Blue Waters Inn - Review Page 2

Accommodation

The Blue Waters Inn offers a choice of 31 Standard Rooms, 4 Self-Catering Efficiency Apartments and 3 self-contained one or two-bedroom Bungalows.

We stayed in a Standard double room. Measuring 7.4 x 3.9m (29m2 / 310ft2) excluding the balcony, the room was clean and comfortable. Being on the upper floor, our room had a high cathedral ceiling and felt very much more spacious than the ground floor rooms with ceilings of more conventional height. The lower rooms have the advantage of almost direct access from the beach, at the cost of a certain loss of privacy due to guests and hotel visitors walking past on their way to the dive shop and jetty (for snorkelling and Little Tobago tours).

Our room was simply furnished but included all necessary facilities and accoutrements. The bathroom was reasonably spacious and boasted a decent-sized walk-in shower. There was no shortage of hot water. The wash basin vanity unit had adequate space for toiletries and a shaver plug (110v) was provided, as was a large bathroom mirror. If I want to be picky, I could say that the bathroom fittings might possibly benefit from a cosmetic upgrade. I can only say that we would have happily and comfortably enjoyed an extended holiday in any of the rooms that I viewed.

The king-size double bed was superbly comfortable and bed side tables and reading lamps were provided. A wardrobe provided 1.3m of full-length hanging, with hangers and ample drawer space. A small dressing table and chair completed the furnishings.

Standard Rooms and Efficiency Apartments are not equipped with telephones or televisions – a policy we personally endorse in this sort of location and accommodation. However, the Standard Rooms would benefit from the tea and coffee making facilities provided in the Efficiencies and Bungalows, particularly as the hotel has no room service. All the bungalows and more than half of the regular rooms had been fitted with security safes at the time of our visit, with plans to fit them in all rooms over the short-term.

Every room at the Blue Waters is sea-facing and has a small balcony or patio with table and chairs. Our balcony measured 1.4 x 3.9m and gave superb views over the beach and bay. The beach is lined with a wonderfully gnarled and colourful seagrape trees. These provide shade to guests on the beach but do inhibit the views from the rooms somewhat. However it would be a disaster to remove these lovely trees and only the pickiest guest would complain about them. It would be difficult to find a hotel closer to the sea. I doubt whether any room is further than 5-8 metres from the shoreline at high tide.

All bedrooms have overhead ceiling fans plus remotely-controlled air-conditioning, which proved both quiet and efficient. In fact given the sound of breaking surf, it’s hard to hear the a/c and easy to forget to switch it off, as you should, when you open the balcony doors in the morning. You can’t beat fresh air though. There is only one way into the hotel grounds and this is guarded 24/7, so security at the hotel is hardly a major issue. Guests in upper floor rooms can safely leave their balcony doors open at night and enjoy the sea breezes – although they might find the night air cooler than they think. Fortunately, the bedspread will ensure that they remain snug. Residents in lower-floor rooms may be less confident about leaving balcony doors open, but the ceiling fan and windows beside the balcony doors will enable them to enjoy fresh air without compromising security.

Mosquitoes are not an issue. The wind is normally brisk enough to deter them. In fact we saw absolutely no trace of the little blighters during our stay. Should you leave your windows/balcony door open and wake in the middle of the night, you can be excused for thinking that a storm has broken and the waves are about to come crashing into your room. I am only joking of course, but the sound of the sea was wonderful and had the added advantage of totally masking the raucous morning cacophony of the many Chachalaca (cocrico) that live in the hotel grounds and surrounding hills.

I don’t know where the term Self-Catering Efficiency originated, but I doubt if one could think of a less attractive name. They are actually self-catering studio apartments. They are also extremely nice. Around 20% larger than the Standard Rooms, they have an additional dining and seating area, plus an open-plan kitchenette. The Efficiency's are available with either one or two bedrooms. The addition of adjacent Standard room(s) could be an ideal solution for a family who wish to avoid dining out each day. Some Efficiency/Standard rooms have inter-connecting doors and are, again, ideal for families.

Located at the far end of the hotel, and almost literally on the beach, are three modern self-contained one and two-bedroom Bungalows. These were built around 1990 and offer superb comfort and privacy. The two-bedroom "Owner’s" bungalow is undoubtedly the star of the hotel. This lovely bungalow offers every luxury – well in excess of the nominal 3* rating of the hotel’s standard accommodation. Very few hotels or villas on Tobago could compete with the beautiful view offered from the covered patio of this lovely pied-à-terre.

The Blue Waters Inn offers extremely good facilities for the disabled and two specially modified rooms are available. Wheelchair access was excellent throughout the hotel.

NEXT PAGE: Restaurant, Bar, Staff

         

Review Page Links:   Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4

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.