- - - - - - BASICS - - - - - -

PRICE:
We emailed the hotel in advance for a price quote. Because we were staying for 8 nights, they told us that we qualified for their special rate for staying one week (plus pay for one additional night).

I printed the email and brought it with me. Upon check in they DID HONOR the price that they quoted me (which was significantly less than paying for 8 full nights). If you’d like more details, please feel free to email me.


LOCATION:
The hotel is located very close to many points of interest in Road Town . This was important to us because we did not rent a car. Within a 10 minute walking distance you can find:
- Road Town Ferry Dock
-Rite way Grocery Store
-Several Restaurants/Bar (we went to Pusser’s [see separate review & pics], The Pub [see separate review & pics], and Crandall’s)
-Main Street (has many tourist type shops, post office, bakery) [see separate review & pics],
- Crafts Alive Village (has tourist type shops) [see separate review & pics],
-Wickham’s Cay (has more shops/restaurants, but not as “touristy” as Main Street and the Crafters Village )


ROOMS:
The room was a “typical” hotel room. There was plenty of drawers/closet space (I brought extra hangers) for unpacking. There were enough outlets for camera chargers/cell charges/etc. There was a television with remote/cable. The A/C worked perfectly. There was a balcony with chairs which overlooked the street/Road Bay .

There was a “kitchen counter” area that had a microwave, coffee maker, sink, and a small refrigerator/freezer (they let us look at 2 rooms and choose which one we wanted. The first room we saw had no microwave). There were also a few dishes provided.

The bathroom was a nice size. There was a large vanity with extra storage underneath as well as in the medicine cabinet with mirror. The shower was full sized with a little ledge on the window sill which was convenient for holding shampoo/etc.


- - - - - - PROBLEMS- - - - - -

“You get what you pay for.” We went cheap, so we realize things wouldn’t be perfect…here’s a bit of what we found:

-COCKROACHES. Our first evening in Road Town , we went out for dinner and came back to find little roaches and ants/bugs all on our kitchen counter. We killed them and decided to hide all food in the refrigerator and microwave. That didn’t solve the problem. Every night when we’d come back from daytrip/dinner/drinks there were always a few bugs on the kitchen counter, and one night, a dead roach in the bed. “Luckily,” it wasn’t until the last night that we saw a “full-size” (2 inches long) cockroach on our counter. Upon checkout, we mentioned this to the staff member and they said, as if unsurprised, "thanks for letting us know."

-ROOSTERS. Our room was on the end of the building, located right next to a wooded area which had MANY roosters roaming and sitting in trees. Now, there are roosters/chickens all over the island, but I’m thinking that if you stayed on a more “resort type” property they might control their roosters better. ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT the roosters were crowing. I slept with earplugs.

-ROOM AMENITIES. It took a long time to get hot water in the shower. This wasn’t consistent, sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes up to 10-15 minutes, sometimes I just took a cold shower. The cold water “handle” on the shower was broken; you could pull it right off. You had to line it up just right to use it. There were two windows (up high) in our shower; one of which was broken and would not shut. Flushing the toilet required you to hold down the handle until the entire thing flushed. The patio/balcony doors did not close completely. There was one window in the room that did not close completely. The A/C leaked water on the balcony.

-CLEANING STAFF. Small complaints, but take note - some of the things we had “tied up” in plastic bags to avoid bugs getting into it (i.e. we brought our own plastic utensils, napkins, and paper plates) were thrown out by staff thinking it was garbage, even though it was not in the garbage can. Also, my friend brought her own white washrag with her, and staff took it, (understandably) thinking it was theirs. Travel trip for anywhere could be: if you bring your own rag/towel/etc., don’t bring white.


- - - - - - MISC INFO- - - - - -

The “Fat Cat” Thai Restaurant is no longer in service.

There is a bar, but we never used it.

They just got a new computer for their “internet café” (of one computer), but I think there was Wi-Fi in the hotel (didn’t use it).

The cost for taxi fare between Hotel Castle Maria and West End was $24.00 for 2 people and plan for about 30 minutes.

Parking is very limited, and VERY tight.

- - - - - - RECOMMENDATIONS- - - - - -
If I had some friends (ages 30 and under) who wanted a cheap place to stay that's convenient, I would suggest Hotel Castle Maria, and warn them that they may encounter the above. If I was going to make a suggestion to say, my parents, I would tell them to NOT stay here. I would not suggest this place for people on a honeymoon/romantic getaway, even though it's cheap, there's no ambiance/characteristics that make it romantic and memorable. I probably would not suggest this for families either; however, hotel castle maria may have bigger/better rooms for larger parties. Personally, I don't think I would stay here again. There are two other hotels right in the same area, "Sea View" and "Fort Burt," that I would probably check out.