Hi John
Iīve been in Tobago many times but I always stay by local friends in Tobago,
Bon Accord, so I canīt give you first hand info about the hotel itself, but
I can give you common wellknown iformation as well pictures. I donīt know
how much information you have, so maybe some of these are already known by
you. If you want to go for a walk in the nature you eighter have to stay on
a place from the middle of Tobago and further north, or use a car when you
want to go somewhere. The south and the Atlantic Sides south of Scarborough
doesnīt have much nature to offer for walks. Simply because too many live
there. Thereīs no place which can offer everything you want, tennis and golf
are where the land is quite flat, real nature higher up, and that area
isnīt flat at all!
I maybe give you too much to choose between, but I hope you find what you
look for. If I was there only 3-4 days, a cottage maybe wouldnīt be what I
want, than I would prefer a hotel with restaurnt. I myself would prefer a
kind of Eco place, with a lot of nature, things I canīt not see/get at home.
I one play tennis or golf at home, why not skip that on a small vacation?
If a hotel is prefered with tennis, pool and so on, look at Mt Irvine and
Hilton Tobago.
If the nature is a major thing, look at Eco Resorts on the Caribbean side
If snorkeling every days is a major thing, look at places in the north,
places in Speyside, Blue Waters Inn or cottages on Charlotteville
Good Luck
Pictures will go directly to you
Ronald
Web pages, thereīs on I really like, they have a lot of information as well
pictures of the place:
http://www.mytobago.info
http://www.mytobago.org
The first one I like a lot, they have all kinds of information about certain
things a visitor are looking for, the second one isnīt as good as the first
one but they have some information and videos from Tobago.
If you want more nature than noise, than Crown Point is a place to avoid.
Thereīs many different hotels of different standard there, a lot of
restaurants and so on, but of course, more peoples means more noise. All
information given here is avaiable at
www.mytobago.org with a lot of
comments, but wright now they have a lot of problem with the phone lines in
Trinidad & Tobago after all heavy rain and flood they have got. Many
phonelines doesnīt work in a proper way and itīs the same with some email
addresses.
On the Caribbean side you have many different hotels in different standard,
hereīs some:
Mt Ervine Hotel
3*+ ~ 104 rooms/suites/garden cottages ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ 18-hole
golf course ~ 2 restaurants ~ bar ~ 15 mins from airport ~ guide price:
Rooms $170-$385
Mt Irvine Hotel is not situatde directly on the beach, you have to cross the
main road on the Caribbean side to get to the beach, but that road isnīt a
high way. The Mount Irvine Beach is separated into two, one used mostly of
guests from the hotel and one used mostly of locals. You can see the local
beach on distance on my picture.
Comment: The entire ethos of the Mount Irvine Bay Hotel is based around its
award-winning 18-hole golf course. Considerable refurbishment has been done
and we were impressed with the standard of decor, which still retains a
'Colonial' feel. Mount Irvine Bay beach is lovely and the most popular
surfing spot on the island, but the beach is the four or five minute walk
from the hotel does involve crossing the main road (not that the term 'main'
road should be taken too seriously).
Webb
www.mtirvine.com
E-Mail
Thereīs also two resorts not so fare from there, Grafton Beach Resort, Grand
le Courlan Resort, at Black Rock Beach, if you want a higher standard.
Grafton Beach Resort
3* ~ 108 rooms/suites ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ 2 restaurants ~ 2 bars ~
squash court ~ all inclusive ~ 20 mins from airport ~ guide price: Standard
$280-$440, Suites $420-$580 All-inclusive
Comment: Shares some facilities with more upmarket sister-hotel, Le Grand
Courlan Resort & Spa. A somewhat sprawling complex of multi-level buildings,
but set on a beautiful hillside location. Extensive refurbishment has been
undertaken over recent months and the hotel is now looking very smart. The
hotel is fully All-inclusive and there are mixed reports on the buffet-style
meals. Very good value though and we think the Grafton is now the best
'family' hotel on the island, with extensive and increasing facilities for
youngsters of all ages. The Grafton Beach Resort is located at Stonehaven
Bay on the beautiful hilly northern coast. Being set on a hillside, the
steps down to the beach might pose a problem to anyone with walking
difficulties, but will be hardly noticed by everyone else.
