Kapok is an older hotel, but pretty well maintained (much better maintained than the Crowne Plaza, similar quality to Hilton). It's a nice location, short walking distance to Queen's Park Savannah, a decent shopping center (bank, bookshop, pharmacy, fast food), and the colonial mansions. Excellent restaurants within 15-20 minute walk (Apsara Indian, Tamnak Thai, and Battimamzelle - some of the best food on offer in POS). It's about 20 minutes to reach downtown, but most visitors/tourists probably don't want to stay downtown. Taxis readily available.

Rooms are clean and spacious, though decor is dated. In-room safe, hair dryer, ironing board. Hi-Speed internet available for about US$12/day - good, reliable connection. Decent cable TV. No mini-bar or refrigerator.

Staff is friendly and generally efficient. Two on-site restaurants are decent. Great views over the Savannah from restaurant at top of hotel. Breakfast is included and adequate (cereal, tropical fruit, toast, coffee, & juices - also hot foods available for order).

Until the new Hyatt opens up across from the Crowne Plaza, this is one of the best options. Like all hotels in POS, it seems quite over-priced for what you get.

This is one of the older hotels in Port-of-Spain, located in a pleasant section of Port-of-Spain, adjacent to a large park and approximately 10 minutes (in good traffic -- 30 minutes in heavy traffic) from the commercial center of the city.

Taxis are readily available and there is an upscale shopping plaza within a 5-minute walk from the hotel.

The Kapok has a small, secluded, but otherwise quite pleasant outdoor pool area, shops, and a small business center. In-room cabled "high-speed" internet service is available for US $11.95 per day, based on a service day that begins at noon.

The reception staff were friendly and welcoming -- even at 2:00 a.m. when we arrived. The reservation was in order. They put us in a clean, but smelly, smoking room, when we had specified non-smoking. However, they realized their mistake, telephoned our room within two minutes of our entering it, and sent a staff member to our room to take us to the correct one.

The Kapok is undergoing renovation. The renovated rooms are large, clean, and well furnished. The hotel has added a second "panoramic" elevator. Amenities could be improved. A US$ 200 room should include a full bathtub (not just a shower) and in-room coffee.

Service is mediocre. Housekeeping service, for example, ends at noon on Sunday. Room service is reasonably priced, but pitiful in terms of presentation of the tray (no condiments, for example) and unreasonably slow. It took room service 40 minutes to pour and deliver two bowls of soup. When we asked for bread with the soup, we received two slices of cold toast without butter.

The included continental breakfast is adequate in terms of quality of the food (with a limited offering of fresh fruit, cold cereals, and breads), but disappointing in terms of the variety. Service at breakfast was friendly, but not always attentive.

One word of caution when checking in. If you use a debit card, ask to know the amount that is preauthorized. The hotel will place a 150% preauthorization freeze on your account, based on expected length of stay. This is unusually high in my experience in this region. When paying $200 (including taxes) per night for a room, it is highly unlikely that one would spend another $100 in the restaurant.

Checkout with reasonably efficient, the bill was accurate, and the taxi that we had ordered was waiting for us.

I stayed at the Kapok for 5 nights in early June; my first impression based on the lobby was very favourable, but the staff at reception were rather unfriendly. On the way up to my room, I was discouraged by the elevator work left in the midst of construction and hallways that could use some sprucing up. However, my room was fine, the hotel was relatively quient, and the meals were excellent. I particularly enjoyed the opportunity to work in the areas out by the pool (seemed like I owned the place much of the time even though I was told the hotel was quite full). I'd definitely stay there again even though the Kapok fell short of some expectations.

I recently stayed there for 5 nights on business. The hotel is very clean, comfortable, with decent size rooms. Do not be too discouraged by the front desk staff, as they are not the most friendly. The hotel is located on the north end of Savannah Park, in the St. Clair district. The location is ideal, as it is away from the busy downtown, yet close enough by foot to explore. The park provides a great place to run in the morning, as there is a paved path around it. There is a shopping complex (aka strip mall) within a 5 minute walk from the hotel, with restaurants, banks, groceries, etc. The hotel bar/patio is very nice and comfortable, and decent bar type food. They had a live Jazz music night when I was there, which was really nice - especially if you are travelling on your own without having to go into the city for evening entertainment. The roof top restaurant services a continental breakfast in the morning - simple and all you need. Great view of the city/ocean from the roof top restaurant. The price I paid was ~USD $170 /per night, but I had a deluxe room. I was quoted ~USD$145 for a standard room. Taxi from the airport to the hotel is about ~USD$20. The hotel also has a pool, but nothing special. There is also highspeed internet in the room (not wireless), for about USD$9 a day and its pretty stable and reliable.

My only other comment is a general statement regarding travelling around Port-of-Spain and Trinidad. Rush hour traffic is a nightmare, so leave plenty of time to get to where you need to go.