Alibaba's Sea Breeze - Review Page 1
Reviewed by Steve & Jill Wooler in February 2006
Location
Opened during the summer of 2004, Alibaba’s Sea Breeze offers four self-contained apartments. The accommodation’s strongest feature is that it is one of only two accommodation properties with direct access onto Castara’s beautiful Little Bay (a.k.a. Heavenly Bay).
Sea Breeze is located at the very northern end of Little Bay, behind the Boat House Restaurant. Access is via Depot Road, a steep lane leading from the main road as it wends its way up and out of Castara on its way to Parlatuvier and Englishman’s Bay. A year or so ago Depot Road was so steep, pitted and potholed that many drivers would have had a nervous breakdown at the thought of negotiating it. Fortunately the road has been repaired and should no longer daunt drivers.
Two rocky outcrops separate Little Bay from Big Bay and the main beach. Even at low tide it is only possible to walk from one beach to the other by wading through waist-deep water. So, walking to shops and restaurants (other than the Boat House) does mean walking up the hill to the main road, then back down the hill to the main area (possibly cutting through the Blue Mango cottages). Although hot work in the heat of the day, it is a pleasant and attractive walk that should not faze anyone and certainly none of the other guests present during our stay complained or commented about this. As with every accommodation in Tobago, I repeat my regular advice to budget to hire a car or jeep for your stay. It is by far the best way to get the best out of Tobago.
Standing 25-feet above the beach, Sea Breeze is highly visible and can be seen from the viewpoints across the valley as you approach Castara. The external appearance certainly gives no indication of the comfortable spacious accommodation inside, or the close attention to detail which lifts this property above most in the village. The apartments are accessed via a small unmade track beside the Boat House Restaurant. The track leads into a small three-car parking area and a 40m unmade gently sloping track up to the building. Guests can reverse their car almost all the way up, so loading and unloading luggage is easy. At the end of the track, twelve shallow steps lead to the apartment house itself. If it wasn’t for these steps and the somewhat craggy unmade track, we would consider the apartments suitable for wheelchair users.
Architecture & General Layout
The four apartments are housed side-by-side in a long single-storey rectangular building of block and cement construction. The front veranda, balustrade and roof fascia are all in wood and this is all you see from the beach and other viewpoints. An upper floor is to be added to the building this year. This will provide accommodation for owners Brian ‘Alibaba’ and Stephanie Taylor.
Entry to the apartments is through a common covered corridor to the rear. Just inside, a notice board offers a variety of useful information in English and German. These include contact information for Brian and Stephanie, who currently live a short distance away; a detailed map of the village showing every shop, restaurant, bar or other feature of interest to visitors; plus details of various sightseeing tours and activities offered both by Alibaba and other more specialist operators. Also housed in the corridor is a nice collection of novels and reading matter, in both English and German, various board games, flotation rings and a waterbed for children. Three of the apartments are designed for singles or couples; the fourth for families of up to four. The family apartment is marginally larger than the others, but in all other respects, the apartments are almost identical, although each has a different décor theme in individual colours.
Our 2-person apartment offered a total accommodation area of 465sq.ft. (385sq.ft. excluding the balcony). The layout is slightly unusual and it is difficult to know whether to classify them as studio apartments or one-bedroom apartments. Attractive wooden partitions have been used to sub-divide the room into a bathroom at the rear, a bedroom in the middle and then a kitchen/dining table at the front, leading out onto the covered balcony which effectively forms the seating area.
We all know the importance of first impressions and Steph’s Teutonic background and experience in the travel industry show from the moment you enter the apartment.
NEXT PAGE: Bedrooms, Bathroom, Kitchen & Balcony
Review Page Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
Return to the search listing page
The buttons above present articles sequentially, in the order shown in the menu bar
at the top of the page. You are currently on the Property Review page in the Accommodation menu.
