Just returned from Coco Reef

[Gareth Lambert-Jones]

Just returned from 2-weeks at the Coco Reef (AI).

Location - Perfectly located for a super quick transfer from the airport. No airport noise, you don't realise that you're so close to the airport.

Accommodation - Nice clean room with nice views over Store Bay next door to the hotel. However, late night music at Store Bay (to the left hand-side of the hotel) could be disturbing for some people but we were assured that we could move rooms if needed.

Staff - Brilliant staff! Make the time to chat to them and they open up completely. It makes your holiday that much better. Only found one waiter the entire 2 weeks who you could tell didn't want to be there.

Food - Having a 2 year old daughter food was always going to be an issue. The hotel has a childrens menu but it tends to be 'something with chips' which we didn't want to end up giving her for 2 weeks. The earliest sitting for dinner is 19:00 which is too late for our daughter so apart from the odd time when she came to dinner with us we always got room service for her then she slept in her buggy during our meals. Food was always of a good standard although tended to be quite a lot of buffet style sittings but still with lots of variety.

Beach - Great beach, very clean and is raked every morning destroying our sandcastle materpieces! The sea is warm and clean and excellent for safe swimming, deeper in places for those wishing for proper swimming. An abundence of sea life, especially every morning for those of us sneaking our bread rolls from breakfast to feed the fish. The artificial reef has attracted so many species of fish it is fantastic!

Overall, the Coco Reef was a wonderful place for a holiday.
We visited during the rainy season and got an above average amount of sunshine, but at the same time the hotel was less than half full and so there was a beach load of empty sunbeds and shades and never had to rush to book the main restuarant for the evening.

We noticed a few people had been at the recieving end of the sand flies, luckily we escaped relatively bite free (apart from the mother and father in law )

Overall, an eight out of ten.

[Michelle Kidner]

Hello Gareth

I am so pleased you had a great time at the Coco Reef, sometimes the reviews can get confusing!

We shall be visiting Coco Reef in November, on our honeymoon, and will be taking our 3yr old son with us - couldn't bear to leave him at home!! I am just wondering if you have any handy tips as you took your 2yr old with you.

Good tip about meals - we wouldn't want Jacob to have chips for two weeks either - however, he is a little older and will most definitely be awake for dinner!!! We will see how we got on.

Just wondered how the beach was for littleys and how the humidity was for children. Also, there have been conflicting reports on how children are received by other holidaymakers whilst there - wondered if you had any comments.

I must admit, it is finally getting nearer and I am getting very excited after months of planning. I hope we have just as good a time as you had. Oh, also, were the rooms of a comfortable size to accommodate the three of you??

Thanks ever so much.

Michelle

[Anette Mahoney]

Dear Michelle,

We went to Coco Reef at Easter this year with our 2 kids (5 & 7) and had a fantastic holiday. Ours are obviously a little older than your son but I am sure he will have a great time. There were quite a few kids around due to Easter holidays, and all ages had fun. The beach is great for the little ones as it is so clean and there always seemed to be some shade you could put them in to build sandcastles. Also, the man-made lagoon is far gentler for little ones than any of the natural beaches we saw.

The best thing we did with regard to the temperature was to get the all-in-one sunsuits and hats with flaps at the back for the children (we bought them from home). It meant we weren't fussing around them all the time with sun cream and driving them mad. The humidity in April wasn't a problem but the sun was pretty fierce at times and we tended to take them out of it at lunchtime for a while.

As for the rooms, we had 4 of us in an ocean view room and had no problems with space. Having said that, we are planning to go back next easter and will probably go for a suite as an extra bathroom would be nice but bear in mind that is with 2 children so I am convinced you will be fine.

We were also a little nervous about what reception the children would get having read some of the comments (after we had booked!) but had no need to be. There were the odd tuts, but they tended to come from the people who complained about everything so we didn't take it too personally. We were obviously very conscious of the fact that there were a lot of people there without kids and tried to make sure ours weren't too annoying or loud but must say we had countless conversations with people who complimented us on their behaviour and were going home to recommend Coco Reef as a good place for their children to come with the grandchildren.

As for meals, we ate a few times with the children in the more formal restaurant and had no problems. The staff are so helpful and are more than happy to slightly alter the menu for the children, eg making sure fish, meat etc was served without sauce. The beachside restaurant offered a great variety and the kids loved the food.

We also used the babysitting service arranged by the hotel, which worked perfectly - the lady was really lovely and sat and watched the kids like a hawk! It is an extra charge but well worth it - especially on your honeymoon.

