Guest Report

[Alan Tang]

Found out about this place by word of mouth; a friend of ours had stayed at one of the other villas and loved it. He remarked that Villa Nirvana looked to be a little more attractive due to the large open lawn off the verandah (most of the other villas have no real access to anything at the back due to the slope of the land) so we decided to book it.

We weren't disappointed - the place is beautiful and clean, with all the amenities you would expect. The owner and staff are very pleasant, efficient, and accommodating. Night times are comfortable with the cool night air on the mountain, though we did need the AC some nights. Beds and baths were spotless and everything worked.

The real attraction is the serenity and natural beauty of the setting. The westward view is amazing, with clear line of sight to the blue of the Buccoo Reef and Pigeon Point. You can even tell the state of the tide by how much of the reef is visible from the verandah! Walk out on the large lawn to check out the view of hills, sky and sea.

As a hobbyist photographer I found something amazing to shoot almost everywhere I pointed the lens - from the fiery red flambouyant tree at the front, to the bougainvillea and hibiscus flowers all around, the incredible variety of bird life in the area, and of course the breathtaking western view of the island and ocean. We ended most days' adventures with cocktails in the plunge pool, watching the sunset slowly glorify the entire sky. We even saw the famous 'Green Flash' two days in a row (I've been trying to see this phenomenon for years but this was the first time we had a clear enough view to spot it).

About the plunge pool: it is a superb feature as it's plenty large enough for socialising, but small enough that the sun warms it up by the time evening arrives to make it agreeably warm. Then overnight it cools to be refreshing for the hot part of the next day! It gets cleaned daily - though we never saw or heard the pool guy, he was definitely doing his job.

After the sun sets the stars come out. The place is remote enough that there is little light pollution. My kids couldn’t believe how many stars there were - far more than they ever get to see in the city. My middle son kept playing 'Sky Full of Stars' by Coldplay on his phone, and we came to think of it as a night time theme for the place.

Some quick extra notes:
- You will need a vehicle as the villa is at the top of a considerable hill. Once down the hill though, nothing is particularly far away.
- There is a partly-finished hotel complex a short distance away at the end of the road. It doesn't seem to be completely abandoned as there is a watchman stationed there day and night, but the building is definitely overgrown. We found it to be a little surreal, but not spooky.
- The forest is not far away and as a result the bugs come out in the early evening and morning. I'd recommend bringing some sort of repellent.
- There are many many beautiful beaches in Tobago, but oddly enough our favourite turned out to be Grange Beach, literally two minutes down the road. Very quiet compared to Store Bay or Pigeon Point, with perfectly clear water and gentle waves that won't dump salt water in your beverage.
- If you're into stargazing check out an app called SkyView on your iPad or iPhone - this is the perfect place to use it. We spotted Mars, Saturn, and Venus, and dozens of constellations.

To sum up: Highly recommended, unique, and a perfect place to get the 'relax and recharge' part of the vacation covered in between busy days of sightseeing.