The Caribbean - Trinidad hotels

I'll be in Trinidad from April 26-May 15th. Any advice as to if the CourtYard or the Hilton is better? from a location standpoint and niceness of the hotel.

I'll be in Trinidad from April 26-May 15th. Any advice as to if the CourtYard or the Hilton is better? from a location standpoint and niceness of the hotel.Depends why you are going to POS. I can't imagine anyone going for a vacation (except maybe to watch cricket or footie). If you're going for business, ask the folks you're meeting.

Courtyard

just west of downtown
very new, comfortable rooms
excellent buffet breakfast
free internet
150m walk to cinema in small mall (take out, small restaurant)
can be very noisy due to proximity to main throughfare... INSIST on a room away from highway (pool side)


Hilton

nice location, view of the harbour and Botanical Garden if your room faces that way
lots of renovation underway, beware if your stay is soon
if you get an updated room, you will be happy
large pool, but pool deck area is very tired and rundown


You didn't ask about:

Hyatt: most excellent! Only 14 months old.
Crowne Plaza: do not go there. The place is a disaster.
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13F

Depends why you are going to POS. I can't imagine anyone going for a vacation (except maybe to watch cricket or footie). If you're going for business, ask the folks you're meeting.

Courtyard

just west of downtown
very new, comfortable rooms
excellent buffet breakfast
free internet
150m walk to cinema in small mall (take out, small restaurant)
can be very noisy due to proximity to main throughfare... INSIST on a room away from highway (pool side)


Hilton

nice location, view of the harbour and Botanical Garden if your room faces that way
lots of renovation underway, beware if your stay is soon
if you get an updated room, you will be happy
large pool, but pool deck area is very tired and rundown


You didn't ask about:

Hyatt: most excellent! Only 14 months old.
Crowne Plaza: do not go there. The place is a disaster.
--
13F
Just to elaborate on the above:
Courtyard:
* Movie City next door has a number of mid-range restaurants; it is pretty safe to walk between the two, even after dark

Hilton:
* Restaurants other than in-house are accessible by car only, even during the day; Hilton's own restaurant is rather pricy.

I'll be in Trinidad from April 26-May 15th. Any advice as to if the CourtYard or the Hilton is better? from a location standpoint and niceness of the hotel.
+1 on 13F's recommendation on the Hyatt. Just left there yesterday after a week's stay and it is top notch on service and accommodation (food is a B+ at best). Expensive, but worth it. A $35/day "package" on top of room cost gets you the superb breakfast buffet, Internet, choice of newspaper, some laundry service, and access to the Regency Club, which serves a mini-buffet of its own for cocktail hour with free drinks. And since you'll be there for a while: the exercise facilities are terrific.

Thank you all for your replies!! Unfortunaley due to budget cuts the Hyatt is out of my department's price range. I wish it was. I am diamond at Hilton and when I called them they said all Diamonds are automatically upgraded so I am going to try and stay there. I'm only Silver with Marriott and I heard that the workout facilities were not up to par.

Any ideas on what to do while I am there? I heard I have to eat Doubles and Bake Shark. Visit Marcasas Bay and hop over to Tobago. Latin dancing night is Thursday night....Any advice on good restaraunts?

For dining in Port-of-Spain, try Jaffa on the Queen's Park Oval.

If the Hyatt Regency is out of your budget, have you considered the Crowne Plaza? Have a drink at the Hyatt in any case and enjoy the long waterfront walkway it's next to that overlooks the harbor. They'll be recovering from the upcoming Conference of the Americas and Pres. Obama's visit. Imagine having that many secret service under your roof...

For dining in Port-of-Spain, try Jaffa on the Queen's Park Oval.

If the Hyatt Regency is out of your budget, have you considered the Crowne Plaza? Have a drink at the Hyatt in any case and enjoy the long waterfront walkway it's next to that overlooks the harbor. They'll be recovering from the upcoming Conference of the Americas and Pres. Obama's visit. Imagine having that many secret service under your roof...I strongly recommend against the Crowne Plaza. Inoperative deadbolts (to both the balcony and the hallway), a non-working telephone, an inadequate breakfast buffet are some of the things I have suffered on two stays, although I have not been back in more than 18 months. The hotel is extremely tired and worn out.
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13F

I strongly recommend against the Crowne Plaza. Inoperative deadbolts (to both the balcony and the hallway), a non-working telephone, an inadequate breakfast buffet are some of the things I have suffered on two stays, although I have not been back in more than 18 months. The hotel is extremely tired and worn out.
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13F

Hi 13, thanks for that first-hand info. Sorry to hear of so many negatives in just two stays but I appreciate knowing this kind of stuff both because I have distant relatives I may go back and visit, plus I am a travel writer so those types of anecdotes have a usefulness in my working life. ;)

Thank you for the updated information for the CP.

Thank you for the updated information for the CP.

Bit late for your trip, but others may find it a useful guide at

http://www.meppublishers.com/online/discover/

enjoy your stay...