Sugarmill Suites

[TheHarps]

We are going on our first Tobago holiday in October this year. Only about 70 days to go......

We booked through Virgin and selected the Sugarmill Suites. I cannot find any reviews on here. The villas are located in the grounds of the Hilton and Golf Course (apparently).

Has anyone had experience of these properties or even seen them? I would like some idea as to what we can expect.

On another note, based on reviews on this website I am trying to book a sheppy hire car. Over a month has passed since I e-mailed him via his web site and still no reply. From reading reviews I know this is not uncommon but I would like to arrange a hire car sooner than later. Is there another form of contact? If not I may have to try another company

Thanks for your time.....

The Harps

[Steve Wooler]

Welcome aboard!

No, I'm afraid that you won't find any/many reviews here simply because the Sugarmill Suites are not a single rental entity - they are just a bunch of privately owned apartments on the same development which the Sugarmill Suites management rent out on behalf of the owners when the owners aren't using them. We do'nt them on the site because we will not send or refer enquiries to third parties without the property owner's permission and the Sugarmill Suites management have been unable/unwilling to provide such confirmation. Further, we know that whilst some of the apartments have been decorated really beautifully, it has to be equally said that some are less so. You don't know which you will be getting. We do list one or two of the apartments directly under the managers name. The only one I have personal knowledge of and can really recommend is Ocean Air (see the Accommodation or Reviews tabs).

Did you do a follow-up to Sheppy? The local email system is horrendously bad and missing email is a daily occurence. My advice would be to email him via our enquiry service (see either menus: Tobago > Getting Around > Car Hire > Car Rental Agencies, or Odds & Sods > Email Contacts). Sheppy's phone and fax numbers are also given in the Car Rental Agencies article - but, as I say, send a follow up to make sure he actually got your email. Also, have you checked your Spam/Junk Mail folder? If his website enquiry form included a form and his reply included the form, then your system could well have treated it as spam (several 'consumer' anti-spam system incorrectly treat forms and/or formatted email as a sure indication of commercial mail - and by extension, therefore possibly 'spam').

[TheHarps]

Steve,

Thanks for your prompt reply. I just hope Virgin have chosen nice villas. I guess I will just have to wait and see.......

I will follow your advice and use your e-mail link to re-contact Sheppy.

The Harps

[Steve Wooler]

Sorry, it's a villa rather than an apartment, is it? A number of the villas on the Tobago Plantations development are listed on our site, but in truth there are very few reviews/visitor reports. In truth - and for reasons that I don't totally understand - most visitors tend to home in on the villas on the Caribbean side. Mind you, you are only 5-10 minutes drive away from the popular Caribbean beaches on Tobago Plantations. I'm sure Virgin will have picked nice villas. They're all new - nothing over 5 years old.

[Clyde Alleyne]

My wife and I are currently leasing an apartment in the Sugarmill Suites complex. We have been there for the past 6 months so are very familiar with the complex. We have been using it as a base while we build a couple of villas in the Samaan Grove Angostura development. We have enjoyed our stay at the complex, and many evenings we enjoy going for a walk around the golf course.

I can confirm Steve's comment that the Sugarmill Suites are a cluster of condominium apartment buildings within the Tobago Plantation complex in Lowlands. The complex is indeed located in the middle of the golf course, so it is surrounded by a lot of open space. It is especially suitable for people who are concerned about comfort and security. With a security post at the entrance to Tobago Plantations, and a second security post just for the Sugarmill complex, we have always felt very safe day or night. We often leave our (ground floor) front door open without any concerns while we are in the apartment.

Each building is 3 levels, with a 2 bedroom apartment on the ground floor, another 2 bedroom apartment on the second level, and a studio apartment at the top (loft) level. Buildings are clustered around swimming pools.

Each ground floor apartment is privately owned, and the second level and the top level are owned by different owners (which makes it a 3 bedroom combination with 2 kitchens). The finish level in each apartment varies depending on the owners' interest in maintaining, furnishing, or upgrading their units. For example, I know from personal experience that the original air-cons that were supplied with the condos tended to be slightly undersized, and some owners upgraded while others did not. Hopefully the Virgin people would have selected apartments that are better than average.

If you were not planning to rent a self-drive vehicle, I would suggest that you reconsider, as the better beaches are not within easy walking distance. Little Rockly Bay is a nice walking beach but there are better swimming beaches elsewhere on the island.

You can actually get a bird's eye view of the complex if you look for it using something like Google Earth.
Go to coordinates 11 degrees 09''06.44" N and 60 degrees 46'34.78" W on Google Earth. If you have any detailed questions feel free to contact me directly.

Hope this helps,

Clyde

[Steve Wooler]

Hello to TheHarps

I've just had word from Sheppy - his messages to you are bouncing about because you have blacklisted his IP address. More correctly, I assume your ISP has blacklisted his address. Sadly, this is a common problem with the local ISP, TSTT. Their network is very badly configured and very few people on Trinidad and Tobago run up-to-date anti-spam software, so are regularly infected - and as a result are being used by the viruses to spread spam. As a result, TSTT IP addresses regularly appear on anti-spam organisation black and grey lists. All you can do is raise this issue with your provider I'm afraid. It should be possible for you to "white list" his address ([email protected]) so that it isn't blocked.

[MarieB]

Clyde:

We are relocating to Tobago in November 2008 and are looking for long-term rentals so that we can become fully acquainted with the housing market/neighborhoods before we buy a house.

I see from your response that Sugar Mill Suites does do long-term rentals and will contact them. Do you have any suggestions for other possible long-term rental properties?

[HelenaVM]

Hi Marie

Sorry to threadbutt, but I might know of some owners who are open to longer term rentals at good prices. If you want to email me, I'll see if I can help you out. My address is [email protected]

Helena

[Linda P]

Marie
As far as I am aware it is not possible for non T&T nationals to buy property in Tobago at present, the regulations may have changed since I last checked, just be aware that you could be renting for quite some time before it will be possible to buy.
Linda

[MarieB]

Thanks Linda. My husband is actually Trini, so we're ok to purchase in Tobago.

Helena: I sent you an e-mail.

[TheHarps]

Clyde - Thanks for your reply and information. I feel much happier now with your info.

Steve - Thanks for your info re sheppy. I noted his e-mail were treated as spam so I have contacted him direct and white listed his e-mail address and we have now made contact and hopefully I have reserved my vehicle.

Once again great site and helpful forum....

[Clyde Alleyne]

Marie, sorry to be so long in replying, but I have been having severe internet connection problems with my EVDO modem in Tobago.

Regarding long term rentals of Sugarmill suites, the Sugarmill suites are a subset group of the condo complex which have been given by the individual owners to the management company to manage bookings for them. I believe that their focus is primarily short term visitor rentals as these are more profitable to the owners than long term rentals. However it is possible that some owners may have indicated that they would be interested in long term rentals. Also, many owners do not use Sugarmill for the booking management, but do it themselves or via real estate agencies on the island.

For your information I am paying TTD 9,000 per month (USD 1,500) per month for a fully furnished 2 bedroom condo ground floor apartment. The owner is a private owner who does not go through Sugarmill. We actually got it through one of the Tobagonian real estate agents, so a good bet would be to contact the local real estate companies. I had listed their contact information in one of my earlier posts.

Hope this helps.
Clyde