Help - Tropikist Beach....
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Josie Venn
Help - Tropikist Beach....
I am visiting Tobago next week with my family - husband and 2 small children and we were SOLD the Tropikist by our Tour Operator as a good hotel, good facilities, good for children etc etc..... I have been looking at your views on hotels (and may I congratulate you on an excellent site.... I now feel I know Tobago without having previously visited!!) and find that the Tropikist sounds apalling..... Has anyone a good word to say about this hotel?? To top it all we are on an All Incluside deal!! I now feel I am dreading my stay there and will just have to make the most of it.... I have been in travel for 15 years and feel as I have now been conned... Please help!!
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Steve Wooler
- myTobago Editor & Chief Anorak
- Posts: 4842
- Joined: Sun Apr 21, 2002 11:00 pm
- Location: Suffolk, England
- Contact:
Dear Josie
You have my total sympathy!
I know that many people have enjoyed their visit to the Tropikist and hopefully your family will also. If you look at Vashti’s post further down the forum, you will note that he is
Mind you, Vashti is the manager of the hotel, so I guess he’s biased and has to continue visiting the Tropikist, even if only to get to work.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be flippant – I realise how worried you are. But fear not, there are ways and means to minimise the alleged problems.
Let’s be honest - one person’s meat can be another person’s poison. You might love the hotel. I know it is very popular with East Indian Trinidadian’s, in particular, who go there for budget holiday during the summer and Easter holidays. Mind you, I suspect that because they are Trinis they avoid the problems with the hotel’s management that some European visitors have experienced.
In general, most reports about the actual rooms at the Tropikist have been good. The hotel seems to fall down in two main areas – catering and management. It’s almost certainly too late to change hotel, so you need to consider a fall-back plan to counter any deficiencies in these two areas.
Firstly, try the food. It may be to your taste. It’s not even beyond the realms of possibility that comments in this forum and elsewhere have persuaded the owners/managers to address their forthcomings. They are certainly aware of the forum, so they can't claim ignorance of the alleged problems.
If the Tropikist’s breakfast is a problem, a quick trip to a local supermarket will allow you to supplement the fresh produce (bread/milk/fruit) which you can get from the restaurant. If all else fails, or to relieve the boredom, the House of Pancakes is just a 3-4 minute drive away and is a great place for breakfast. The kids will love it (and the children).
There’s not much to do at the Tropikist, so I envisage that you are likely to be out most days. Popular Store Bay is just a couple of minutes walk away and there are lots of stalls there providing cheap and tasty lunch. Rotis are very filling. I would avoid Crab & Dumplings until you’ve seen another visitor try it and got their opinion. Two Store Bay food stalls particularly worthy of mention are Miss Esmie’s and Miss Jean’s.
If dinner at the Tropikist is not hitting the spot, then there are lots of alternatives in the Crown Point area. A lot depends upon whether you have a car or not. Just a three minute walk away from the Tropikist is Ru-B-Lou’s. Great cooking at good prices!
Now, let’s consider the alleged management problem. This is obviously easier said than done, I know, but based upon everything I've heard, I wouldn't make any formal complaint unless your bags are packed and you’re ready to leave. Trouble is that unless you complain and give them a chance to do something about any genuine grievance, you can’t really come back home and berate the tour operator. It’s a chicken and egg situation!
Without wishing to over-dramatise the situation, my advice would be to take a small tape recorder/dictating machine. If you are forced to complain, do so reasonably, without giving them the slightest excuse to later claim that you were being difficult or abusive. Try to have an independent third party present to witness everything and discreetly use the tape recorder to record everything said. If the owner/manager gets iffy, mention myTobago.info and let them know that you will not hesitate to publish details of the incident. I suspect this might be your greatest weapon.
To be frank, you have put me in a dilemma and reading back my reply, I initially deleted most of it. Then I thought about it and hit the “Undo” button. My reply seems terribly alarmist, and I don’t mean it to be. I’m simply trying to cover a worst-case scenario. I've never stayed at the Tropikist, so I can't comment. I must confess, however, that my communications with them to lead me to treat negative reports with some credibility.
Who knows how many people have found the Tropikist a problem? It can’t be 100% or the hotel wouldn’t still be in business. You will probably stay and have a wonderful time. Like I say, the rooms are supposed to be very good. So, if you budget to eat out as much as possible and avoid any confrontational scenes with the management, I bet you have a wicked time. Please let us know how you get on – good or bad.
