Adventure Eco Villas - Reader Reports & Opinion
These reports are a combination of questions and comment posted in our Adventure Eco Villas forum and visitor reports added via the 'Add Report' tab above. The votes awarded are weighted by volume and date to give a truer representation of reader satisfaction [more details].
Reader Satisfaction Ranking: 
Weighted ranking based on 9 votes = 4.6 (max 5)
Guest Report
Marian And Viktor from Netherlands visited in December 2010 and awarded 
Eco Villas was very nice. It has a long tradition (since 1972), which you can feel when you're there. We stayed in a very pleasant cottage. Wonderful views of the forest. Many, many birds come to feed when Ean rings the bell. So many humming birds feeding om the sugar water all the time, completely used to people in the close neigbourhood. Lovely place!
Guest Report
Ian Winn from U.K. visited in July 2009 and awarded 
My wife and I stayed at Adventure Eco Villas for one week following a week on the beach at Speyside. The owner, Ean, proved a kind and hospitable host-- recommending restaurants, letting us use his computer, lending us a complimentary mobile phone, giving us free-reign of his copious fruit supply, supplying information on the various creatures to be found around the property-- and the villa itself was both eclectic and homey. We very much enjoyed our lofty perch amid the rainforest and overall felt that staying here was a unique experience that contrasted nicely with our previous week of lounging by the shore.
We stayed in one of two well-appointed, self-catering villas built on stilts, connected to each other by a spacious deck. In the morning we threw open the screen-less wooden shutters and enjoyed our breakfast overlooking the lush reserve and listening to a cacophony of birdsong. The small sitting area and kitchen table were also an auspicious place to watch the sunrise, fix our binoculars on nesting hummingbirds or wait out the occasional tropical downpour as it thundered on the metal roof. The bedroom was very comfortable and, since the foliage often sheltered us from cooling ocean breezes, we greatly appreciated the fan and powerful air-conditioning which we used in the humid afternoons and to help us get to sleep at night. Come to think of it, cranking the air-con and watching a film on HBO after traipsing around the forests and reefs of Tobago all day was quite the guilty pleasure. The bathroom was spacious, bright and kept spotless by the friendly and efficient housekeeping-and-grounds tandem of Petra and Anton. One downside was the detachable shower nozzle which tended to splash the windows and baseboards around the bath but this was easily dealt with thanks to the ample towels provided. There were even complimentary beach towels on offer, along with several other nice touches such as bird guides, a personal safe, a small library, large-sized toiletries and a picnic hamper.
The small kitchen had everything we needed and more: gas range, powerful fridge/freezer, toaster, blender, coffee-maker, pots, pans, knifes, the works.. Plus there was the added bonus of having a plethora of fruit trees right outside our door. Over the course of the week we feasted on mangos, papaya, grapefruit, bananas (pick these early in your stay to give them a chance to ripen), cashew fruit and lemons. The birdlife was also magnificent, even for non-twitchers, and after breakfast (or the obligatory self-prepared local-rum-and-fresh-fruit smoothies!) we very much enjoyed setting our leftovers out for the mot-mots, ant-shrikes, bananaquits, tanagers, doves, lizards et al. There were also legions of hummingbirds swarming around the many feeders outside of Ean's house which, for the record, are almost impossible to photograph with an automatic camera. At night, the lights attracted numerous insects which in turn brought out flying frogs, toads, bats and enormous chirping geckos, all of which amused us greatly-- especially coming from London where all we get are ruddy mice and pigeons.
The villas are located about a mile or so from the ramshackle town of Plymouth where you can pick up basic necessities such as groceries and petrol. However, aside from a couple rough-and-tumble bars and a take-away Chinese, there's not much else on offer here and I would strongly recommend renting a car to get to restaurants and attractions further afield. The Arnos Vale Hotel is about a twenty minute walk from the premises, as is the start of the Mot Mot trail-- a lovely, sweaty, three-mile hike that leads along the bluffs to Culloden. Arnos Vale also has a decent beach with an excellent reef for snorkeling, with lots of unbleached, car-sized coral bommies to explore, but personally I would rather drive my snorkel/beach gear to the public parking lot than walk there from the Eco Villas-- if only to conserve energy for the water (the wife and I tend to snorkel for hours).
