Coco Reef - Lots of Questions

[Johnathan D. Red]

hi there,

Complete newbie here, but have thoroughly enjoyed reading through all of the posts.

My wife and I are planning on visiting Coco Reef later this month with our 2 young children (both are under . We have a few questions, hopefully you can provide some assistance.

1. Our stay includes breakfast, how much should be budget for lunches and dinner daily if eating at Tamara's (dinner) or Bachanals (lunch) ?

2. Dress code for Tamara's - I have read through numerous posts on this, but couldn't find the answer - if I were to wear slacks, collared shirt and closed-toed dress sandals, would this be acceptable ? Or do I need to wear actual shoes ?

3. Any recommendations for restaurant's within walking distance of the resort ?

4. How good is the room service ? Is it the same as Tamara's or another menu ?

5. How busy is the hotel in the July/August timeframe ? Are there a lot more kids at that time ?

Thanks in advance, looking forward to the replies.

J.D. Red

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Jonathan

Welcome aboard!

1. If you are going to eat lunch and dinner at the Coco Reef, then you would be FAR better off upgrading to a FAP/All-Inclusive plan. Like all the hotels, the cost of eating in as a 'cash' customer is very high - particularly as the hotels have extra taxes they have to charge which the small restaurants don't.

2. You might find our review of the Coco Reef of use here and it fully details dress code - which is essentially "smart casual".

3. See our Restaurants listings for all the hotels around the Coco Reef.

4. Can't say I've ever tried it. However, the I doubt very much if room service catering will be up to Tamaras standards.

5. The hotel will be quiet, compared to the February/March peak season. There are never a LOT of kids at the hotel - very few families with kids can afford to stay there.

Enjoy your research.

[Johnathan D. Red]

Hi Steve

Thanks for the feedback and the very quick response

We looked at the all-inclusive and it was an extra $2000CDN for the 4 of us, which is around $10000+ TT$. With 2 young kids, we didn't think it was worth it, especially as we would like to look at eating some of the local/creole foods as well.

My parents are from Trinidad so the kids are used to the spicing of the local (i.e grandma's) foods.

The dress code is so strange to us, although i should be used to it having been educated in Trinidad. In North America, a clean pair of jeans, dress sandals and a collared shirt are considered appropriate attire for most restaurants. It's nice to see some areas that still have a sense of decorum and decency.

JDR

[Steve Wooler]

Here, here! Otherwise, we might as well all go and eat in McCraps.

[Johnathan D. Red]

So..now that we have that out of the way, can anyone out there tell me how much I should budget daily ($TT) for food at Coco Reef ?

[Megan B]

I can give you a little insight. We also stayed at the coco reef with the breakfast only plan.

For the two of us, lunch normally ran somewhere between 150TT to 250TT (all depended on our server).

We only ate at Tamara's one night because of the cost. But dinner for the two of us (buffet night) plus a bottle of wine ran close to 700TT.

Personally, we thought the food wasn't worth that much. Most nights we would walk the block or so to the Coco Cafe. The food was excellent there and dinner for the two of us (with multiple Corona's and desert) ran less than 300TT.

We are heading back again this September and decided to stick with the breakfast only plan. Neither one of us are big drinkers so we really don't mind paying by the drink. But dinners at Tamara's are a little outrageous to pay by the meal. We did eat dinner at Bachanals a few evenings which was a much simpler meal than Tamara's (normally burgers or grilled chicken). Dinner at Bachanals for the two of us was around 250 - 300TT.

I can't comment on the room service because we never tried it.

Hope you have a great time!

[Johnathan D. Red]

Thank you very much Megan ! That information really helps me.

My wife and I also aren't big drinkers, 1 or 2 drinks with dinner is usually enough, and the kids typically share a meal, so, our costs would be very close to yours.

Very helpful, thanks again.

JDR

[Geoff Seabrook]

I agree with the comments about Cafe Coco. Very good food, resonable prices and nice atmosphere. Two other local places we have tried are Dillons Seafood and the Pelican on the other side of the road. The food in both was very good but Dillons does lack a bit of atmosphere. Dinner in both was around TT150 plus drinks. All three of these restaurants are a short walk and worth the effort. I should add we are staying at the Hilton this time around and drive out for dinner every night. Following the information on the MyTobago site we have not had a bad experience.

BTW best lunch was at the local stand at the far end of pigeon Point. The Roastbake with ham and cheese is local bread cooked in front of you and costs TT15 with a choice of home made seasonings. The flying fish verson was TT25 and very good. Lunch for 4 with drinks came to less than TT100 including desert (home made peanut brittle and sesame snaps).

Geoff

[Johnathan D. Red]

Geoff,

Thank you very much for the info. We definitely plan on walking about and experiencing some of the other restaurants and smaller food stands in the area.

As a youngster many years ago, I used to love curry crab and dumpling from the Store bay area. With Ms. Esmie's passing, does anyone have a recommendation for another vendor ?

JDR