My husband and I stayed at the Turtle Beach hotel between 5 – 12 July 2013 and I wish I was still there. This was the third Rex hotel we had stayed in (previous being St Lucian & Halcyon Cove in Antigua) and it was definitely my favourite (although St Lucian comes a close second).
It is about a 20 minute drive from the airport. The hotel is in a quiet area with no shops nearby. If you are not all-inclusive and are willing to walk for about 15 minutes there are a couple of restaurants on down the road (other guests had tried them out and enjoyed the food). Other than that there is a little souvenir shop at the hotel selling some drinks, crisps and chocolate amongst other things.
I did read Trip Advisor reviews before I travelled and again before I wrote my own review and it really angers me how other guests view their stay. I am not a hotel inspector who shows up with a clipboard and visits every area of the hotel to make sure it is of a high standard. If there is a crack in a tile “I don't care”; if there is a bit of emulsion peeling of the the bedroom wall “I don't care”; if there are bugs floating in the pool “I DON'T CARE”. I am on holiday to unwind, relax and do nothing for the time I'm there and I got it all at Turtle Beach.
One thing I noticed straight away was just how friendly all the staff were. No member of staff would walk past you without saying hello. When we arrived at the hotel our bags were taken from us while we were guided over to the lounge area beside reception and allowed to fill in the registration card with a glass of “Rum Punch”. As we had previously stayed at two other Rex Resorts they gave us a gold armband and once we got to our room there was a complimentary ½ litre bottle of rum, fruit platter and a fully stocked fridge with soft drinks, water and lager. Flowers decorated the bed and bathroom which is such a lovely touch. It was a great sized room with hairdryer; tea/coffee making facilities and a flat screen TV. The bed was absolutely massive and had a soft mattress. We were given a ground floor room (Room 132) and it was beach front (like all other rooms). I can see how the upper floors may be difficult to access as the stairs are slightly steep and you are advised to hold onto the hand rails when using. Anyone with walking difficulties or have young children I would recommend a ground floor. During our stay there was no-one staying above or beside us so day and night was so peaceful in our room – which had a terrific air con unit that was on full blast 24/7... and believe me, with the high temperatures and humidity, day & night, you will be so thankful of the air con.
We alternated between sunbathing at the pool and on the beach. At the pool you are right beside the pool bar (only bar of two that was opened during our stay) which is also a swim up bar; there are plenty of sunbeds and some umbrellas around to shield you from the hot sun; there are toilets right beside the pool and the beach towel exchange hut is just a few yards away. Kiskadee restaurant (serving breakfast, lunch & dinner) is also very close so the pool is an ideal place to sunbathe. The pool wasn't deep enough for me – it was only 3”6” and I couldn't get a proper swim. You can also access the beach from the pool area so there is nothing stopping you from lying at the pool and then nipping down to the sea for a dip when needed. I found the pool extremely clean and was in and out of it at some point every day. There were some insects floating on top of the water, near the exit steps, but I would just brush them aside with my hand.
The beach is great. Again plenty of sunbeds; fixed tables/shelters spread out along the Rex area of beach. As it is a public beach you have a few stray dogs lying about and beach vendors will sit under the shelters and sell their goods (sarongs, fridge magnets, leather belts, etc). The sand isn't pure white – you will get this at Pigeon Point – but it does get really hot some days. My husband truly believed he was walking across hot coals one day it really was that warm. The only downside to the beach is the sand flies – you don't notice them at first but if you stare at the sand you will see them. I am not one to ever get bitten by any insect ... ever. I thought I was immune to these bites (seriously I really did) but I got bit on this holiday well and good. I had visited Argyle Rainforest for a few hours on the Monday and thought I had got bitten by the mosquitos there but a few days later fresh bites where appearing and I had to admit that it must be the sand flies on the beach :(
I loved the fact that there was only one restaurant serving all meals as you didn't have to make any decisions as to where to eat – I was truly liming on this holiday. I strongly disagree with previous guests who run-down the food. There was always a good choice at every meal. My husband is very fussy about his food but he always had platefuls at each meal. A couple of days per week they had a sandwich station set out for lunch, as well as other hot choices. They had a barbeque twice during our stay and although this was outside the restaurant you still had to eat your meal back inside. Staff are always refilling your water glass or offering drinks from the bar. If anywhere, the restaurant is where you find the friendliest staff.
The hotel started off very quiet but near the end of our stay it started to fill up and you could really see the difference: no longer could my husband and I walk outside our room and lie at the sunbeds right in front of the room as another couple nabbed them before us every morning; the pool area had beach towels strewn across the sunloungers early each morning; some nights the restaurant was practically full, therefore, generating more chuffin heat that the ceiling fans just couldn't cope with. I know the staff are grateful of more guests but I loved having the beach to myself. Don't get me wrong, even at fuller capacity, the hotel still remained very quiet and chilled. Majority of guests were mature guests from the UK or Germany (quite a few returning guests). I am still in my thirties and I didn't see many around my age. There were some young families around but thankfully not too many :)
You can put your name down at reception for "Turtle Watch" so whenever a turtle is spotted on the beach you will be notified. I had thought about putting my own name down but didn't as I like my sleep too much and the chance sighting of a turtle at 03:00 is not going to entice me out of bed. I didn't see any turtles during my stay but alot of other guests did.
All in all I would return to Tobago as it is a beautiful, unspoilt Caribbean island and I wouldn't dream of staying anywhere but Turtle Beach by Rex. If you want total peace and quiet to just chill-out (or should I say lime) and unwind in friendly surroundings then you have got to stay here.
