Holiday Accommodation

Introduction

The Blue Marlin Suite is a luxurious self-catering unit in the striking and prestigious Black Rock Dreams condominium complex. Located in Tobago's beautiful Stonehaven Bay, these apartments offer outstanding levels of accommodation with the added benefit of direct access onto the natural, palm-fringed sands of Grafton beach.

This review is specific to Blue Marlin Suite. It only applies in the most general sense to other units at Black Rock Dreams.

Location

Stonehaven Bay lies between the village of Black Rock and the hamlet of Pleasant Prospect.

The Seahorse Inn, widely accepted as the island's premier restaurant, is just 100m from Black Rock Dreams. The more casual, but equally deserving, Fish Pot Restaurant is less than a mile away. Tobago's leading Italian restaurant, La Tartaruga, is just two miles further.

Every notable feature in the main Crown Point-Plymouth-Scarborough triangle lies within a 10-15-minute drive of Black Rock Dreams. Visitors are ideally placed to tour Tobago's beautiful northern coastline and rainforest. Black Rock Dreams undoubtedly boasts one of the best locations possible.

The island is small, but few properties are within walking distance of more than one or two shops, restaurants, beaches or other facilities. Relying on private taxis is expensive. So, we strongly advise visitors to budget for self-drive car or jeep rental.

Accommodation

Blue Marlin Suite is located on the upper floor of the two-storey Black Rock Dreams building. The views over Stonehaven Bay and Grafton Beach are simply stunning, at the marginal cost of an extra flight of stairs.

The Black Rock Dreams complex assumes a quiet, unassuming ambience. Security is unobtrusive and the building and grounds maintained to the highest standards. There is no doubt that this is one of the most upmarket apartment properties on Tobago and that 'good taste' is the prevailing ethos.

The Blue Marlin Suite is the largest condominium in the complex, offering more than 200m2/2,100ft2 of luxurious holiday accommodation, including the covered front balcony.

The apartment is serviced every day, except Sundays and public holidays, and housekeeper, Lenore, was a pleasure to have around. Blue Marlin is ably managed by Liz Sloper of Tobago Exotic Properties who can arrange airport transfers, tours and excursions and undertake basic grocery shopping for guests before their arrival.

Living Room

A wide entrance hall leads into a spacious open-plan kitchen, dining and living area. We are not normally fans of 'heavy' dark wood furniture, but after a week at the apartment we concluded that overall, it was possibly the most comfortable, practical and well-equipped holiday accommodation that we have ever had the pleasure to stay in.

No matter how nicely the apartment may be furnished or how striking the décor, your eyes are automatically drawn to the amazing view visible through the 20-foot plus glazed sliding doors that separate the room from the balcony. Oh, what a view! The foaming, turquoise waters of Stonehaven Bay combined with the sands of Grafton beach. It doesn't get better than this.

A semi-circle of deeply cushioned and very comfortable sofas are arranged around a large wooden coffee table facing a 40-inch LCD smart TV. The local digital cable service offers a variety of local and North American television, and a fast fibre Internet service provides Wi-Fi access throughout the apartment.

Behind this lounge area, a small desk is flanked by open display units with a small collection of novels and local information leaflets. Guests can use the apartment's telephone to make local calls, or to receive local and international calls.

The apartment is fully air-conditioned. Twin units discreetly and unobtrusively service the living area. Each of the bedrooms has its own remotely-controlled unit. All rooms also have overhead ceiling fans.

Dining Area & Kitchen

A large wooden dining table with eight comfortable cushioned dining chairs sits next to the balcony doors. With the doors open, you feel that you are dining al fresco.

A trio of padded revolving stools service the breakfast bar/kitchen island that neatly separates the dining area from the kitchen. Do not make the mistake of thinking this is the usual holiday rental kitchen. It is a kitchen for very serious catering, beautifully equipped with top-of-the-range equipment. The large side-by-side stainless fridge-freezer, with water filter and ice dispenser, is large enough to keep grocery shopping to a minimum. The large built-in electric oven/grill is supplemented by a microwave oven and ceramic hob, plus warming drawer. A dishwasher is mounted beneath the central island. The ancillary items, cookware, kitchen utensils, crockery and glassware are all top-notch quality, condition and cleanliness.

Blue Marlin Suite undoubtedly boasts one of the best and most practically equipped apartment kitchens of any villa or apartment that we have stayed in.

The Master Bedroom

The stunning master suite enjoys some five metres of full-height windows. As with the balcony glazing, the bedroom windows are coated with a strong anti-glare film. With the windows open, you can lie in bed and enjoy the most beautiful views over the bay.

The bedroom is attractively furnished with a 6ft California king bed, matching nightstands, a large chest of drawers and a superbly comfortable sofa and matching chairs.

