Turtle Beach - Reader Reports & Opinion
Guest Report - Turtle Beach
Lesley Gibbs from U.K. visited in June 2008 and awarded 
My partner & i have just returned from the Turtle Beach resort and after reading mostly negative reviews felt i had to put our point across.
We had a great week away meeting nice people along the way.
We had booked a Superior Sea facing room which is a bit of a con because all rooms face the sea, The only difference being you get a fridge with a few drinks in (2 Bottles of Coke a bottle of water & a few cans of local beer)This is what you pay the extra money for.
The food on 2 nights was Ala Carte which was excellent the rest of the time it was adequate. The staff were very polite and happy to help whenever possible. There are locals on the beach but we found them polite and not at all persistent like other people have reported. We had 2 trips 1 with My Tobago which was ok but the best day out was with Barrys tours a great day at sea and the beach, barbecue, and party on Bucco Reef will never be forgotten, Truly memorable.
We upgraded to XLOne at Gatwick which really made our journey to Tobago so relaxing and started our holiday off to a great start. The first night & Last night we got to see 2 Giant Turtles again a truly memorable experience, it brought tears to my eyes how the locals are so protective of these wonderful creatures. Our Journey home was a nightmare with XL not believing we had paid for an upgrade both ways, my partner being frogmarched out of the airport and after much arguing we were begrudginly upgraded (even tho we had paid £700 at Gatwick) we were treated like illegail immigrants instead of first class passengers. Overall we had a great time, we would go back there but will not upgrade to a superior room as they don't exist.
Guest Report - Turtle Beach
John Jenkins from U.K. visited in May 2008 and awarded 
I have read with great interest and amusement the report posted by Gaynor Bond. My family and I were also at the hotel the same two weeks.
Firstly it makes me smile at what people expect the Caribbean accommodation to be like. The star system is nothing like that in the British Isles or indeed Europe. The Caribbean is all about being in a tropical paradise exploring and relaxing in the culure. I have been lucky to have visited many of the islands over the years and the rooms were reasonable although personally a little more light in the rooms would be beneficial. Our attitude is to spend as little time in the room as possible, thats why we come to the Caribbean in the first place!
The Turtle Beach hotel is in a magnificenr location. The rooms are basic but have air conditioning. Expect nothing more as 2 star rated and priced that way. I can recount spending a fortune 20 years ago literally staying in a beach hut which was the then fashionable experience but wouldn't be allowed under health and safety now.
My partner children and I had a wonderful time in the excellent swimming pool, on the beach and especially experiencing the wonderment of the nesting turtles and their hatchlings.Which quite frankly was the deciding factor on my choice of hotels in Tobago. The food is mainly buffet style with enough choice to suit most palates. Breakfast especially is very satisfying. The bars and bar staff are friendly with good quality drinks.
We had to suffer the comments of this lady and her party day after day. Appreciating and respecting her comments are personal opinion as are mine and, spending a night in receiption with no insect repellent is not recommended! Compensation is one thing but please dont go to the Caribbean with a negative attitude. The culture of the staff and their promptness to attention to detail has to be tolerated. I do agree that the receiption and shop staff were quite un helpful but the majority of the staffare typically friendly with a sunny disposition common to the region.
All in all even with a 24 hour delay (thankfully we didn't come and go on the same plane, if you were wondering!)my family and I had a magnificent holiday to remember at a good hotel in a great location on a fantastic island.
We will be back again in years to come and won't hesitate to book the Turtle Beach again.
Guest Report - Turtle Beach
Gaynor Bond from U.K. visited in May 2008 and awarded 
My friends and i stayed at the turtle beach resort for two weeks. We had payed extra for something called superior rooms apparently they dont excist. We arrived at the resort after a 8 hour flight only to find that 2 people instead of 3 had been booked in , a mistake on whos behalf we have yet to find out. It therefore took 3 hours to be allocated a room the food in the resturant was sub standard the staff seemed fed up and at times took it out on guests. Many of the new staff were friendly and kind they know who they are and thankyou.
The room we were allocated were of a poor quality it wasnt even clean was out dated and dont even start me on the patio area . I think the room had been closed down for redecoration and then opened up again when we had arrived, [someone panicked].
The owner came to our rescue the next day to offer some form of compenation after we slept the night in the hotel reception. We were also bitten very badly from insects that night.The staff on night duty who are supposed to patrol the area fell asleep and were rude towards us all.The night we slept in reception we were offered only one coffee each and one bottle of water hardly enough in that heat. The manager offered us a few perks but it didnt make up for the way we were treated by staff and X L . The room we felt were completly unacceptable and just not to a good enough standard never mind the amount of money we had payed for something special WHICH TURNED OUT TO BE COMPLETE CRAP. I agree with many other people many of the staff at the hotel are also on the make.
