicana Gardens is not a very great place to live. I'm not writing this review out of spite, I just don't want anyone else to make the same mistake. tropicana gardens takes you on a tour of the room that they actively update and deep clean. My room looks like it hasn't been deep cleaned in 5 years. the bathroom is disgusting. The overflow holes in the sink are clogged with unknown green stuff, there is mold and calcium build up like none other. It's terrible. There is no air conditioning and I thought I was going to die of heat exhaustion because it was so hot. There aren't even ceiling fans.I am also on the bottom floor which is said to be the nicest rooms, so I can't even imagine the upper floor rooms. And don't get me started on the food. Its flat out gross. sometimes there a little surprise and its delicious, like the fish tacos, the burrito bar, the pulled pork sandwiches, the quesadilla bar and the cookies. But it might just be good because I'm a hungry college student. There is zero nutrition I have noticed health declines in myself and my roommates. The food is a mystery. Anyways I know that "this isn't meant to be a five star hotel," but I am paying the prices of one. My bathroom light is being held up by duck tape. The bathroom in my suit flooded and the floors that were completely underwater still haven't been replaced. And when I sent a message to the "front desk" they replied with I'm so sorry about your unfortunate circumstances we will put in a new maintenance request and get those things fixed. The flood happened September 10th And I'm sure you can guess, it still haven't been fixed. I'm so tired of all the lying from the staff. This place feels like a jail and high school all mixed in one. Parents for the love of God do not am your children to live here. Thanks so much Dave for getting back to me. I appreciate you for not addressing anything important that I discussed in my review and once again posting another almost pre written response. Brushing things under the rug won't make anything go away, and that's Tropicana's favorite pastime. In the time that you responded to now, none of the things I've discussed that you said would get taken care of have been taken care of. My light still being held up by duct tape. The floors are still there from the flood and now our front door comes unlocked sometimes which is a major safety hazard. Oh and I also have been harassed by your "lovely" staff members. Another thing because of the flood in my suite, black mold went everywhere in my apartment and caused me and my roommates to become ill, since the another residents pipes exploded and the same mold went everywhere in their room. There is visible water damage everywhere in the building, that is no joking matter that is a safety hazard. I'm tired of being put in the back burner. I have sent many emails and have been told that things would get taken care of. Stop being cheap because for the prices I'm paying I Know you aren't hurting for money. This place is the most over priced lie I have ever gotten myself into. I was promised many things that have not been delivered. That's false advertisement sir. So I hope you can start to take some pride in your business and provide safe and livable housing environments to students. Because this is ridiculous read more

Just wanted to leave my quick experience review starting the 20-21 school year. So far so good with check-in was very easy and felt safe with the Covid signs one way direction around building. Another thing was how they get things fix fast. We were having trouble with opening suite door. Young maintenance person was passing by and heard door beeping. Right away with us not even asking for help, he offered to help and fix door. Once the door was fix we asked about bike parking. He explained about registering in front office and get a lock or else the bike would disappear. He gave gave us his name and if we needed some more assistance to notify front desk. Enrique was very helpful and observant on his service. read more

Words cannot describe how much I hated this place. I hope to steer anyone else looking into staying here from it because of how awful my experience was. I know most yelp reviews for apartments are mainly all bad, but take my word on Trop, YOU DO NOT WANT TO STAY HERE. I only stayed here for one quarter and in that time period I witnessed sexual harassment in the parking lot, schizophrenic roommates, black mold, weird authority figures with power complexes and an RA from hell. Trop is run by such a corrupt system and they could not care less about their residents. It is the biggest money grab I've ever seen, I paid for a double room with no parking, no kitchen, and the least expensive meal plan and still paid about 2,300 a month for it. Don't bother being a regular fun college student because you will suffer here. Imagine having to pay 250 dollars because of alcohol paraphernalia (a shot glass) being in the living room. Don't bother trying to talk to the RA either about the thing, they're sensitive and sad. I also got my 400 dollar bike stolen from the very safe and secure bike racks of Trop, needed security film and guess what? The cameras conveniently went down! No idea what happened to it to this day even with a filed police report. Not to mention the food cooked there, barely edible. I could rant about this place forever. such a horrid experience and I was only there for 3 months. I hope this place legitimately goes bankrupt. Go steal from people your own age, thieves. read more

The best piece of advice I can give any incoming freshman or parents of them is to NOT go to Trop. If i could leave 0 stars I absolutely would. ANTS ANTS ANTS not to mention the water smells awful. Our room was searched after another student saw us eating goldfish out of solo cups since we had no kitchen to do dishes and we all got a strike because someone owned a candle. Unfortunately they are great at reaching out to parents of incoming freshman, and the cafeteria is their only good quality, but you spend more money eating out since the food is so bad. Literally anywhere else in IV or SB would be better, I highly suggest checking out Campus 880 instead. read more

