Guest Report

[Angie Phua]

'Oh I love coming home to this place!' was the one thing I would say everytime we returned to Mary's Hill Lodge. Having driven round most of Tobago I think we can safely say that Mary's Hill Lodge is by far one of the best houses on the island.

The house is reminiscent of the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse - quite fitting as the original film was actually filmed in Tobago years ago! It sits on top of a hill and there are practically no walls to the main living area- this means that even though we were well-connected to the main roads, we were still well tucked away, looking out mainly to the tree-tops growing on the grounds. There was even a little bird's nest just outside of the Master bedroom!

There is a little church that sits at the bottom on the hill and also another house where a band practices live music- so it was lovely waking up to strains of gospel singing in the mornings, and live reggae in the evenings while we played games in the house. Speaking of which, the house is well equipped with everything you need- from games (Scrabble was a favourite!) to paper, kitchen utensils, basic cooking items so it truly was a home away from home.

Mary's Hill lodge is the perfect place for 'Liming' ( that's Tobagonian for 'hanging out'!) - the lines between what's inside and outside are so blurred that you could easily laze in the house and still enjoy the sunshine and the nature surrounding you. There's even a hammock which was absolutely amazing!

The house is located really close to Mt Irvine beach and roundabout that area are lots of other great beaches like Stonehaven -and some bars and roti shops where you get get some grub or play some pool in.

In terms of supplies, there are also lots of good little shops really close to the house so getting some fresh food or essentials (beer!) is never hard to do.

Finally, Laura and Louis have prepared a guide and guestbook within the house that come with all the information you need, and with lots of friends that you can contact if you need any help at all. We'd highly recommend going on river hikes with Mark Puddy, who is Louis' uncle- he knows Tobago inside out and you will learn so much from him- AND he feeds you well!

We had such a lovely time in Tobago, and I have to say some of our best memories will be of all the times we've spent in that house- and also the friends we made because we were staying there as well! We would highly recommend it!

Team J.A.B.S
2007