Bottom line: I enjoyed my vacation but I would not go back to Cocobay. The value for the money simply isn't there. The issue came down to care and feeding of the guests, it just wasn't adequate for anything billed as an "all-inclusive resort." When I added in the cost of airfare, I could have gone to Sandals instead for the same price(although granted it wouldn't have been as quiet, I think I would have had a lot more choices in activities, food, drinks, and not be here 3 days after return trying to scratch that bite on my back). Here are specifics:

ROOMS: How much does it honestly cost to put in screens? I can tell you, for $19.95 I brought enough screening with me from a US Home Depot to cover the windows and door of both sides of one of the upgrade villas (with the lounge room inthe middle). I highly recommend bringing a roll of 36 x 25 screens with you, but don't bring duct tape like we did, it won't stay up, bring a staple gun or hammer/nails, then share the rest of your roll with your neighbor and become popular among guests! Antigua is hardly a remote island, I've been in much more remote places that have A/C, or at least screens. There is no excuse for having to sleep in the open by such a bug infested bay.

CRITTERS: problem #1 would not be an issue if it weren't for the bugs. You need to sleep in the mosquito net but I found a flea in my bed, which could explain some of the bites in odd places. Even if you keep them out of your room, they are still all over the all-outdoor restaurants and bar, so there is really no escaping getting eaten alive. Its true it is the #1 conversation starter (even above the usual "where are you from").

Even with the screens, the wildlife that we woke up to included one bird, one giant cucaracha, one tiny but noisy frog, one giant and freaky looking spider, plus several (but less than other rooms thanks to the screens!) mosquitoes, sand fleas, etc.

BUG PRODUCTS RECOMMENDED:
-I found some 98% DEET spray at an REI outdoor store which kept me mostly bug free until I ran out due to very liberal application after 2 days. Also sprayed it on the windows at night (I hate bugs!)
-Avon makes a product called SkinSoSoft with sunscreen 30 AND DEET, highly recommend it for afternoons at the beach, bugs aren't so bad in the morning but you're better off coating yourself 24/7.
-Take Pepto, calamine, benadryl (to sleep)
-Bring more sunscreen and DEET than you think you need! You'll be surprised how fast you go through it.

STAFF: Our group was the only group that wasn't couples. We are not sure if that is why we were completely ignored by some of the staff. Some of them like Jennifer at the tour desk (ask for her dad's air conditioned taxi), David at the bar, and a few others whose names I've forgotten, were terrific. Others were surly. Hit or miss.

BEACH: Gorgeous. True, too cloudy for snorkeling but water was heavenly except when my friends got stung (by jellyfish?) It is fun to watch the goats and sheep trot by the beach but very surprising the first time you see them there! Lack of water sports true, jet skis are $50 for 30 minutes but worth it to break up the quiet. On some days staff brought juice/sodas around to people on the beach, some days they didn't, completely unpredictable.

POOL: it's crazy that by the time towels were ready from housekeeping (between 8 and 8:30 am) all of the recliners by the pool were "reserved". This practice of people "reserving" chairs should be ignored. Anarchy!

FOOD: I thought the food was actually better than a Renaissance all-inclusive I stayed at in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, although we had less choices at Cocobay. Breakfast was ok(I like bacon and eggs and fruit every day), but don't eat the toast unless you're sure the birds haven't been in it. Lunch was ok, dinner was hit or miss. Unlike some of the reviewers who said they didn't see the same meal twice, we did, in only 5 days. The restaurant at Sheer had great food, after 4 days in the main restaurant we were happy to pay $50 each (food and wine) and the view was great, those of you who don't like to find bugs in your wine glass or tablecloth, be warned, it's completely outdoors so not much to be done about it.

DRINK: great mango daiquiris, but don't expect to find top shelf liquor included in the all inclusive deal.

Non-Cocobay trips:

St. JOHN'S: I have been to other Caribbean towns with more to offer, I consider that afternoon 3 hours when I could have been by the beach!

WIDADLICATS CRUISE: Definitely worth it!!!! One of the highlights.

Having just returned from a delightful two weeks in this great corner of paradise we felt we had to share our thoughts and feelings about this super hotel tucked away from the main hussle and bustle.
If you do your homework right you will, like us find this hotel and surround extremely pleasant, warm and friendly. We knew what to expect when we arrived and we were not disappointed. The food was generally good and the whole place was kept clean. Nothing was ever too much, if you had any questions at reception, bar or restaurant staff were equally friendly and helpful.
The Manager was very visible and introduced himself very early on so this made him very approachable if you had any issues.
We have nothing but admiration for all of the staff at Cocobay, our stay was wonderful and we would certainly have no second thoughts of going there again sometime in the future.
People who have rubbished this hotel with mounds of words worthy of a reasonable vicars sermon probably expected the earth but there is a rustic charm about this place that makes it typically Caribbean, you can't expect the Ritz cos it isn't!!! - this IS the Caribbean experience!!!
In this day and age with the www etc. it has become so easy to find out about things and places before you go away so if you don't like a place you stayed at it might well be because you didn't do enough groundwork and delving before you chose your destination, or they just had a bad day! - this, for us was magnificent!!

Having researched this hotel prior to our arrival, my wife and I were well prepared for the mosquitoes, the heat and the "rustic" elements of Cocobay. However the hotel is in need of dire repair and restoration and I would advise anyone thinking of cocobay to leave it well alone until it is advertised as "under new management" or "recently undergone extensive refurbishment"

I apologise for the length of this review but I was forced to cut my holiday by four days at great expense and hope that I can prevent others falling foul in the same way

Upon arrival my wife and I were informed that we had received an upgrade to one of the plantation houses. We were pleased with this lovely gesture. Having sipped the rum punch and cooled down with the refreshing cold towels supplied we made our way to the upgraded accommodation. We began to follow the staff member to the room when we realised that our luggage was not following, so spent the next five minutes lugging our heavy suitcases over intermittent paving stones in the soaring heat. By the time we reached our "house" we were sweating profusely and very uncomfortable.

