myTobago redesign - YOUR HELP NEEDED

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:41 pm

Hi Richard and Richard

Thanks for your comment. Lots of food for thought there.

The suggestion that reviews should have links to the relevant sub-forum is a great one and will be introduced one all reviews forewith.

The most obvious change to the new accommodation listings is that you will be able to list them by various different criteria. However, to make sure that I'm thinking like most people, I need to know how you would define your "preferred accommodation". What factors do you select on?

Julia C. · Post by **Julia C.** » Mon Jul 19, 2004 10:29 pm

Steve Wooler wrote:I need to know how you would define your "preferred accommodation". What factors do you select on?

Well we've got pretty specific over the years:
Self catering
Seperate bedroom ie not studio
Private sitting out area
Immediate proximity to sea or pool (if pool then short drive to beach)
Easy walking to choice of a few eating places, bars and food shops
Not anywhere near nightclubs or noisy nightlife
West facing (love having a "sundowner" watching the sunset)
Not near a Kids Club

We're going to the Blue Mango, Castara late August and it sounds like it will meet all those requirments and found from this site even without your intended improvements!

Stella Porteous · Post by **Stella Porteous** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:31 am

My criteria for 'preferred accommodation'

LOCATION------Rural/scenic or is it in urban/busy area.First time visitors may look to see if it's Caribbean or Atlantic based.

SITED-----------Secluded/in own grounds or grouped with other nearby
hotels,proximity to beach

HOTEL SIZE----- Number of rooms.

ACCOMODATION-----Choice of garden/sea view/studio etc.
has it got air/con,tea-coffee making facilities. fridge.

MEAL PLANS--------Choice of B&B,H/Board. buffet style dining or a la carte.
.
FACILITIES---------Watersports available e.g. snorkelling/sailing etc.entertainment[is there any]

PRICE !!!-----------Fairly obvious but purely relative to individual
purses! If more than one hotel met my needs then price would finalise my choice.
No doubt i'll think of some vitally important criteria AFTER i've posted this.!!!
Stella

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:19 am

Thanks Julia and Stella

Keep them coming everyone. Please excuse me if I don't respond to each suggestion individually, but I am carefully following your suggestions and taking all on board.

Thanks to all who are taking the trouble to give this some thought.

Richard Newitt · Post by **Richard Newitt** » Tue Jul 20, 2004 2:50 pm

We select on the following factors:

Price
Location (is it near beach/shops)
Recommendations by people who have stayed there
Facilities
Food on offer

PaulineC · Post by **PaulineC** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 6:03 am

Hello Steve

We have booked self-caterng accommodation in Italy and France for parties of up to 10 using a website called http://www.holiday-rentals.com. You might want to look at this site, especially the advanced search option, which has lots of relevantl criteria to assist searching. (I hasten to add the website is in no way comparable in any way to this one!) The most useful criteria for us are the following:

Price
Whether self-catering
No of bedrooms
Ambience (ie rural, away from it all, lively, nightlife available)
Swimming pool
Adult only/child friendly
Watersports
Sea-view from terrace/balcony (very important for us)

For Tobago, you might also consider the following:

Caribbean or Atlantic coast
Air conditioning/ceiling fan
Proximity to beach

Hope this is some use. Like everyone else, I think this website fantastic and quite unique in the way it is totally non-commercial and yet so "professionally" organised. We would not have booked our wonderful holiday in March without it.

Off to work now on a miserable grey July morning in England although at least my screen-saver is a view of Castara beach.

Regards, Pauline

Wanda · Post by **Wanda** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:47 am

Hi Steve

Agree with all the criteria suggested so far for selecting where to stay, would also add accessibility for people with disabilities ie wheelchair users, people with partial sight/total sight loss and people with restricted mobility in general. So many hotels and restaurants have lots of steps and do not have disabled loos, makes life so much more complicated for the disabled traveller and their companions. My husband is blind and we would really appreciate information on accesibilty when planning a trip and selecting holiday accomodation.
Wanda

David Watkins · Post by **David Watkins** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 8:59 am

Steve,the site is terrific and you both deserveall the accolades(and the Freedom of Tobago?)for all your hard work.Now,I am not a techie just a Chef,but would it be possible to provide a link of some sort from accomadation to what to do in that area,what restaurants there are etc.Say I was interested in The Grafton then I could cross link to find The Indigo,Seahorse etc listed as in the area,or would that be difficult?
Keep up the good work,
David(142 days to go

)

Post by **Steve Wooler** » Fri Jul 23, 2004 9:12 am

Hi David

Thanks. One of the major aims will be to list all data - hotels, restaurants, etc - into geographical regions. The work involved in doing this on a property-by-property basis, as you suggest, is possible but would be hugely time consuming. As Tobago is such a small island, it is very easy to divide it up into small sectors. I am also hoping to make more use of location maps. I know exactly what you mean, it's just a matter of finding the best way of implementing it.

Thanks for your input.

Brian Taylor · Post by **Brian Taylor** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 2:09 pm

agree agree agree BUT:

what is a walking distance? met some guests already who stayed in places (no names...) that sais walking distance to beach 5 minutes. true when you go TO the beach but the way BACK is all up the hill, costs you 30 minutes and depending on condition a medium heart attack.
great places, great views but some guests are dissaipointed when they arrive. I would not want to be dissapointed for the kind of price you have to pay for the flight already.

any chance to out more than one foto for example to show the area or is that slowing down the whole thing too much.
inside of the rooms would be interesting too, wouldn't it?

however you decide, I find the alphabetical order should stay anyway. it is helpfull when you look for a certein place and know the name...

feeling tired already when I think of all the work you are going to have.
steve, my thoughts are with you!

steph