Bamboo Walk Hotel - Review Page 1
Reviewed by Steve & Jill Wooler in February 2010
Although Tobago boasts visitor accommodation to suit every taste and pocket, there is a surprising lack of affordable quality accommodation with decent on-site catering.
It was therefore welcome news when, in early 2008, we heard that a previously undistinguished small guest house, the Hampden Inn, had changed hands and was to be refurbished and upgraded, targeting both the international and domestic Trinidadian holiday market. The new owner was Patrick Dankou of Yes Tourism, a highly respected reservation agency and tour operator. As a result, we took the news far more seriously than we might otherwise have done, with full confidence that the new hotel would strive for genuine excellence.
Renamed the Bamboo Walk Hotel, this modest 12-room 2-star hotel re-opened in August 2008. Appreciating the difficulties of achieving – much less maintaining – high standards, Patrick made the wise decision to consolidate all his operations into the same compound. So, the hotel also became home to both Yes Tourism and the increasingly popular Surf ‘N Turf Restaurant which had opened a year earlier in Pigeon Point Road, Crown Point.
Location
The Bamboo Walk Hotel is located on the Old Milford Road in Hampden, just a stone’s throw from the rear (eastern) entrance to the Tobago Plantations golf course and what used to be the Hilton hotel. It is hard to imagine that this quiet, sleepy lane was the main road between the airport and capital, Scarborough, not very many years ago. The highway now passes just a few hundred metres to the north. You will be totally unaware of this from the grounds of the hotel.
Hampden is a sleepy rural backwater. Satellite images of the area (see Map tab) show very low density development - mainly private dwellings, plus a few disparate commercial premises. The hotel faces the serene calm of the Tobago Plantations Golf Course, a factor that will be appreciated not only by golfers keen to play this excellent and challenging course, but also by birdwatchers, walkers and joggers.
One of the longest beaches on the island, Rockley Bay (often known as the Hilton beach) is little more than a five-minute walk from the hotel. The Gulf City Mall, Tobago’s only proper shopping centre, is a similar distance the other way. The airport is a 10-15 minute drive in one direction and the capital Scarborough the same distance in the other.
At first glance, Hampden may not appear to be a visitor’s first holiday location choice. It certainly won’t suit the average budget traveller who needs to be within walking distance of a range of cheap eateries. However, the Bamboo Walk Hotel is not a ‘budget’ hotel.
Whilst it would be perfectly possible and enjoyable to spend a week or two sunning yourself without leaving the grounds of the hotel (in fact we hardly ventured out during our six days there) there is precious little decent and affordable accommodation outside the ugly sprawl of Crown Point within walking distance of a decent beach and more than one or two restaurants. It is seldom that we write a review without stressing that to get the best from Tobago you must rent a self-drive car or jeep. Navigating your way around the island is incredibly easy and having a car gives you the freedom to experience a variety of beaches, restaurants and other features.
In this sense, the location of the Bamboo Walk Hotel is one of its strongest attributes. Unlike those staying in the Crown Point area, visitors at this hotel will not have to waste valuable holiday time sitting in the increasingly frequent traffic jams getting in and out of the area. It is amazing to think that traffic jams were a concept unknown to Tobagonians ten years ago.
In summary, the Bamboo Walk Hotel may not be situated on the golden sands of a Caribbean beach, but neither will you be paying the high price that such a feature commands. Instead, you can enjoy really nice standards of accommodation at a price that allows you to budget for car rental as well, and thus be able to enjoy all of Tobago, rather than being limited to the same beach and restaurant every day.
Architecture & Grounds
A surprising amount has been packed into a relatively small area at the Bamboo Walk. The hotel comprises five separate buildings: three single storey accommodation units, a two-storey administration block primarily occupied by Yes Tourism, and a traditional carat shed with palm frond roof which is home to the Surf ‘N Turf Restaurant.
The accommodation buildings are nicely separated for maximum privacy and located in three corners of the compound, with a small swimming pool in the centre. The six Standard rooms occupy a long low fairly conventional building to the front of the property. The Superior rooms are housed in two visually appealing pentagonal buildings to the rear. Attractive bamboo dividers provide privacy by separating the rooms on the wide covered balcony that runs along the frontage of each building.
The pale yellow walls of the buildings, with their green roofs and highlights, blend beautifully with the surrounding lush tropical foliage. The colourful and well-manicured grounds give this small hotel a unique character and charm, creating a wonderful ‘cosy’ and intimate feel.
Every spare inch of the compound is planted with disparate varieties of colourful flowering bushes, palms and small trees. There are only small areas of open lawn – but just enough to ensure that everyone can find a discrete spot to sunbathe, or a shaded area for quiet reflection. Far from being claustrophobic, the overall ambience is of quiet intimacy and peaceful privacy.
The regular watering required to keep these gardens green could so easily make them a paradise for mosquitos and other small flying insects. Fortunately, another advantage of the hotel’s location is that it enjoys the benefit of the northeast trade winds that blow in from the cool Atlantic Ocean. These winds make life hugely difficult for mosquitoes, but visitors beware: the cooling effect of the winds may lull you into staying out in the sun longer than you should. Sunburn is a very real danger for the unwary.
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