Palmhaven - Reader Reports & Opinion
These reports are a combination of questions and comment posted in our Palmhaven forum and visitor reports added via the 'Add Report' tab above.
Reader Satisfaction Ranking: 
Average vote of 8 readers = 4.9 (max = 5)
Guest Report - Palmhaven
Joe Walker from U.K. visited in May 2008 and awarded
It's rare to find a house that truly exceeds your expectations, but Palmhaven is one of those. Beautifully furnished french colonial style, it's bright, blessed with cooling breezes, fantastic views, lovely garden frequented by all manner of colourful birds and wildlife and is in an excellent quiet location, ideally placed for convenience and choice and places to visit. One of it's biggest assets is the incredibly helpful and accommodating house-keeper Joyce and her husband Wayne; they are wonderful people and made us feel incredibly welcome without ever being intrusive. Joyce even gave my wife a lesson in Caribbean cooking resulting in a plendid meal on the broad veranda. She also baked amazing birthday cakes for my wife and daughter who had birthdays during our stay, entirely unrequested, with a big floral display from the garden too. A lovely gesture!
For those not used to it though, I would be prepared for the dawn chorus! In the insulated houses we live in, we rarely hear what goes on outside in this country, but with the forested hillside adjacent to the house in Tobago, the Chachalacas (Tobago's national bird for those who haven't been) will certainly get you up for the first day or two!! However, you will quickly get used to that and appreciate the various birdsong, so much so that it seems strangely quiet now we're back!
I would throughly recommend this villa....top marks to Kate the owner, and Joyce and Wayne. We will undoubtedly return!
Guest Report - Palmhaven
Jocelyn Armstrong from U.S.A. visited in February 2008 and awarded
Our family visited Tobago last February and absolutely loved it. Palmhaven was every bit like the pictures shown on the website. A lovely open air home, (once you open the louvered doors) with an impressive garden and lovely pool.
We have two children that stayed in the double room and another guest who stayed in the other guest room. All the rooms are separate with en suite bathrooms, so everyone had their privacy. The beds were comfortable with nice feather pillows, all covered with mosquito netting. It was always breezy with the villa on top of the hill.
The one thing I will remark on is the loud birds next to the master bedroom, making noise at dawn. I figured out after a few days that if I made a racket, they would stay away for a day or so. But really, better than the sound of traffic or car alarms. The birds were part of the charm.
Wayne and Joyce were very nice and accommodating. They stopped in every day to clean and water the plants. They will stay as much or as little as you like. We had Joyce cook our meal on the day of arrival, which was lovely after a day of traveling.
The villa is on top of a hill. At the bottom of the hill down the street , is the food store with all you may require. It is located in a convenient area, close to the beaches and the point, boating etc. We enjoyed Mt Irving beach for a feel of the real caribbean. We felt very safe there. It is patroled by the police and there are always life guards there.
We did alot of activities that our boys enjoyed thoroughly. We went offshore fishing with Grand Slam, an excellent adventure. We caught a couple of kingfish, and barracuda, which we brought home and ate all week. We bought some delicious shark from the fisherman on the side of the road. You must be as aggressive as the natives when bargaining for fish, or there will be none left to buy before you know it!
We went on a nature tour with Peter Cox up to Speyside and Little Tobago to see the birds nesting, go snorkeling and hike into the rainforest to swim in a waterfall. That day we had lunch at Jemima's Treehouse in Speyside. Peter helped with the food served family style. The Tobogans eat their big meal in the middle of the day, which is good because we were famished from all the activity. Peter is a wonderful guide, polite, knowledgeable respectful of our natural surroundings and great with kids.
My sons learned to windsurf at Pigeon Point... spectacular! And very well priced for a lesson compared to the States. We rented a car from Sheppy, which I had arranged well in advance, which I recommend because he is really busy and seems to have the best reputation on the island. All of these people were recommended on the website by Kay O'. We were not disappointed.
One last memory...we had a wonderful meal at an Italian restaurant at Boucco Beach named, La Tartaruga. Fabulous. A tad expensive but worth it. The proprietor is a lovely ma, form Italy, who also has a pizzeria in Scarborough.
All in all, we felt safe there, but always good to keep an eye out. We found the people were friendly and helpful.
The only thing I will say is to be sure to wear bug repellent when you go into the rainforest. I forgo, and shortly after my return, I contracted Dengue fever, which was rather unpleasant for a time. Thank goodness everyone else escaped unscathed. Despite the illness, I look forward to our next visit. it was an awesome adventure!
A Fantastic Place To Stay
Tony Stevenson from U.K. visited in February 2008 and awarded
I stayed at Palmhaven in mid-February 2008 and found it to be absolutely perfect!
The villa is superbly appointed with great views towards the coast. The garden is wonderful, well cared for and full of amazing plants and trees and many visiting hummingbirds. The house itself is large, airy and tastefully decorated and furnished, with a great deal of light and space. It has a great kitchen and a big lounge area which opens out onto the garden terrace and swimming pool and brings in a good sense of the outdoors. The pool itself is amazing and gives a stunning vista of the surrounding area. The bedrooms are a good size and well-furnished.
Palmhaven is located in Patience Hill which provides easy access to all areas in the south of the island. Additionally there is a growing network of contacts for island activities such as diving, bird-watching, wildlife tours, etc who will pick up and return you to the villa's front gate. I was lucky enough to go on an island tour to Little Tobago and went diving with turtles off Store Bay, both of which were once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
I would fully recommend a stay at Palmhaven to anyone!
A Wonderfull Place To Stay...
Neumann from Germany visited in July 2007 and awarded
We had so much great time in Palmhaven and Tobago that we are planning to go another time in 2008. The design and locating of the Pool with the beautifull view can not be describe in words.The house is big and space for our hole family.
Joyce is a perfect housekeeper, great cook and wonderfull person.
Coming back again 2008.
Palmhaven - We Liked It Too
Steve Pitts from U.K. visited in May 2007 and awarded 
I can add very little to the previous reports, other than to say that we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and agree with all that has been posted.
Just a few practical notes on location for those considering Palmhaven -
The Villa is situated near the top of Riseland Trace, which is a right turn off of the Auchenskoech Buccoo Rd (if heading towards Buccoo from the Claude Noel Highway)in the centre of Carnbee village (150m past Pennysavers).
Go just beyond the villa a short distance and you are in the Patience Hill area. This is a low density residential area of mixed housing. There are some rather grand houses with more traditional 'hillside houses' (built of timber and tin roofed) nestling alongside in the forested valley. There are a couple of building plots nearby, but no building work was evident within several hundred metres during our stay and noise was restricted to the occasional car passing by, the dawn chorus from the abundant local Cocrico population and the sound of me snoring, or so I'm told :-)
The nearest supermarket, pharmacy and fruit stalls are in Carnbee, just over 1km away. It would be possible to walk the distance, but the return journey with groceries would be a very hot climb back up to the villa. A car is therefore pretty much essential, unless you are happy to rely on taxis to get out and about.
For those concerned about safety whilst occupying a villa, there is a small guard kiosk at the front entrance gates and a security guard is on duty from 18:00 to 06:00 the following morning. We found this somewhat surplus to requirements, but this would undoubtedly give anyone seeking reassurances on the security issue a good deal of peace of mind. The double gates are locked at all times, but we didn't find this too much of an inconvenience.
We would certainly return to Palmhaven.
Steve Pitts
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