After $29m repairs, Chief Sec says Manta Lodge most expensive hotel in Trinidad and Tobago

Chief Secretary Farley Augustine said the most expensive hotel rooms in Trinidad and Tobago are at the newly renovated Manta Lodge Hotel and Dive Centre in Speyside.

He made the statement on September 16 at the opening of the 22-room, two-star hotel, nine years after the THA acquired the property.

Augustine said a further $2.3 million was spent on renovations, bringing the total cost of refurbishment to $29 million.

In 2015, the THA bought Manta Lodge and Sanctuary Villas in Black Rock for $32 million.

The former PNM administration decided in 2020 to prioritise the refurbishment, as it would cost approximately $10 million, compared to $60 million to fix Sanctuary Villas.

In February 2023, the keys for the renovated hotel were handed over to the THA. However, Augustine said it was not ready to accept guests.

Augustine, the electoral representative for the area, said his team inherited the project from Udecott, which charged the THA $27 million for roof refurbishments, electrical repairs, air-condition installation, plumbing repairs, finishes, repairs and replacements on windows and doors, and fixtures and fittings, external works including carpark and landscaping and pool repairs.

Augustine said, “But sometimes when you get a home that’s completed and the contractor gives you the keys, you sometimes have to go in after the contractor and do more work to make it liveable, and that was the case with Manta Lodge.”

He said the Eco-Industrial Development Company of Tobago (Eidcot) was engaged to spend a further $2.3 million to complete the job.

He said the storage of water had to be addressed as the accessibility of tanks was a problem. He said the tanks were also “woefully inadequate given what we experience from time to time with the dry season.”

He said inadequate security measures had to be resolved with camera systems and other equipment.

There was incomplete or inadequate outfitting of guest rooms, he said, adding that Eidcott had to custom order patio furniture, safes for the rooms, irons and ironing boards, bins, pillows and coffee machines.

“The commercial kitchen was incomplete and so they had to complete the outfitting of the commercial kitchen; there were inadequate physical barriers around the property’s perimeter; repainting of guest rooms due to defective paint application;  inadequate-sized equipment at the laundry and the bar; completion of works to achieve fire certificate; we had to do termite treatment; inadequate rain protection at reception and restaurant.”

He said after all this additional work, the doors can finally be opened to the public.

He said his executive council wanted to find an operator to run the hotel, but after putting out a request for tenders he was advised none of the bids passed the technical stage. As a result, a decision was taken as an executive for Eidcot to manage and run the hotel.

“So Eidcot, for the foreseeable future, will have to manage operations here and ensure that profit is made.
"When we look at the fact that we spent just about $29 million in total to renovate this property – and that doesn’t count what was spent to purchase the property – it means that on average for 20 rooms, $1.4 million was spent per room. This might just be the most expensive hotel room in the country.”

He added: “This investment is behind us – we fixed it, we finished it, we delivered it to the people of Tobago and we are saying this is an opportunity to earn from it.”

THA Secretary of Tourism, Culture, Antiquities and Transportation Tashia Burris said the hotel and dive centre could help the tourism sector. Secretary of Finance, Trade and the Economy Petal-Ann Roberts also spoke.

Newsday tried to book a room on Manta Lodge’s website but was unable to do so directly. An automated message said a hotel representative would reply to the request.

However, rooms can be booked on Expedia and Choice Hotels websites for approximately US$183 per night inclusdingtaxes. Neither websites has pictures of the rooms uploaded currently.