Coco Bay Resort Reviews

We stayed in two beachfront villas which were lovely, huge windows with louvred shutters and doors opening onto balcony with hammock. Ceiling fan but there was always a lovely breeze coming through the shutters at night. Housekeeping very good. Downside - no chairs in room for sitting after dinner, needed another light to read by. Didn't risk sitting on the balcony at night because of mozzies. Don't believe the people who tell you there aren't any - there are, and also sand flies. We liberally applied repellant every evening and all got bitten, some more than others. The public areas are where you get eaten! Pool was lovely but got very crowded. Beaches good, lots of loungers and shade. Restaurant disappointing for dinner and service could be slow, buffet for breakfast and lunch which was fine. Bar needed to use brand-name drinks! Most of the staff were very friendly and helpful. Generally very relaxing but possibly overpriced and spoilt somewhat by indifferent food.

Hotel check-in was very good (though we confused them by arriving before everyone else -we'd flown from St Lucia).

The reception staff were friendly and very helpful as were all the other staff! This continued all week.

We booked a seafront cottage and thought this would be one the beach, but the resort is on a cliff edge - so we couldn't get to the beach directly from our room. (We later saw the rooms in the Plantation houses - these were great and in hindsight we'd have like these!). But the room was very nice and the view from the balcony was fantastic (I didn't know sea could be that bright blue).

The only draw back was the lack of air conditioning - it meant our room could get rather warm and the mosquitos and insects thrived (our room in St Lucia was air-conditioned and we were not bitten at all - unfortunately we were both bitten alot in Antigua). The mosquito net had several holes and the staff happily changed it (to one with slightly fewer holes).

The beaches were out of this world! The beach immediately attached to the hotel was nice, but be warned, there are quite a few rocks lurking in the sea on this beach. But if you walk to the end of this beach, you can get to the next bay - Ffryes Bay. This beach is gorgeous and better for swimming!!!!

The bar and the cocktails were wonderful - again staff were fantastic. The restaurant was open air (this may have contributed to our bite collection). Breakfasts were great (Cereals, fresh fruit, bacon and eggs cooked to order - any style). The evening meal was very nice - though may not be to everyone's taste - no fail safe favourites like burgers, pizza, roasts etc. As it's table service it did mean I was a little reluctant to try new things (as you couldn't go and have a second helping like you would in a buffet). Also it means you have no control over your portion sizes. If you want afternoon tea - be sure to get there quick!

Shirley heights is worth a visit - we went on the Sunday night, when they have live music. The sunset is supposed to be fantastic (it was cloudy when we were there). Although Sunday is busy, the steel band is great. (But be warned the food and drink isn't the best value).

On our last night we tried the Sheer restaurant (that you pay for), it was nice, but in our view a little expensive - one bottle of wine (cheapest on the menu), one water, two starters, two soups and two main meals came to over £80). We'd have been just as happy in the main restaurant.

There wasn't any entertainment whilst we were there - there was supposed to be a steal band one evening but they didn't materialise. There were plenty of loungers around the pool, but the bar area was a little sparse on furniture.

We got married in St Lucia, and I'm glad it wasn't here. There were four weddings whilst we stayed and all were on full view of all guests - two were between the bar, restaurant and pool - meaning other guest were right in the middle of the ceremony. Not exactly private.

Would definatley go to Antigua again, but perhaps not rush back to Coco Bay (unless they installed air con.)

Ideal break for that ";Get Away"; experience

Room was kept imaculate by the housekeeping staff. Views were terrific !! Travelled for our 25th wedding anniversary
and couldn't have picked a more romantic setting. Standard of food was great especialy the evening meals which were al'acarte standard and made complete by the warm welcome and professional approach adopted by Mr Kenroy Gore (The resteraunt manager)The bar was kept lively by the ";effervesant"; David who mixes the best cocktails in town !!

A word of warning Not for those who require the luxury of air con !! Try a trip to the Sports bar and Casino at nearby Jolly Harbour Fully air conditioned and great food You might even win in the casino (We did, twice !!)Ask for Benjy or JJ who will take you ther for a very reasonable charge.One or two of the reception staff a bit surley but more than out numbered by the pleasant and friendly ones !!

Take a bottle of water on the plane as the airport is hot and humid and the entry into Antigua takes forever !!

The Cocobay Resort is perfect for the ";Get Away from it all"; style of holiday. The rooms are very rustic and the standard of food was excellent. Staff were very friendly and the views from the pool and restaurant area are fantastic. There is not much to do at the hotel itself, but if you are the sort to bury yourself in a book by the pool it is perfect.

Service and standard was excellent during the first week of our stay, but this deteriorated during the second week, as did staff morale. This was because of a cost cutting excercise by the hotel which resulted in some staff being laid off. The result was the service in the restaurant went from being top class to slow and sloppy.

I also had a problem with hotel security during my stay - a nearly new pair of trainers were stolen from my room by staff. We were extremely careful with our key and the room was always locked. The cleaning staff were not so strict and left the room open unattended at times.

The hotel did not deal with this theft very well and point blank refused to compensate and take any responsibility. After many e-mails to them after my return they wanted to wash their hands of the problem. This was infuriating, so we then went back to the holiday company Sovereign who managed to secure a 50% replacement cost from the hotel, and Sovereign matched the amount secured from the hotel to effectively pay me the cost to replace the stolen trainers. The whole incident and the dismissive attitude of the hotel left a nasty taste in the mouth and really put a blot on the copybook of a great holiday.

So beware - security is quite loose and not much effort was made to sort the theft out!