Bacolet Beach Club

It may have looked this good once but we were left with a feeling of neglect to many areas especially the patios ( weeds) broken pots, debris etc. Such a shame as some parts are really good. eg. The beach cove, decent snacks and meals and our room in the West wing was comfortable, large and with stunning view. We stayed "all inclusive" but it was only a package as the hotel tries to cater for everything from a take away meal, cruise visits B & B. hence it was an a la carte menu on which certain items were included in out package. other items were charged at full menu price ( not a supplement) Same applied to cocktails. Service in restaurant was often ( not always)slow and confused, despite very friendly staff. Food was decent and sometimes very good especially the fish dishes. Breakfast buffet was limited. Overall this has potential and could be good but could also bring about frustration and disappointment. Read less

We had a lovely day at this hotel from our caribbean cruise We use of all the pools & beach sunbeds Were given towels to use and a free cocktail we chose a lovely rum punch The beach is gorgeous surrounding gardens and lovely sea view from bar pools & restaurant where we had a lovely lunch The staff were very friendly and efficient Reception knew we were coming and have received a thank you email after returning home I think it would make a relaxing holiday and a 30min walk into town downhill or short taxi ride Read less

Booked through a British Airways sale and any queries about accommodation were very promptly answered. Customs and security checks at airport are very 3rd world. 4 staff took nearly an hour to check everyoen through as they do everything using biro pens. No IT here ! Then onto customs, the scanner conveyor belt broke and we had to climb onto the belt to push our suitcases through ! We booked a taxi transfer from airport via the hotel as this was much cheaper than adding it onto as an option with BA, Unfortunately the taxi didn't turn up and we had to phone the hotel to chase it up. It arrived 20 minutes late which meant 20 minutes of pestering from other taxi drivers touting for business. Rooms: we had a Tower suite for 2 people. - 007. We were allocated the front one - which had a good view. The back one didn't look as if it had been used for a while and smelt terribly of damp. Our room had several small issues which required attention to detail - damp and mould around the edges of the toilet area, terrible painting and lack of cutting in everywhere, tempermental lights and several areas had not been dusted for ages. Tea facilities were a kettle. There was no mini bar, no milk provided for tea. We had to ask for a cup each night from the restuarnat and walk it back. One plastic mug and on glass that's it. This room also has no safe. TV there are channels - but do have access to Amazon Prime and Netflix - so worthwhile becoming a member before you fly out. Second TV but this is for gaming only - there is no aerial lead. Day cleaning consists of a quick sweep through. The floors are not washed. Bed is excellent. Very large and very comfortable. No duvet etc - you only get a single sheet to cover you - so you may have to switch off the air conditioning at night otherwise you will wake up cold. Beach: this is excellent - private and only for hotel guests. Be prepared though for some steep steps down though. Sufficient number of loungers but these give appearance that they are rarely wahsed all cleaned. Sea slightly rougher on this side of island. The beach is covered with Indain almond trees - so if you want some shade there is plenty. Good little beach bar for all the type of drinks you want - but service is slow. Restaurant: Okay at best - but there isn't much else nearby as an alternative. The guests from the Half Moon Bay hotel opposite also eat here. Reception staff couldn't recommend anywhere in Scarborough to eat out in the evening - ther isn't anything half decent. Floor around the edges has crud built up from many months and needs a good clean. Walls fans don't work and are covered in dust. Perspect sheeting along wooden wall areas broken and have holes in many areas. Some chairs have white paint on them from where they have been used to stand on to do decorating with. On menu you have about a dozen choices for main course but if you are on meal package such as full or half board then all of the shrimp, steak options come with a supplement, so if you are there for a week + then you will soon go through everything on the menu very quickly. The staff though were happy to make a few ammendments to the meals e.g. swopping mashed potatoes for fries, adding different cheeses or taking away muchrooms etc. The most frustrating thing was the items that were shown on the menu, but not available during our whole stay i.e. cranberry or passion fruit juice, no ice cream other than chocolate or rum and rasin. Hardly any pork available. Unfortunatelt the staff were unable to tell you at the point of ordeing what they had and what they didn't have. The items that were not included in a meal package - i.e the shrimps, steak and also the extensive lobtser menu - were available but at a supplimenatry cost. You would have though that it would be the price of having one of these items less the price of one of the meal options included in a meal package - however it doesn't work that way. If you are on a meal package and order any of thr lobster optiosn they will charge you an extra 170 T$ and then you can have any of the lobster meals. This includes any lobster meal such as a lobster burger which would cost you much less than 170T$ if you walked in off the street and bought one. Completely doesn't make sense and very frustrating. Service charge of 10% is automatically added to everything. If you query as to whether this optional - the staff try to tell you that it is obigatory ! Some meals were served fairly quickly. Other nights we ordered and then totally forgot about. Breakfast: pretty much the same every day - with the exception of how they dished up the sausages. Often run out of several items which were only restocked when you ask. Day Trips: a number of day trips are available and can be booked via the reception. But don't expect too much conversation with the drivers as there local knowledge ssems limited. Worthwhile booking a Little Tobago Island tour early on as you get to visit other beaches etc on the way back to the hotel - so help with planning options during rest of your week. Worth while renting a car - but there website says they rent cars through Le Mans car rental - I queried this but was told they can only rent a battered Suzuki Jimmy Jeep at a reasonable T$350 a day. At the end of the day - someone has done a really really good job on their website. However the reality when you get there is something different. So much has just been left and with more attention to detail this could hotel could be head and shoulders above every other hotel in Tobago. Read less

