Guest Report

125 room budget all-inclusive hotel at Great Courland Bay (listing)
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Peter and Val

Guest Report

Post by Peter and Val »


Turtle Beach Hotel by Rex

Having read varying reports about this hotel, we were dubious, but most included some praise for the hotel. Now that we have stayed here, our advice is to AVOID and we certainly cannot recommend it under any circumstances.

Having arrived after a 10-hour flight we were shown to a room, which had not been serviced. Reception could not comprehend this and kept us waiting for over an hour for an alternative room, checking that what we said was true. The new room did not have a mini-bar or safe, but both arrived the next day. The following day the mini-bar was stocked, but no bottle opener was provided.

The hotel itself is a 1970’s construction currently undergoing some restoration. The painting of the buildings and the replacement of sanitary fittings do not remove the ‘tired’ feeling to the rooms (fortunately you do not need to spend much time in room) and do not bring it into the 21st century. The necessities of towels and drinking water were difficult to come by. This hotel is left in a time warp in need of major renovation, especially to the restaurant and bar.

All staff in the restaurant are friendly and helpful, but not being from Tobago cannot give you any local information, or tell you about the food being served – just what is ‘Freddie Fish’? Reception are helpful at arranging taxis, but this will cost you 3 times the going rate, 130$ TT return to Scarborough, rather than the 20$ TT each way, if you hail a passing taxi. If you ask at Reception for local information, they direct you to their tour guides, who will then try to sell you a tour. Beware, these cost twice as much as you can purchase elsewhere.

The hotel discourages contact with the locals and employs security guards. These guards will tell guests how to behave, for example not to sit on that wall because the management don’t like it, but turn a blind eye to the beach sellers. They ignore them when they are on the hotel property and even pass them drinks from the bar. (This is the same bar that won’t serve water and suggests that you purchase from hotel shop.) These beach sellers are however the most knowledgeable and helpful people and if they cannot help, will find someone who can. At no time did we feel threatened by them, and if you said ‘no’, they stopped, unlike the official tour guides who were continually pushy.

With more effort this hotel could be acceptable, but the staff have no guidance from the apparently incompetent management. A ‘Rum Punch’ party is held to meet guests, but the management do not wish to talk to guests, who may dare to make suggestions, or even complain. When we did manage to speak to the manager who made notes and promised the missing bottle opener would be provided. The mini-bar was restocked infrequently, without any of the contents being consumed, to the extent that when the door was opened, bottles fell out. On the following days, we tried to speak to the manager again, but the well trained reception told us ‘he was not in the hotel’, or on more than one occasion ‘ he had just gone down the corridor’. The impression one gets from the few local staff employed is that guests are a nuisance and there to be taken advantage of.

We never did get the bottle opener!


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