Castara Retreats Lodges - Reader Reports & Opinion
1st Time Visit Advice 17 Jun 2005
Jake L from England
My wife and I are thinking of going to Tobago for 2 weeks in Sept this year for the first time. I have seen the reviews of Castara and generally they seem fine. Would people recommend sept and this location? We are not looking for an all inclusive type resort, but more along the lines of a relaxing 2 weeks of chill out.
Castara Retreats 02 May 2005
Anne F. from Ipswich, USA
We're back from two great weeks at Fisherman's Lodge at Castara Retreats. The view was unbelievable from our hideaway on the side of the hill. The Lodge has recently been renovated and has a new bedroom and deck. The kitchen is nicely equipped with real dishes and sharp knives. It was a pleasure to cook a meal there, which we did with fresh kingfish that Porridge told us how to cook. Delicious! Do not miss Duck's boat trip if you go, careful of the rum punches, they go down dangerously easily! Duck's lady, Cheryl made buss-up-shut for us and Jeanell's bread was fabulous. Carrington made sure that we had fresh bananas every morning which we gladly share with the many feathered residents of the garden. By the end of our stay the blue tanagers would come right onto the table on the deck and eat the bananas while we were no more than 8 inches away. They got right cheeky and demanding by the time we left. Geckos, skinks, Mr. Iguana and big fat toads everywhere. It was like Wild Kingdom! We even saw the agoutis just about every day, and don't forget the hummingbirds! We felt like we were part of the wonderful village of Castara by the time we left. The people were, without exception, warm, friendly and kind. We can't wait to return to see all our new friends again. Anne and Don F.
Fisherman's Lodge, Castara Retreats 01 May 2005
Jean Whieldon from Huntington, England
I keep meaning to share our experience at Castara Retreats on myTobago but I've been hampered by seemingly endless problems with our BT landline since we got back at the end of January. However, one of the main things about our month-long holiday is that it's still so vividly present in my mind.
We had never been to the Caribbean before although we had plenty of experience of the tropics in Florida and Mexico. However, not even knowing Steve and Sue (the owners of Castara Retreats) or perusing the website in detail, could possibly have prepared us for the reality of the place. We arrived last December 27th – the day after the Tsunami – so were feeling a bit stunned anyway. I remember walking off the plane into a wall of heat and bright light and feeling dazzled by the colours and movement all round us. Porridge (our kindly local back-up man) scooped us up, whisked us through the landscape to Castara and deposited us on the deck at Fisherman's just in time to see the sun set out to the west over the Caribbean. Dawn brought a mind-bending combination of sights, smells and sounds as the village below came to life around 6am preceded by a flock of shrieking parrots, dogs barking, waves crashing and little blasts of reggae as the occasional car roared up the hill. We leaned on the balustrade and just drank it all in wondering how on earth we were going to manage. We live in complete solitude in a remote river valley on the Welsh border. Still – I had wanted a radical change – something adventurous that would jolt us out of our rather staid regular life. We got it! On day four we decided we wouldn't be getting on the next plane back and proceeded to let go of life as we knew it and just go with the flow. That meant drifting gently through the day wandering into the village to buy whatever supplies were there – forget shopping lists – learning how to cook veggies I'd never seen before and queuing up for similarly unknown fish at the co-op. Now that was an experience! We watched life unfold from our eerie, marvelled at the hummingbirds, iguanas, agoutis and insects. At night, we were entranced by fireflies, cicadas, geckos and bats. The garden was a constant inspiration and seething with wildlife if you just stood still for a minute.
We strolled along the tide line and watched the fishermen come and go and play football in between or argue vehemently about politics – there was a national election while we were there. I wish we cared so passionately about ours. We only left three times during the month and felt no need to be anywhere else which seems pretty extraordinary. Our little turquoise cabin on the side of the hill was such a delight – reminding me so much of the Canadian cottage built by my Dad on a lake in Quebec. It felt private yet absolutely in the middle of life and we particularly appreciated the dual aspect and quite astonishing views. Friends joined us for a week in Pelican and we palled up with people in the other apartments and had a great time despite two weeks of very unusual weather in the middle of our stay called a tropical convergence. It was very unsettled and windy with tremendous downpours thundering on our tin roof but also sun every day. One of our strongest memories was watching the fishermen rescue their boats after a particularly stormy night and working together to pull the largest one (whose bow was only just above the waves) onto the beach. It took about 25 of them and was an amazing demonstration of teamwork and strength.
Would we go back? You bet!
Castara Retreats V's Naturalist Beach Resort 22 Apr 2005
Kayla Aspinall from High Wycombe, England
Our holiday to Tobago in June has had to be cancelled. However, we are not going to let this set back stop us from coming to Tobago later on this year or early next year. Our original choice was Toucan Inn, but after reviewing our needs and spending endless hours on here researching places to stay, have decided to stay somewhere in Castara. We have a short list of about 4 properties and am trying to narrow down further. Can anyone help us with the differences between the above two properties?
We are a couple travelling without our kids looking for peace, tranquility, on the beach (or pretty close), nice accomodation.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Having read Paul Tallets review of Naturalist, it sounds lovely and the Marlin Suite gorgeous but perhaps over budget. Steve's very informative review of Castara Retreats certainly brought it to the forfront of our short-list.
Kayla and Stu
Castara Retreats 19 Apr 2005
M Mcgregor from Scotland
We have just reurned from a week in the Osprey studio at Castara Retreats and would like to echo the recent mytobago review. The accommodation is exactly what is required for a couple who want an active holiday in Tobago and don`t want to spend each day lying about reading and sunbathing- tho` if you wanted you could do that but in Tobago what a waste this would be-,ie very close to a wonderful, clean beach , an interesting and generally friendly village community, virtually in the rainforest with its amazing plants and birds,handy (with the aid of Porridge`s jeep) for trips over the whole island and for locally based guides, fishing trips etc. . The studios are simple but tasteful,ideal for people who like us don`t `do luxury` but don`t want basic either. The views are tremendous and the garden and visiting birds are lovely.
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