Guest Report

[Sarah Hechtenthal]

This was our least favorite accommodation on the island. We chose it for price, location, and the description/pictures on the website. We were quite disapointed! We were the only ones staying there at the time, so had no one to compare notes with on other options.
The good parts are that the house is right in the rainforest and the view of the trees and wildlife from the balcony is quite lovely. Sharon, the housekeeper, is also very nice and she is quite a fun character too! She has worked for the owner a very long time and is an amazingly loyal worker! I hear she is quite the cook too.
Downsides are numerous however. The room and bed are quite tiny (by comparison with other places we stayed on the island). the kitchen is tiny and not nearly as well equiped as equally priced places we stayed at.
As soon as you turn on the water, it sounds like there are demons in the walls! The plumbing needs help! The shower is less of a steady stream of water, more short violent bursts of air and steam. not good!
there is no air conditioning and so you have no choice but to leave the windows open - big mistake! we tried using the ceiling fan, but it made noises worse than the plumbing and did not seem safe.
The mosquito net reeked of chemicals and we needed to air it out for a night before we could set it up. unfortunately, the night we did not use it, we woke up at midnight covered in blood and mosquito bites. there are no screens over any of the windows and so the place quickly become infested with 1000000 of mosquitos - makes sense for being in the rainforest. we did set up the net for the 2nd night, but it was not functional because of holes and generally being too small.
All that said, Charlottville is quite a bit more "off the beaten track" than the other places we stayed, so i am not sure if any of the other accommodation options in that town were any better. but in my opinion, i would look around first before settling for the White House.

[Steve Salfield]

As the owner, I am very sorry and upset that Sarah was disappointed in The White House because I and Sharon the housekeeper, and Cat the caretaker, take trouble to provide a nice place for guests to enjoy their stay.
I hope that readers will notice that the other 10 Guests who kindly wrote reports were extremely happy with the place.
For example "This was the best accommodation we had during our holiday in Tobago."
and another:
"We would highly recommend the White House (locally known as the "Castle"). Steve and Jackie Salfield have created a special, private little paradise here."
Nobody else found the room tiny. I think it's a nice room - normal size for a double bedroom. The bed is Queen size and the kitchen is small and basic as described on myTobago and on my website.
There is a good floor fan as well as a ceiling fan. We dislike air conditioning and the fans have been OK for all other guests.
I agree that we have some water problems. It is not the plumbing in the house but because the Tobago Water Authority have put in a new pump in Charlotteville which is producing excessive pressure. They are in the process of putting in some pressure reducing valves and I hope that will be done soon.
I did not know there were holes in the mosquito net but it has now been replaced. The nets have not been treated with chemicals. We also have effective small electric mosquito repelling machines in the rooms. We are in the tropics and near a rainforest. If one sleeps with the windows open, no net and no mosquito repelling machine there may be some mosquitos, although usually not many.
I am confident that most people who want a comfortable, interesting place to stay with beautiful views of rainforest and sea, in an unspoilt caribbean fishing village - not a luxury hotel - would enjoy staying at The White House.
Steve Salfield