Sherwood Park Apartments - Review Page 1
Reviewed by Steve & Jill Wooler in January 2004
After my regular visits to Tobago as a child, I only re-visited the island intermittently. The reasons of this were simple: visiting Tobago meant “roughing” it in comparison with visits to other islands in the region. Over the years, this has changed. Tobago now offers excellent accommodation and dining, without the pretension and ostentation of some destinations.
Our Caribbean holidays are something of a dichotomy. When we travel in Britain and mainland Europe, Jill and I far prefer to stay in smaller, friendlier guesthouses and inns. We avoid large hotels like the plague. When we travel outside Europe, however, we have traditionally stayed in the largest and “best” hotels – exactly the sort of place we would avoid at home.
When I launched myTobago.info, I envisaged that our reviews would be limited to the larger, luxury establishments. On reflection, we realised that this would limit the site and be unfair to smaller establishments. Tobago’s four ‘luxury’ hotels represent less than 12% of the tourist bed availability; in fact, the combined total of ALL the hotels on the island only represent around 40% of the total. What about the guesthouses, holiday apartments, cottages and villas that represent the 60%?
As a result, we decided to visit and review properties in every category, from the relatively basic to the very most luxurious. I confess that we are grateful that there are no campsites on the island and our reader will excuse us if we skip the most basic home-stays and hostels. However, if times get really tough, we shall add these to our list rather than not visit Tobago.
We have learned an awful lot about Tobago – and about ourselves – while conducting these reviews. Most significantly, we have learned that while All-Inclusive resorts have their place, they are most definitely not the best way to experience Tobago. We have been astonished to find that we have enjoyed ourselves every bit as much in simple apartment accommodation costing a fraction of the 5* luxury hotels that we are more used to.
We are now at a small mid-market 10-room apartment house whose reputation goes from strength to strength. It has taken less than two days to convince us that it would be hard to find a better package of all-round features and affordability than this property, which palpably demonstrates Tobago’s most endearing features and which, in turn, leads to so many visitors falling in love with the island.
This, then, is our review of the Dutch-owned Sherwood Park Apartments.
Background
Sherwood Park Apartments is the culmination of a dream. The story behind the project explains the fervent enthusiasm and dedication of owner Fred Abbink and the small team of work colleagues who became his partners in the venture.
As a young schoolboy, Fred befriended a lad from Suriname (previously Dutch Guiana). They became close friends and kept in touch after the lad returned to Suriname. Invited to visit the family for the summer holidays, Fred took a job, saved hard and eventually earned enough money to buy a return air ticket. What an adventure it must have been for a 15-year old lad, travelling alone to this far-off land.
That initial journey became an annual pilgrimage and it was during an early visit that Fred heard of Tobago. Although he cannot explain why, he simply KNEW that it was a place he HAD to visit.
Fred’s association with Suriname continued and he eventually married a girl from the former colony. His thoughts of Tobago persisted. Determined to resolve the problem once and for all, he jumped on a plane and travelled to the island. He fell in love with Tobago the moment he stepped from the plane. Returning to Holland, he pledged to return with his wife, Rebecca, and to buy a small plot of land on which to build a house. So contagious was his enthusiasm that work colleagues became captivated by the idea and agreed to club together to buy a larger plot of land and build a small guesthouse.
Several years and visits later, and after inspecting more than fifty possible sites, Fred found the right location. Two years later building commenced and the Sherwood Park Apartments was born.
Location
The apartment house is located in a lush green fold of the eastern slopes of Mount Irvine, on the outskirts of Carnbee village.
Before visiting the property for a reconnaissance visit in 2003, my first reaction was a trifle negative because the location was inland. However, having visited, and now stayed, at Sherwood Park, I realise that the location is actually more of a feature than a disadvantage.
As the crow flies, the apartments are about 1½ miles from the Atlantic coast, over which it looks, and around 2½ miles from the Caribbean coast. The centre of the main tourism triangle (Crown Point-Scarborough-Plymouth) must be within a stone’s throw of Carnbee. Ignoring up-country destinations, everywhere on the island is within a 20-minute drive. A daily shuttle service takes guests who do not have their own transport to Pigeon Point and more than half a dozen popular and beautiful beaches are within an easy 10-15 minute drive. On the other hand, you are not staying or confined to the flat, unattractive sprawl of Crown Point. You are actually getting the best of both worlds.
There is little to commend Carnbee village and it has little to offer. Fortunately this is of no consequence because once at Sherwood Park Apartments you will have little idea that you are near a village. Fortunately for guests, Carnbee does boast one of only three branches of the island’s supermarket chain, Penny Savers. You will get all your essentials here, but don’t expect European/North American supermarket choice. A more up-market supermarket, Moorsheads, is a five-minute drive further away and offers a better choice of imported goods. Just in front of the Penny Savers supermarket is a very useful and helpful pharmacy, Dove Drugs, who have saved the day for us on more than a couple of occasions.
Architecture
The ten self-contained apartments and administration office of Sherwood Park are contained within a single two-storey building designed to catch the prevailing cooling sea breezes, whilst providing views across the lovely gardens and surrounding green hillsides. The six upper floor apartments have views of the Atlantic Ocean, glimpses of which can be seen from the ground floor. Despite the location on the outskirts of a village, there is little neighbouring habitation and you immediately gain the impression that you are in a far more remote situation.
The architectural style of the building strikes me as fairly original. It is very Caribbean and highly appropriate and attractive. The building makes optimum use of the natural contours of the land, curving around a central focal point – the swimming pool – with terraced gardens dropping to an attractive paved patio or terrace and then on down to the swimming pool itself.
The stark white of the building acts as a beautiful backdrop to the pale yellow doors and shutters of the apartments. However, the predominant colour is the Caribbean-blue of the roof and veranda balustrades that so perfectly match the colour of the swimming pool and blend so well with the vibrant colours of the surrounding landscape.
The property has no specific facilities for the disabled, but the ground floor rooms are accessible by wheelchair. Access to the terrace and pool would pose a few problems, but apparently it has proved possible with the assistance of one or two more-than-willing members of staff.
Clientele
I can honestly say that I have never stayed anywhere with such a cosmopolitan mixture of guests. Although only six of the ten apartments are occupied this week, I think all six couples are of different nationality and age.
The Sherwood Park Apartments opened in 1997 and, being Dutch owned, it is understandable that it was initially particularly popular with visitors from the Netherlands. Over the years, the reputation of the establishment has spread and so similarly, the visitor demographic widened. Possibly the only common criteria is that most visitors are drawn by the property’s reputation for friendly, good-value accommodation in a very peaceful setting. Sherwood Park replicates the primary features of the island itself - tranquil, hospitable, friendly and laid back.
Although perfectly suited to families, this is not a place where you expect to find hordes of children charging around the pool, or loud music playing. Other than the occasional yapping of a dog from one of the few neighbouring properties, the only sound is that of birdsong. No traffic noise, no loud music from village rum shops or local housing and only the occasional cocrico or cockerel to disturb your sleep in the early hours.
As an aside, we were pleasantly ‘disturbed’ in the early hours of this morning. We had thrown open our balcony doors at 6.30am and were enjoying a cup of tea in bed when a dove flew into the room and joined us on the bed. It sat there for a minute or two, only an inch from my toes, perfectly unconcerned by our presence. It sat there, head on one side, and studied us for a minute or so, then hopped off the bed and strutted back onto the balcony. It is incidents like this that truly make waking up in Tobago such a pleasure.
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