Top O' Tobago Villa - Review Page 1

Reviewed by Steve & Jill Wooler in February 2004

Over the past four years, we have stayed at two dozen holiday accommodation properties on Tobago. There is not one that we would not happily return to. In fairness, all properties are carefully researched beforehand, so we largely know what to expect before we arrive.

Despite that, there are always some properties that take you by surprise; that exceed all expectation and that somehow find a particular corner of fondness in your recollections.

Top O’ Tobago was one such property. Strangely enough, it was a late addition to our schedule. We had intended to spend our final week at a particularly luxurious villa to mark the culmination of our 2004 visit. Sadly, work problems distracted me and I did not confirm the reservation in time. We had a few alternatives in reserve, but with only a few weeks to go, availability was a problem.

Although I was aware of Top O’ Tobago, it was not a property that I had seen. However, totally out of the blue and with fortuitous timing, an email arrived from Hugh Baker, the manager, inviting us to have a look around during our forthcoming visit. One thing led to another. We ignored our normal prerequisite of a pre-visit tour and decided to book the final week of our 2004 tour of Tobago there.

Top O’ Tobago is a fascinating property that defies classification. Is it a villa, a guest-house or apartment accommodation? The property consists of a two-bedroom ‘house’ and three one-bedroom studio-apartment cabañas. The complex was designed as a retreat for groups or families of up to 17 people. It is normally rented as a complete entity, but the individual units are also rented separately. This is where it becomes difficult to categorise the property. However, whatever the classification, we decided to see it for ourselves…

Location

Top O’ Tobago is located on a hilltop at Arnos Vale, on Tobago’s Caribbean coast. The buildings sit amidst six acres of luxurious tropical gardens and the beautiful Arnos Vale beach is just a pleasant 10-minute stroll away. The stunning views encompass sea and mountain vistas.

The location is 30 minute drive from the airport. It is just outside the most populated Crown Point-Plymouth-Scarborough triangle and, as such, further from the shopping and restaurant areas. Against that, you are located in the heart of one of the most beautiful areas of Tobago and truly at one with nature. This is what Tobago is really about!

I have to admit that it was primarily Top O’ Tobago’s location that prompted us to stay at this fascinating property. Charlotteville may be our favourite village on Tobago, but Arnos Vale is undoubtedly our favourite region.

Whilst management do offer guests complimentary transfers from the airport, a self-drive rental vehicle is essential if you are to get the best out of this property. Local shopping facilities are extremely limited and there are few facilities within comfortable walking distance. Taxis are available, but given the distance to the main shopping/restaurant areas, this is likely to prove a more expensive and less convenient option in the long run.

Architecture

I always struggle with this section because I know nothing about architecture and always have difficulty finding the right words.

Interesting – that is the best way I can summarise the architectural style of Top O’ Tobago.

The property essentially consists of four low, single storey buildings sympathetically constructed to follow the contours of the hill on which they are located. The main house is at the top of the hill; the three cabañas a little lower. The opposite side of the hill provides service access to the manager’s apartment and utility/laundry area, which are located behind and below the main house.

I guess the style of the buildings could best be described as Caribbean with Latin-American overtones. Each has a large, shallow-pitched light green corrugated roof with deep overhangs providing shade and, in the case of the main house, a wide terrace. The buildings are finished in white-painted render, with wooden doors, window shutters and other timberwork finished in dark green. The windows and semi-circular door tops have attractive white wrought-iron grills for security and to minimise ingress by birds, whilst allowing through the essential cooling breezes.

The overall look of the property is attractive. Both the buildings and grounds were in wonderful decorative and maintenance order and yet, in what almost seems to be a contradiction in terms, it looks ‘real’ and ‘lived in’ – nothing at all like the pristine, antiseptic, modern villas that are springing up all around Tobago.

The complex has been laid out to sympathetically blend with its surroundings. The lush well-maintained gardens come right up to, and almost inside, the buildings. You feel, and are, surrounded by nature. The clever layout also means that from no point can you see the entire complex. Being built on a hillside, each building is on a different level to its neighbour. This made the layout visually interesting, with attractive details like the two separate paths that led from the cabañas to the main house, splitting in different directions beneath and around the swimming pool and each offering views of totally different aspects of the property.

I can only say that we found the entire place delightful. We felt immediately ‘at home’. It has to be said, however, that this is not a property for the infirm or those with walking disabilities. Although the flights of steps from the lowest cabaña to the main house are gentle, they demand full mobility.

Swimming Pool

We visited Top O’ Tobago during a particularly hot week. The full-size kidney-shaped swimming pool could not have looked more inviting. The pool always remained cold despite the constant exposure to the sun. I guess this was a result of the constant cool breezes.

The pool terrace is furnished with two sets of tables and chairs, a large sun umbrella and a number of sun loungers. There is also a small and attractive ‘hidden’ patio area just below the pool, furnished with table and chairs and a barbeque unit. This was another wonderful place to watch the many birds, particularly in the adjacent Fiddlewood tree.

The swimming pool and barbeque area are shared by the occupants of the main house and the cabañas. This was my only reservation about the property. It would be very easy for the occupants of the main house to become somewhat possessive about the pool and terrace, which lie literally outside their front door. In a similar way, it was obvious that occupants of the cabañas were a little self-conscious about using the pool, possibly feeling that they were intruding upon the space of the main house. It’s a slightly tricky situation, but one that I’m sure can be quickly overcome with a friendly smile and word on those occasions when the different units are rented to different parties.

As mentioned previously, there is a separate utility room to the rear of the main house. Guests are welcome to use the laundry facilities here. Washing detergent can be purchased in the small local stores, but there is limited choice so guests are advised to bring a small stock if they need ‘sensitive-skin’ detergent or any other particular needs or preferences.

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