Webb www.grafton-resort.com
E-Mail
Grand le Courlan Resort
4* ~ 70 rooms/suites ~ 2 restaurants ~ 2 bars ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ 2
tennis courts ~ 12,000sq.ft. spa ~ massage ~ all inclusive ~ 20 mins from
airport ~ guide price: Rooms $200-$350, Suites $375-$600
Comment: Set in a beautiful location, Le Grand Courlan has a loyal
following. Le Grand shares some facilities with adjacent (more modest)
sister-hotel, the Grafton Beach Resort.The hotel undoubtedly has the best
spa and gym facilities on the island. Le Grand Courlan Resort is located at
Stonehaven Bay, where the island starts to become hillier and much more
beautiful than the flat south-western Crown Point area. Being set on a
hillside, the steps down to the beach might pose a problem to those with
walking difficulties, but will be hardly noticed by everyone else.
Webb www.legrandcourlan-resort.com
E-Mail
Black Rock is a small village, but they has a very nice restaurant there,
the Black Rock Café, during high season and nice weather you should make a
reservation. In Bucco you find a very nice Italian Restaurant, nice food as
well.
Before Plymoth you find a big resort directly on the Turtle Beach
Rex Turtle Resort
2―* ~ 125 rooms ~ small swimming pool ~ 2 restaurants ~ 5 bars ~ 18-hole
golf course ~ 2 floodlit tennis courts ~ massage/sauna ~ 20 mins from
airport ~ guide price: $320-$370 All-inclusive.
Comment: Located at Great Courland Bay on the northern coast, this
All-Inclusive Rex hotel is somewhat tired-looking and unsophisticated, but
apparently offers very good value for money. Nice gardens with good bird
life and possibly the very best beach location on the island. The Rex Turtle
Beach is the best place to see Leatherback turtles laying eggs and their
resultant hatchlings, during the season.
Webb www.rexcaribbean.com
E-Mail
Arnos Vale Hotel
3* ~ 29 rooms/suites ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ 2 restaurants ~ bar ~ 35
mins from airport ~ guide price: $150-$310
After leaving the road to Plymoth, the nature is changing a lot, the central
part of Tobago is quit hilly with rain forest. This hotel is older and the
standard is not to compare with Mt Irvine, Grafton and so on, the area is
beautyfull if you prefere nature! Arnos Vale Hotel is an old sugar
plantation situaded into a valley which end by the sea on a small beach. The
area is very green, the hotel is into a garden! From there you can take a
walk up to Culloden Bay (Foot Ptint Eco resort) by using tracks, The road up
to Foot Print Resort is VERY sharp all the way to Golden Lane, I went there
last year by bike, all the way to Culloden Bay from Crown Point!
Comment: Birders will love this hotel, which is set in 450 acres of
ex-sugar plantation. It is a real treat to visit the Arnos Vale Plantation
House for tea at 5pm each afternoon and see the numerous tropical birds
alighting to be fed by hand. Not a great place for those with walking
difficulties as the hotel and its various buildings are set on different
levels of the hillside in a truly beautiful cove with its own beach. The
Arnos Vale is located on the beautiful northern coast of the island and the
drive from the airport is truly lovely (less so after a long flight). End
comment.
Not fare from Arnos vale you also find Arnos Vale Water Wheal which once was
a part of the sugar plantation, now itīs a kind of museum, very green area
into the forest. Even in midday theeres shadow enough for the bats, they are
awake!
Webb www.arnosvalehotel.com
E-mail
Adventure Eco Villas
2 1-bedroom wooden chalets + 1 smaller self-contained apartment ~ 25 mins
from airport ~ guide price: Chalets $150-Ģ175; Apartment $40-$60
Before Arnos vale you also have this Eco resort, I didnīt go up to them so I
donīt have any own picturs. Check their website instead.
Comment: Adventure Eco Villas is nestled amongst the tropical flora and
fauna of a twelve-acre nature reserve and organic farm on the Arnos Vale
Road.
Webb www.adventure-ecovillas.com
E-Mail
Foot Print Eco Resort
9 cottages ~ swimming pool ~ restaurant ~ bar ~ 50 mins from airport ~ guide
price: $100-$360 All-Inclusive
This is a real Eco Resort, a very quiet and peacefull place, the houses
arenīt even painted and the roof is made in local old style. They have
swimmingpools with circulating salt water and a very nice beach as well. The
Resort is situated on Culloden Bay, they have both rooms and cottages, some
of the cottages are placed separately on different hills, so those who want
a cottage with pool or jacuzzi, but a very private one, they can have one.
They also have prepared tracks of different lenght for peoples who want to
take a walk to see the nature, birds and so on.
Comment: Located near Culloden Bay on the northern Caribbean coast, the
62-acre Footprints Eco Resort is in a designated nature preserve.
