Hotel choice

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Steve Ianson

Hotel choice

Post by Steve Ianson »

Hi everyone.

I am hoping to come to Tobago beg July 2007 for 2 weeks with my family,flying with Virgin, however i am confused as to hotel choice, seem to have very mixed reviews. We have 6yr old twins, who like playing in the sea and on the beach/pool. Having read reviews i was thinking Rex/or Coco, although latter is considerably more expensive. One thing that worried me about Rex was comments about sea conditions here. Are Rex/Coco beach accesible by general public???

Any advice on best location for young kids, wife who likes nice beach and dad who must go fishing???(any good places to catch tarpon/bonefish from shore)

Also how does renting a car from Virgin compare with local hire costs?

So many questions not enough time.


In anticipation,

Steve
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Hi Steve

Welcome aboard! :lol:

The Coco Reef and the Rex Turtle Beach are at opposite ends of the spectrum. There may not appear to be too much in it in star rankings, but that simply signifies what a poor system the star grading system is.

The bottom line is that the Coco Reef Resort is Tobago's top luxury hotel. No hotel in the world is going to be right for everyone and the Coco Reef is no exception, but if you are the sort of family that will really appreciate Tobago - which fundamentally means appreciating the local people - then you will LOVE the Coco Reef. The beach is private and the 'lagoon' formed by the rock wall that protects the hotel's beach mean that the swimming conditions are fantastic for children.

The Rex Turtle Beach offers fantastic value for money - but accept that the regular slapping on of paint does not change the fact that the building are very old and in dire need of rebuilding. This hotel does a fantastic job within the constraints of the price being charged. Being a budget hotel, it naturally attracts a lot of young families so there is always guaranteed to be playmates for your twins. The hotel has the biggest and best pool on the island - for kids, that is. The beach is fantastic but erosion has resulted in considerable shelving in recent years, so swimming can be tricky, even impossible, at some times of the year. July should be calmer. The beach is public and always a magnet for beach vendors.

You will probably get very considerably better value hiring cars locally. The same applies to tours - unless you like the experience of being a "raw tourist" crammed into a large bus with a couple of dozen other sweating tourists.

As you're not going until July 2007, you have tons of time. We have detailed reviews of both hotels in our Accommodation listings (or under the Reviews menu above). The forums will give you plenty of reader opinion on both hotels - good and bad. Ignore extremes of opinion in either direction - the truth, for the average visitor, is probably somewhere down the middle.

Good hunting!

This is my last post for a while. I'm off to the Lake District for 5 days to celebrate my parents Diamond (60th) wedding anniversary. See you all the middle of next week. While I'm away, I don't want any wild parties and uninvited guests crashing out here. :roll:
Steve Wooler
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
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Brian Taylor
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Post by Brian Taylor »

we will try to behave, steve. especially since we know that you can check everything we did after you are back...
all the best to your parents and tell jill to enjoy the time without a keyboard attached to you finger tipps :wink:

STEPH
Stephanie & Brian "Alibaba" Taylor
Alibaba-Tours - http://www.Alibaba-Tours.com
David Watkins
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Post by David Watkins »

Enjoy Steve.Congrats to Mum & Dad,sixty years!!!!!!!!!
I promise I'll behave---it's the Tallet that should cuase concern!
David Watkins
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Post by David Watkins »

Steve I,first I would agree with Steve concerning car hire and/or guided tours---arrange it locally.As for where to stay?Well you didn't really say what you wanted,the Hilton is isolated and you will need transport just to see anything other than the hotel.Coco Reef is at Crown Point about 3 minutes from the airport(but don't let that put you off--most/all flights are daytime and not alot of them),But if you are abit more adventurous then go away from the Crown Point/Lowlands,there are plenty of other places and,especially with young children perhaps you might consider selfcatering.Not as hard as it sounds,I promise.
David(75 dtg) :D
Matt Jenkins

Hotel choice

Post by Matt Jenkins »

Hi steve,

Well i can only refer you to my review of turtle beach and you can make what you like of it. There is a small sheltered lagoon about 100m down the beach from the hotel which is ideal for very small children. I myself have not been to coco reef but my younger brother (14) and father went the year before and although service is better there and the accommodation is higher class they both prefered the smaller, more intimate nature offered by turtle beach. It is really a question of exactly what you are looking for from your holiday. The reviews are always a good indicator.

As for fishing...i refer you to the 'tarpon and jacks' thread under the sightseeing/sports grouping. This is a colleciton of reports from the regulars and my meagre contribution from this summer. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to get in touch. I have a list of tackle i wish i'd taken.... :lol:

Matt jenkins
Steve Ianson

Post by Steve Ianson »

Steve W/Matt

Many thanks for your input, much appreciated. Think Coco beach sounds best bet, motto being, happy kids means happy wife, which means i get to go fishing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve.
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