This was our second trip to Tortuga Bay. Last spring, we brought our 20-something boys with us and all had a wonderful, relaxing time. At that time I felt the resort had a certain Caribbean casual-elegance to it. Not this time. Still casual, but much more elegant!
It is apparent to a return visitor that during the 6+ weeks the closed around September (which they do every year) that they TOTALLY renovated the Tortuga Bay property. Here are my Pro and Con takeaways from our visit in November:
PROS:
1) It was very cold and snowy in the north east USA while we enjoyed 80+ F weather each day! We even arranged to stay an extra day.
2) The VIP ("rock star") treatment at the airport is everything that other reviewers have commented positively about.
3) Our Junior Oceanfront Suite was immaculate. The September refurbishment included all new painting, new French doors that open out to the ocean, new bathroom windows and updated bathrooms with new Jacuzzi-type tubs. The new canopy four post bed was wonderful to sleep on.
4) The dining room/pool area furniture looks brand new, too. They have a poolside outdoor daytime bar and an evening glass enclosed-indoor bar/cigar/pool room with entertainment on the patio 5 nights a week.
5) The food, while still expensive in the Bamboo restaurant, was a definite upgrade from the spring. They have a new Executive Chef from Spain, and some of the new dishes were truly fabulous.
6) To call breakfast a "buffet" is an injustice. Everything was delicious - home made pastries, meats and cheeses from around the world, and certain al a carte items are also included in the price.
CONS:
1) Due to strong onshore winds, the seaweed build up on the beaches was unsightly. They tried, unsuccessfully, to keep up with it. This was not a problem in the spring.
2) The Wi-Fi worked best poolside, but was serviceable in our suite.
THE BASICS:
Tortuga is a little piece of heaven! Once you arrive at the main building you are met by your villa Manager (Tobias, in our case) who made our check in painless. We were then driven to our villa suite in our personal golf cart, which you keep for your entire stay. A large bowl for local fruits was waiting in our suite. Again, everything was immaculate.
I would suggest taking the walking tour of their Ecological Preserve. You can swim in many of the crystal clear lagoons/pools within the preserve.
Lastly, the number one takeaway from both of our stays is the friendliness of the staff! Our second Villa Manager, Giselle, even arranged to have our bathroom tub filled and lined with votive candles and orchids for our last night while we were having dinner. Thank you, Giselle!
The beach service is great, especially Ezekial, who remembered us from our previous stay.
If you visit Tortuga Bay you will get to know the main building/pool/bar staff by name - They will know who you are when you arrive! Thanks to
Juan, Emannual, Antonio, Ramon, Francisco, Raphael and especially JuanLouis, who helped teach me Spanish while I helped him with his English at the outdoor bar. Benjamin, the day manager, keeps everything in order and first class.
We look forward to returning to Tortuga Bay for our third visit.