Grafton Beach Resort Reviews

I have just returned on 25th August 2006 from a 14 night holiday staying at the Grafton. After reading past reviews I was very worried about staying here. All my worries were groundless.

We were made to feel welcome from getting our cases taken out of our taxi by the bell boy until we had to very reluctantly go home!

The food was very good with lots of local and international choices. Alcohol was certainly not watered down in any bar - I had to ask them not to put too much in. Out room was well equipted with a beautiful view of the gardens and beach. With ACU that worked - you don;t often get that in the med. The room was cleaned thoroughly everyday, with new towels etc. Beach towels were also provided.
The staff were a bit reserved at first, but if you make the effort you will make some really good friends. Entertainment was provided but quite low key. If you want more lively entertainment venture out of the resort. Try Sunday School - great fun.

My daughter and I did lots of trips while in Tobago, and booked trips with 3 different tour reps/companies and can say that they couldn't do enough for us. Even providing us with occasional free taxis to different beaches.

What I would say is try Super Tours especially his personal Island tour as it can be customised to what you want to see.
We also did a day trip by boat, fishing, snorkelling and swimming onto beaches only accessible by book. Fish you catch and cook on a BBQ is just a delight.

I would return to the Grafton with no reservations.

My daughter and I did not get hassled at all when in Tobago, be polite but firm - it works.

Airport is small, suggest after you have checked in on the return trip, don't go through to the departure lounge too early. You can go down to Crown Point beach and wait there! Duty free shops outside the airport also make sure your order in waiting for you before you get on the plane.

We flew with Excel airways on the first day of the security alert, and were only 45 minutes late in arriving. Much better than BA or Virgin. No delays on return flight either.

I can't praise this hotel enough, and wonder if the last review was to the same one! The food was very good for a small Al hotel, we were there for 2 weeks and had no complaints at all. There was always a good choice and the staff were friendly if a little reserved. That is their way together with the slower pace of life and we should accept that. After all, would you rush around in that heat?

The accommodation was very good. We were given an room with a double bed and immediately asked if we could change to one with a K size bed. They upgraded us with no hassle to an ocean front room. I would like to say we have visited the caribbean many times and have high expectations of our holidays, but we know what we like, ie small friendly hotels with a layed back atmosphere. That is exactly what we got at the Grafton. There were few children here and I think the hotel is more suitable for adults than children. Yes the sea is choppy but we knew about that before we went. The beach was never crowded and there was plenty of sunbeds for all.

The entertainment was a bit hit and miss but we weren't bothered about that as it is the sort of hotel where everyone gets to know each other and we had many pleasant and fun nights round the bar.

We were sad when the time came for us to leave and would quite happily have stayed on a bit longer. We have had much more expensive holidays in the caribbean but found Grafton to be very high on the list of favourites. We found it excellent value for money and would certainly recommend it if like us you want a layed back holiday away from the stressful life that we lead

Having read the comments on the Excel Airways web site did not expect the flight to go without a hitch,but what a surprise only a 1/2 hour delay and we were off.The aircraft that is used now is a 767-ER(leather seats and loads of legroom,far more than the Virgin flight last Feb to Barbados)On arrival we were met by Toby(manager)and a rum punch.
We did not opt for a sea view room, but got one anyway (most are sea view).
We suspected that the hotel was not full(even though it was half term in the UK ) sunbeds available throughout the day in the hotel but limited on the beach.
Be aware of the occasional rogue wave, extremely powerful and dangerous, food good, service good, birthday cake provided when requested. A chill out holiday!! Thanks to Toby (Manager).

We travelled with Virgin Holidays and I have to say they were marvellous. On arrival we were given an upgraded room over looking the sea which was fab to wake up to each morning. The staff were all very friendly and most helpful. The food was plentiful and a good choice. My only gripe was that we only managed to get into the Neptune Fish resturant once as it was so busy and despite being told when we arrived that we had to book for dinner each evening, it was always full!

The swimming pool is rather on the small side but it was adequate, the beach is lovely but beware of the waves they can be very strong.My friend got very badly bitten on her feet and we later discovered it was caused by sand flies which apparently come out after 5pm - you have been warned!

We hired a car from the office for the day and toured the island seeing some spectacular scenery at a small cost compared to the virgins tours. I believe the tobaggians have hidden all their road signs though as we only saw one on the island and found trying to find places quite aggrevating as they seem to disappear!

We also booked a catamaran trip aboard ";Island Girl"; this was the highlight of the holiday. We were out all day and had a really super time actually caught our own lunch on board from the back of the catamaran stopped at a lovely beach called cotton bay and swam with the rays!

I have travelled extensively and found this place a haven of peace, if you are looking for tranquility and stunning views with good accomodation and great food together with lovely people then this is the place you want to be. I cant wait to return!!

Having read other reviews about this resort, we were looking forward to spending our holiday there. The welcome was warm and our drinks were chilled.

However, the first room we were assigned to was a twin room (we had booked a double), and it smelt of damp, and was located to a noisy generator, and the patio door had cracked glass. We were put into another room with a double bed, and which did not smell of damp. As it was late at night, and we were tired we accepted the room. In the morning things became a little clearer. The bathroom was tired (broken tiles, mildew, blocked up shower spray), and the bed spread, curtains, pillows also showed signs of mildew.

This was not just restricted to the room, the general feel of the hotel was run-down. Common area seating had been blackened from peoples sweat, sun loungers were showing signs of age, dining furniture covered in dried bird excrement. All these observations indicated that there was nothing that some cosmetic renovating couldn't have solved.

Half way into our stay, further problems arose. Fresh towels became scarce. During the dining hours, we had to pester the staff for food to be added to the buffet area. Considering it was an all inclusive, it was too much like hard work. We hardly spent any time at the resort (as we spent most of our days exploring the island), but when we did, we kept on running into unnecessary problems.

To be fair, the staff were as helpful as they could be, given the circumstances. Food (when it was available) was of reasonable-to-good quality wise, fruit was plentiful, drinks refreshing, and the fish restaurant was alright. Certainly not a 3+ star experience though, and pricewise other Tobago 4 star hotels are cheaper. In the end we transferred our remaining stay to the Hilton.