The Normandie Hotel

My friend booked here for carnival 2026, paid a deposit and so far $1800.00US. I recommended the hotel because my sister used to work there and I liked it. It was my friend's first time in Trinidad and playing mas, but she had to cancel after her father died, which has been hard on her mother. She cancelled in May 2025, nine months before carnival, and Donna, the manager, told her she couldn't get her money back. This wasn't a month before carnival, it was still 2025 and nine months away. She sent a text asking for the payment she'd made to be transferred to my account, and two weeks later she's still waiting for a response. So my friend's money is just lost or pocketed, which I find wrong. People work hard for their money, and treating people like this is wrong. I booked a room myself and am going for carnival, but wow. People's money has value wherever we are in the world. Hotels and the like in Trinidad are already overpriced, so why treat people this way?

I stayed for my birthday on their monthly special rate, so I wasn't expecting much. The rooms are a bit dated, and there were no lunch options even though there's a restaurant on the property. Breakfast was basic, eggs, toast and bacon, served from 7am -9am, a time window I think could be adjusted. We checked in Friday and left Sunday morning, but didn't get room service until late Saturday evening. The staff we met on Sunday were friendly and helpful. It was a basic experience. If you take it for what it is, you'll be pleased, but expecting a 5-star hotel would leave you disappointed.

My sister became pregnant, so I asked to cancel one day of the booking. The hotel refused and charged me for both full days. I asked Johann and other staff to help, but they said the manager would make the decision and didn't assist. There were no water bottles in the room and no staff to help or assist. Overall, there was no service.

After booking a couple of nights, I saw some bad reviews and was pretty skeptical. It honestly wasn't as bad as those reviews made it sound, though the hotel is a bit old and could use a face-lift. What bothered me was the breakfast and the staff giving misinformation about it. A buffet breakfast should be a buffet breakfast. I would've been better off going to rituals for coffee and a patty instead. They needed to do better, but the place wasn't bad at all.