I agree Steve,perhaps there's not enough rum in the nightcap rum punch,I normallyhit the pillow and then wake at dawn.
David
Top River Pearl 16th October....
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David Watkins
- Bude Cool Boy
- Posts: 1990
- Joined: Sat Nov 01, 2003 12:12 pm
- Location: Bude Cornwall uk
- Contact:
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Juliette Nash
TRP Oct 2004
We were emailed by Rainer, the owner of TRP and asked to contribute to this thread.
I am sorry to see that it has all got a bit worked up. I hope that I can set out what we found there so prospective visitors can make up their minds if it would suit them.
The big thing about TRP is that it is in the middle of a village. This means that you get an opportunity to see real life and find out what it means to live in a place so utterly different from home (well, London anyway). It was super-convenient for the fish (best on island and that means very good) and the veggie man (veggies did not seem to loom large in the local diet, if you need your five a day - I'm a veggie - stock up on the way). There was always plenty of things going on to look at.
Also the layout is excellent and encourages guests to get to know each other. Hi Paul and Leita who were there with us! This was one of the best things and really took me back to my back-packing youth rather than my villa-staying maturer years.
Being in the middle of a village inevitably means that it will be noisy - there was music more often than not, sometimes loud. If you don't like music, you're only going to get frustrated. However we found that air con solved most of the problems - it drowned out the music at night perfectly. Also some parents might want to know that the language in the music booming out is not always family-friendly. Everyone said that this is the nature of the place. It was a little surreal with Jamaican dancehall and Christmas carols going on simultaneously!
We also found C'ville easily the hottest place on the island but that might have been the weather that week. TRP opens due south so you get great views but it does mean it can be a bit of a greenhouse sometimes. Again air con in the bedroom solved the problem. To compare, we did not need air con the next week but I don't know if this is because the next place was situated on a hillside or if the weather just changed.
Incidentally if you want air con, make sure that you have spoken to Lisa or her staff yourself and that it will be availiable. It takes some setting up. We did not have it the first night and had very little sleep with the music and heat. After that - fine.
One problem (which had its amusing side) is that there are very small curtains on the numerous windows. Tobago seemed a pretty conservative place and you have to ensure that you do not inadvertantly outrage local opinion when a (most welcome) sudden breeze reveals you in all your natural glory to the passing schoolchildren! We hung up sheets at the windows.
Just note that there is no safe and we were warned that there were problems with theft in the village, although it's always hard to judge from what locals say. I live in London and just do not recognise the crime-ridden war zone which some Londoners describe. Everywhere you go, you get told that crime is out of control, the only solution is to lock up everyone under the age of fifteen etc, when the worst crime was someone's recycling box getting nicked last New Years Eve.
Sorry a bit off-topic there...back to subject.
It's true that there are no mossie screens but, strangely, I saw none on the island. We got bitten to death everywhere, some people do, some don't. Luck of the draw. But I wondered why the local culture does not have the screens you see everywhere in India. No malaria perhaps?
Mossies only recently become a problem?
Delighted to hear that Clark Kayak is still there - spending time with him was great and the kayaking was superb - do not miss this!!
Have to say that we heard that the Banana Boat was, how shall I put it, refreshingly free of the capitalist-running-dog attitude to profit, eg by being open and selling things.
Rainer was extremely efficient and friendly with booking. The place had a definite out of season feeling (it was out of season after all) but we did meet Lisa who has an excellent local reputation for kindness and decency. It might have been nicer to have more people around but then again some might prefer it quiet. Again, it's horses for courses.
C'ville was fascinating and I saw a turtle at Pirates Bay!!!! which was worth the long haul flight in itself.
I was really upset to hear about the mudslides, first I knew of them. Thank you to the person who put up the pictures of C'ville, could not believe it. Tobago was hit so hard last year - the weather just seems to be getting crazier.
I am sorry to see that it has all got a bit worked up. I hope that I can set out what we found there so prospective visitors can make up their minds if it would suit them.
The big thing about TRP is that it is in the middle of a village. This means that you get an opportunity to see real life and find out what it means to live in a place so utterly different from home (well, London anyway). It was super-convenient for the fish (best on island and that means very good) and the veggie man (veggies did not seem to loom large in the local diet, if you need your five a day - I'm a veggie - stock up on the way). There was always plenty of things going on to look at.
Also the layout is excellent and encourages guests to get to know each other. Hi Paul and Leita who were there with us! This was one of the best things and really took me back to my back-packing youth rather than my villa-staying maturer years.
Being in the middle of a village inevitably means that it will be noisy - there was music more often than not, sometimes loud. If you don't like music, you're only going to get frustrated. However we found that air con solved most of the problems - it drowned out the music at night perfectly. Also some parents might want to know that the language in the music booming out is not always family-friendly. Everyone said that this is the nature of the place. It was a little surreal with Jamaican dancehall and Christmas carols going on simultaneously!
We also found C'ville easily the hottest place on the island but that might have been the weather that week. TRP opens due south so you get great views but it does mean it can be a bit of a greenhouse sometimes. Again air con in the bedroom solved the problem. To compare, we did not need air con the next week but I don't know if this is because the next place was situated on a hillside or if the weather just changed.
Incidentally if you want air con, make sure that you have spoken to Lisa or her staff yourself and that it will be availiable. It takes some setting up. We did not have it the first night and had very little sleep with the music and heat. After that - fine.
One problem (which had its amusing side) is that there are very small curtains on the numerous windows. Tobago seemed a pretty conservative place and you have to ensure that you do not inadvertantly outrage local opinion when a (most welcome) sudden breeze reveals you in all your natural glory to the passing schoolchildren! We hung up sheets at the windows.
Just note that there is no safe and we were warned that there were problems with theft in the village, although it's always hard to judge from what locals say. I live in London and just do not recognise the crime-ridden war zone which some Londoners describe. Everywhere you go, you get told that crime is out of control, the only solution is to lock up everyone under the age of fifteen etc, when the worst crime was someone's recycling box getting nicked last New Years Eve.
Sorry a bit off-topic there...back to subject.
It's true that there are no mossie screens but, strangely, I saw none on the island. We got bitten to death everywhere, some people do, some don't. Luck of the draw. But I wondered why the local culture does not have the screens you see everywhere in India. No malaria perhaps?
Mossies only recently become a problem?
Delighted to hear that Clark Kayak is still there - spending time with him was great and the kayaking was superb - do not miss this!!
Have to say that we heard that the Banana Boat was, how shall I put it, refreshingly free of the capitalist-running-dog attitude to profit, eg by being open and selling things.
Rainer was extremely efficient and friendly with booking. The place had a definite out of season feeling (it was out of season after all) but we did meet Lisa who has an excellent local reputation for kindness and decency. It might have been nicer to have more people around but then again some might prefer it quiet. Again, it's horses for courses.
C'ville was fascinating and I saw a turtle at Pirates Bay!!!! which was worth the long haul flight in itself.
I was really upset to hear about the mudslides, first I knew of them. Thank you to the person who put up the pictures of C'ville, could not believe it. Tobago was hit so hard last year - the weather just seems to be getting crazier.
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Lars Pedersen
My girlfriend and I have just returned from a 7-night stay at Top river pearl and with great satisfaction....The use of mahogany and teak gave the apartments a cosy and appealing look.From our balcony we could enjoy the sights of parrots and hummingbirds and the everyday life in the delightful little village of Charlotteville.
All in all: Good value for money.
Lars & Pernille
(2 satisfied danes)[/b]