CocoBay is beautiful. The grounds, rooms, and beach are all lovely. Unfortunantly, the staff are not such a high point. They are generally unfriendly, disinterested in helping guests, and SLOW!!! Wait staff in the restaurant were awful. We waited for half an hour one night at dinner just to get a dessert menu. If you asked for water, it would take an average of 15 minutes, while the wait staff were making up napkins or talking to each other. I got the feeling that they just didn't really want to be there and had better things to do and places to be. We asked for someone to help us with our bags when we were leaving and asked them to be there at 11:45 - we had a taxi to catch to the airport. At 11:55, when the person had still not shown up, we dragged our own bags the long ways down to the reception area, where we were met with "Why are you carrying your bags? The man is on his way up there!" (We met no one on the path). The staff generally made us feel like we were annoyances to them, rather than giving us the good service that would be expected from a 4-star hotel. We did not see any rats, however the bugs were plentiful. TAKE BUGSPRAY AND US IT OFTEN!!!!! We did not have many bites, but there were others that had been eaten alive and were so sick that they had to stay in their rooms in bed. The pool is nice but too small and not enough chairs. If you want a chair by the pool you need to be there by at least 8AM to leave a towel there to reserve your spot. Otherwise you won't have one. A beautiful place, but we won't be back. Service was just too bad.

The setting is lovely, the cottages quaint, comfortable but basic, although the bathrooms need refurbished. Food reasonable - the que for eggs at breakfast got a bit tiresome, Lunch was ok, and dinner was always pretty good so we didnt bother with 'Sheer'. It has to be said that the service was a bit hit or miss. We found that if we dined as a couple the service was fine - if we dined wiith friends it was pretty slow!
David at the bar was pretty good - others not so good.

We experienced nothing that made us wince, and nothing that made us go 'wow'. The people/staff are very nice, and very very laid back by UK standards, so do'nt expect UK standards of service and you'll get on just fine. Saw 1 mossie during the 14 days, but absolutely plagued by sandflies and ants on the beach, so beware! Trips are OK (Eli's eco tour, Shirley Heights, deep sea fishing), and scuba on Cades Reef was probably better than most Carribean islands (thanks to Indigo Divers - would highly recommend them!) . Forget snorkelling at Cocobay - too much sediment in the water.

Would we go back - probably not - other places in the world to see etc etc.

This was AMAZING. i would live here if i could afford it. If you're looking for a real carribean experiance, definitly go here. U can get a cheaper rate through luxury links (i think that's how it's spelled). Anyway, the food was pretty good. not amazing, but there was good variety, and they kept the bugs and birds outta everything. dinner was really nice, candle lite. the beach was really nice, deserted. We did get a lotta bug bites, but that's the price u pay if u'd rather stay in a cute little hut w/ an AMAZING view and total seclusion than a stuffy hotel room. If u want the perfect honeymoon/vacation, u should definitly go here. There's snorkeling right on the beach, u don't have to swim far, and u can c lotsa amazing fish, coral, etc. There are colorful fish that swim around your legs while u stand in the water. the staff is really really nice, and OMG, go into town, the ppl are sooooooo nice. i never felt like i had to worry about crime, everyone said hi, and asked if we liked antigua, that's it. Noone tried to sell me anything and there was no evidence of drugs or anything. I'm in love w/ antigua, and this is definitly the place to stay.

We have just returned from our 4th visit to Cocobay which again was a lovely experience.
Lets get the bad points over with first, sometimes there is the odd pongy smell (this time on the beach from the dried up stagnent water behind it on land which does not belong to Cocobay). We did get bitten this year not by mosquitoes due to the new nets at the windows in your room and over your bed, but by sand flies speak to other people at other resorts you'll find the same. There are cheeky birds trying to steal your toast and milk but as you are eating in the open air you'd expect this! there are lots of little gheckos/lizards, never seen a squashed one yet, they are fun to watch and keep the insects at bay, we have never seen a rat or any mice, our major problem was ants in our bathroom which was sorted by a can of bug spray! nothing to panic about you are not staying in air conditioned fridge-like modern rooms but natural rustic cottages!

There is enough good food to eat but if you are not keen on something ask they'll meet dietary requirements whether for health reasons or just personal taste. The staff are all brilliant some just shy compared to others, we now class them as friends and keep in touch, nothing is too much trouble, we just relax and do nothing they make sure you are looked after, shop around at other resorts and their prices!! you may find this is value for money. I could go on about Cocobay tonnes we love it and so do all our friends that we have intrroduced it to (one couple returning to marry there 2007) it will not be a big hit with everyone all i can say is look at the website, read the travel brochures about it and bear an open mind to reviews as everybody has different tastes it is more like a relaxation spa resort than anything else and also boasts the best view from a swimming pool anywhere in Antigua!!