Tobago/Coco Reef wedding Review Nov 05

[Brendan]

As promised here is our review of our 2 week stay in Coco Reef. We arrived on the 5th of Nov and left on the 20th. The weather was great in the first week though occasional showers that passed quickly. In the 2nd week the downpours tended to last for 'days' as opposed to hours. However this did not dampen our spirits as it was still 30 degrees even in the rain! On the plus side visiting Tobago in November meant we had no problems getting the sunbeds and no problems getting tables in the best restaurants without a booking. We stayed at the luxurious Coco reef and it was all we imagined and then some. The staff could not have been more helpful and seemed very genuine. Our room had maid service twice a day and as we got married at the resort, our bed was scattered with petals every night - a nice touch. A noisy air conditioner was fixed within a few hours of being reported to the social directors. Kevah the wedding co ordinator was excellent at ensuring the wedding day passed without a problem and it truly was everything we had dreamed of. Our only minor gripe was that on our wedding night they charged 8 GBP to open our own bottle of champagne at their restaurant . A little exceesive perhaps?! During our holiday we ate at all of the following restaurants... Pelican Reef (excellent food and interesting entertainment- ate their 3 times). Cafe Melange (shirvan Road) (Again excellent seafood and beautiful ambience), Tamaras - Coco reef restaurant - faboulus food with excellent service - highest price also. Cafe Coco -Crown Point (salubrius decor, food very good, though the restauarant seemed too big for the few couples that were there at the time and probably gives the wrong impression during the winter months), Dillons seafood restaurant - not the best food and certainly not the best service (imho) although this may have been all down to one waitress. Rou-b-lous- -Store bay- now under new management, basic styling, though excellent seafood- the new owner even gave us a lift back to the hotel!! There were a few others but these were the most notable.
Did 6 dives also with Undersea Tobago, dives were very average mainly due to poor visibility 5-10m max due to the rain. Could not comment on the dive sites as I did not see much of them. However did 2 dives with Manta dives in Speyside and these were much better and would recommend both companies for experienced divers. Would definitely go in summer time for diving next time. If you get the chance we also recommend the following activities: Cocomotion -speedboat. We spent a morning snorkelling a deserted bucoo reef and other secluded beaches. Rainforest- Lots of diverse flora and fauna and was surprised to see lots of land crabs! Very attractive wellies supplied! We also hired a car for the day and toured most of the island, well worth the effort. Our trips were booked through Yes tourism who were very helpful and we only had to pay when we got back from the trip! All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and would highly recommend the Coco reef for a wedding hotel/destination. If you want a good knowledgable taxi driver just ask for Mr Gibbs (booked through the coco reef). If you want any more info or photos of the wedding you can email: [email protected]. We'd be happy to help.