Grafton Beach Resort Hotel

The Grafton Beach Hotel was basic but the staff and the Island made up for it.
Tobago is one of the best islands we have been to and would recommend going to anyone looking for a true Caribbean island.
Unfortunately we were situated near the restaurant kitchens and were woken on some early mornings when deliveries arrived! I also had to experience the on call doctor for an ear infection, which the hotel arranged for me.
The swim up bar was great and the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

1 reader found this review helpful

After reading some of the other reviews on this page I felt I had to comment.
We travelled to Tobago for the 2nd time in 2006 (1st time we stayed at Rex Turtle Beach), we found the Grafton Beach to be a very welcoming and enjoyable place.
Our twin daughters travelled with us and celebrated their 3rd birthday at the hotel. The staff could not have been more helpful, they baked a birthday cake for our girls and let us use the restaurant to have a birthday party.
Food was always hot and fresh with a varied menu, staff cooked especially for the children every day. In the morning at breakfast we would tell them what the girls wanted in the evening and it was ready, excellent service!
The staff were always friendly and helpful, with a smile and time for a chat, we have been too many Caribbean islands and this is not always the case!
Room was cleaned every day to a high standard and we had plenty of wardrobe space even though there was 4 of us.
The beach was always clean and the traders were very friendly, the sea was warm and calm and the children really enjoyed swimming in it.
All in all we had a wonderful holiday which was aided by the great facilities and friendly staff, Thank you Grafton Beach, keep up the good work.

1 reader found this review helpful

Transfer time from Tobago's airport to the Grafton Beach Resort is 15 minutes, the average journey really across the island as Tobago does not have many road routes.
As we drew up at the reception area I was greeted with rum cocktail, my bags taken and I was shown to a lounge area whilst staff checked me in to my room.
My room was fabulous comprising two double beds, a large balcony with furniture, a bathroom with bath, WC and overhead shower, satellite TV and that all important fridge.
The balcony overlooked a fabulous garden area but the ocean too was in sight and close enough for the waves to be heard.
Having only 106 rooms navigating the hotel was easy. There were around six blocks all facing the ocean, each block was two storey and the rooms best described as terraced. The beach was never more than a minutes’ walk from any of the rooms.
Every room was fully air conditioned although some offered more modern air conditioning than others.
I was one of the lucky ones and my air conditioning can be described, for an island such as Tobago, as being state of the art and my room was nicely cooled at all times and the unit itself didn't leak or make a noise.
Speaking with other guests some of the units were yet to be replaced and often dripped in to the baths or hummed constantly.
My room was cleaned daily and towels replaced daily.
Grafton Beach Resort has three bars. The main hotel bar which is situated just as you enter the hotel and overlooks the pool area. There was also a swim up pool bar and not to mention the beach bar.
Being all inclusive all drinks soft and alcoholic including cocktails were of no extra charge. All liquor was local but of a very high standard.
As food was all inclusive I did worry I would not find enough to eat or be able to eat whenever I felt like it but I was wrong. The eating arrangements at Grafton beach were as follows:
Breakfast: Served in the main restaurant. Buffet style. Full English, American, Continental as well as a full range of fresh fruits and specialist Caribbean dishes were available in plentiful supply from 7am until 10am each morning. You could eat as much and as often as you like within this time frame.
Lunch: A buffet style lunch was served in the main restaurant. There was always plenty of choice and options would include pizza, pasta and burgers as well as more traditional Caribbean fare.
Salads were varied and inviting and I would be surprised if you couldn't find anything that took your fancy - the restaurant appeared to cater for the fussy "I only eat British" to the more adventurous tourist.
Option two for lunch was the beach fronting bar "Buccaneer's Beach Bar and Grill" which offered burger and chips in various guises.
Lunch was available between 12 noon and 2pm.
Dinner: Dinner required a booking and was available at two restaurants, the main Ocean View Restaurant where breakfast and lunch was served or Neptune's Restaurant, serving fresh seafood. Dinner was served between 7pm and 10pm although the staff did like you to book as early as possible which did cause a few guests to grumble.
Neptune's Seafood Restaurant was set on stilts above the pool bar. It catered for around 15 people and offered candlelit dinners. The food was varied but there was nothing but local caught seafood on the menu each evening.
The Ocean View Restaurant would alternate between a buffet style dinner one evening and a la carte the next. There was always option to have a four course meal each evening and again all tastes appeared to be catered for.
Extras: Cakes, pastries and scones together with tea and coffee were served both mid morning and again in the afternoon.
From my experience the food was always of a high quality. Being a non meat eater with an intolerance of dairy and wheat I managed no problem and ate plenty.
I ate in all three restaurants without complaint however by the end of the week I was slightly bored at the variety of salad and rice dishes however please bear in mind I didn't eat the meat and I avoided the wheat based products…
Anyone normal would not have been bored!!
The pool was centrally located with the main bar and Neptune's Restaurant overlooking. The resort also boasts indoor squash courts which were popular and of a high standard.
The resort is set on Black Rock Beach at Stonehaven Bay. The beach never got crowded, was spotlessly well kept. The area is renowned for its scuba diving and part of the all inclusive deal included a half day session although more sessions could be booked from the scuba diving centre which was situated next to the beach bar.
Every morning before 7am the local fishermen would pull in their nets and I would often watch, fascinated.
I've seen nicer beaches. The sun loungers were rather old however; the hotel supplied comfortable covers for them. That aside I must add that rather than having to worry that the local beach traders would annoy me I never once felt hassled and instead felt welcome.
When I first walked on the beach a local man came over and said 'welcome to paradise'. He could not have put it any better. By the end of my holiday I knew everyone by their first name and they me.
My Holiday in General
There was traditional local entertainment every evening which varied in standard but really did have you feel like you were in the Caribbean.
Staff were always friendly, chatty and helpful and all seemed highly educated. Even the beach sellers were charming and never hassling.
The main town of Scarborough was a twenty minute drive which costs the equivalent of £3 by taxi. We ventured to Scarborough when we had a tropical rain shower and sat in some local rum bars as well as having a nosy at Dwight Yorke Stadium!
The locals in the town were charming and again didn't hassle for money, they were just happy to chat and discuss their island.
I also went to the only nightclubbing area on the island where traditional music played, rum was of the plenty and the locals and tourists danced the night away. It was a real eye opener.
There are plenty of excursions that the resort will happily book for you. I visited a rain forest and bird sanctuary but the list is endless.
I travelled alone. I was nervous but the Grafton Beach Resort was perfect. It would be the ideal choice for couples and those with young families although children could get bored if just staying within the resort.
Not once did I feel scared for my safety and I could easily walk around the nearby residential area with locals often popping out of their homes for a chat.
The hotel facilities were rather dated but everything was clean, well kept and maintenance men would attend any problems straight away.
The locals explained that with Tobago being such a small island everything was imported hence they looked after what they had as things could not always be replaced easily.
I enjoyed the food but if I'd stayed for longer than a week would have ventured out of the resort for variety but my understanding was that restaurants could be expensive.
I have never experienced such friendliness as to that I experienced in Tobago. Anything that the Grafton Beach Resort lacked in facilities it made up for in character and warmth.
If I return to Tobago I would stay here again without a doubt, I think I have found an authentic Tobagan resort, not yet spoilt and that offers a high quality service.