A neighbourhood guide, written by the people who live in it

Belmont, the oldest suburb of Port of Spain, and still the one that sings.

Three streets from our front gate, a pan side is tuning up. Nine minutes down the hill, the Savannah opens like a green lung. This is what to do about it.

Est. 1855, freed from the ships Read below, or ask us at the door
Where you're standing

A hillside grid of gingerbread houses, settled by free Africans in 1855.

Belmont is what happened when Trinidad's newly-freed men and women decided, having outrun one continent and been marched onto another, that they would build the first thing they'd owned in a hundred and fifty years. They built it on the hill above the port, close enough to see the ships, far enough that nobody could come knocking.

The grid they laid out, sloping down from the Laventille ridge toward Queen's Park Savannah, is the one you'll walk. The wooden gingerbread houses with their fretwork trim were the first purpose-built free Black neighbourhood in the Western Hemisphere. Most are still standing. Some still have the original families in them.

What Belmont holds now, a hundred and seventy years on, is the sound of the steel pan carrying up from the pan yards, the smell of shark and bake coming up the hill on a Sunday, and a rhythm of walking that has never quite gone away. Bring good shoes. Say good morning to everybody.

Read the full history · a 22-minute long read
Settled
1855
Freed Africans + Yoruba Rada community
Steel pan invented
1938
Trinidad All-Stars yard, John John
To the Savannah
Walking.
Within walking distance on foot
To Piarco Airport
~45–60 min.
By car; typical, depending on traffic
The eight things worth walking to

What to see, and how far.

Notable sites within short reach of The Sanctuary. Distances are from 128 Belmont Circular Road. Travel times are typical estimates only and can vary with traffic. Transportation arrangements can be coordinated in advance upon request.

Queen's Park Savannah at golden hour
01

Queen's Park Savannah

9 min walkOpen, alwaysFree

The world's largest roundabout, and the city's front lawn. Coconut men at dawn, the Magnificent Seven mansions along the western edge, the Grand Stand where Carnival lives. Do a full loop, it's exactly 3.7 km.

Royal Botanic Gardens
02

Royal Botanic Gardens

12 min walk6am to 6pmFree

Sixty-two acres of specimen trees laid out in 1818, one of the oldest gardens in the Western Hemisphere. The quietest lunch in the city, under a hundred-and-ninety-year-old saman.

Steel pan yard rehearsal
03

Desperadoes Pan Yard

7 min walkRehearsals: evesDonation

Up on Laventille Hill, one of the oldest steel bands in the country. Come to a Panorama rehearsal in January or February. Bring a folding chair, a cold drink, and a small donation for the band.

Carnival mas camp workshop
04

Mas Camps of Belmont

Same blockNov to FebTours by ask

Belmont is where the bands are still built by hand. Wire, feather, sequin, glue. Walk in during the day, ask if they'll show you the sketches. Most of the time the answer is yes.

Maracas Bay
05

Maracas Bay

~40–45 min driveDaily, all hours$5 parking

A palm-lined north coast crescent, reached by the winding North Coast Road. Order the shark and bake at Richard's, take the sunset home with you. We'll arrange the driver.

Carnival masquerader in feathered costume
06

Carnival (Feb, Mar)

EverywhereTwo MondaysAsk us

Not a festival, a country. Two days of mas, four weeks of fetes leading in. We hold rooms for returning Carnival guests eleven months a year, ask about the standing reservation.

A Belmont street corner
07

Belmont Circular Road walk

At the gateDo it slowFree

The Circular is a two-mile loop that starts and ends at our door. Do it counter-clockwise in the morning, greet everybody, and you'll come back with a friend and a bag of mangoes.

Downtown Port of Spain rooftops
08

Downtown Port of Spain

8 min drive7 min walk to topFree

Frederick Street, the National Museum, Red House, Woodford Square. The city proper is a short walk down the hill. Come back up on foot in the cool of the evening.

Trinidad doubles wrapped in wax paper
The food map

Doubles for breakfast, bake and shark for lunch, roti for dinner.

The great Trinidad meals are cheap, walkable, and served fast. Learn to say "slight pepper" and you'll pass for local by Thursday.

01
Doubles
Curried chickpea in soft fried bara, with tamarind, mango, kuchela. TT$8, cash only. Sauce Doubles on the Circular, from 6.30am until they're out.
6 min walk
02
Shark and bake
Fried bake stuffed with pepper-marinated shark, ten condiments on the side. Richard's at Maracas, TT$60. Nowhere else, don't be fooled.
~40–45 min drive
03
Roti
Curried goat, chicken, pumpkin, aloo, channa, folded in a paratha bigger than your hand. Patraj on Woodford, Saturdays only. Get there before noon.
10 min drive
04
Corn soup, corner rum
Any late-night stop in Belmont. Corn soup in a paper cup, cutter of white rum, and whoever's playing dominoes at the shop. The one on the corner of Erthig Road stays open.
5 min walk
05
Bake and buljol
Salted cod, tomato, onion, olive oil, pepper. Weekend breakfast on Belmont Circular, sit-down at any rum shop that also does food. Ask about Sunday coocoo.
In the neighbourhood
06
Aloo pie, saheena, kachori
Fried Indo-Trini street snacks, all TT$5 to TT$10 apiece. Stop at any doubles vendor and ask for the "sides".
Everywhere
Steel pan & Carnival

Two traditions Belmont lives inside.

