Guest Report

Louisa Howard · Post by **Louisa Howard** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 10:28 am

When first arriving at this hotel, we were greeted warmly by Elroy the customer service manager, who told us to contact him regarding any needs and problems we had during our stay. He helped us organise trips and problems throughout our stay and was indeed very helpful, Thank you for your directions Elroy, to the small internet cafe which was much cheaper than the hotel, as our daughter seems to have to live on a computer at least once a day and we would have spent a fortune at the hotel.

We were then showed to our room by the helpful porter, who found it hard to leave until he had a tip in hand, and having no small change at the time we over-tipped, but I wrongly belived at this time that this would then encourage him to be friendly and helpful towards us. The room was tired and old as was the rest of the hotel. However we had a nice sea view and it is clean and well mantained hotel, that puts you in mind of your Grandma's house.

Food is mostly from a wide ranging menu and despite having allergies, I found I had a good choice. Breakfast was a little limiting at times and lunch is normally buffet. A must to be tried if you like them, is the Pina Colada's as they add their own touch and Cameron is more than happy to help with any cocktail you wish to try. Entertainment on some nights is OK although there is limited space for people to sit. In fact, the whole area you would consider your living area is inadequate for the number of rooms and guests, as it relies on people being out.

One word of warning: although most staff are helpful, some have lost the plot and seem like they cannot be bothered at times. We, on a few days, had no towels in our room. Some reception staff ether did not understand or had lost the plot and despite also asking maids, no towels were forthcoming. At meal times, some staff did not know what was in food or could not be bothered to speak and ignored us or shrugged. Some evenings we sat for long periods with nothing or empty plates in front of us while younger staff chatted. You may say this is the laid-back Caribbean, but I thought sometimes it bordered on rude and yes, we have been to other islands. However as this is a small hotel, do not even think about complaining or filling in the questionare at reception until you leave, as all staff know you did it and you spend the rest of your stay with the result.

Wendy G · Post by **Wendy G** » Mon May 22, 2006 4:30 pm

Yes i enjoyed the warm friendly astmosphere to,and Elroy is just so freindly and kind. Me,my husband had gone to Tobago for my nephews wedding which was on 9th May,it was just beautiful,they had it in the small garden under a fushia flower covered arch,which was moved to where ever you wanted to get wed,garden or beach.We made lots of friends with the staff there,Kim one of the waitresses,Helena who ran the pool bar most of the time was very nice,Andell who we just loved to talk to,and have a laugh with.Hotel wasn't to bad,could do with up dating,food too was'nt too bad,apart from the bacon which is streaky and burnt,got a bit fed up of curried beans every day so steered clear of those.If you don't mind birds flying around you while you are eating then you're ok,they usually come in on the balconys at breakfast & lunch and fly on to plates that have food left on them,and don't leave any drinks unattended because they help them selves to those too.We went on 2 boat trips,with Frankies tours. which is skippered by one of Frankies sons Micheal,he was very nice too, i read from someone on here that Frankies tours was'nt a good thing to do but well we did and it was GREAT,we all enjoyed it,there was 11 of us on the 1st trip,and my nephews now mother in-law caught 3 fish,we could'nt catch any thing,so after a while we took them to one of the beaches,not sure which beach it was cus i was really enjoying my self anyway, 9 of us did some snorkeling,and then after a while we had the fish barbequed with rice,salad & chicken,yummy! On the second trip we ventured out into the Atlantic for BIGGER fish,my sister was sick,she said it was the smell of the pertol that did it,it was quite strong,but everyone else was fine. Micheal had got 3 big rods out,with bait on,and 2 hand lines were dragged by 2 of us,then after a while one of the big lines got a bite,so Micheal said "who wants to reel it in" my nephew said " me,i will" so he did,he reeled it & reeled it,and reeled it,then at last we saw what he'd got a barracuda,about 3 foot long or more,WOW never seen one of those before.We took it to another beach,and while Micheal prepared the meal we just walked around and some other boats turned up for a barbeque too,there were 3 stall holders there selling jewellery & other gifts,we had alook arond them and bought a few things,went in the sea,then had lunch when it was ready,really nice & tasty that fish! We never got to go to the rain forest,cus it had a early start of 6am,which was abit to early for most of us apart from me nephews mother & father in-law,they've not told us about it yet,will have to find out what it was like! Had no trouble with flights there or back,a very intresting experiance Tobago,don't think we'll go back there though not till we are pensioners any way!

Mathew Scott · Post by **Mathew Scott** » Mon May 22, 2006 7:41 pm

Having read through the report I was slightly worried about the reference to negative reports concerning Frankies tours and rentals.

I have been to Tobago on 5 separate occasions and we have used Frankie each time. Without exception Frankie and his team have been exceptional and I will be using them on our next visit.

I have recommended him to 4 or 5 of my friends who have all used him and sing wholeheartedly, his praises.

I can honestly say that both his team and Frankie himmself have stopped at nothing to ensure that the trips, cars or service provided exceeded our best expectations.

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Mon May 22, 2006 7:53 pm

Hi Mathew

I noticed that with some surprise as well. To be honest, I haven't replied earlier because I couldn't remember any negative reports and so meant to do a thorough search on back posts. I have done so and can't find anything so wonder if Wendy had read something on another forum somewhere. Perhaps you can clarify, Wendy.

Wendy G · Post by **Wendy G** » Wed May 24, 2006 3:04 pm

Hi steve,sure i read a Negative report on here,about Frankies tours,this is the ONLY Tobago site i use! But if i did look on another site before,then it must of been there ,SORRY,Frankies tours are GREAT

Irene · Post by **Irene** » Tue May 30, 2006 1:01 pm

Hi Wendy

I seem to remember mentioning Frankie's tours following our second visit to Tobago. Well if I didn't mention it then I sure will now. Our experience was not a good one, although Frankie and his team were very friendly and helpful. He sold us a package, which appealed because we were suppose to sail along the coast and stop at each beach to swim and snorkel. The reality was very different. On the day, Frankie decided not to join us and handed us over to his team, two young men. We sailed along the coast at a furious pace barely hitting the top of the waves and didn't stop anywhere, until we passed Castara. By now everyone on board was very sick. They stopped the boat in some calm water surrounded by high cliffs and insisted we all get in the water as a remedy. It didn't work!!

The lads were so concerned about us all and decided to phone Frankie who told them to take us to No Mans Land, which they did. By then we were all incredible sick, but a couple of hours on that beautiful beach and we were all settled and ready for a delicious BBQ.

To sum up, it was a very, very expensive BBQ and trip to a beach and we didn't get what we paid for. We did take the case up with Frankie, and although he was apologetic, he did nothing to appease us, so we put it down to experience, but would never use Frankie again.

Irene