This is the most difficult review I have ever written, as I very much enjoyed my stay at the Beach Club, and would even consider a return. It has a beautiful, safe little private sandy beach which is a pearl without price. The sea-view rooms in the west wing are light – if slightly bizarrely furnished – and have large balconies, good king-sized mattresses and excellent showers. The cleanliness standard is not all it might be, but this is Tobago, not Singapore. My overall feeling was that this could be a really excellent little hotel with a bit more attention to detail and less penny-pinching. When we were shown our room (by the delightful Kadir), paint was peeling from the wall alongside the bed, a handle was hanging off the wardrobe and four lamps in the shower did not work. These faults were pointed out and I assumed would be addressed. Four days later, nothing had been done! It took three phone calls before the lamps and the handle were fixed; the peeling paint stayed with us for the duration. There is very little information in the rooms – I had to go to reception to find the telephone number for reception (3001 if you should go there). We were on 'all-inclusive' – a must for all but millionaires, as the hotel food and drink is pretty pricey. The mini-bar is only re-filled once a week, so water will run out. There is a small store 100 m. to the right, where one can buy 5 ltr bottles for the price of 50 cl in the hotel. Our main problem was the very poor breakfast on offer when we arrived. Watermelon and pineapple were the only fruit available (in the Caribbean for god's sake!), eggs any way you like as long as it was scrambled, plastic bread and quite appalling 'coffee'. I tried to get soft fried eggs and they managed soft on two mornings out of 14. If the eggs were sent back, there was a 30 minute wait for a replacement. They do have a Gaggia machine, so after teaching the staff to produce espresso in hot cups, we at least, had decent coffee (extra cost). The lunch and dinner menus are unchanging and OK for three days or so, but very boring for two weeks. We found eventually that we could order other dishes in advance, which was a big bonus (they do a mean chicken curry). The restaurant is pretty well run by three very competent and experienced girls, Donna, Nerine and Amize, guided by manager Aisha, but otherwise most of the staff were total beginners. Expect lost and forgotten orders and frequent mistakes. All of this wouldn't have mattered so much had we not been paying top-dollar! I eventually had the temerity to make a few suggestions to Aisha. This resulted in our evening coffee being interrupted by Gloria, the owner, who subjected us to a noisy and very repetitive tirade, verging on the abusive, about us not being happy and the problems with boats from Trinidad failing to arrive, yadda, yadda. My wife left in tears... HOWEVER! This confrontation did seem to have stirred up the hornet's nest. The next morning there were four sorts of fruit at breakfast, two yoghurts (still bearing supermarket prices...), cheese, tomatoes, porridge, and Danish pastries. Some folk even managed to get omelettes. I've never seen such a happy clientele. Sadly, these improvements only lasted about 3 days before gradually sinking back to the previous mediocrity. It would cost so little to make it better. Tobago is a beautiful island, but the Beach Club is in a wilderness. There is nowhere else to go or eat without taking an expensive taxi. One cannot have a quiet meal without the relentless reggae music of the hotel restaurant. The arranged island tours are very pricey. Instead, take a taxi from Scarborough and go where you want for half the price. Brian on 471-6542 and Randy on 778-9023 are safe and reliable and will take you anywhere for about $TT 150 / hour. A good ship sadly spoiled for a hap'worth of tar. Read less