Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort

We travelled for just over a month in the Caribbean region and this hotel was hands down the worst, despite being the most expensive that we stayed in. From the moment we arrived, there was nobody to assist with our luggage, and our room, or at least half of it was only ready at 5pm. The other side was still being cleaned at snails pace. The hot tub was empty and filthy. When we asked about, we were told to call engineering. The hotel has danger tape all over with many areas out of bounds. There was an intolerable stench from the seaweed, and we were advised on check in to keep the sliding doors closed at all times. Not their fault but not in the brochure either. My son’s bed was rusted and had rubbish underneath it. The tvs didn’t work until maintenance came to fix them. It has ‘beach resort’ in the name but there is no beach. Black sand and seaweed only. We had no water for the first 3 days! At all, for the last 2, we had no warm water. The staff could not care less. The one exception was the Crusoe bar. The staff there were excellent. The hotel looks like it was once a grand place but now, I would not stay at this hotel for free.

I recently stayed at the Magdalena Grand Resort & Spa in Tobago, and unfortunately, it was a very disappointing experience. The resort is clearly falling apart and nowhere near the standard it claims to be. Our room was in very poor condition, and to make matters worse, it was infested with ants — even on the beds. We also experienced a power outage during a storm, which, while not the resort’s fault, highlighted how unprepared they are. T&TEC had power restored in about an hour, but there was no communication or assistance from the resort staff during that time. Basic amenities were a constant struggle. Something as simple as getting ice required walking all the way to the pool bar with a bucket that literally fell apart at the bottom. At breakfast, they actually ran out of eggs and cheese at the omelette station — and staff admitted they had to track down the head chef just to get permission to buy more eggs. Even the employees said it was embarrassing, which speaks volumes. On top of this, the overwhelming smell of seaweed around the property (though not entirely their fault) made the atmosphere unpleasant.

We arrived at what seemed to be a beautifully well graphed hotel. Check in was fast, no problem there, the buffet was plentiful, tasted great and the waiters are the sweetest little things. However, We can tell these young adults have been well mistreated by this hotel. Scared to give out the names of other staffs when a guest asks, when you ask if they are paid well, they say "I cant answer that" with frowns , I cant stand a business that mistreats its staff, especially when they are trying their best. The hotel is outdated and falling apart. The gulf course needs work, the towels are old, while watching Them I can tell a few hundred people have used them. They have a playground that just sits there and looks perfectly ok, maybe needs some fixing. but according to staff its been closed for years. The rooms are small and they are very Tidy but aged with a moldy smell. The sea **** sat there for our whole stay, they made no effort to clean It, usually at other hotels they would not let it sit for so long that it created a pungent smell. If their goal was to ward off demons than this would be appropriate, but that smell will only ward off new guests, it smelled like feces. When I say this hotel is falling apart I mean it. Pieces are laying all over and constantly you see the workers trying their best to piece this hotel back together everyday. Painters and gardeners, but it doesnt look progressive. If my husband was not here for golf I would never stay. If you are very laid back like my husband and you just want to enjoy a nice scenery without care for your LIFE then I recommend this hotel. But from what I see, this hotel is unsafe. It is probably being eaten out from inside by those on top and that is why it cannot be fixed. If the ones that run this beautiful place allowed it to reach to this point, then to fix it you need to remove the old and start anew. 1 Rotten Product Will Spoil All the Goods if placed together. Needless to say this hotel can do MUCH better.

I visited Tobago in March for my annual seven week stay having visited this magical island every year since 2016. We hired a villa on Plantations as our base and used the islands facilities during our stay. Utilising the Plantations Golf course on many occasions, improvements made over the last few years makes this a wonderful course to play. The improvements have coincided with with the appointment of Tamara as the general manager who goes out of her way to ensure that everyone is welcome, facilitating golfers who have failed to book a tee time, book a buggy or forgotten to bring balls, tees etc. The staff support to all golfers is exceptional with green keepers exchanging conversation, local golfers sharing their experiences and making everyone’s stay as pleasant as possible. I will be returning in 2026 and look forward to a splendid holiday destination that as not been to commercialised. Neil Lowndes

