Guest Report

14 unit villa development at Stonehaven Bay (listing)
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Janice George

Guest Report

Post by Janice George »

This was our second visit to Tobago and we hired a car from the Airport and drove directly to The Villas at Stonehaven.

On arrival we went to Reception but there was no one there. We enquired at the Bar and were advised that everyone was out! We explained that we had a reservation and a gentleman took us into the Reception Office to find our details. This took some time but eventually they were found and we were escorted to our Villa.

The Villa was very pleasant but I must confess, my first impression was one of disappointment; it appeared tired, especially the kitchen which to be honest, was unacceptably grubby and not what we expected from this type of resort. And it is for this Villa alone that we have given a lower rating. However, the views were wonderful the pool inviting so we unpacked and settled in.

Our first evening we took a wander down to the bar with the intention of having something to eat. There was no one in the bar or restaurant except the local Policeman who was enjoying a drink and some peanuts. We ordered a drink and had a look at the menu and the gentleman who had escorted us to our Villa earlier informed us that if we were planning on eating in the restaurant long pants were required however, we could eat there that evening dressed as we were. At this point we would like to say that this was done with utmost tact and we appreciated his courtesy as we were not aware of this dress code - there being no mention of it anywhere that we could see including the Guest welcome folder located in the Villa. Despite his tact we did feel uncomfortable and decided not to use the restaurant that evening. We decided to have another drink but the bar staff had disappeared and we were left waiting some considerable time for service. We were served eventually but were disappointed to note that when the Policeman left so did the peanuts! His glass and the peanuts being removed from the bar - we thought it quite strange that as guests we hadn’t been offered these nibbles with our drink.

The following evening at 6.30pm we had a telephone call from the Restaurant Staff to inform us that there was a private function that evening and the Restaurant would be closed. With it being such late notice (we had been at the Villa all day), we were pleased that we hadn’t planned to eat there that night.

On the third day it became apparent that a wedding was going to take place and that the Restaurant would be closed again, although we were not informed of this. The setting up for the wedding involved loud music and a fair amount of noise; this noise escalated with the wedding proper late into the evening. Going to bed was not an option because the sound could even be heard with the windows closed and above the noisy air conditioning. Around midnight the music was turned off but we were further disturbed by more music and singing from wedding guests in one of the Villas near by in the early hours of the morning.

The following day we visited Reception to express our displeasure at the disturbance and to enquire if any further functions were planned for the remainder of our stay.

Before returning to our Villa we took a stroll around the rest of the resort - what a surprise! At the middle/top end of the resort peace and quiet, only the birds and breeze could be heard! Despite our request when booking, for a quiet Villa we had actually been allocated the noisiest! Not only was it close to the bar and Restaurant it was also closest to the main road which was surprisingly noisy even late into the night.

We telephoned Reception and asked if we could move to a quieter Villa. This was agreed and we were invited to view another Villa which we did and moved immediately into it.

The difference in the Villa and quietness of the location was over whelming. The quality and cleanliness of this Villa was far superior to the one we had left, we could not fault it in any way.

The remainder of our stay proved to be peaceful and enjoyable with a very attentive house keeper, who is an asset to Stonehaven with her polite, friendly disposition and her attention to detail in the upkeep of this Villa is commendable.

The views from all of the Villas are excellent and the up keep of the grounds first class. We understand that some of the Villas have different furnishings - our second Villa being one of these.

The Villas are all on a steep hill and we would recommend that a car is hired in order to enjoy the Island and take advantage of the numerous local beaches. For this particular visit to Tobago we were looking for a quiet relaxing time, which we eventually had only leaving the Villa for an early morning stroll on the beach. The Villa pool for us was exceptional and we loved it.

It was a shame that we got off to a bad start, and feel angry that a couple of days of our holiday were marred by these events especially as our request for a quiet Villa was ignored. However this would not dissuade us from returning or recommending Stonehaven - if you get the right Villa it really can be a perfect holiday.

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