By the by, you might mention our site to your Tour Operator so that they are a little more circumspect in future.
I truly wish you a wonderful holiday. Don’t worry, forewarned is forearmed and as your expectations are obviously not going to be too high now, I am totally confident that you will have a wonderful holiday and that this will not be your last holiday to Tobago.
You have my total sympathy!
I know that many people have enjoyed their visit to the Tropikist and hopefully your family will also. If you look at Vashti’s post further down the forum, you will note that he is
a regular visitor to the hotel and never had a problem with the Service / Staff or management. Tropikist is ideally located and I would certainly continue to visit.
Mind you, Vashti is the manager of the hotel, so I guess he’s biased and has to continue visiting the Tropikist, even if only to get to work.
Sorry, I didn’t mean to be flippant – I realise how worried you are. But fear not, there are ways and means to minimise the alleged problems.
Let’s be honest - one person’s meat can be another person’s poison. You might love the hotel. I know it is very popular with East Indian Trinidadian’s, in particular, who go there for budget holiday during the summer and Easter holidays. Mind you, I suspect that because they are Trinis they avoid the problems with the hotel’s management that some European visitors have experienced.
In general, most reports about the actual rooms at the Tropikist have been good. The hotel seems to fall down in two main areas – catering and management. It’s almost certainly too late to change hotel, so you need to consider a fall-back plan to counter any deficiencies in these two areas.
Firstly, try the food. It may be to your taste. It’s not even beyond the realms of possibility that comments in this forum and elsewhere have persuaded the owners/managers to address their forthcomings. They are certainly aware of the forum, so they can't claim ignorance of the alleged problems.
If the Tropikist’s breakfast is a problem, a quick trip to a local supermarket will allow you to supplement the fresh produce (bread/milk/fruit) which you can get from the restaurant. If all else fails, or to relieve the boredom, the House of Pancakes is just a 3-4 minute drive away and is a great place for breakfast. The kids will love it (and the children).
There’s not much to do at the Tropikist, so I envisage that you are likely to be out most days. Popular Store Bay is just a couple of minutes walk away and there are lots of stalls there providing cheap and tasty lunch. Rotis are very filling. I would avoid Crab & Dumplings until you’ve seen another visitor try it and got their opinion. Two Store Bay food stalls particularly worthy of mention are Miss Esmie’s and Miss Jean’s.
If dinner at the Tropikist is not hitting the spot, then there are lots of alternatives in the Crown Point area. A lot depends upon whether you have a car or not. Just a three minute walk away from the Tropikist is Ru-B-Lou’s. Great cooking at good prices!
Now, let’s consider the alleged management problem. This is obviously easier said than done, I know, but based upon everything I've heard, I wouldn't make any formal complaint unless your bags are packed and you’re ready to leave. Trouble is that unless you complain and give them a chance to do something about any genuine grievance, you can’t really come back home and berate the tour operator. It’s a chicken and egg situation!
Without wishing to over-dramatise the situation, my advice would be to take a small tape recorder/dictating machine. If you are forced to complain, do so reasonably, without giving them the slightest excuse to later claim that you were being difficult or abusive. Try to have an independent third party present to witness everything and discreetly use the tape recorder to record everything said. If the owner/manager gets iffy, mention myTobago.info and let them know that you will not hesitate to publish details of the incident. I suspect this might be your greatest weapon.
To be frank, you have put me in a dilemma and reading back my reply, I initially deleted most of it. Then I thought about it and hit the “Undo” button. My reply seems terribly alarmist, and I don’t mean it to be. I’m simply trying to cover a worst-case scenario. I've never stayed at the Tropikist, so I can't comment. I must confess, however, that my communications with them to lead me to treat negative reports with some credibility.
Who knows how many people have found the Tropikist a problem? It can’t be 100% or the hotel wouldn’t still be in business. You will probably stay and have a wonderful time. Like I say, the rooms are supposed to be very good. So, if you budget to eat out as much as possible and avoid any confrontational scenes with the management, I bet you have a wicked time. Please let us know how you get on – good or bad.
By the by, you might mention our site to your Tour Operator so that they are a little more circumspect in future.
I truly wish you a wonderful holiday. Don’t worry, forewarned is forearmed and as your expectations are obviously not going to be too high now, I am totally confident that you will have a wonderful holiday and that this will not be your last holiday to Tobago.
Steve Wooler
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
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Josie Venn