With a rental car we were also able to hit a number of quality restaurants in the surrounding area, and make numerous trips to Turtle Beach until we finally got to see a nesting leatherback-- from 3 to 5 a.m. If anyone is interested in this, you can save a bundle of money by not hiring a guide and instead making your way to the beach-bar-shack just south of the Turtle Beach Hotel. There, you can find the extremely helpful volunteers from the Save our Sea Turtles foundation and ask them if there's any nesting action on the beaches. Watching one of these half-ton behemoth's make her nest and lay her eggs was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
Downside: unfortunately, if you're headed to Tobago during the wet season, you are going to have to contend with mossies, especially in the island's interior and that most definitely includes the mostly open-air Adventure Eco Villas. Due to the aesthetically-pleasing wood-beam construction, the bedroom is not air-tight and even though we burned anti-mossie coils, plugged in our trusty insecticide diffuser and slathered ourselves with 100% DEET, we always seemed to wake up with a couple bites apiece. That being said, mosquitos the world over have always found me extremely delicious and my wife was much less affected than I was.
Still, insects support the birds, amphibians and reptiles we enjoy so much and a few bites were a small price to pay for staying at these wonderful, comfy villas. A great experience at a reasonable price with the added bonus of a fantastic, informative host. Oh, and the guide dogs were a treat as well.
Guest Report
Nelly & Auke Oosten from Netherlands visited in February 2009 and awarded
In Februari 2009 we stayed for four nights at Eco Villa. We had e very comfortable stay. Everything you might possibly need in kitchen or bathroom is available. But the best part of the place was the green peaceful envirement and the variety of birds visiting our porch.
We had the whole place to ourselves: no neighbours in the nextdoor cottage, so we had all the pricacy we wanted. I can imagine that will be different when you have to share the porch with you neighbours.
It is a very good place to stay for people who value nature, birds and privacy.
Guest Report
Pam Sterling from Canada visited in February 2008 and awarded
This place is a lovely retreat in the forest. The cabins are as cute as a button. Loved waking up in the morning to the sounds of singing birds. It was wonderful to open up the shutters in the cool of the morning and watch the birds and take a walk to collect fresh citrus fruit. The staff were all very friendly and helpful. We spent much time just sitting and watching the hummingbirds at the multiple feeders, as did many others who come specifically for the birds. There are great snorkeling beaches near by as well. If you are looking for a quaint, non-large resort type of place where you can do some of your own cooking this place is the ticket.
Guest Report
Caroline Brookes from U.K. visited in February 2008 and awarded
We stayed at Adventure Eco Farm from 7 – 14 February 2008, in one of the two cabins. The cabins are set a short way from the main house. The accommodation comprises a bedroom with two large single beds locked together plus one single, en suite bathroom with bath and shower with a hair dryer, well equipped kitchen, (which included a juicer and saucepan with steamer, and coffee percolator,) and lounge/dining room with shutters and ceiling fan. The bedroom has windows, air conditioning and a ceiling fan. There is also a TV although we did not use it. The patio area is shared with the other cabin. The cabins are on stilts, and the land falls away steeply to the front, so there is a lovely view at tree canopy level over a lot of the 12 acre grounds. It was great to go to bed listening to all the night sounds and wake up in the morning to the birds’ chorus.
There are two main trails to wander on the property, one easy, the other a bit more challenging. We were often accompanied by the owner’s two dogs, which showed us the way.
Ean MacKay, the owner is a genuinely kind and pleasant man. He arranged for a taxi to pick us up from the airport, stopping via the Canaan supermarket. Ean took us to the Carnbee supermarket one day, helped us out when we had forgotten to bring enough money, and went back to the supermarket later in the week to get us a refund for an over charged item. I inadvertently left my credit card in the room safe when we moved locations, and he looked after it for me until I returned to collect it.
During late afternoon, Ean rings a ship’s bell and masses of humming birds visit the sugar water filled feeders he provides for them. Other birds visit the various bird feeders, including the greedy motmots, and the bare-eyed thrust. The humming birds are amazing, and it is an opportunity to see them at very close quarters.
One day we walked along the road to the beach at the Arnos Vale Hotel. At a slow pace, taking account of the heat, it took us a good 15 minutes. It is an up and down hill route, some of it shaded. The beach is beautiful, but the sea was quite rough at the time of our visit. At the Arnos Vale Hotel we observed plants growing out of gutters, broken gutters on the accommodation block, beach tables with thatched umbrellas, the thatching disintegrating; empty bottles littered the tables and looked as if they had been there for some time.
Local people in Plymouth are friendly and helpful. There are lots of mini-marts that open at various times of the day, where you can get basic food supplies, and some frozen chicken. Fresh food is not readily available.
A kind mini-mart shop keeper called Mark, offered to drive us to church with his family on Sunday, and we were taken to see the shop keeper’s mother-in-law at her home after the service. It was great meeting and talking to her and the family. Thank you, Mark.
I would recommend Adventure Eco for those wanting to be out of the tourist area, looking for peace and having an interest in bird life. Thank you, Ean for making our stay so pleasant.
Caroline
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