This was supposed to be our dream holiday which turned in to a nightmare. We made the most of our stay and 2 weeks is along time but we couldnt wait to go home, dont even start me on X L because they are also crap. If your going expect very very basic unless the revamp has been completed. All the ladies out there dont get treated like [size=85:8othrrbj][Editor: word censored] from the men they have zero respect for you so beware.
The turtles were great and the people who look after them do a great job that was the highlight very educational oh and the chef at the hotel he knows who he is wonderful guy and a great cook x
Guest Report - Turtle Beach
Rita Wilcox from U.K. visited in April 2008 and awarded
After booking, I read some very negative comments on various review webpages, but this was not our experience.
We(party of 4 adults 45-55) enjoyed our stay. The staff were without exception, pleasant and co-operative/helpful. The hotel was as you would expect for this star rating, in fact above in some aspects, i.e.the pool/beach.
Whilst we were there, the hotel was slowly (and subsequently unobtrusively) being refurbished. There were new bathroom suites being delivered, and the dining room had new furniture during our stay.
The rooms were large and well furnished, with comfortable beds/pillows.
The entertainment was varied, not "west-end" but not bad either.
Not sure what was available for children, (clubs etc) so this could have been an issue for families perhaps.
The food, was great, wonderful cooked brekkies if you wanted, cereal/fruit muffins etc if not.
We stayed all-inc, for first time, no ice-creams/snacks that i could see, outside of meal times, although drinks were served, so again maybe an issue for some families, but not us.
Tobago itself is a mixture. We visited Scarborough, (capital, but not as we know it JIm!)nothing to recommend it, and would n't bother again.
Well worth hiring a car for a day(or two)to explore the beautiful beaches, and central rainforest area. The trip to Argylle Falls is good, wear trainers or flats, it can get muddy and you do a bit of clambering over rocks, but worth it, your guide points out wild-life, we saw a humming bird amongst other things.
Pigeon point is spectacular, and the boat trips are interesting. Taxi's to and from the hotel are reasonable if you dont want to drive.
Would strongly recommend going A/I as Tobago is n't a holiday where there are wide choices of restuarants on your doorstep. We did eat out for one lunch, and found it expensive and very basic, so think carefully when booking. The hotel do European and local dishes, (goat curry was good there)and if you work out what you would spend on food and drink in Europe the A/I is good value.
The only supermarket, that resembles anything like your local one is Penny..something or other, in the pigeon point area. There is an ATM there too.
Tobago is very chilled and laid back, not much to do outside of beaches, and I probably would have been bored with two weeks. A typical caribbean island.
We were fortunate to see a leather-back turtle laying her eggs, also of interest was watching the local fishermen pull their catch in from the beach, it was fascinating, go and watch, you will prob be helping as it's impossible not to, there's a sense of ancient history, no machinery, just men pulling together for the greater good.
I would recommend Turtle Beach Hotel, and Tobago, but only if you want a relaxing holiday, if you want bright lights/loud music/nightclubs etc, stick to Aya Napa! Tobago won't be for you.
PS watch out for the rum punch, particularly when you just arrive, dont know if it was having just flown for hours, but boy were they lethal! Picture an alcoholic slush puppie, and you've got it! Beware the Pina Colada's! Wonderful concoctions, but definately make your clothes shrink!
Guest Report - Turtle Beach
John Mitchell from Canada visited in April 2008 and awarded
For those of you who expect North American service beware! Since we had been to Tobago before we knew what to expect.
Let me tell you what we really liked first though.
The facility is greaT.....nice pool ...good selection of food for the all-inclusive....great beach and an all round nice resort....rooms ok for the most part.
now for the caution
....Staff is not overly helpful and if you ask too much of them they do start to get annoid with you. This is totally unfamiliar to someone who has spent any time travelling in North America or other parts of the Caribbean like the D.R. We did find the nicest employees to be the non-locals ...at least they know what people expect when they serve you or make you a drink.
I was curious why people did not not sit near the beach side of the pool....figured it out after the first day when we were constantly bugged by the Beach peddlers (not all) .It is a public area on the beach and a couple of them like to hang over the pool side from the beach....not good! Rude in fact. So ask the bartender to make you his favourite drink( you wont be disappointed) and avoid too much contact with the peddlers and your stay will be more enjoyable.
We also found driving in Tobago is pretty safe and easy(lots of winding up and down...Fun...and it is a great way to get around ... talk to Lin who will meet you at the rental Kiosk at the airport..... nice lady and reasonable rates. You can drive much of Tobago in a day and there is a lot of amazing beaches and waterfalls to visit.
Oh yes .....service ....on our first trip we pre-ordered dinner ...not at turtle Bay....for 7 pm and ate at 9:30...
soooo remember you are on Trinidad Time and relax beacause it is a fantastic place to visit ...and we can't wait to go back.....
I hope you don"t think we are being harsh about the locals but please remember to relax when dealing with staff and your stay will be be more enjoyable.... Have a great trip
And Yes we would return to Turtle Beach
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