My wife and I returned on Sept 2nd after two weeks AI at Coco Reef.
All-in-all a good value-for-money holiday. We had a great time, met lots of reallly nice people and will keep many fond memories.
Before we booked this trip I used this forum a great deal and found it very useful. As a kind of thank you I promised to myself to detail as much as possible about Coco Reef and Tobago upon returning. Here goes:
TRAVEL:
The transfer from the airport was swift (3 mins) after locating the correct taxi service designated by the tour operator. The baggage pick-up area was slightly chaotic at Crown Point airport as three carriers, Excel BA and Virgin all arrive fairly close together on a Thursday afternoon. This was compounded by the fact that the airport has the smallest baggage carosel I have ever seen.
A small investment in air-con and installing a larger baggage carosel would make life so much easier. Saying that, everyone was in good spirits and helped each other and we got our bags off in 20 mins- much faster than we did at Gatwick on returning-(1.5 hour wait).
As a big treat to ourselves we flew Excel One- (Business class equivalent). I was worried about some of the feedback I had read on this airline but was very pleasantly surprised. For a fraction of the cost you would pay on other carriers we had great service all the way. Well worth every penny and highly reccomended.
ACCOMODATION:
The organised chaos of the aiport is quickly forgotten as you enter the hotel foyer. Handed refreshment, check-in was fast and painless. Our bags were taken and we were shown brifely around the hotel. The air-con in the room was a real aahhh factor when we entered. We took about 3-4 days to fully acclimatise as it's the rainy season and humidity is fairly high. The rooms are exactly as advertised clean, comfortable and all you really need.
Half way through the holiday my wife enquired about the addditional cost to upgrade to a junior suite. Nobody got back to us on this for over a day and after a two hour wait in the lobby (whilst costs were being established) the hotel manager really kindly gave us the upgrade for free. This was the cherry on the cake for our stay at Coco Reef as the junior suites are a lot bigger and again worth the money. My advice is to bartar a bit when you have been there a few days. If no one is using the rooms you should get a good deal.
DINING, FACILITIES AND ENTERTAINMENT:
The food was consistantly of a high standard at every sitting. The fine-dining Tamaras was particularly good and at all times the service was discreet and attentive. If you partake, I reccomend a sundowner either on the roof terrace or in Baccanals, the sunsets were beautiful.
The Spa and Gym were also of a high standard. Ask the receptionist if you can book your free massage- (apparently you get 15mins free for every week you stay but this wasn't advertised and may be dependant on who you book with). They have male and female masseurs available.
The beach was as seen in the resort photos -white sand and the sunbeds and palm umbrellas abound. Trevor will pass by every hour or two to discreetly see if you would like a drink delivered.
Wastersports were limited to non-motorised with Kyaks, sailing boats and snorkeling equipment available for free. The highlight for me was Derek's Undersea Tobago Dive center located at the end of the beach. Along with Ellis and Rachel (the other instructers) I had 8 great dives both in the Carribean and the Atlantic. -apx. 10 min boat trip, with 2 dives in a morning and back by 12pm. Saw Nurse sharks,-(harmless
) rays, turtles, Moray eels, barracuda and dived the Maverick wreck(27m) which was great fun. If you havn't dived before and would like to give it a try they do PADI "Bubble Maker" Courses for kids and gentle introductory courses for adults all of them close in to the resort's lagoon.My only minor issue was with the water in the resort's man-made lagoon. As the entrance to this is quite small I think that the water isn't moved around enough- there are no waves (so its great for small children) but I missed that and would have liked it "flushed out" more perhaps with a wider entrance or additional gap knocked through.
The grounds are otherwise beautiful and all is kept in immaculate condition along with a small army of dedicated people who constantly remove any sand in the hotel itself. Staff are very polite and friendly and the best waiter there is by far Kendrick-This guy will look after you. If you like cocktails ask him for a Viagra-these are not on the menu and 1 is usually more than enough
The evening entertainment consists of a variety of local performers and the standard was generally very good. Things can be a bit reserved at first, but if you feel like a dance go for it, the atmosphere was excellent as soon as people started dancing, as if everyone were just waiting for the excuse and the first brave soul to go for it! There is absolutely no pressure though if the sun, sea and food have taken their toll! If you are looking for late night boozy evenings to 3, 4 in the morning, it wont happen at Coco Reef. Most people wander off to bed after 12. I personally would have enjoyed 1 or 2 later nights with a disco or something, but this was not to be. Sunday School is a regular local event where the partying goes on late but is also (I was told) suitable for families in the earlier part of the evening.
OUT AND ABOUT
A Trip to the waterfalls is reccomended as is the Rainforest trip. Hiring a car and getting maps and a guide can all be organised by the very efficient Social Director. Also several people enjoyed the "Cocomotion" trip by speedboat around the reefs and beauty spots for some Rum punch and snorkelling. Other trips around the island to Englishman's bay and Charlotteville also had very good feedback. If you turn right out of the hotel entrance then right again you enter Store bay which has a great little market place and beach. We found the many Tobagan's we met to be friendly and with a great sense of humour.
The undisputed highlight of the holiday for us was a day trip to the Grenadine islands. Picked up from the hotel at 7.30 we flew to Union island (40 mins) and then on to the old style sailing boat (that was filmed in Pirates of the Carribean along with the crew as supporting extras) This is truly an idylic trip, dropped of on several small islands and spars with a couple of palm trees, crystal tourquoise water and a Rum punch and turtles swimming nearby for company. The crew and skipper were fantastic and we had the whole ship to just the 6 of us. Food and beverages were all provided.
The only catch here is that there is a minimum of 6 paying adults (Children are half price) needed in order to charter the 8 seater Cesna we flew in. We were fortunate to meet with a lovely family at Coco Reef who also wanted to go on this trip. After saying goodbye to the crew its a really nice plane ride over the islands back to Crown point and Tobago in time for a sundowner at 7 pm Coco Reef
MISCELLANEOUS:
Sand flies can be a nuisance in the evenings but buy some "Off" in the hotel shop (or at Jimmys shop around the corner -usually a lot cheaper) and spray liberally and it will keep them at bay. (This was far more effective than the spray I got in the UK) Also buy a stick of "Afterbite" to deal with the inevitable.
The hotel exchange rate is not good for travellers cheques. The bank is 100 yards outside the hotel and gives market rates. The bank closes at 2pm most days.
The resort is far from being an "adults only" hotel, but if you are looking for this go outside of UK school holidays. We didn't mind this aspect and felt that the place had a more lively atmosphere as a result.
I hope this gives you a flavour of what a holiday at Coco Reef is like. If you have any questions on anything mentioned I'd be happy to help if I can. If you are going soon -Have a great time.