This is an honest review and feel badly let down by Blue Bay Travel. We were here on our 2nd week after spending a week in The Blue Bay Hotel 3 star in St Lucia. As others have said, this hotel is in no way a 4 star, 2 at most. The place is crumbling. Great big cracks in supporting pillers, rotting handrails and don't lean too long on a handrail as paint seems to stick to your arms even though it hasn't recently been painted. We had 2 tickets for the Kalina restaurant downstairs. Awful service waited 15 minutes for a drink, at least 45 minutes for the main course (there were only 4 tables of people in the dining room) which was disappointing to say the least was told most things off the menu. Unfortunately, the owners boast its one of the top restaurants on the island according to their description on the offer from Holiday Pirates at thr moment, forget it. One of the worst we have been to and we have travelled extensively throughout the caribbean and beyond. No hot water, no beach, no entertainment whatsoever and I mean zero. Older staff rude and obnoxious. Photos you see as advertised on any current website are not true and misleading. Place is tired and need extensive investment with someone who has deep deep pockets. ( apparently this place is up for sale). Umbrellas mostly broken, warm beer out of cans. No coffee available throughout the day unless if your eating. Coffee Cafe at front closed all time we were there. In the pub on first day, had draft beer and nice and cold, keg ran out, rest of week was warm cans. Food mediocre to say the least. 2 domestic toasters which took forever to toast, needs industrial toaster. Worst hotel I've spent on a holiday. I can't really give a positive about this place apart from the coach taking us back to airport and home. Save your money, please, please don't be fooled by the pictures they put up, spend your hard earned cash elsewhere. Like I said, the 3 star in St Lucia was by far superior to this place with regards to food, drink, service, entertainment and all round ambience. Where these good reviews come from I do not know. Will I be back? NEVER!!! Would I recommend? Certainly not. Everything about this hotel when we stayed felt like everything was to a very tight budget, basic and produced 'JUST TO GET BY' Even the tour operators are being hoodwinked by these false photos. Maybe they should actually send their employees out to check it out before they start selling them.

Very neglected hotel Probably the most neglected hotel I have ever stayed in There appears to be a problem with management here. The decent young staff seem to be bullied by management while older rude staff with bullish attitudes seem to rule the roost, all the while ensuring the hotel slides even further down the scale. This hotel appears to have been neglected for some time From my experience it appears management take what money they can and do not invest in the hotel. If you haven’t booked already I’d advise going elsewhere. Fill in visa online to save time at the airport if coming to Tobago. Check in is an absolute nightmare, the hotel would save themselves a massive amount of time and customers a lot of frustration if they emailed the week before you arrive asking for all the required details/vouchers etc and just got you to sign on arrival Reception staff happy until you complain ….if you report issues nothing gets done about the issue, older staff have a blase attitude in regard to all of the issues at the hotel…. Which are many! And yes the beach is full of seaweed!! So there is no beach to see or use. Furniture in reception is very worn and rooms are not much better Room is a good size. Bath stained with a footprint! Bathroom floor dirty. When it rains water pools inside of the hotel leaving dangerous stairwells. Whole place really needs a refurb. Balcony is a fair size and furniture was adequate (rattan coffee table and 2 rattan armchairs. Probably the nicest furniture in the hotel! No toilet brush in the room, needs addressing. Water as reported by most people is barely tepid, again needs to be addressed as lots of people highlighting this. Reported to receptionist on day 1 and was told they are working on it today. It has not been resolved after 7 days and I’m pretty confident it will not be resolved Buffet very limited choice, pub menu ok but in general service takes at least an hour. Hardly any of the umbrellas around the pool work (wind up mechanism broken so you can’t get any shade) did report this but to no avail Pool bar has limited selection. Lunch service very slow Parasols 80% don’t work, need to buy new ones No hot water anywhere No draft beer… and cans are mostly warm, if you complain you are told to put ice in your beer🙃 Fire doors padlocked, obviously a risk!! No hand towels in reception toilets, have highlighted this several times every day but to no avail, no means of hand drying. Only decent thing here is the young staff, who are for the most part happy and friendly but then inevitably bullied out of a job by older staff. A definite unhealthy pecking order here. As a round up of my stay… I can’t wait to go home… UK travel companies please come and see the reality before you sell this place.