4 questions to ask before you book a place to stay in Trinidad during Carnival time

We were recently talking with a potential client and she said, “I have a question.  What's a guesthouse?”  After explaining this type of accommodation to her, we thought it might be helpful to provide you with some questions to ask of any accommodations provider if you’re looking into a guesthouse, villa or vacation rental option in Trinidad:

1. Where are you located?  The closer that you can stay to the Port of Spain (POS) area, the better.  That way you’ll be close to shopping, restaurants and you’ll also get to the parade much easier.  Please keep in mind that there are areas in POS that you should probably avoid for safety concerns.  St. James, St. Clair, Newtown and Woodbrook are all good options, and are typically in much higher demand than some other POS areas.  Be sure to do your research!
2. Is the property fully enclosed?  Does it have central air conditioning?  After taking the location into consideration, many of the rentals located in the POS area are older homes that have not been refurbished to be fully enclosed.  Some are open air style with “fancy blocks”.  These “fancy blocks” look pretty, but they also let in little pests like mosquitoes, small lizards and other bugs.  If you’re squeamish to creepy, crawly things then you definitely want to confirm this with your accommodations provider.  Many of the older properties also don’t have central air conditioning.  Some are outfitted with an air conditioning unit in the bedrooms, but not in the central living areas.
3. Are there pets on the property?  There are several housing options in Trinidad that have dogs on the property for security reasons.  It’s great that they’re on-site for your safety, but not so great when they’re barking at 3am and you can’t sleep!  If you’re allergic to dogs (or other types of pets) and you love your sleep, you’ll want to ask this question.  Trust us, you’ll love whatever sleep you can get comfortably during the bacchanal of carnival time!
4. What's in the vicinity of the property?  This is another good question to ask in case the property is next to a nightclub or a popular fete/show during carnival time.  Trying to sleep through the din of soca’s heavy bass is not fun!  This is also a good question to ask so you can find out what’s around the property re: restaurants, shopping, etc. which will ultimately be more convenient for you.

These are all great questions to ask.  But if you’d rather not take the “guesthouse gamble” and would prefer to stay in a hotel, unfortunately hotels during carnival time are pretty much sold out by now because it’s late in the game!  We may be able to assist you though.

The Ultimate Trinidad Carnival experience still has a limited number of spots available just for you.  Our accommodations are at the beautiful, safe and convenient Hilton Trinidad, located in downtown Port of Spain.  The Hilton's beautifully appointed rooms offer everything that you'd expect from an internationally branded hotel.

Interested?  Just contact us for details and pricing.

There are only 137 days to Trinidad Carnival.  Don’t get left behind – contact us today!

Til de next lime,

Esha and Tarik