Guest Report

[Kate and Paul Smyth]

We stayed at “The Love Shack” for a month in February, 2008. We have to say that from our first email to Beverly and David, they replied in a speedy and friendly manner. Beverly was very generous with a great deal of helpful information about Tobago.

The property itself, while small and rustic, is quaint and cozy and generally good value. Unfortunately it simply does not quite live up to the posted description. So we will start there:

1.“ Located just one block from the beach…” It would be more accurate to say a block from the coast. There is not much of a "lovely beach" a block away. Even the beach down the road (Charlotteville) is not suitable for much more than a dip. The good news is that there is a lovely beach (Pirate’s) within about 20-30 minutes of walking.

2.“Bright and breezy…” It was not so bright. The lights in the kitchen and bathroom did not work at all. Ever. This was most frustrating in the bathroom since there was no window and no natural light at all. The local caretaker was aware of this and said it would be fixed. It never was. Even in the Caribbean, a month is adequate for getting an electrician. The family renting downstairs had even more trouble with both a leaky toilet and a broken fridge. For an entire week, we kept a bit of their food in our freezer until their fridge was finally fixed. The breezy part is accurate but be aware that with no screens whatsoever the mosquitoes can be a real concern.

3.“Bird chatter will wake you bright and early…” This was not pleasant bird chirping in the morning. This was roosters at ALL hours. Five or more were roosting in a tree on the property. It was so bothersome that a local man came and shot 5 or 6 of them, which helped a bit. Bird chatter was not the only noise…Not only were there the neighbouring limes which is to be expected, but there was loud, banging music from the beach bar.

4.“Salome will provide a mid-week cleaning…” Never did this happen. The only time we ever saw the caretaker was when she came to verify our lights did not work and when we went to her home to collect clean linen each week.

We experienced several other inconveniences that we think potential renters have a right to know BEFORE handing over $1,000 plus USD.

1.The water goes off periodically for extended periods. This is fine if you know beforehand. We were left unable to shower, to brush our teeth, or to have coffee since most nights the water went off at 7, 8, or 9 pm and did not come back on until 7 am. Once we figured this out, we simply kept a big pot of water in reserve but it would have been nice (actually it would have been expected) to have been told this in advance.

2.On arrival, we had only one broken chair on the porch and a disgustingly mildewed shower and curtain liner. Beverly had asked us to contact her if we had any concerns so we emailed and thankfully the caretaker did bring a new liner (My husband scrubbed the shower and I replaced the liner and threw out the old one myself). We also got two chairs which was wonderful! Then again it was not an unreasonable expectation given that the description said, “the porch is a great place to sit and sip your morning coffee…”

3.There is a large rubbish bin right at the top of the property. Usually this was not a concern, but depending on the wind, there were times where the smell was atrocious. And there was no escaping this because with no ceiling fans we did not want to close the windows!

All in all these things would not stop us from recommending The Love Shack. It is just that potential renters certainly have a right to know all of this in advance! If you can live with a rustic unit, that may or may not have lights, where the water is off periodically, where you will encounter roosters and other noise regularly, then it is fine. Knowing all of this we may have rented anyway…but not for a month. It is more suitable as a base for a stay of a few days in Charlotteville.