Tropical Islands

We’ve just got back from our week-long stay at the Sunrise Homes in Tropical Islands and can honestly say, we can’t wait to go back! Our group was made up of 5 adults (couples/family/friends) and none us can really relate to the negative reviews we saw here prior to our trip. Granted, we arrived late evening so there was no queue for check in but we found the staff to be very pleasant with plenty of attempts to speak English to us ignorant Brits, some were really good English speakers. On the surface, the prices for food, drink etc. seem a bit steep but we actually felt it was all pretty good value for money and even though we weren’t budgeting, we spent a lot less in the dome than we thought we would. The dome itself is incredible, there’s so much to do meaning it would be difficult to fully explore it in a day, so glad we decided to stay for the week! It’s pretty busy on the weekends, but much less crowded in the week (though not empty by any means). Would absolutely recommend sticking around for a late night swim in both Sudsee and the lagoon - the lights are beautiful, I felt like Moana! In our opinion, the Sunrise Homes totally suited our needs and were exactly what we were expecting from chalet-style accommodation. Bear in mind, it is self-catering so very little is provided (besides towels and linen). They left a couple of toilet rolls, a small bottle of washing up liquid, a few small bin bags etc. Exceptionally good value for money, especially as entry to the dome is included, we paid £208 each for the week! Flies are a bit of a problem but you’re in a wooded area so it’s to be expected. The windows in the chalet have bug screens to help reduce this as much as possible (plus you can leave the windows open if it’s warm). Would recommend taking fly sprays or other deterrents if you can, though we did find a section in Lidl Lübben that had some options which were reasonably priced. The selection in the shop & bistro near the sunrise homes was pretty decent, certainly better than I was expecting, but if you’re staying for more than a day or two and wanting to cook in the chalet/bbq, you’d likely need to head to a supermarket - I think Lidl in Lübben is the closest. Berlin is easily reached by train with a shuttle service to/from the station every 30mins. The train takes about an hour and again runs every 30mins. Lübben was a lovely little town to visit, about 20mins drive from the dome or 2/3 stops on the train in the opposite direction to Berlin. They’ve got a really nice park in the centre near the museum with some bars/restaurants etc. There are other shops and restaurants near the market square about 5mins from the park. Worth bearing in mind that most shops are closed in Germany on Sundays. Overall, we had a fantastic time and will absolutely be going again. Though we can only really give our perspective as a group of adults with reasonable expectations for holidaying in a non-English speaking country, it did look like child

I had booked the Woodland Lodge at Tropical Islands in Berlin for my family of four. I had been before but had stayed in the Nature Lodge a few years prior and was very impressed by the accommodation. Little did I realise that the Woodland lodge was absolutely disgusting! We decided to make our own way to the resort from Berlin airport via train and the complimentary bus service that ran every 30 mins from the train station to Tropical Islands. The journey went smoothly until we reached our last stop where the bus was supposed to collect us. There were about 40 people already waiting at the bus stop which raised a few alarm bells, considering a bus was supposed to have just left. Thinking we wouldn’t be able to fit, I tried to get a taxi/uber but was unsuccessful. After waiting for over an hour, with more people turning up, I called Tropical Islands to find out where the bus was… A very friendly apologetic woman explained that the bus driver had gone AWOL but they had now found him and sent him on his way to us. At this time, I had counted about 100 eagerly awaiting bus passengers. When the bus finally arrived, everyone somehow got on at a very tight squeeze. I was very concerned about my family’s safety as the bus was way over capacity. I had to put this to the back of my mind remembering that it was just a short 6 min journey and there was no way I would be waiting any longer for another bus to turn up. Upon arrival to our accommodation, the Woodland Lodge was nothing like the pictures or description advertised! We were missing facilities shown/described like the oven, hairdryer, loungers, toaster and the outside canopy. The lodge was absolutely filthy and there was an awful sewage smell coming from the shower drain that lingered throughout our 3 night stay. The main room was ridiculously tiny and we ended up lounging in our bedrooms instead of the lounge which housed a dining table, built in cushioned bench and kitchen. There was only 1 chair, and after moving the table along side the bench, we only managed to sit 3 of us around the table. I ended up eating after the other 3 members of my family had finished. The other facilities in the lodge were not fit for purpose. The bin was broken, as well as the wall mounted bedroom lights, basically hanging off the wall, the clock didn’t work, the fly screens were ripped and there were stains on the curtains. (Please note that the second bedroom has bunk beds which were also not as described.) We told reception who weren’t bothered about any of the above apart from the hairdryer…. They said they would try to locate one and drop it off to us. Nothing turned up! I ended up having to walk to the camp site area that had a hairdryer in the communal bathroom about a 10 min walk away. The overcrowded buses continued throughout our stay and sometimes couldn’t even stop to pick up the passengers. It was basically a fight to just get on the bus let alone to get a seat. I don’t understand why they didn’t run a

Terrible. They have no clue about service and the prices are very high. Huge q’s for pretty much everything and the people who designed the systems are clueless. There’s even a huge Q to return the tag for lockers. Never again…………………………………….