Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort

The accommodation impresses guests with its pristine rooms and friendly staff. Its tranquil beachfront location and delicious breakfast stand out. However, there were no specific disadvantages mentioned in the reviews.

We recently played a round at Magdalena Grand Beach & Golf Resort Golf Course in Tobago and unfortunately had a very disappointing experience. We arrived promptly for our 7:00 AM tee time, only to find the clubhouse closed. The security guard told us management was late. When the manager, Tamara Philip, finally arrived around 7:30 AM, her first comment was not an apology, but a complaint about how our drop-off vehicle was positioned. Not exactly a warm welcome. It took another 15 minutes before the pro shop was opened, only for her to tell us that we didn’t have a tee time booked—despite giving her the name of the staff member who took the reservation. Instead of resolving the issue, she was dismissive and offered no apology or solution. Then came a warning: if it started raining, there would be no rain check. Fine—but the issues continued. We were told we needed a driver’s permit to rent a golf cart—a requirement that was never communicated when we booked. We eventually showed a photo of a permit, which seemed to suffice, but then we were told that if we were caught with the cart on the course, they would take the keys away. The whole interaction felt confrontational and hostile. Not once did we receive an apology. In fact, it felt like we were unwelcome from the moment we arrived. This course is government-run, and sadly, it shows. The staff clearly does not care about hospitality or customer experience—and the treatment we received made it hard not to feel that foreigners aren’t particularly welcome. If you still decide to play here, be prepared for poor service, arbitrary rules, and possibly being treated like an inconvenience. And if you must, try speaking to the “dinosaur” Tamara—though don’t expect much help. Extremely disappointed. Would not recommend.

We recently stayed at this hotel for a week. This was a return visit for us, having visited approx 7 years ago. How the hotel has gone down hill .... It looks beautiful on the approach. We were placed in a ground floor room on the south side on the lower floor. It was very small, dark and dingy, not at all what we had had previously. The smell was awful, like sewage. I went to reception and asked for a room change but was told I would have to return in the morning and they would try and change the room then. Our booking entitled us to an upgraded deluxe sea front room. Next morning we were moved to a room on the same level as reception - far better, lovely open bright room with an amazing view and strangely the smell wasn't as strong as on the lower floor. They say it is the seaweed but when we visited previously, there was an issue with seaweed then and we couldn't access the beach, but I don't recall the smell being as strong. There is a problem with seaweed in Barbados at the moment on the Atlantic side but the hotel employ staff to clear the beach. I don't see why this hotel can't do that. The air con is not very efficient and the shower barely got above very luke warm. There is a bath but we didn't use it. The room was cleaned to a good standard. As the hotel was not to full capacity, not all the restaurants and bars were open. They gave you a schedule indicating which would be open on which days but this was subject to change due to the weather affecting one of the outdoor 'speciality' restaurants. Breakfast was buffet style. Started the week good, with a good selection of fruit but by the end of the week it was done to one type of melon and pineapple, whereas earlier in the week there were bananas, apples, different types of melons, and they don't have yoghurt. I always have fruit, cereal and yoghurt for breakfast so this became limited. They have a good omelette/egg station. Lunchtime was generally order from the menu which was very slow. Took approximately an hour to get your food. The Fusion restaurant was very good but again to receive your food was extremely slow but very nicely presented when it came. The waiter with the long ponytail - sorry I have forgotten his name - from America - was very efficient and knowledgeable. We ate in the Robinson Crusoe pub also, the seafood platter was very good. The lady on the bar in an evening was extremely offish. It was like you were asking for a drink and she was giving you out of her own pocket. We used to sit at the bar and she would ignore us when our glasses were empty and we felt when we asked for a drink, that we were putting her out. It says the bar is open to 11pm but every night they started putting things away and doing the stock take. A couple of nights they ran out of house whisky. On the second night they gave my husband Black Label Johnny Walker, which appeared on the bill to sign.... as premium drinks so I went to reception to check that we wouldn't