Hidden Cottage - Reader Reports & Opinion
Guest Report
Jolie Pollet Strohmeyer from U.S.A. visited in January 2010 and awarded 
We had an amazing trip to Tobago and to Castara. Our family of 2 adults and a 6 year-old stayed 11 nights at Hidden Cottage - Mot Mot House. The house is large, clean, and is outfitted nicely. Steve picked us up from the airport and after a stop at Penny Saver's we were on our way to Castara where we met Rhonette who showed us around the house. The only downside was the lack of a (promised) telephone.
We enjoyed the pool and sharing breakfast with the birds. We counted about 15 species of birds that we saw from the porch. The bedrooms are huge and have locking cabinets to store valuables.
We rented the jeep offered by Selvin for a week. Driving took a little to get used to since we are not accustomed to left-hand shifting and driving on the "wrong" side, but we got by just fine. Day trips to Charlotteville, Speyside, Argyle (the little bakery there serves an excellent lunch and sells great pumpkin rolls), Arnos Vale, Roxborough, Scarborough and Pigeon Point confirmed that Castara is the best place to stay on the island.
Bread is baked hot daily (almost) at Shirma's just down the road. If you're travelling with children, just ask the restaurants to serve up a smaller portion for a smaller price. A boat trip and bbq fish lunch with Seon from Castara bay was another highlight (just ask Kyle who comes around to check out the house each evening).
We are looking forward to returning to Castara!
Guest Report
Nick Turner from U.K. visited in August 2009 and awarded
Great place especially if you go for the larger apartment called mot mot house.
good location just up a steep hill from the village but really, honestly not far and difficult walk to the village or beach, only the last 100 meters or so is steep plus they just tarmac'ed the road so much better walk up hill
great bedrooms, main bedroom has aircon which you need. good bathroom with great shower. could do with aircon in the living room / kitchen as the fans just pushed the hot air around.
great to sit around on the balcony's or by the pool. please add some sunbeds outside.
great kitchen with all you need, massive american sized fridge.
could do with outside BBQ as I ended up building my own as wanted to cook some fresh fish on the BBQ.
very close to the little fishing village of castara which was great, wonderful beach, great little restaurants.
limited shopping in castara so you are better off getting 5 days worth of food and drink back near the airport as there are not many supermarkets anywhere.
overall really great place and the owner and his brother are excellent and also provided me with a hire car
Guest Report
Heidi from U.S.A. visited in May 2009 and awarded 
Our family of three, including a 5 year old son, rented the Mot Mot house downstairs and 2 of its bedrooms. We were very satisfied with the condition of the house, the lovely little deck pool/jacuzzi and relaxing wrap around balcony. The house combined with short walks to the town of Castara and beach, as well as to the local waterfall, provided the respite we sought during our 4 day stay in Castara. The house was clean, the beds comfortable, and the kitchen well stocked with dishes.
We discovered the local fish market, and with rice, beans, spices and fruit purchased on the drive to Castara, were able to cook lovely meals. We frequented a couple of the restaurants, but found cooking more practical given the spacious kitchen. We also packed in ground coffee, filter and paper filters since it seems TNT only serves Nescafe.
Preperation is key to enjoying your stay in Tobago and Castara. We brought plenty of bug spray and flashlights, the latter of which proved valuable given the sketchy electrical service on Tobago. We were struck by the simplicity of life and remote destination. It was what we had hoped for. It appears that Tobago/Casatara caters less to American tourists and more to Trinidadian and European tourism. The overall infrastructure of Tobago is far less reflective of the ostentacious American Carribean Vacation experience. It is more reflective of local culture.
Having spent time in Trinidad beforehand, we were struck by some cultural difference between Trinidadians and people we met in Castara, specifically that Castarans seemed more "remote." This took a little getting used to, but we found after a couple days we began to strike up a few friendships as people became familiar with us in town.
For people seeking a real Tobago experience situated in the rural and rugged areas, but with some comforts, Hidden Cottage is highly recommended. An additional plus for us was that Hidden Cottage is owned by descendants of the same Tobago family that has lived on the same property since before paved roads even provided access to Castara.
Guest Report
Tania Powell from U.K. visited in May 2009 and awarded
We recently spent 10 days at Mot Mot, Hidden Cottage and loved every minute of it. We would highly recommend this house to anyone wishing to stay in Castara.
We only had a couple of days to book our trip and are pleased we chose Castara as a destination. I don't like seeing hotels when I am on the beach and Castara is everything we wanted. My partner wanted a sea view but I liked the look of Hidden Cottage, so we decided to split our stay between two houses. However, as soon as we got to Hidden Cottage, we both decided we wanted to spend our whole time there.
The house was more than big enough for two adults and a child and it was a bonus that we had two double beds in the bedroom. The shower was great, which is not always the case in rented cottages or apartments. It was a realy bonus to have the plunge pool, particularly for our little boy, who was in it as soon as he got up.
We made sure we got up extra early so we could have breakfast with the birds and our friendly lizard and I think it was a nice touch having a bird table by the balcony. I was also very surprised that there weren't more mosquitoes.
We were worried before we went that the walk up the hill to the house would be too difficult every day but it was much easier than expected and definitely worth it, as the house is so private and quiet. One review talked about caged dogs and that nearly put me off because I would have hated to see that but luckily they must have gone (or the owners have stopped putting then in cages).
Steve was very helpful when we wanted to rent a car and even tried to change our flight for us. Rhonette also kept the house very clean.
We can't thank Selvin and Linda enough for everything.
Guest Report
Michelle from Canada visited in April 2009 and awarded
Hidden Cottage is a sweetly secluded spot in Castara.
We stayed in the Hummingbird Apartment for 5 days where we were surrounded by Nature's beauty: a close quiet beach, lush wild verdant trees laden with fruit, spectacular bird life - and yes, hummingbirds! It met all our needs for simplicity, privacy and comfort. We loved it and hope to return!
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