Ocean Air - Review Page 1
Reviewed by Steve & Jill Wooler in January 2004
One of the benefits of undertaking myTobago reviews is that in order to present a wide and varied choice of recommended holiday accommodation on Tobago, we stay in categories of accommodation that we would not normally choose. Self-catering apartments are a case in point. Two years after starting these reviews we have changed our opinion and now actually prefer self-catering to All Inclusive type accommodation.
I’m sure that many readers must share our view that the catering in most hotels begins to seem less exciting by the second week. This is not a reflection on the chef or the hotel, but is a problem that must be almost impossible to avoid. How can any kitchen produce a wide enough variety of menus and styles to tempt the palate, night after night after night? Also, as much as Jill and I enjoy our food, we must admit that after a few nights of eating out, it is a refreshing change to simply stay at 'home' and make do with something more casual.
Tobago has a wide variety of good restaurants. They all have their own style and characteristics. It is so much more refreshing to have the option to stay in or go out. So much more tempting and enjoyable to choose a type and style of dining that takes your fancy on a particular day, rather than hoping and wondering if there will be anything on the hotel menu to tempt your taste buds tonight. We want every meal out to be a treat, enjoyed to the maximum.
Fortunately, Tobago offers and every-increasing choice of self-catering accommodation properties from luxury villas to budget apartment hotels. The following review is of an excellent choice well up the scale - Ocean Air – a luxury two-bedroom self-contained condominium apartment on the prestigious Tobago Plantations development.
Location
The Tobago Plantations development is Tobago’s largest and most ambitious development project. This 750 acre ex-sugar plantation is located in the aptly-named Lowlands, midway between Crown Point airport and the capital, Scarborough.
Tobago Plantations is best known as the home of Tobago’s premier golf course and the island’s largest hotel, the Hilton Tobago. Long-term plans for the development include a second 9-hole golf course, a marina, watersport facilities, supermarket, shopping malls and many more condominiums, bungalows and villas.
The plantation occupies some 750 acres of land bordering the Atlantic coast. The north-east trade winds that blow in from the cool Atlantic Ocean will be seen as a big advantage to some and as a negative to others. It is entirely a matter of personal preference, but this is arguably the coolest part of the island and that can be a blessing on the hottest days.
The previously unattractive flat scrubland of the Lowlands plantation has been sensitively landscaped to take full advantage of the existing mature palm trees and mangroves. The golf course, which dominates the plantation, has transformed the area and the landscape looks better each year as the early planting matures. Although the terrain is overwhelmingly “man made”, the artificial lakes and wetlands of the plantation are highly attractive and rapidly becoming an important and significant habitat and breeding ground for migratory ducks and birds. All in all, one is left with a feeling of quiet calm and a pleasant contrast and interaction between man and nature.
Ocean Air is one of a group of condominiums enclosed by three fairways of the golf course. The condos are a very short walk from the mile-long beach at Little Rockley Bay and are located immediately adjacent to the Hilton Tobago hotel.
Accommodation on Tobago Plantations is obviously of huge and particular interest to golfers, but Lowlands also represents an attractive choice for other visitors. It is well away from the unattractive sprawl of Crown Point or Scarborough, yet within a 10-15 minute drive of both of these locations. Of course your own transport is essential, but this applies to every hotel, apartment or villa that we have stayed at on Tobago. You will be provided with the usual complementary transfer to and from the airport and the owner will offer assistance with hiring a vehicle for the duration of your stay.
Architecture
Ocean Air is a first-floor two-bedroom self-contained apartment, or condominium as our North American readers would call it. It is one of 74 similar units contained within some two dozen three-storey buildings, built in small groups around central common swimming pools.
I have struggled to find the right description for the architectural style of the Tobago Plantations condominiums. My first reaction was to call it Caribbean pastiche, but this seems somewhat negative and unfair. Perhaps modernist Caribbean would be a more apt term? However, whatever it should be I can only say that the overall effect is dramatic and highly attractive and will improve even further when the landscaping matures.
Each building on the development is identical architecturally. Most are double-units containing four condos, but a few are smaller and contain just two apartments. Although the architectural style of each is identical, every property is painted in one of four different candy pastel shades. No two neighbouring properties are the same. The windows, shutters and doors of each building are painted in darker, contrasting colours. The overall effect is both dramatic and pleasing.
As mentioned, the Tobago Plantations condominium development is surrounded by three fairways of the main 18-hole golf course. Fortunately, there is no fence or barrier marking the border between the condominiums and the golf course, so the course almost appears to be the condo’s garden. This imparts a wonderful feeling of openness. There is only one road into the development and access is controlled by a security checkpoint with security guards patrolling the development night and day.
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