I lived at Trop my second year of college and I enjoyed the on campus dorms more. They have the strictest rules ever and you will basically get fined or in trouble for anything. I also lived close to one of the side doors and I could never sleep at night because of how loud the door was and the cars driving by. I also paid for a parking spot and whenever I would come back from work the majority of the time my spot would be taken which was really inconvenient. They wouldn't even let me park in someone else's spot while I waited for a tow truck and there was no available parking on the street. There was also mold growing on the blinds when I moved in and lots of the furniture on the suite was damaged or worn down. One time when I requested to get our toilet fixed (in a house with 4 girls and 1 toilet) they never came and I had to submit two more requests and call them multiple times just for someone to show up in the evening the next day. I highly don't recommend living here if you intend on having any fun or if you want to enjoy college. read more

Very pretty and welcoming housing services. The pool is a major plus. The RAs make sure that your living experience is a memorable one. I had a great time here and would recommend to all my friends! read more

Toured with Amber yesterday. She is a great representation for your property. Sadly, was disappointed in the property. Very old and dated. The rooms have that "old smell" as well as worn and beyond dated. A small refrigerator, for 6 people would not work. Unmatching furniture and the bathroom situation as laughable. 2 bunk beds smashed together in a room is unrealistic for 4 girls. I will say the bussing to SBCC appears to be amazing. The "mess hall" is just that. We toured a new construction complex and decided that was better for us. All and all, "the Trop" was not for us but I'm sure will fit others criteria. read more

I came here to visit my little sister a few weeks ago who lives and works here. I had a great experience. Everyone was super helpful when I couldn't find my way. The place is super nice and safe. We had a lot if fun in the game room. Its a really cool place for college students. read more

please dear god do not live here. we had sewage water in our bath tub 4 times. this was not solved or responded to for days.

Everything from when we first inquired about housing, to moving in to even coming to visit once in awhile was great. Students and staff very friendly. This place csne highly recommend and I'm glad I listened. read more

The property and management is awful. The food is terrible and it is very very overpriced the entire experience is one I would never reccomend. Do not send your kids here. read more

I Have been here quite often and it is a beautiful building. Always a nice place to soak up the sun or just hang out with my friends. The cafe always have different food from the omelet bar to the pizza station. Super nice place! read more

Clean and safe environment with good facilities, and no issues with management. Good distance from other stores and campuses; easily accessible read more

MOST COMMON STUDENT EXPERIENCE--- Moved in fall semester eager to start college life. Trop was appealing at first with their meal plans, room set up and beautiful property. First day I get to my room, the showers, faucets, and sinks were all corroding with mold and mildew. The tap water is murky and smells of sulfates. I found a half eaten pizza crust behind my desk (indicating the apartment had clearly not been cleaned throughly or at all). My roommates and I are highly clean and attentive to cleaning up messes and trash, yet within a few weeks we were infested with ants crawling out of the drains, spiders and fruit flies. The staff are unhelpful and frankly, rude. The cafeteria has limited options of unhealthy food, closes for 3 hours midday and 7pm on weekends. They have strict quiet hour policies and will charge you extra for anything they can fathom, i.e. If you have to use a one time key to get into your room and don't return it after 15 minutes you're charged $15 (doors are often faulty, ours won't lock without slamming). GO LIVE ANYWHERE ELSE, THEY OVERCHARGE! read more

Awful. Utterly awful. I would go into more detail but the staff seems to just want to shut down any criticism or suggestions for improvement. Parents. DON'T SEND YOUR KIDS HERE! read more

Stayed at this place for 5 days and can say it was the worst 5 days of my life! Nothing better than feeling like your going to throw up after every single meal. The food is disgusting and would recommend eating if you want to throw up. The rooms look like somewhere you will find near the Chernobyl disaster. Nothing better than not being able to have a shower because you don't want to catch a fungal infection. The showers were covered in mold and obviously haven't been cleaned in years! Would recommend staying here if you want to have the worst week of your life. You couldn't pay me to stay here! It's awful! read more

It's location is really great as it's close to the mini marts, fast food places and the beach but also not that close so you enjoy a nice walk read more

If possible I would give less than a star. I started my freshman year here and it was nothing like they sold it to be. They show you a model apartment that is clean and nice. But when you move in there is mold on the sinks and showers. About three months in my room was broken into and my roommates were held up at gunpoint, the suspect was caught the next day and arrested. If that isn't a reason to stay away then I am not sure what is. STAY AWAY from this scam of a place. They will sell it to you very well but don't believe a word they say. Come on David I'm waiting for your excuses. read more

I lived in Tropicana Gardens for one year and one of the best things about living here are the people who work here, in particular RA Paul. He was so welcoming, friendly and made an effort to go out of his way for the residents. One of the best people I've met, I've never seen a harder worker. I would re-rent just to have Paul as my RA again! read more

Overall a beautiful building with an excellent location in Isla Vista. Resort-like amenities with a gym and an on-site cafe. Every time I visited I always had a great time! read more

