I overnighted here along with my sister on her prom night. We chose Royal Hotel because it was the most accessible hotel in the area. Bad decision. Initially, I had e-mailed the hotel to get rates and so on. For a few days well, a rep from the hotel and I exchanged e-mails untiI I was comfortable with everything and gave the ok for her to go ahead and book my stay. She advised me that my reservation was booked for the particular night and all was in order, or was it?
Upon arrival at the hotel, I attempted to check in but was told by the arrogant receptionist that there was no booking under my name and no reservation was confirmed. I advised the young lady that I was back and forth e-mailing the hotel and was given the impression that my stay was already established. She replied to me that I should have called to get a booking, and that was the only way they would confirm. With some sort of luck, thought, she managed to get an available room for me. Boy, was I upset at this point.
Anyways, the room was comfortable enough. I was glad that there was cable tv and the a/c was functional. However, the bathroom could have used some, ok, a lot of work. For the high rates, I would have expected something a little more pleasing to the eye and a little less drab. The cold water faucet at the face sink was not working so my sister and I had to deal with the hot water only or resort to using the cold water in the shower to wash our faces and brush our teeth. The aura of the bathroom itself was depressing. Not what I paid for. I did not appreciate this hotel in the least. Good thing we only stayed for one night.

Public areas have a relaxed Colonial feel, staff are extremely helpful, bar is pleasant, restaurant service is slow but friendly, food OK to mediocre, don't sit in the middle of the restaurant or you get bits dropped on you by birds. Pool area and gardens very nice. Location is OK but there is very little within walking distance, you need a car or to take taxis. The rooms were very basic and only superficially clean, very grubby in many areas - on skirting boards, back of the loo, under furniture, on light fittings etc, and the tiled floor was filthy - I spilt some water and mopped it up with a tissue - when I looked at it it was black; I checked other areas of the main floor (i.e. not under the bed) and it was the same all over. Yuk. The bedspreads didn't look as though they'd been washed in months. The redeeming features were the nice balcony overlooking the pool and the free wi-fi. There doesn't seem to be any alternative in San Fernando, and if you don't spend much time in the rooms they are adequate. Most guests are single guys working in the oil industry, very friendly atmosphere. Don't stay here at the end of November or early December if you can avoid it, as the Christmas Village next door has very loud music and people shouting over microphones every evening until late.

THe hotel is an old colonial style house converted to a hotel. It had been gutted by fire in the past so some of the original features are long gone. The reception area and the grounds had a very welcoming ambience. The rooms were very, very very, plain for the cost. The air conditioning, curtains, paintings and furniture were all tired and needed not only an update but a revival. The staff were very friendly especially the restaurant staff. They went over board to accomodate my request for a take away breakfast on my last day. I cannot comment much about the food as I ate out most other days. They have a gym on site which was as good as any other gym I have used in a hotel of its status. I stayed there 2 times in the month of June as I was moving around Trinidad and had to say that this was the second best of all the 4 hotels I stayed in. Would I stay there again? Maybe but if there is a 5 star hotel in town costing a bit more and I could afford that then...... I'll skip this one.

The Royal Hotel is located in San Fernando, Trinidad. It's an older place that has seen better days. Rooms are dated, mine had lime green painted walls, a TV high up on the wall where I needed binoculars to see it and vintage furniture, phone is across the room from the bed, a majjor pain. Room was clean though and A/C worked fine. Reasonably quiet. Place has a pool. Breakfast included consists of cereal, fruit, bread and small juice, anything else is extra. Lunch and dinner are from the menu (the fried shrimp are decent, ask for cocktail sauce). Staff are very friendly and helpful. If you need a car (recommended as there's not much that's close to the Royal), rent it at the airport as there are no major rental agencies in San Fernando. On a side note, if you can avoid TGI Friday's at the San Fernando mall on a Saturday night, do so. Very disorganized, food was cold and mediocre. Extremely loud.