Webb www.footprintseco-resort.com
E-Mail
Cuffie River Nature Retreat
12 rooms/suites ~ swimming pool ~ restaurant ~ bar ~ all inclusive ~ 70 mins
from airport ~ guide price: $85-$126
Higher up, after passing Moriah, you have Cuffie River Nature Retreat, Iīve
hear many nice things about that place. Next year Iīll visit the place to
take some own pictures.
Comment: A small family-run eco-lodge. On the edge of Tobago's rainforest
and cradled in the Runnemede Valley on Tobago's northern coast. A
five-minute drive from either Castara or King Peter's Bay. The Cuffie River
Nature Retreat claims to offer the ultimate in bird-watching and rainforest
tours. Children allowed, but not encouraged.
Except different hotels thereīs also many cottages for rent, for example in
Castara area.
Blue Mango Cottages
5 x 1 & 2-bedrooms self-contained cottages ~ beach ~ 60 mins from airport ~
guide price: $75-$300
Comment: Blue Mango comprise a small selection of hand-constructed
cottages: the charmingly named Cliff Hanger Cottage, Sweet Point Cottage,
Blue Mango Cottage, Sea Steps Classic Cottage and Sea Steps Standard
Cottage - the latter two being virtually on Castara beach.
Webb www.blue-mango.com
E-Mail
Erasmus Cove Cottages
2 x 2-bedroom self-contained eco-cottage ~ sleeps 4 ~ 75 minutes from
airport ~ guide price: $150
Comment: A recent (November 2002) addition to Tobago holiday accommodation
market, the The Erasmus Cove Cottages rest on six acres of lush tropical
rainforest overlooking historic Bloody Bay and may appeal to those looking
for a true "getaway" holiday.
Webb www.erasmuscovecottages.com
E-Mail
Beach House
3 self-contained apartments ~ beach ~ 60 mins from airport ~ guide price:
$50-$100
Comment: A beautifully situated wooden house directly on the beach at
Castara. The Beach House faces due west, so offers spectacular views of the
sun and moon setting over the sea. The house has been subdivided into three
self-contained apartments with fitted kitchen and veranda.
Webb www.tobagobeachhouse.com
E-Mail
On the Atlantic Side of Tobago, if we donīt count on the Crown Point Area.
Hilton Tobago
5* ~ 200 rooms/suites ~ 2 restaurants ~ 2 bars ~ 20 acre beach frontage ~ 3
swimming pools ~ 2 floodlit tennis courts ~ 18-hole golfcourse ~ 15 mins
from airport ~ guide price: Rooms from $145
Hilton Tobago has a lot to offer, and the place is beautyful. They made a
nice landscape of the area when they built that hotel. Because Tobago is
such a small island, be at Hilton and travel around with a car isnīt a
problem. But, thereīs no such nature as you can see outside the window if
you stay on high up on the Carivbbean side, from Arnos Vale and further on.
Comment: Tobago's newest and largest resort. All the bells and whistles,
but sadly located in the Lowlands area on a very exposed area of Little
Rockley Bay on the Atlantic coast. The beach is windy and the seas can be
rough. Hence the three swimming pools and complimentary transport to Pigeon
Point. Very good catering, but mixed opinion on quality of service.
Webb www.hilton.com
E-Mail
Richmond Great House
10 rooms/suites ~ swimming pool ~ tennis court ~ 55 mins from airport ~
guide price: $60-$175
Comment: Richmond Great House is a restored sugar plantation house dating
from 1766, overlooking Richmond Bay on the outskirts of the village of Belle
Garden. Lovely, airy, quiet, colonial elegance.
Webb No info
E-Mail No info
Blue Haven Hotel
5* ~ 55 rooms/suites ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ floodlit tennis court ~ gym ~
massage ~ 15 acre ocean front ~ various meal plans ~ 20 mins from airport ~
guide price: Rooms $200-$300, Suites $300-$390
This is a famious place, an old hotel but renovated to itīs best. Bacolet
Bay is on the Atlantic Side but its a beautyfull beach.
Comment: The boutique-style Blue Haven Hotel reopened at the end of 2001
after a 25-year closure. Major restoration has returned the hotel to its
former glory, retaining a traditional colonial style and ambiance in an
attempt to recreate past glories when the hotel was a popular retreat for
film stars and royalty. The Blue Haven overlooks beautiful Bacolet Bay on
the Atlantic coast of Tobago, just a few miles past Scarborough.