My son is currently at Tropicana Gardens and in his second semester at SBCC. After extensive research, and knowing his first year away at college would be full of both exciting and challenging transitions (remember that first year moving away and figuring out the college success plan?) we chose Tropicana Gardens for the ease and convenience it provided and the parental peace of mind knowing that one payment would ensure all his core needs could be met. Between the on-site cafe and meal plan, study lounge with tutor support, on-site leisure space (pool, barbecue, sun decks and green space, movie space ping pong, small gym access, etc etc.) and the fact the bus to and from SBCC picks up and drops off in front of Trop almost every 30 minutes, we knew he could focus on the transition and not the basic needs of life on your own that first year. We were also well aware of the "social opportunities" and the potential for 1st year kids to sometimes go off the rails with the partying scene and lose their way that first year of college, so the rules based environment and policy reinforcements noted around quiet hours, and substances/partying on-site were appealing knowing that the "home space" could provide a buffer and reinforce balance and college success. We felt Trop provided the best opportunity to set him up for success. We also were prepared for food complaints and things being far less then perfect after reading a few reviews of complaints and were a little concerned about postings of extreme rules applications and interpretations, but I moved forward for all the priority reasons I noted. So - how is it going? The Trop environment has completely exceeded expectations and the whole set-up, structure, and location has been a fantastic launching pad for what has been an amazing first year away journey for our son so far. I can not more highly recommend this to parents/students looking for that first year college away experience, with the security of knowing you'll easily have everything you need to thrive. I am also happy to report that our son says the cafe does a fantastic job and he really enjoys the food options. I can also share that he experienced a policy reinforcement consequence, along with his whole suite when one suite member violated a policy. It was brilliantly handled by the Trop judicial approach - Firmly yet fairly, effectively managed and in a respectful, balanced way and things have been ship shape with their suite group ever since with that little reinforcement! What every parent could hope for. While our son will be moving to new quarters next year ( he feels it is a rite of passage to now have a place with a kitchen and less structure in his second year, so he can continue to grow the responsibility skills, with the stress of college studying/schedule management habits figured out this year, time to leave the freshman nest) By the way, he still plans on having a Trop Cafe Meal Card in his wallet next year to be sure he can get some well rounded meals in a few times a week (the bus stops and leaves right there anyway ... and weekend food options have been a big hit too this year). So there's a testimonial for you. And as a parent, providing a base meal card/meal plan supplement let's me feel less guilty holding him firmly to his very strict and limited extra cash budget for groceries and incidentals next year when he runs out. ( when you're out, your out... until the next payday! Walk to the cafe for food. ;) ) Thank you to The Trop team!!! We could not be more grateful for all you do and provide to support our son during this important year of education that includes so very much more than the college classes they enroll in that first year away!! read more

The best thing about Tropicana gardens is there advertising video. Had a good time and met a lot of my best friends but I lived in a shoebox and ate mediocre food for 1250 a month. Unsure if it's worth the money but given the memories made, it was worth it. read more

I have lived and worked at Tropicana Gardens for 3 years now and I have enjoyed my time here. Everything from the cafe to the gym were fantastic. The property is located in the heart of IV so there is always something to do! read more

Tropicana Gardens is honestly so dope I loved being there. Super welcoming and accomodating!! Definitely recommend to anyone.

I moved into trop my freshman year so excited and for the most part trop was not too bad i made a lot of friends and was having a great time up until everything took a turn for the worst. My friend had a giant green bug in his salad from the salad bar, My room was broken into and trashed, and my friends were robbed. Over winter break I cleaned my room perfectly as i wanted to start the next semester fresh, clean and ready to go. I cam back with my clothes worn, ash on everything and my bed slept in, I had locked my door before I headed by back home so this was a major surprise. When i asked trop about this they played fucking dumb like they didn't know a single thing. my Mom also had to argue with the over the phone just to get my room cleaned by them, when I later found out they had known the whole time and it happened over winter break. They never contacted me once. Then i later found out they had pictures of the guy who broke into my room, squatted in my room and trashed the hell out of it. they didn't want to tell me over break and all the employe's were told they could not tell me any details. I could not believe this. Then I later found out the man who broke into my room was an employees of theirs friend. Then i found out they even had contacted the police and never even told me that, they had photos of the guy and everything. After that happened they didn't even fire the employe WHO BY THE WAY he lived in the single in my dorm. Not until way later did they fire this scum bag employee and the cherry on top of that was that they never kicked him out. So I had to contact them multiple times about it and they said they had thought he moved out already as he was evicted by trop. They never even checked his room to see if he was gone. end of the story is I ended up having to do their job and tell him that trop told me he needed to move out that day and he finally did. Thanks tropicana garden for that great second semester..... If you wanna move your kid here just know that when shit hits the fan which it will, trust me it does every year, as i hear new stories every year, that they will handle the situation in the worst way and make it so you are unable to do a single thing about it. Trop is the worst. Im so sad that trop ha to end on such a shitty note. read more

Tropicana Gardens is a great place to start your college career. It gives a genuine feel of what the social aspect of college should have. It is hard to stay alone at trop, and take it as you will, but ultimately it makes for a positive experience. Gardens is fantastic for those attending SBCC and they seem very committed to making students feel comfortable and included. Minus one star for the breakfast sandwiches. read more