Our room was two bedrooms with a lounge. Which looked very nice but the flowers in the lounge were mouldy, there was litter left in the bedroom and from the state of the toilet, the previous occupiers had struggled with upset tummys which the cleaner had decided not to clean.

Admiring the beautiful surroundings, I was surprised when a man came and stood next to me and explained that he had been allocated the second bedroom and that he was under the impression that we has ond of the bedrooms each and then we were to share the lounge. So my dream getaway was to be shared with another couple - some upgrade

We made our way to the pool which was beautiful to look at but was showing bare concrete on the floor of the pool and having emerged from the water, I was covered in the paint from the remaining covered floor.

Having gone to the bar, we were offered our drinks in a plastic cup synomynous with office water coolers, cocktails out of a very small plastic cup is not very "Carribean"

There was no lunch provided instead a small array of cream cheese sandwiches was supplied - don't bother trying if you don't get to the first tray.

Dinner - Large plates, molecular sized portions, service awful. Ensure you fill up at lunch
Lunch - Canteen style buffet with fish for nine days or burgers cooked by a woman who has been informed that smiling and manners are bad for the soul.
Breakfast - A better buffet with non smiling lady serving any egg combination you can imagine.

There is an alternative to choose from the right hand side of the menu at a cost of approximately $18 (Some all inclusive???)

We retired to bed and tucked in the mosquito net to discover large holes. You will get bitten on this holiday (We had 500 mozzie bites between us) The shutters for the slats were rusty and could not be shut so when the wind blew (The after effects of Wilma hit the island whilst we were there) the noise was horrendous and the whole room shook.

The balcony on the room had excellent views - The hammock was not useable due to an awful stale smell and was very unclean, an experience matched by the sunbeds around the pool.

Water Sports come by way of kayaking, sail boats or snorkels - Snorkelling is not feasible as it is too cloudy in the sea. The other options are a help yourself as there was never a member of staff to oversee the sports.

When it rains make sure that there is nothing plugged into the socket as water came through the walls all over the electrical sockets, ruining several expensive chargers and all over the floors making all surfaces treacherous.

When it rains there really is nothing to do apart from sit in the bar and count your mosquito bites.

The day trip to St Johns is good for duty free shopping but you will get hassled in the markets.

Staff at Cocobay are not friendly, they are very busy talking to eachother, they will top your wine glass up periodically but it certainly won't be the same wine that you were drinking previously. If you ask for something this will be met with a frown or not met at all.

I could go on; our reasons for going to Cocobay was for rest and relaxation and to spend some time around some friendly people. The guests were very friendly, the staff at times were downright rude. Such was my disappointment we paid £160 to get on an earlier flight.

Poor decor, no aircon, bare wires in the lounge, small protions, drinks in plastic, unfriendly staff. Unclean. 2 Star hotel at best

We are amazed that most Americans that stay at Cocobay are disappointed on some level, while British guests consider it heavenly. Any psychology/social science graduate students care to research this?

This hotel is considered to be premium for the island of Antigua. Based on a 5 star rating, we would consider it a 2.5 star hotel maximum. I must preface the rest of this review with the following comments: my wife and I consider ourselves open minded and well traveled. We are well aware that 4 stars in the US is not 4 stars everywhere else (or visa-versa.) We have stayed in many different types of hotels in many different countries. This our first visit to Antigua, but our second to the Caribbean.

The good: The wait staff is great. The bartenders are sweethearts. The food is quite good. The “hotel beach” is beautiful…but you must venture out to see the beaches that are truly unforgettable.

The bad: This hotel has NO air conditioning. Trying to fall asleep in your hotel room during any season in the Caribbean without AC is downright uncomfortable. To make matters worse, you cannot leave your windows or shudders open, because this hotel has NO screens on any windows. And without screens on the windows, you allow many types of bugs, mosquitoes and spiders into your room. So we kept our shudders closed the entire night, light our anti-bug candles, slept inside of the bug net, and we were still bitten. What a difference it would make if they only added AC and screens!

We were there in mid-October. The rate for our room for the season we stayed was $310 per night. (High season, $360) At this price, we would have thought window screens and AC would be part of the room. Not the case.

We had a backed up toilet and it took maintenance 3.5 hours to show up with a plunger. We had no running water in our room for an entire day 8 am to 6 pm. (This problem happened with adjacent rooms too.) No apologies or acknowledge from the hotel staff.

There is a small 6-inch tall tiled divider between the shower and the rest of the bathroom. So after a 5-minute shower, the entire bathroom floor has a mini-flood.

The entire placed needs a renovation. Some sell it as rustic. I call it rusty.

Should we have to point out that the hedge in front of our unit needs to be trimmed so that we can get into our room more easily? Shouldn’t the grounds staff be monitoring this?

Most of the people working reception are less than friendly. When you check-in you will get a smile, but from that moment forward, they would rather not be bothered. The activities directors work on commission, so they are blatant in their salesmanship. Read: car dealership friendliness. The infinity pool is great, but the lounge area around it is small, crowded, and fills up before breakfast time.

The ugly: The Antiguan horse spider exists! Better keep those shudders closed tight! Birds can easily overtake the open eating areas, so protect your biscuits!



We have been home for a week now, with more fond memories of our vacation than unpleasant ones. Unfortunately, all our pleasant memories have only to do with the island and the locals, and not our hotel. Antigua is a magical place. Cocobay is not. And if you are considering staying there for your honeymoon, reconsider. Your honeymoon deserves better memories than the memories Cocobay will provide.