Top O' Tobago - Review Page 2
Accommodation
Top O’ Tobago can accommodate up to 17 people – five in the main house and four in each of the cabañas. For maximum comfort, I would personally consider the property as being most suitable for parties of eight adults (four couples), plus a few young children.
Main House
The main house – perhaps ‘bungalow’ is a more apt description – is perched on the very peak of the hill. Needless to say, this location provides a stunning 360° panorama stretching from Tobago’s northern hills, across Arnos Vale Bay, and views of the open sea all the way down to far-off Buccoo Reef and the Nylon Pool.
When we last visited, I described the main house as being a non-symmetrical pentagon. Since then, the house has been extended and remodelled and is now a little more conventionally shaped – although perhaps the word ‘conventional’ is something of a misnomer given the unusual design and layout of this lovely house.
Given the irregular shape and my (claimed) allergic reaction to complex mathematics, I took a rain check on calculating the exact internal floor area of the main house. However, it is something in the region of 150sq.m./1500sq.ft., excluding external terraces and balconies.
Living Area
The living area of the main house provides around 54sq.m. (575sq.ft.) of floor area. The impression of spaciousness is aided by a high open ceiling, large windows and wide double doors on the three external aspects of the room. With the doors fully open, I have seldom experienced a room in which one feels so ‘outdoors’ whilst actually being indoors. It also ensures that every corner of the house catches the wonderful north-east trade winds that fan the property. For these reasons, there is absolutely no need or reason for air-conditioning.
The living room is in excellent decorative order. Walls are finished in plain white render, stunningly offset by brightly coloured tropical prints and tapestries. Colourful chair cushions, lamp shades and other decorations enhance the richness of the wooden furniture. Cool terracotta tiles are used on all floors throughout the property. The wall hangings may not have originated in Tobago, but why split hairs? The overall sense is of colour; both inside and out. The rooms are light, bright and breezy – a mood that should soon rub off on to the visitors themselves.
The living area has a pleasant seating area, with cosy sofas and chairs for up to seven people. The dining table will comfortably seat ten. Entertainment facilities include a small music centre and cable TV with both VCR and DVD players. There is a large collection of world music CDs and over 200 films and videos, many of which are intended for children. In addition there are board games for both young and old. Finally, the bookcase is packed with enough reading matter to keep one going for a year or more and includes local reference books.
All in all, this property promises highly comfortable civilised living, for a week or a year.
Kitchen
The open-plan kitchen is spacious. The abundant cupboards are packed with a more-than-adequate stock of crockery, cutlery, glassware and kitchen utensils. In fact the kitchen is more than ‘man enough’ to allow 
centralised catering when families or groups occupy both the main house and the three cabañas. It is equipped with a huge fridge/freezer, electric oven, microwave, four-ring gas hob, filter coffee maker, toaster, electric blender and a large juice extractor. Hugh provided large bowls of 'Portugals' (like Mandarin oranges) from the estate’s own gardens. Chopped in half, squeezed and then chilled, the juice was total nectar and the best morning wakeup call I’ve had since my younger days.
Provided that Hugh is notified in advance, basic grocery supplies can be arranged to stock the kitchen before arrival. The fridge and larder carried a good stock of previously-opened spices, seasoning, oils and other essentials that guests can utilise. This will give them more scope in the kitchen without the necessity of shopping for items that they will only use in small quantities of before departure.
Study
Leading off the living room is a small bathroom with toilet, washbasin and shower. This room leads through to a long 16.8sq.m. study, which also has a pair of patio doors leading onto to a charming patio area furnished with a decorative wooden table and pair of all-weather plastic chairs.
At the time of our first visit, this bathroom and study were actually the master bedroom. Since then, the house has been extended and a new master en suite bedroom created.
The study is furnished with a magnificent 2.9m kidney-shaped table of solid mahogany. The owners of the villa (Hugh’s brother and his wife) use this room as their office during their sojourns in Tobago. The property is equipped with a reasonably fast wireless Internet connection. The wireless facility extends to all the cabanas.
The study became my ‘home’ for the five days we were at Top O’ Tobago and I can vouch for the fact that it was one of the best working environments I’ve experienced during our current eight week trip to Tobago. It wasn’t simply the space offered by the study table; it was due more to the environment. The room is constantly fanned by cooling breezes and I seldom even switched on the overhead ceiling fan. When I wanted to, I could open the patio doors. However, I found that more of a distraction - my attention being constantly diverted by the birds in the adjacent lime trees.
The study is also equipped with a colourful batik-print covered 30-inch divan bed which would be perfectly appropriate for a young child.
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