Castara Retreats Lodges - Reader Reports & Opinion

Everything We Could Have Hoped For & More   

Mpoynter from Canada visited in December 2007 and awarded  

My husband I stayed in Castara recently for a few nights and enjoyed our visit immensely. This was our first holiday in Tobago and, since we relied heavily on visitor reports in planning our trip, I felt we should add a report of our own. Firstly, all the positive comments about Castara Retreats turned out to be absolutely true. The village is a friendly community with a lovely sand beach and several good eating establishments including The Almond tree and Marguerite´s.

Our accommodation at Castara Retreats was everything we could have hoped for and more. Our cottage included a large, covered balcony with a fantastic view of the beach and comfortable seating where we spent hours and hours bird-watching, reading, eating and limin´, also a fully-equipped kitchen, comfortable bed, clean, insect-free environment. We were in paradise!

As Canadians, we found the driving quite challenging and will definitely use the services of Porridge on our return visit. However, there's lots to see and do around the village. Do walk up to the waterfalls for a fresh-water dip. Also, explore the stock of the many little storefronts. We were surprised to find some interesting wine, wonderful produce and even bread fresh from the oven at 8 pm.

Thanks so much to Sue, Steve and Freya for your warm welcome and hospitality and to Porridge and Jeanell for organizing New Year´s Eve and the snorkeling excursion. We will see you all again next year!

Castara Retreats   11 Nov 2007

CBGood from N Ireland visited in November 2007 and awarded  

We have just returned from our second stay at Castara Retreats. We thought it was amazing in 2005---this year was even better!!!We stayed in Osprey again. This had just been renovated and now has a separate bedroom & kitchen. The apartment has stunning views of Castara Bay, is very quiet & secluded & overlooks the garden --perfect for bird watching & relaxing. We are a professional couple in our 50s and found this accommodation perfect for "just the two of us"! You are never short of company if you wish it--Pelican occupants are just beside you and we enjoyed beers with them and with Porridge . What makes Castara Retreats so special are all the staff--Porridge, his wife Jeanell and her team.They can arrange anything for you from boat trips, rain forest walks and also home cooking-always with a big smile-just ask!

Castara Retreats is a very special place to stay but it is not a hotel with daily maid service, reception etc. so may not suit everyone. The apartments are cleaned & beds changed twice a week, fresh flowers & a welcome pack greet you on arrival & Porridge calls daily to see if you need anything.

We don't think anywhere else on Tobago beats Castara Retreats for excellent accommodation and friendliness. The website is excellent with easy booking & payment facilities & Jean can answer all your questions about Castara and helps with any queries at all

All in all we would highly recommend Castara Retreats!!

We came home thoroughly relaxed and refreshed and will definitely return!

Guest Report - Castara Retreats Apartments   

Natasha Brunning from U.K. visited in September 2007 and awarded  

We stayed in Coasthanger, a wooden one bedroomed lodge on the side of a hill, overlooking the sea, beach and village of Castara. The lodge is outstanding – beautifully built and open on three sides to the fresh air allowing the breezes (and birds) through the place.

The Castara Retreats site is small, so it doesn't have a holiday camp feel. The staff are incredibly friendly and do all they can to help, but are not intrusive. We were met at the airport, and were given the opportunity to stock up some food before getting to Castara, although a few essentials are supplied.

Castara itself is a small quiet village, and is away from the main tourist areas of the island. We hired a car from Castara Retreats, and explored other areas of the island.

Guest Report - Castara Retreats Apartments   

Helen Hirst from U.K. visited in July 2007 and awarded  

Lovely apartment with fantastic views over Castara Bay. Simply equipped but perfect for our family. All the staff friendly and helpful. Wouldn't recommend for those with walking difficulties or young children as the appartments are set on a hill side and it's quite a steep climb down to the beach. Do not choose Castara if you want busy night life, air conditioning, and all mod coms. Do choose if you want to fall asleep to the sound of the waves on the beach, wake to a view you'll never tire of and want to enjoy a little slice of Tobagan paradise. Only criticism is that we could have done with more than one hammock – there was always a bunfight for it!

The Best Place To Stay In Tobago   

Rosy Dickinson from U.K. visited in July 2007 and awarded  

The fishing village of Castara is undoubtedly the best location in Tobago and renting one of the six lodges at Castara Retreats is a superb way to enjoy the best of this unspoilt Caribbean island.

We stayed in Coasthanger Lodge for 12 nights (not long enough) and absolutely loved everything about it. The lodge is thoughtfully and tastefully designed, and blends in sensitively with the landscape and the surrounding area. The moment we arrived we felt instantly relaxed and we will never forget stepping into the lodge for the first time and looking out at the stunning views towards the turquoise sea and the beach.

Coasthanger is perfect for daily living, and the deck, which is just off the bedroom, is a perfect spot to relax at any time of day. The deck has full sun throughout most of the day but also benefits from a cooling breeze from the sea, so it was very tempting to spend all day there, relaxing and reading and generally delighting in the wildlife around us. However we didn´t, and we had some wonderful experiences in Castara and some very happy memories to bring home with us. We left Castara Retreats thinking that we had been part of something very special and feeling very privileged to have had the opportunity to share the local culture and the life of many of the people that we met. There is no doubt that we will return to Castara and to Castata Retreats in the near future.

A special thank you to Sue, Steve and Freya and to Porridge and Jeanell for making our first visit so memorable.

Rosy and Roger Dickinson

Leicester

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