Webb www.bluehavenhotel.com
E-Mail
Half Moon Blue Hotel
9 rooms ~ swimming pool ~ restaurant ~ bar ~ 20 mins from airport ~ guide
price: $60-$175
Comment: Overlooking Bacolet Bay close to the capital city of Scarborough,
the 10-suite Half Moon Blue Hotel (previous known as the Old Donkey Cart
House) features rooms that are spartan yet elegant.
Webb www.halfmoonblue.com
E-Mail
The North Side of Tobago
Manta Lodge
22 rooms ~ beach ~ swimming pool ~ restaurants ~ bar ~ dive shop ~ 75+ mins
from airport ~ guide price: $75-$170
Comment: Located at the north-eastern end of Tobago, Manta Lodge is
immediately across the road from Speyside beach. Diving is the Manta Lodge's
main focus, being close to the best diving on the island. On-site PADI and
NAUI full-service dive facilities, instructors and rental equipment are
available from the Manta Lodge's own dive shop.
Webb www.mantalodge.com
E-Mail
Blue Waters Inn
3* ~ 38 rooms ~ beach ~ restaurant ~ bar ~ tennis court ~ dive shop ~ 75+
mins from airport ~ guide price: Rooms $100-$160, Efficiency Apartments
$130-$190, Bungalows $205-$330
Blue Waters Inn is situated on Batteux Bay, next to Speyside. In the 80īs
this place wasnīt so nice, it was a kind of guest house. But they did
rebuilt the houses and change it to a hotel in the beginning of the 90īs.
They can offer boats for snorkeling or watching via a glass bottom boat.
Itīs a small but very nice place, Iīve there myself for w weekend.
Comment: No-frills accommodation nestled in the total privacy of 46-acres
of lush grounds in beautiful Batteaux Bay. A haven for bird watchers due to
the Blue Waters proximity to the rain forest and Little Tobago. Also
deservedly popular with divers as some of the best diving on Tobago is right
on the hotel's doorstep. The inn is some 24 miles from the airport and many
will not appreciate the long drive after the flight from the UK. However,
most will agree that it is more than worth it once they have arrived. The
hotel recently won an award for best Eco Resort for 2002 from Caribbean
World Magazine.
The Blue Waters Inn is also a great place to stop for a meal or drink whilst
touring the north of the Island. It has long been our standard watering hole
when travelling to or from Charlotteville. We also had the pleasure of
staying at the Blue Waters Inn for a few nights during our 2003 visit and
can highly recommend the hotel. To really experience Tobago at its best,
visitors might wish to consider a two-centre stay - combining the Blue
Waters with a choice of hotel in the more populated south of the island.
Webb www.bluewatersinn.com
E-Mail
Speyside Inn
6 rooms ~ 2 self-catering cabins ~ seafront ~ restaurant ~ 75+ mins from
airport ~ guide price: $66-$135
Comment: A family-run seafront hotel on the outskirts of the fishing
village of Speyside, on the north-eastern Atlantic coast of the island.
Popular with both birdwatchers and divers. The few reviews we've seen have
been very complimentary about the Speyside Inn.
Webb www.caribinfo.com/speysideinn/
E-Mail
You can also rent cottages in the north of Tobago
Bungalow Cottage
3 bedroom cottage ~ sleeps up to 6 ~ 90+ mins from airport ~ guide price:
$60-Ģ100
Charlotteville is wellknow for its peace and good snorkeling. This is as far
you can drive in Tobago.
Comment: Bungalow Cottage is situated in a fully enclosed garden property,
100 yards from the beach in lovely Charlotteville.
Webb www.caribbeanmag.com/bungalow
E-Mail
Hill Top Cottage
2 bedroom property overlooking sea ~ sleeps 4 ~ 90+ mins from airport ~
guide price: $30 per room
Comment: Hilltop Cottage is a 2-bedroom cottage, overlooking the sea and
the scenic fishing village of Charlotteville. The cottage is private and
secure, with living room, dining room, kitchen, toilet and bath. It is a 20
minute walk from Hill Top Cottage down a steep hill to the beach. The
website mentioned below indicates that there may be more than two rooms and
does use the word "apartments" in its description, but we have been unable
to establish further information.
Webb http://sweetlittletobago.tripod.com/id91.htm
skrev i meddelandet
...
My wife and I are travelling for five nights in Tobago and three nights
in Barbados, in March 2004. We like diving, snorkeling, hiking, walking
and swimming. Also tennis players and avid eaters.... (good thing we do
all the walking etc).
Any thoughts on places to stay, especially in tobago, much appreciated.
We aren't really resort types but could do a low-key one, and like
cottages or bungalows, etc. We want less noise and more nature.
All suggestions much appreciated.
John