Holiday Accommodation

Introduction

The Baywatch Apartments comprise of three self-catering apartments attached to the lovely home of local police detective Kurt Eastman and his cheerful wife, Ivy, a nurse with the local health service.

Even before we first met Kurt and Ivy, many years ago, we had always admired their pristine chalet-style home located just 70 metres from Castara's main beach. Their house is situated in the very centre of the village, surrounded by lush tropical vegetation. Guests are totally immersed in village life, yet the soft warm sand and turquoise sea are less than a hundred footsteps away.

Location: Castara

Castara is a small fishing village located midway along Tobago's beautiful Caribbean coast, around a 50-minute drive from the airport. Backed by spectacular rainforest, it has deservedly captured the public's heart and is undoubtedly the most popular Tobago holiday destination for overseas visitors.

Castara has no hotels and no genuine 'luxury' accommodation. Most of the accommodation falls into the 'back to basics' category - simple wooden cottages and apartments rented to visitors on a self-catering basis. A holiday in Castara requires a change of mind-set. Time has little meaning. Facilities are scarce. Local shopping is limited to the basics. However, the warm turquoise waters and non-commercialised nature of this friendly village bring visitors back year after year. Castara is an experience; an experience not to be missed.

The Baywatch Apartments are something of a deviation from the norm for Castara. For a start, the two-storey property is of modern rendered concrete construction rather than the more typical open wooden construction. Secondly, the apartments have glazed windows, rather than wooden shutters, and are therefore fully air-conditioned. These combined factors mean that Baywatch offers a very different – some might argue 'higher' – level of accommodation than most of the hospitality properties in the village.

Baywatch can be found in the short spur road that leads from the twisty Caribbean coast road to Castara's main beach. The house can't be missed: just look for the smartest property in the village. Virtually every shop, restaurant and other facility lies within 150m of the property. Little Bay, the smaller of Castara's two beaches is a 6-8-minute walk away.

Tobago is a stunningly beautiful island. If you haven't visited it before, we would recommend a conducted tour with an established guide. Having done this, the best way to make the most of your vacation is to hire a car and drive yourself around. It is easy. It is safe. It is fun. Car rental is not cheap, but the advantages are so overwhelming that we truly believe that it would be better to stay in cheaper accommodation with a self-drive rental than to stay in more expensive accommodation without. These comments are not intended as a sales plug for Kurt and Ivy, who have a car available for visitor rental. We make the same comments in every Tobago review.

It would, however, be totally viable to stay at the Baywatch Apartments without transport. Public transport is not an option that the average tourist would consider and private taxis are expensive and seldom available on demand. Although most basics are available in the village, visitors typically plan a weekly shopping trip to the supermarkets in the more populated end of the island.

Being very hilly, Castara is not suited to wheelchair users or those with mobility issues. We are not aware of any accommodation in the village that could be described as wheelchair-friendly or which is fitted with mobility aids. Baywatch is no different to the others in this respect. However, the one-bedroom and studio apartments are located on the ground level and would probably be suitable for those with minor mobility issues.

Two-Bedroom Apartment (Cocorico)

The largest apartment at Baywatch has two bedrooms and is located on the upper floor of the property. We would have been happy to stay in any of the three units, but chose the 2-bed due to the amount of luggage and equipment we carry for our 6-week review tours.

This 63m2/670ft2 apartment has two en-suitebedrooms, a spacious open-plan living area and a cosy private balcony. Access is via a concrete stairway to the rear of the property.

The entrance opens into a large open-plan living space which runs the full 8.6m length of the apartment. First impressions are always important and the most striking thing about all of Kurt and Ivy's apartments is the overriding cleanliness. Everything from the floor to the ceiling shines like new. This is a rare attribute in Castara, where the open nature of the typical wooden houses and apartments mean regular visits from birds, bats and lizards, not to mention the leaves and other debris that regularly blow in on the strong mountain breezes.

The apartments living area is simply furnished with seating in the form of a pair of sofas and an armchair grouped around a 30-inch flat-screen cable television. There is a large dining table with six chairs and a kitchen area equipped with four-burner gas oven, a drip filter coffee machine, electric kettle and toaster, microwave and a sizeable refrigerator with freezer compartment. There is a limited, but adequate, stock of crockery, cutlery, glassware and cooking utensils. The apartment is fully plumbed for both hot and cold water (not something to be assumed in Castara).

