myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Does anyone know if the Coco Reef has, or is planning to install room safes.
We are planning a third visit to the island this year but find using the safety deposit boxes behind reception too inconvenient if like us you use it every day to store jewelry you dont want to swim with.

I do feel this is one very small item that lets the Coco Reef down as the cost of such a safe would be less than £100 a room and would be a huge investment.
It would also free up staff ant the room currently used behind reception.

It sounds trivial but without the safe I am unlikely to return this year and we would really like to spend 14 nights in September.

Regards
John

John Gilham wrote:Does anyone know if the Coco Reef has, or is planning to install room safes?

Back in November, the only secure storage facility was the locked drawers, with a two-key system, in the room behind reception. We only used it for cash, so didn't access it on a daily basis; I can see how that would get to be a nuisance.

On a slightly related note, the Coco Reef recommends that one does not take one's electronic room key onto the beach: it's too easy to lose. That means leaving it at the desk, and retrieving it later, but there's not often a significant delay: I suppose it's better than paying for a replacement key.

Jonathan

Unless it has changed since I was there in 2006 then the 'electronic key' was a plastic card with a swipe strip I am sure.
Easily replaceable should it get lost.
Maybe I am mistaken

John Gilham wrote:Unless it has changed since I was there in 2006 then the 'electronic key' was a plastic card with a swipe strip I am sure.

Yes, you're right. "Electronic" might have been making it sound too sophisticated, but I meant to convey that it's not a physical key. Easily-replaceable or not, there's a fairly stiff fee if you lose it!

Yes sorry Jonathan, I understand what you mean.

Every time we have been to the Coco Reef we have always seen how well Eric manages the hotel and responds to customers. If anyone reads my previous postings they will see our visits have not been without issues but they have always been addressed by hotel staff to our total sattisfaction. No business runs without problems but it is the way they are resolved that matters.

Since posting this question I have had a personal email from the hotel management clearly as a result of the forum being read by senior management. This makes us want to return to the Coco Reef even more as the hotel wants our booking.

We cant wait to go back yet again.
I am already looking forward to those extra large Lobsters and the Soufle for pudding.

Hi John

You are so right - every business makes mistakes, but it is the way they deal with it that distinguishes the quality establishments.

As a matter of interest, when we review a property and include them in our Recommended list, we offer the facility of automatically sending management a copy of all visitor comments/reports posted in their property's sub-forum (both direct posts and reports added via the Accommodation section). You would think that every hotel would welcome this free service. Surprisingly, of the eleven hotels that we have reviewed and recommend, only four avail themselves of this service - in alphabetical order, they are Blue Haven Hotel, Coco Reef Resort, Cuffie River Nature Retreat and Sandy Point Beach Club.

Thanks Steve

I guess its no different than watching their page as I would do if I ran any hotel in Tobago. Its what you do about what you read is the difference.

Great website still. We are alternating between Tobago and St lucia at the moment, keep hoping to get a Lotto win so we can do both every year as we are always torn between the two.

Kind Regards
john

Last evening we booked 14 nights at the Coco Reef arriving on the 11th September, cant wait.

This will be our third visit to the Coco Reef

Just got back from Coco Reef and can confirm that they are still without room safes. It was a bit of a hassle going down to use the back room to get access to our security box, particularly if we timed it wrongly and had to wait in the small queue that builds up on occasion. However, having said that it was our only negative in the whole of our stay (and a pretty minor one really) and I am sure that a hotel of its standing will at some point bring itself up to the standard that most other hotels have in this respect.