Travelling with babies in Tobago / Hilton Standard

[Vicky knox]

Hi there,

We are soon off to Tobago on our third visit having married at the Hilton in 2003. We're going to stay at Villa Sans Souci, Tobago plantations for three weeks - can't wait!!

The last time we visited there was only the two of us, but we now have three young children. does anyone who has travelled there with babies has any info on the availability of formula milk / nappies in the supermarkets. I know that sometimes things run out between shipments.

I also wondered how welcome little ones generally are in resturaunts - obviously a la carte places are out, but how are the local resturaunts? It wasn't something we had reason to take any notice of when we were a couple on our honeymoon!

Just as a matter of interest, I've read varying reports on the current state of the Hilton. Some say there are no problems other than rust, others say service / food standards / cleanlieness / mantanience are all a disgrace. Any opinions? We had such a wonderful wedding/honeymoon at the Hilton. It is so sad if the negative reports are true as it couldn't have been better in 2003/2004.


Cheers
Vicky

[David Watkins]

Hi Vicky.Well I don't know about the Hilton personally,however there have been some criticisms of the current situation there.As regards little ones in restaurants/eateries,I think you will find no problems.Tobogonians love children!!!!
David

[Brian Taylor]

if nappies or formula should run out in supermarkets you could still go to pharmacies... but so far I have never seen THOSE shelfes empty. sometimes you don't get eggs or bacon anywhere for a week but that's not the essentials for the babies I guess...

as for the hilton I hear that the villas are in better shape than the hotel itself...

have a great time!
steph

[Gary]

Just as a matter of interest, I've read varying reports on the current state of the Hilton. Some say there are no problems other than rust, others say service / food standards / cleanlieness / mantanience are all a disgrace. Any opinions? We had such a wonderful wedding/honeymoon at the Hilton. It is so sad if the negative reports are true as it couldn't have been better in 2003/2004.

Vicky

Hi Vicky,

We have just got back from two week's staying at the Plantations ourselves, we stayed in one of the upper apartments in the cluster as we did in the previous year and had a great time.

We did have a walk around the Hilton & yes it is looking very shabby to say the least. We also spoke to a few guests who did not give very good reports & it would be wrong of me to go into detail as it was not us who had first hand experience in these cases however we did venture into the bar for a lunchtime drink & this is how it went:

The young girl serving the bar appeared looking like she had been sucking lemons all day and eventually asked us what we wanted (This was after serving up two glasses of fruit punch . . . from a carton ! for a waiter serving other guests) one of the drinks we ordered had a Coke mixer of which only half was served from the bottle and the rest put away under the bar. When we paid, wait for this . . . . . The lemon sucker who made us feel like we intruding on her free time asked if she could keep the change Guess what I said "NO".

That was our only experience with the Hilton as we never returned.

Hope you find it better than we did.

Gary.

[Rachel Crew]

Hi Vicky,

As Brian mentioned, baby items are usually in stock all the time - you will find a range of infant formulas by Enfamil, SMA and Similac, however bear in mind that they are usually the US ranges, so you will not find Cow&Gate etc. Also the ready-to-feed formulas are not stocked here. You will also find baby cereals, baby biscuits and jars/tubs of baby foods (sometimes organic). PennySavers in Canaan usually has a good selection.

Restaurants here are usually very amenable to children and babies.

Enjoy your stay!

Rachel