Maria's By the Sea Hotel

My family had arrived on Tortola via the ferry terminal and needed a hotel right near the ferry because we were leaving again very early the next morning to move on to our final destination on another island. I chose Maria's because it is walking distance to the ferry terminal. It was barely a 5 minute walk for my family of 4, including wheeling suitcases. No taxi is needed. I found the ladies at the front desk to be very polite, welcoming and helpful. Our room was extremely clean, comfortable and had excellent air-conditioning, which made it easy to sleep well at night. The beds were comfortable and the shower was great too. It was also nice to have a balcony, even though it just overlooked the town and parking lot. We enjoyed having the pool for a bit and the overall exterior pool area was very clean but the pool water itself was not clean. We ended up using the nearby skimmer ourselves to clean it ourselves. It was the off season (August) but a worker should visit the pool 3 times a day for regular vacuuming and skimming. It felt a bit unsanitary to swim in. It had hair, bugs and foam on the surface of the water. It was fun though watching the nearby chickens and roosters entertain us while we swam. We didn't try their restaurant but ate at the surprisingly excellent Italian trattoria across the street. Overall, this is a basic 3-star hotel. With a bit more attention to beautification of the lobby and staircase areas, this could be a 3.5 or 4 star hotel.