Guest Report

[Sarah Box]

My friend and I went to stay at the Tropikist recently and were initially happy with the reception we received. We had booked a Superior room, and were initially given a Deluxe room which we were pleased about, however when we got into the room, realised we had 1 bed instead of 2. We were then moved to a Superior room which was fine exept that there was no safety deposit box, which you would expect when paying a little more. They did not have any to rent at reception either which was highly inconvenience and made us feel slightly worried for our valuables. For a superior room, I would have expected the bathroom to be in a better state and the plugs looked quite dangerous, as they were broken and falling off the wall. The beach was lovely except that you cannot swim there, however if you walk a short way you have access to Store Bay which is very nice and you can hire umbrellas/chairs also (which there are very few of at the hotel beach, 4 in fact). The pool area is nice, although could have done with having more capacity for sun chairs, we frequently were unable to get a chair around the pool as early at 8 in the morning. We had heard reports about the hotel before we went and had booked room only to take no chances. We did have bakfast there for convenience, and on the odd day we spent at the hotel, were able to pay for all inclusive on request which was very reasonable at 180 TT dollars per day. We are very glad we did not pay for full all inclusive as we would have been very dissapointed. The breakfast was not great, lunch was nice but not much choice and there was not much variety in the evening menus either. (If you were a vegetarian, you would have had to eat rice and salad for the whole holiday). One day, we arrived for lunch at 2.15 to be told they had stopped serving, when they were supposed to serve it until 2.30. They then brought all the staff meals out and ate in front of us, as if adding insult to injury! When we complained they said we would have an afternoon snack served at 4.30. When this came out it was fish sandwiches and fish rosti, this is fine except that my friend does not eat fish! When she complained again that she had not been able to eat since breakfast, the catering manager went and made her a burger and chips himself, which was good. My last point would be about the general service. With the exception of a few, the staff were generally unhelpful and uninterested in their guests. You can stand at the bar for a good 15 minutes before you get any acknowledgement, if at all, mostly you have to call them over, and thats when they are not even doing anything! The bar manager (Leeroy) is an exception to this, he was excellent, and it is a pity he does not have the staff to support him. As an overall summary, I would not recommend this hotel. As a cheap room only hotel is if sufficent, but only if you are planning on not spending too much time there. One positive point though, the beauty spa at the Tropikist was excellent, with courteous and friendly staff, and great value for money, my pedicure was the best i have ever had! I would recommend a visit even if you are not staying there.