Adventure Eco Villas - Reader Reports & Opinion
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
Guest Report
Gene Zeiszler from U.S.A. visited in November 2007 and awarded
In late November and early December 2007, my wife and I spend 10 wonderful days at Adventure Farm. It was a great place to relax, see the many hummingbirds, ring the bell to call the other birds to the feeders, roam the lush grounds – accompanied by Heidi and Lexi (the owner’s lovable dogs), sample the local restaurants, and enjoy the nearby beach at Arnos Vale. The My Tobago and the Adventure-EcoVillas websites very accurately represent the accommodations. Was it opulent? – no. Was it clean and comfortable. – definitely. Was it a relaxing place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city? – ABSOLUTELY!! We found Ean and Marion Mackay, the owners, to be very hospitable. Petra, Agnes and her husband, Anton, help the Mackay’s maintain Adventure Farm and attend to guests. They are all a pleasure. A special treat for us was the fact that Agnes and Anton were expecting their first child any day when we left to continue our vacation at another property elsewhere on Tobago. A call back to Ean confirmed that Agnes gave birth just three days later and that she and her new son were doing well.
If you are interested in good local food, I would recommend Jadz Homestyle and Peter’s Restaurant. Jadz is on the same street as the local grocery store, which is reasonably well stocked. You will probably need to ask for directions to Peter’s or you may trouble finding it on the back street of Plymouth. The service and food at both places were excellent. The lady’s at Jadz (I don’t recall their name’s) and Peter & Celene at Peter’s were very pleasant. I would suggest you let either place know during the day when you plan to come to dinner in the evening. The beach and snorkeling at Arnos Vale is simply wonderful!!! We were glad we found Adventure Farm and, if you are looking for a place away from the more developed, busier Crown Point and Scarborough areas, you will love Adventure Farm, too.
Many thanks Ean, Marion, Petra, Agnes and Anton. Best wishes Agnes and Anton.
Guest Report
Richard Banks from U.K. visited in October 2007 and awarded
Lovely peaceful place. Cabins are comfortable, clean and well equiped. Grounds are beautiful with glorious bird life. Owners were very helpful and the dogs very friendly. Would stay here again but at a drier time of year!
Guest Report
Alex & Luke from U.K. visited in May 2007 and awarded
Adventure Eco Villas
We have just returned from a one week stay at Adventure Eco Villas in Plymouth (Tobago). We originally planned to have a typical lie-on-the-beach-all-day Caribbean holiday and had to change our plans last minute (literally...see our review of Coco Reef).
Having read only a short review on Adventure Eco Villas in the travel magazine Wanderlust (issue 81), we knew the villas resided amongst the Tropical flora and fauna of a twelve-acre nature reserve and organic farm, so it was with some trepidation that we flew out 6 hours later unsure of what to expect.
From the moment we arrived we were put at our ease. We were picked up by Lee-roy (taxi organised by Eco Villas), who was waiting there already for us when we got through customs. Although not included in the cost of the stay, the fare was fairly inexpensive.
We arrived at the Villas for the 3 o’clock bell (a regular and pleasant feature)-feeding time for the hundreds of tropical birds, and a glass of ice cold, home made juice. Mr. Mackay (Ean-the owner) from the outset was very pleasant and accommodating and made us feel at home immediately.
Accommodation
The accommodation is situated a short distance from the main house, tucked in behind some mango trees. Comprising of two wooden chalet-style, self contained apartments, both share an open, wooden decking area with tables and chairs over looking the lower (more interesting part) of the nature reserve.
The main living room shares the same view as the decking area (through many open shutters) and includes a dinning table, sofa and coffee table. A small but well resourced kitchen (all mod-cons: gas cooker, microwave, kettle, coffee-maker and a very efficient fridge freezer!) will suffice any traveller who wishes for a self catering trip. The bedroom (with a large en-suite bathroom), has air-con, lots of storage space, safe and (unlike many hotels in the area) a fully functional cable TV. The en-suite bathroom has a decent sized bath and overhead shower.
Overall, the accommodation was very clean (the house was cleaned daily by Petra) and well maintained. Being raised above the ground on “stilts”-it was not prone to any of the general creepy-crawlies one might expect find in a nature reserve (we may though, have been helped by the fact it was the dry season).
There is an incredible amount of tropical fauna and flora to be observed, from the elusive iguanas to the famous Mot Mots. There are one of two resident Woodpeckers in the chalets, so you will not always need to set an alarm, but eating breakfast with a number of hummingbirds buzzing around your head is an experience not to be missed.
Beaches and the Area
The nearest beach is at Arnos Vale (the beach is situated within the grounds of the Arnos Vale Hotel), about 5-10 minutes walk from the Villas. Freely accessible to all, it is by far one of the more secluded and safe beaches in the area-with incredible snorkelling throughout the entire bay.
Pigeon Point, Stonehaven (Grafton) and especially Englishmans Bay are all beaches that are definitely worth a visit. Pick up some fresh fish from Mount Irvine Bay in the afternoon (after 3pm). If you do want to explore the island, car hire is a must. This can be organised at the Villas for you, but you may find it cheaper to pre-book this through the usual companies (Expedia, Opodo etc.).
If you want a relaxing holiday (not necessarily at the beach) Eco Villas is perfect. You can sit all day and sip fresh, homemade juices and watch the tropical birds, or wander around the reserve itself. If you require a more adventurous trip, Mr. Mackay will help in any way possible, from organising car hire, to suggesting sailing trips, horse riding, best beaches, restaurants etc. and if you are lucky, even turtle watching.
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