Belmont is closely connected to Trinidad and Tobago's steelpan and Carnival traditions, with pan yards and mas camps at several addresses in the surrounding streets. Every Carnival, those yards fill up again for Panorama. You are welcome to sit in the corner and listen. Nobody will bother you. Somebody will bring you a beer.

Steel pan yard rehearsal at night in Belmont
“A pan yard is the only room in the country where a stranger is always seated.”

Pan yards within walking distance

Rehearsals ramp up from November and peak the two weeks before Carnival Panorama. Most yards welcome quiet visitors. Bring earplugs if you're close to the drums.

  • HilarysBelmont Circular Rd
  • Belmont Community CentreBelmont Circular Rd
  • Pandemonium Youth Steel Orchestra#3 Norfolk St
  • BP Renegades138 Charlotte St, Port of Spain
  • Trinidad All Stars46 - 48 Duke St, Port of Spain

Mas camps on our street

Traditional mas is still built by hand in Belmont. Two working sailor-mas bands a short walk from our gate, open from October, with wire-bending nights welcoming quiet visitors.

  • Belmont Exotic Stylish SailorsJerningham Avenue
  • Belmont Original Stylish Sailors49 Norfolk Street
  • Carnival datesConfirmed on request
  • Full guidecarnival.html →
Getting around

You will not need a rental car.

Belmont is walkable to downtown, to the Savannah, to the Botanic Gardens. For everything else, we book you a driver we trust. Rideshare works inside the city, less so on the coast.

01

Airport transportation on request

Transportation from Piarco Airport is not included with your stay. Airport transfers may be arranged in advance upon request — our reservations team can coordinate a trusted driver and confirm pricing.

  • To Belmont from Piarco~45–60 min
  • Included in stayNo · on request
  • Round-trip guidanceBy quote
02

Drivers we trust

For north-coast trips (Maracas, Blanchisseuse), the Caroni swamp at sunset, and airport runs. We call ahead; you pay the driver directly in cash.

  • Maracas round tripTT$400
  • Half-day city tourTT$600
  • Caroni sunsetTT$500
03

Rideshare and taxis

TT Rideshare and PinkCab work reliably in Port of Spain. Route taxis (shared, TT$5) run down Belmont Circular Road all day. Say "town" and get off at the corner.

  • To downtown POSTT$5 shared
  • To SavannahWalk it
  • Rideshare (app)TT$25 to town
When to come

Every season, a reason.

Belmont has weather like clockwork and a festival calendar to match. The peak months are the driest and the most expensive; the off-peak is greener, quieter, and about fifteen percent kinder on the wallet.

Jan 01 Panorama prelims. Cool, dry, breezy.
Feb 02 Carnival. Fully booked, always.
Mar 03 Post-Carnival quiet. Dry.
Apr 04 Last of the dry. Easter kites on the Savannah.
May 05 Rains begin. Everything greens.
Jun 06 Wet mornings, sunny afternoons.
Jul 07 Emancipation Day (1st). Jazz Festival.
Aug 08 Independence Day (31st). Hottest.
Sep 09 Wettest month. Everything smells green.
Oct 10 Divali begins. Repeat guests book Carnival.
Nov 11 Dry season returns. Pan yards fire up.
Dec 12 Parang. Christmas breeze. Peak begins.
Peak (Dec 1 to Apr 30) Carnival window Rainy, off-peak (May to Sep) Shoulder
The Sanctuary Belmont, T & T

Things to
Know About
Belmont.

Guest information Updated regularly
In every room

Neighbourhood information for our guests.

Selected information about Belmont and the surrounding area is provided in each guest room — landmarks, points of interest, and useful contact details. The online version on this page covers the same neighbourhood context in more detail.

For assistance with restaurant recommendations, transportation arrangements, or specific requests during your stay, please contact the reservations team.

A mood strip

Belmont, in ten photographs.

Belmont rooftops at golden hour
Duke Street pan yard rehearsal
Doubles wrapped in wax paper
Mas camp artisans working by hand
Panorama night rehearsal in Belmont
Where we sit

128 Belmont Circular Road, the house behind the black gate.

The Sanctuary 128 Belmont Circular Rd
Queen's Park Savannah · 9 min walk
Botanic Gardens · 12 min
Downtown POS · 8 min drive
Desperadoes Pan Yard · 7 min walk
4 studios + Quincy’s Quarters at one address

Belmont holds a room if you have the dates.

See the rooms Reserve a stay