myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

My boyfriend and I had a very lovely stay at the lower apartment - Crew's Nest. It is quite a beautiful place, very nice to relax. I loved every bit of this studio apartment, not a bad thing to say about it at all!

However there are some cons, there is no security on site, the driveway is also too steep to park your car so it must be left on the road at all times. There was however a friendly and adorable little dog called Scratchy! He provided some sense of security.
Aside from the parking and lack of security we enjoyed it so much we had to extend our stay...however we did have a bit of trouble since there was another booking for our studio.

We were offered the middle deck which I expected to be just as nice as the studio we were staying in before. It was not at all what I expected however since it was not prepared for us which left me very disgruntled as it smelt musty and had its fair share of lizard's droppings everywhere!The master bedroom was not comfortable at all since it was very stuffy and dimly lit. I was given a tour initially but of course everything seemed nice in the walk through. The middle deck has 3 bedrooms but we were offered it at the price of a one bedroom thankfully. The owner was very accommodating and pleasant. She gave us the keys to the balcony of the upper deck, from there we could see the ocean, such a magnificent view!!!

The middle deck did not have the romantic feel of the Crews Nest since it is a work in progress. I recommend the Crew's Nest highly, it was definitely the highlight of my trip but I really wished that some more attention was given to actually preparing the middle deck for us while we were there, our last night there was definitely not memorable.

Hi Jo-ann, sorry to hear you and Neevan were disappointed with "The Mid Deck" which personally, in my opinion, is Bayview's nicest apartment (most modern, with its flat-screen TV; most quaint, with its colourful decor and scenic terrace filled with hand-crafted seaside collectibles). As the manager I take full responsibility and, yes, do regret not having had more time to do my usual last-minute check for those dreaded lizard droppings. It's just that when I came up to check you two out of "Crew's Nest" early Sunday morning, you sounded so sure that you would get on stand-by at the port, that I wasn't really expecting your call a couple hours later, saying you would be needing to stay on after all and that you'd be back within the hour. I agree, it was unfortunate that your first choice "Crew's Nest" was already booked and that we had to switch apartments on you like that. And yes, as Paula and I did both explain beforehand, two of the bedrooms are definitely 'works in progress' ... But anyway, on behalf of all of us here at "Bayview", please do accept our sincerest apologies for any unpleasantness inadvertently caused. Hope you do, as you say, come visit again.

Gillian Connelly

We are currently staying at Bayview Villa and completing our full review of the property. Reading through the reader reports I came across Jo-Ann's report and felt I ought to respond to the two issues that she raises - parking and security.

Access to the villa is down a sleepy little un-surfaced lane that services just three properties currently. Jo-Ann is perfectly correct in that the parking area within the grounds of Bayview is too steep for parking. However, there is perfectly adequate parking within the lane immediately outside the villa. Cars are just as safe there as they would be within the villa grounds. I totally fail to see why this is a problem or even an inconvenience.

Jo-Ann then talks about a lack of security. Yes, it is true that there aren't armed guard with machine guns patrolling the place 24-7, but all three apartments have secure window and door grills and, if used properly/sensibly, these features offer perfectly adequate levels of security. Remember, this is Tobago, not Zimbabwe or Trinidad, where simply staying alive seems to be an achievement these days. People unfortunate enough to live in high-security complexes will undoubtedly find 'normal' living unsecure - but long may we avoid having to stay in prisons, particularly when on holiday.