Enchanted Waters, Buccoo, Tobago
Darryl February 14th, 2008
Enchanted Waters Hotel & Patino’s Restaurant
http://www.enchantedwaterstobago.com
KP Resorts, Ltd.
198-202 Shirvan Road,
Buccoo
Tobago, West Indies
Tel/Fax: (868) 639-9481<
Email: info@kpresorts.com
Although the Patino Family were indeed as friendly as promised on their website, we did not enjoy staying here as much as we thought we would when we read their site.
Located near Tobago’s Caribbean shoreline, this small hotel served as the base for our Tobago side trip while in Trinidad recently.
We had certainly been attracted to what we read on their website.
The restaurant was promoted as being operated by the owner, an experienced executive chef with international experience. The cuisine was promoted as the best available on Tobago, a claim that we would have been happy with so long as it seemed to compete.
We also were attracted to the information that the rooms were full-service, and had well-stocked kitchenettes.
In reality, the cooking is done by locals, not a problem in itself, but there seemed to be no gourmand element in what we experienced.
The dishes we had, although drawn from basic menu presentations in a restaurant offer, were poor to average. We tried a breakfast and a dinner, although admittedly our dinner was simple. Please note we did not try the seafood dishes as we are vegetarian, and can only comment on how fresh natural foods were prepared and served to us.
Our breakfast of eggs, toast and fruit was unimaginary and tasteless, with no choices other than a very short menu, and no presentation.
For the dinner, the pasta dish I had was undercooked, with a sauce that tasted unpleasant and sour. The accompanying salad was fresh but very small, with a dressing that did not complement the pasta.
The Bruschetta appetizer was not recognizable, consisting of large cubes of mystery cheese and a tomato paste on white bread, rather than the usual simple but delicious fresh tomato, basil, extra virgin olive oil on toasted french bread we are familiar with.
Our room was the most disappointing.
Overall, the feeling that we got was that our room had been stocked with discards, hand-me-downs and purchases from second-hand stores.
The hotel room was in overall poor shape, with tired decor, broken, non-working items, and rough workmanship. Promoted as having well-equipped kitchenettes, the appliances and furniture were old, worn, and well-used. The glassware consisted of liquor company promotional items. Cutlery was short or missing. Basics such as dish soap, sufficient kitchen towels, and salt and pepper were not provided. Sheets were thread-bare, and the pillows well-used.
Our room had a singles jet tub as a bonus. On the occasion we tried to use it, the hot water ran out before filling. The hot water never got beyond warm our entire visit.
Noise seems to be a problem in this facility.
The owners have four or five very noisy small dogs, barking just below our window early in the morning and in the early evenings.
This hotel is right on a busy street with construction vehicles and loud cars speeding by. The sound of traffic on the upper floors means that you must keep the balcony doors and windows closed, a pity in a nice warm and comfortable climate such that Tobago is.
The facility has a small footprint and there are also neighbours close on each side with barking dogs. We have lived in the islands enough to not mind the occasional rooster calls, but it would have been nice to not have them so close.
This hotel is promoted with a unique waterfall feature as its major attraction. That feature was not operating the entire time we visited nor was an explanation offered as to its absence, even though our visit was in peak season and the facility was full.
A noteworthy safety issue. Tile throughout our room, including bathroom, stairs and hallways are smooth surfaced, very slippery when raining or when stepping out of the shower. For a few cents more per tile, between the humidity, tracking of water from the pool, and the downpours, non-skid tile surfaces are an absolute must in the tropics.
On the plus side, the owners did help us move in and were helpful arranging a rental vehicle. Staff was overall pleasant, and all requests for items such as ice and service were met promptly, although the maid left dirty dishes during the daily cleaning, and several of the dishes seemed to need cleaning before our first use, especially the glasses.
Room rate was $200 per day. Overall, we feel the amenities presented were not worth the rate, and that the amenities and condition of the room was equivalent to rooms sold at $40-45. per day in active tourist areas.
Priced competitively, this property may be an acceptable alternative for budget and family vacationers. Overall, this facility should be completely restocked and renovated from top to bottom for the guest to extract full value at the present published rack rate.