myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Our stay at Arnos Vale was way above our expectations. Whatever may have transpired in the past we got a clear sense that the management of the hotel was doing their best to improve.

We were the only guests in the hotel - while this can seem a bit creepy, they clearly had our security in mind and took good care of us. It perhaps should also be noted that there were also very few guests at the other hotels we visited for drinks (Blue Haven and Coco Reef) - it was just too late in the season for crowds anywhere. The upside for us was that we had the entire property to ourselves - nothing but sounds of ocean waves and chirping birds all day and night.

Our room was absolutely lovely, with two balconies high in the trees overlooking the vale and the ocean - perfect for relaxing and idle bird watching. Gorgeous old mahogany furniture including a 4-poster king sized bed, a seating area with couch and two chairs, dresser, nightstands, vanity with mirror - deluxe accommodations for the low price of $100 US! The room had an air conditioner, TV, hair dryer, and refrigerator - everything we needed, all working without a hitch. A short walk down the garden path (with flowering trees and shrubs and mango trees producing fruit for the taking) led to the beach, which had the best snorkeling we could find on Tobago, and had a good balance of warm sun and palm-lined shade. The dive shop was active renting gear, and the beach bar offered lunch. We saw other people on the beach, at the dive shop, and at the beach restaurant, as well as walking through to look at birds - most frequently at breakfast or for tea, when the birds are fed. While this site suggested the birds have gone because they aren't being fed, we found them to be fed regularly and well during our stay -- and we found far more species present at Arnos Vale than at Grafton-Caledonia Reserve, which we visited during an afternoon feeding.

We ate dinner at Arnos Vale one night in their open dining area with carved teak tables and chairs overlooking the vale and the ocean beyond. While the selection was limited given that we were the only ones there, our dinner was lovely - an appetizer of bruschetta and entree of rack of lamb with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The lamb was grilled to perfection and the mashed potatoes were to die for - something about the spices we couldn't quite identify - but wow! While the prices seemed high - about $50 US per person for dinner - we soon discovered we were spending this much at other restaurants we visited (including MotMot and the Fish Pot) - we found the food was equally good and equally pricey at these three.

We ate continental breakfast at Arnos Vale regularly as well - a big plate full of fresh local fruit (bananas, pineapple, mango, melon), plus toast, marmalade, and baked goods available with coffee, tea, and juice. At $12 US, this was quite reasonable.

The location of the hotel was perfect for us - we rented a car and were interested in being able to explore other parts of the island during the day, but also able to access restaurants in Scarborough and Crown Point relatively easily. We aren't fans of highly developed resorts, and loved both the charm and natural setting of Arnos Vale.

All in all, the hotel was an amazing value and we feel fortunate to have been able to stay there. It has a rich history and while it clearly has suffered recently, it seemed to us to be back on the right track!

Hello Donna

I am truly delighted that you had such a good holiday at the Arnos Vale Hotel. As I said in a review of an Arnos Vale apartment house published only yesterday, Arnos Vale is our favourite place in Tobago and the hotel is the epicentre of the area. So, let's hope that you are right.

Can I please just correct one thing. You say that this site claimed that the birds have gone from the hotel because they aren't being fed. Not quite. I have said several times that the birds are much reduced from previous levels because they are not being fed properly. My understanding is that the hotel are probably largely feeding scraps of kitchen waste - not the proper balanced diet that will attract the varied species and persuade them to set up residence in the grounds of the hotel, as they once did.

I spent a total of 12 days in Arnos Vale in February and March this yet. During that time I visited the hotel at tea-time. I have to tell you that without question, the display you saw was a mere shadow of what it was once like. To understand this better, you simply need to travel half a mile down the road to the Adventure Farm where Ean Mackay has done wonders to take over where the Arnos Vale Hotel left off (see this post. Top 'O Tobago villas have also benefitted, because they too are feeding the birds properly and so they have set up residence there too - only a hundred metres or so from the hotel grounds. However, Top 'O Tobago is not open to the general public, only to resident guests of the accommodation there.

Nevertheless, it is great that you had such a lovely time there and let's hope that change is in the wind - run properly, that hotel could easily become one of our favourites. Sadly it's going to take a change of ownership to achieve that, despite the best will of the staff.

It is true that the food we saw being put out was mostly fruit (the fruit bats came at dinnertime, that was pretty neat) and sugarwater for hummingbirds (this was changed frequently, important for bird health). We spotted 5 of the 6 hummingbirds normally found on Tobago from our breakfast table, and saw them hanging out in the trees around our room as well. We didn't visit Adventure Farm because the materials we read suggested that hummingbirds were the main feature there, and we felt we'd already had a good up-close look at those - perhaps we missed out!

We counted more than 30 bird species from our hotel room balcony. Our total trip species count was 66 after an amazing tour with Peter Cox in the Main Ridge Preserve plus a visit to Bon Accord. We have no point of comparison to what it once was like at Arnos Vale, but it was better than we expected, for sure!