Tropix beach shop
Juan’s famous pancakes are super popular: large, fluffy pillows of buttery goodness that happen to be one of the few a la carte breakfast items available each morning. Guests typically eat their breakfast here at one of the matching table and chair sets. The small pool is surrounded by green and white plastic lounge chairs, which, at any other hotel would look tacky and dated, but here seem to effortlessly conjure a feeling of 1960s retro cool. Probably because it hasn’t been altered since 1980, the pool area at Tropix manages to pull off a certain vintage-chic.
Tropix beach shop free#
Tropix offers free Wi-Fi and free parking in a large driveway adjacent to the hotel. Though most guests take their morning meal outside, the breakfast room is next to the kitchen for rainy days and larger groups. There’s also a small honor bar with bottles of water, soda, and beer in the breakfast room. It’s equipped with a full-size refrigerator, a stove top, sink, and plenty of pots, pans, and kitchen utensils. Those who’d prefer to make their own meals can do so in the hotel’s communal kitchen. But if pancakes aren’t your thing, the hotel can also whip up things like eggs, omelets, or just some some good ole Dominican coffee. We didn't notice any cleanliness issues on our visit, but there was some obvious wear and tear like damaged tiles in tubs and chipped paint. Larger rooms, called Quads, consist of two separate bedroom and can accommodate up to five people. Most rooms include a double bed and a single daybed and can accommodate two or three people. This also means throwing toilet paper in the trash instead of the toilet, and being conscious about water consumption. Because the property is unplugged and eco-friendly, there are no in-room TVs or phones, and guests are required to turn off all lights and cooling mechanisms when leaving the room. Once in the shower, temperature control is iffy, and the hot water doesn’t last long. Fifteen minutes before showering, guests need to turn on the room’s hot water heater. Bathrooms are tiny, with walk-in showers and tacky (but somewhat charming) sea-life shower curtains. Rooms are equipped with high-power ceiling fans, large closets with safes, and mini-fridges, but the wall-unit air conditioners are set to energy-efficient mode and don’t do a great job of cooling off the rooms. Mattresses are pretty uncomfortable, and the threadbare sheets could definitely stand to be replaced. Sunny rooms are painted in an array of tropical colors, with red billowy curtains, blue painted wood furniture, and yellow-green bedding.
Rooms at Tropix are bright and pleasant, but also in need of a serious update. There haven't been many updates since the '80s but classic wood furniture and towering palm trees look timeless. The hotel is made up of five, two-story white buildings with orange tiled roofs, centered around a small pool and patio. Return guests call themselves, "Tropixies." Because of this, the hotel hosts a great deal of families, school groups, and even long-term volunteers who have come to work in the Dominican Republic. Thanks to a strict registered guests only policy (aka no sex tourists allowed), Tropix is able to show visitors a different side of Sosua that few people get to see or experience. Though it is by no means a luxury resort, Tropix is one of few family-friendly hotels left in the area. Though Sylvie is no longer alive, her dynamic spirit is still carried out by the hotel’s warm staff - many of whom have been working at Tropix since its inception. In 1980, she returned to her childhood home and opened Tropix, as a way of welcoming travelers in the same way the Sosuans welcomed her family back in the 1940s. Sylvie Papernik, the daughter of two of these refugees, grew up in Sosua, but moved to the United States as a young girl. As one of Sosua’s first hotels, Tropix has an interesting history that dates back to the second World War, when the small town was designated a safe haven for Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.