Guest Report

[Jeff Lookkong]

We rented this 4 bedroom Villa for 9 days from Dec 29, 2011 to Jan 7, 2012. We were a party of 6, but it could easily hold more persons if needed. The villa is set in a beautiful gated compound called Tobago Plantations, with other villas, surrounded by a golf course and a hotel called Magdalena (formerly Hilton).

We chose this villa for its security, not for its location. I used to live in Trinidad but the other members of our group were Canadians. We had 2 teenage girls with us so security was our main issue. This compound was perfect for that.

We had also looked at many other villas throughout the island, Bon Accord, Grafton Beach and Mount Irvine. While we were there, we looked at Grafton Beach and Mount Irvine options for future visits and we decided that we will seriously consider them for our next visit as many owners have now made security a major priority and have hired 24 hr security personal. However, one thing to consider is not to choose a place that is too isolated from other homes.

The villa is comfortable and everything works. It is showing the effects of the constant sea blast and the decor is a little tacky with all the fake flowers etc.
In the end, the tacky decor is not important as we are on vacation!!!
The housekeeper is great and she kept things clean and tidy.

One major drawback is that there is no telephone and you have to pay an additional $5 a day for internet service, called Blink-to-go, which can only handle 1 computer at time. We had 5 computers so that was a pain. We have mentioned this to the owner/manager and we hope that they add these 2 services.

The house has a magnificent view of both the sea and the Scarborough. One drawback to staying there at this time of year is that it can be windy and there is lots of sea blast, so we ended up keeping our A/Cs in our bedrooms on full time, to keep it dry and comfortable. Apparently, at other times of the year, Feb onwards, the winds die down. However, it did not stop us from enjoying the pool and sunbathing, just could not eat outside without things blowing away.

There is no beach by the villa, you have to go to the hotel area to walk on the beach, which is just a 5 minute walk. The new hotel owners have renovated the hotel beautifully and have cleaned up the beach. The hotel was not fully open. It was to open mid January of this year. You can now walk for at least half an hour along the beach if you need to. However, the water is rough and not the best for bathing.

Tobago has changed for the better since the last time we visited, which is about 4 years ago. There are lots of places to find good local food. Our favorite take out place is CHEF BBQ and our favorite restaurant is Kariwak Village (make reservations). Great afternoon Bar for drinks is the bar connected with "Plantation Villas" on Grafton Beach. Ivan is the bartender and makes amazing rum punch and daiquiris.

We are definitely planning to return to Tobago very soon