Both bedrooms are simply furnished with queen-size (60-inch) double beds and bedside tables plus a single lamp. The only other furnishing is a fitted wooden wardrobe which offers full and half-length hanging areas, shelving, plus a half-height dressing table with mirror. As both rooms are adequately spacious, a chair would have been aesthetically pleasing and practical, but we simply 'borrowed' a chair from the dining area. 

The master bedroom has a glazed door that provides direct access onto the front balcony. The balcony is furnished with an all-weather table and four chairs. The glazed door and windows are shaded by very attractive lace netting curtains, making the rooms nice and light during the day.

The bed linen is of top quality and beautifully laundered. Although the main living area is cooled by a single floor-standing oscillating fan, the bedrooms have quiet and efficient split-unit air-conditioners. Despite some initial concerns that the village centre location could mean disturbance from cockerels, yapping dogs and loud music, we found the property remarkably quiet. In fact, we couldn't have slept better. 

The two en-suite bathrooms are almost without rival in Castara. I appreciate that the building and fittings are still relatively new and that the salt-laden sea air will undoubtedly take its toll, but I suspect that these bathrooms will still look as pristine some years down the line. The showers are particularly spacious. It was just a slight pity that the water pressure was not quite as good as it might have been. I understand that this is under investigation.

The apartments are serviced a couple of times a week with laundry and towels changed at that time. Despite having full-time jobs, Kurt and Ivy prefer to clean and maintain the apartments themselves to ensure the highest levels of service. So, guests must accept flexibility in terms of when the apartments can be serviced.

Complimentary broadband connection is available throughout the property, including the garden area.

Beneath the house is a shared utility area shared by all resident guests. There is a new semi-automatic twin-tub washing machine that guests can use and some decent drying racks with lots of clothes pegs. A large and very smart gas barbeque unit is also stored in this area, readily accessible to the residents of all three apartments.

MotMot Apartment (One-Bedroom)

Motmot is a single-bedroom apartment and located beneath the two-bedroom unit. Although on the ground floor, there are a couple of small steps leading up to a small covered portico that passes in front of the apartment and forms a small private balcony. A second door provides access from the living area into the utility area, beneath the house. There are also two steps between the main living area and the bedroom. So, whilst not suitable for wheelchair users, the apartment may be manageable for those with restricted mobility.

Although we started our stay in the two-bedroom apartment, Jill sustained a knee injury on our third day at Baywatch – totally unconnected with the property – necessitating a move to this ground-floor one-bedroom unit. If nothing else, it gave us a real hands-on opportunity to compare the apartments.

Although smaller than the two-bedroom apartment, the one-bedroom unit is furnished and equipped almost identically. Our description of the two-bedroom unit applies each of the other units.

Hummingbird Apartment (Studio)

The studio apartment represented Kurt and Ivy's initial foray into the hospitality side of tourism. Attached to the side of their lovely chalet-style home, this unit is a cross between a one-bedroom apartment and a studio apartment. The narrow kitchenette is separated from the bedroom area by a wall and the small dining table, washbasin, toilet and shower are in a separate area connected to the main house.

The studio is smaller than the one-bedroom apartment, but is equipped and furnished to the same standards.

The apartment offers simple, but comfortable, accommodation for couples or solo travellers.

Conclusion

We have known Kurt and Ivy for many years and had inspected their apartments back when they only had the studio apartment. When Kurt decided to invest in the new annexe, which houses the new apartments, we promised that we would schedule a review just as soon as possible.

The Baywatch Apartments offer very different accommodation to most in Castara. We love the open nature of the traditional wooden houses and their modern equivalents, but the open and back-to-basics nature of those properties will not suit everyone. So, those preferring a more modern building with efficient air-conditioning can now enjoy the best of both worlds.

Kurt and Ivy are wonderful hosts and do everything possible to ensure that their guests have a remarkable holiday. As a result, they boast an enviable repeat rate.

The apartments are simple, affordable and offer a wonderful base to enjoy the delights of Castara's beaches and all that the northern end of Tobago has to offer.