All linen and towels were of the very highest quality and immaculately clean. The bedroom and bathroom are air-conditioned by a quiet ceiling-mounted split unit. We slept wonderfully.

The bathroom is beautifully tiled and exquisitely presented. A spacious vanity unit is fitted with a full-width mirror, with theatre-style lighting, and 'his and hers' basins, dual electric shaver sockets and a wall-mounted hairdryer.

If the spacious walk-in shower unit, with its two multi-head shower units and large raindrop shower heads doesn't appeal, the bathroom has a four-foot long deep-soak bath tub. Water pressure was fine (not to be taken for granted in Tobago) and there was lots of hot water.
The large walk-in dressing room/closet comfortably housed the contents of our three large suitcases.

Bedroom 2

Leading off the entrance hall, the second ensuite bedroom is of more modest proportions than the master. The room is furnished with two single beds. These can assumedly be pushed together and configured as a king-size bed or left as separate singles. The wall-mounted air-conditioner was quiet in operation. Built-in wardrobes offer some two metres of hanging space.

The ensuite bathroom is of decent size and equipped with toilet, pedestal washbasin and a large fully-tiled walk-in shower. A shaver plug is provided, together with a wall-mounted electric hairdryer. There is a wall-mounted cabinet with open shelf for storage of toiletries.

Bedroom 3

Also located off the main entrance hall, bedroom 3 is the smallest of the three bedrooms. It is simply but attractively furnished with a queen-size double bed, nightstand, lamps and a small built-in wardrobe. Air-conditioning is via an extremely quiet wall unit.

This bedroom does not have full ensuite facilities, but a powder room with walk-in shower is located immediately adjacent, along the central hallway.  

The Balcony

A wide balcony runs the full 9m/30ft width of the living room. Furnished with a comfortable all-weather padded sofa and armchairs with matching footstools and two circular tables, the balcony imparts a very colonial ambience. What a wonderful place to sit back and grandly admire the beautiful gardens and beach through the decorative white balustrade and tall arched columns that support the high covered roof.

The balcony has a drying rail; ideal for wet swimwear and beach towels. A spiral staircase with secure gate leads from the balcony down to the gardens and beach.

The balcony is in shade during the morning but attracts the sun in the afternoon. A large ceiling fan helps to keep the air moving. Facing almost due west, the balcony is a stunning spot from which you can admire the sun setting. Some of the best sunsets that we have ever seen have been at Black Rock Dreams.

Swimming Pool & Gardens

The Black Rock Dreams gardens, whilst small, are beautifully landscaped and immaculately maintained. Full credit must be given to the resident property manager, Chris, who can be regularly seen toiling away in the grounds.

The gardens and pool are shared by the occupants of all eight condominiums. As none are permanent residences, guests are unlikely to find the shared facilities an issue.

The pool deck is the centrepiece of the gently sloping grounds. The pool consists of interlinked circles, separated by mature palm trees, one of which forms a shallow kiddie's pool. A gentle waterfall cascade tumbles into the pool from a ledge beneath the wooden bridge that crosses the pool. The pool isn't going to satisfy serious swimmers, but what a wonderful way to cool down after sunbathing.

The spacious non-slip tiled pool deck is furnished with plastic sun loungers and a table with sun umbrella and four chairs.

A gate with combination lock provides access from the gardens an onto Grafton beach. A water tap (faucet) enables guests to wash the fine sand off their feet when returning from the beach. A cold-water shower is also available, just a few metres away, next to the pool.   

The Beach

Grafton Beach is a little under a kilometre in length (0.6 mile). Soft golden sand dominates at the southern end of the beach but is interspersed with powdery black volcanic sand at the sheltered northern end. With every tide, the lighter golden sand is washed ashore, often forming fascinating patterns on the heavier darker sand.

Grafton Beach is our favourite Tobago beach. There are other, more spectacular, beaches but none of them provide the same combination of great swimming, walking, access to cafes and restaurants, security and accessibility. The snorkelling is fine for practising your skills before trying more adventurous locations. A round-trip walk of the beach takes about 20 minutes and is a great way to start the day.

Security & Shared Facilities

In addition to double-lock doors, Blue Marlin has a comprehensive internal security alarm. There is also a large security safe for cash, documents and other valuables. The property has good perimeter protection. The beach and unloading gates are locked at night and the electric gates of the underground car park are controlled remotely.

Review Conclusion

We are very familiar with the Black Rock Dreams complex, having stayed here several times and written reviews about four of the units. This review is very largely a modified version of these other reviews.

The Blue Marlin Suite offers truly luxurious accommodation, particularly for the lucky couple who bag the master bedroom. We would happily move into this apartment tomorrow; not just for a holiday, but permanently. The photos and video will convince readers more than my words, so I will close by saying that I can think of no other self-catering accommodation on Tobago that offers a better balance of location and comfortable living.