I really hope you have a fantastic time on your honeymoon - I am very jealous as I can't wait to go back. Tobago is beautiful, the hotel is great and we found all the staff to be very friendly and really good with the children. The kids keep asking if we have booked for next year yet so obviously they enjoyed it too!

[Michelle Kidner]

Thanks Annette

That answers a lot of my queries!!! It sounds really delicious!! It is very strange, with all the planning for the wedding we have almost forgotten that we have a fab honeymoon booked!!! I am so glad you and your family had a great time and can't wait to see it all for myself in November. It is getting closer by the minute! Luckily, as we live in Cornwall, Jacob is a bit of a beach bum already and I am sure he will enjoy the holiday. His favourite things are the sand, fishes and food! Sounds like we are off to a good start.

Thanks so much for your comments. Will have to hit the sales soon to get us all kitted out for a fab holiday.

Michelle x.

[Gareth Lambert-Jones]

Michelle

As a Cornish ex-pat (Newquay) now living in Wiltshire I can vouch that the beaches and the sea will live up to all expectations. The beach at the Coco Reef is great and the sea is crystal clear.

I agree with Anette in that we also had a couple of sunsuits prior to leaving for Tobago which we have when we are back in Kernow at the beach with grandparents. There is plenty of shade as well and regular visits by the drinks waiters!! We spent the majority of the holiday on the Coco Reef beach as you have everything you need to hand.

As I said previously, if your son is used to eating after 19:00 then the food will not be an issue as it is great with plenty of choice. For us, however, Ellie (at 2yrs) is still eating at around 17:30 so room service was used quite a lot then we got her asleep before we sat down for dinner.

As far as children at the Coco Reef is concerned, we found all the staff to be far more attentive to our needs as it gave them an excuse to come and chat to Ellie and make a fuss. All the staff were great and we know from other guests we met with young children they were the same. Anyway, Ellie is very well behaved so we couldn't give a stuff about anyone with any issue about kids staying there. Just go out and have a fantastic time!

Good luck for the wedding and honeymoon and give my regards to my home county!

If there are any further details you want regarding the Coco Reef just ask.

Gareth

[Gareth Lambert-Jones]

P.S. The rooms are large enough to accomodate the three of you. We started the holiday initially with a large double bed and a cot for Ellie, however, the cot was on the small side and so we requested a single bed which was delivered and set up the same day. Even with beds for the three of us, there was loads of room .

Gareth

[Michelle Kidner]

Thanks Gareth - sounds ideal!

And very warm sunny wishes from Cornwall...... it's been a blessing to be by the coast in this hot spell.

I'm with you on the children front - Jacob is also well behaved and is quite a little character. I don't really care what others think as long as they are prepared to give the kids a chance! We were all one after all..

Will definitely get a sunsuit methinks.

Thanks for your comments. We live near Penzance, but I used to work in Newquay. Will send your regards the next time I am there!

Michelle.

[Diane C]

Hi Michelle
you mentioned sunsuits for children, I know when we were at Coco Reef in May, there was a little boy in a sunsuit from http://www.sun-togs.co.uk & he wore it all the time ( they probably had more than one) & his parents said that it was great for keeping all the harmful rays out, but didn't seem to stop him playing etc. We bought some shoes for going on boat trips from them & they also came in handy for our trip into the rain forest.
Have a wonderful time at coco Reef, we will definitely return one day.

[Rob Hooper]

We have also just returned from Coco Reef and Tobago, where we had a fabulous time. We also got married at the resort and I cannot recommend it enough to anyone considering getting married at Coco Reef and indeed on the island of Tobago.

A truly stunning location and the wedding planner at the hotel makes the whole thing toally stress free and eternally memorable.

A big hello to Gareth and his family - indeed my wife was particluarly desired by the sand flies Gareth referred to (& I think Oliver owes Ellie a dinosaur!). However, it should be noted that this is a minor irritant in an otherwise fantastic place!

For anyone with young children considering visiting, I would highly recommend it. We found all of the staff at the hotel and all the local people we met to be thoroughly engaging and welcoming towards children.

[Gareth Lambert-Jones]

Hi Rob, and congrats once again on the wedding, it was enjoyed by all who were watching from the beach!

[Rob Hooper]

thanks Gareth - It was indeed a memorable day!

A far cry from a rather grey summer's (?!) day in London today! Still - England should at least win the second ashes test tomorrow!

Best wishes to you and yours.

Seriously jealous of anyone in or heading out to Tobago!