I stayed at Cocobay in mid-April 2007 and found that most reviews on TripAdvisor were spot-on. Here's what else we found:

BEACHES: None of the cabanas are actually on the 'beach' - the entire property is on a sloping cliff and you can't actually walk from your room onto the beach (though some are seafront). However, there are some excellent beaches close to the hotel, which are MUCH better than the ones just to the right and left of Cocobay (i.e. Little Fryes on the left and Valley Church on the right). At both of these we found the water cloudy and a bit seaweed-y for swimming.

Instead, take a taxi and go to Darkwood Beach and Turners Beach. They are both GORGEOUS - crystal clear water, calm and shallow enough at the shore for non-swimmers (great for kids too). Totally worth the taxi-ride. They're both about 5-7 minutes from the hotel ($24 round trip with the hotel mini-bus) and you can rent beach chairs and sit under the shade ($5 per chair for the day). You can also buy decent lunch and drinks right on those beaches so it's comfortable to stay there all day. Both were quiet during the week and on Saturday too.

Fryes (i.e. Big Fryes) is within walking distance of Cocobay (it's the beach to the left of Little Fryes) and also has beautiful clear blue water. However, there is virtually no shade on the beach and zero facilities (can't buy anything to drink, eat, sit on) so is only good for a quick visit. We really tried to stay here for a few hours but got completely boiled in the sun and had to leave before sunstroke set in. Good for a short jaunt if you are not keen to take a taxi though.

FOOD: Chef tried to get a bit fancier than his skills allowed sometimes but overall not bad. Main complaint was that there were no local dishes on the menu at all. Management take note: we weren't the only ones who felt this way.

Wine - the house wine was not as bad as we thought it would be (based on previous reviews). Bottles however, are OUTRAGEOUSLY priced. We brought our own wine and found we had one of the same bottles on the list - we paid $14 duty-free and it was $59 on the wine list! The SAME bottle! Note: although we were told that there was a $10 corkage to bring our own wine, we opened it in our room and brought it out and the bar and restaurant both kindly accomodated us with no extra charge. Bring an opener with you if you bring your own bottles.

We ate at Sheer one night - expensive but worth it at least once.

Tip: If you want to try local food, just before Turners Beach there's a lady at a small shack on the left side of the street (if you are driving FROM Cocobay to Turners) selling takeout. Lots of locals were buying lunch there (go before 1pm to get your choice). We tried the 2 local dishes - funghi (like polenta) and duchana (a sweetish dumpling) which were quite interesting. Benji (the Cocobay mini-bus driver) recommended this place - ask him to point it out to you if he's driving you to Darkwood or Turners.

ROOMS: The views vary widely - some cabanas were overlooking the car park areas so ask when you book! We stayed at Loblolly Cay, which was fabulous. I was told that this is one of only 2 cabanas that close to the water (the others are a little further back even if they're also seafront) - the other is Tamarind Cay which is right next door. Loblolly Cay also has a large extra deck attached (larger than the one at Tamarind Cay, which also has an extra deck) with 2 loungers and with no vegetation blocking you from a full view of the sea when seated (we couldn't see past the vegetation on the main verandah when seated, even though we were seafront so the deck was great). I recommend this room - great views!

HOWEVER - we had a mouse in our room for 3 nights in a row and only got action when we complained directly to the hotel manager (the girls at the desk were very nice but for some reason couldn't generate action on the mouse). Turns out there was a hole in the netting over one of the windows, through which the mouse came. We were not the only one with a mouse (an American couple had the same problem) - so if this really bothers you you should know this can happen.

RENTAL CAR: We rented a car from Alamo and promptly gave it back as it was in horrible condition (dirty, sticky wheel, passenger window didn't roll down, banged up on the side, less than 1/4 tank of gas delivered on a Thursday when all the gas stations close half-day!). Be warned about Alamo in Antigua!

Final analysis - overall good value for $ at Cocobay. Try going in the low season for even better value - we would have paid hundreds less for the same room for the week if we went in late April instead of early April.

Two of us, regular visitors to the Caribbean, stayed for an all-inclusive fortnight before Easter. The location was stunning: lush gardens and multi-level bar-restaurant area above bays curving past green volcanic hills with pelicans and egrets (or were they cranes?) lazily gliding by... the classic Caribbean scene.

Some previous travellers have criticised the food but we wonder what they expected - and we aren't that easy to please. We had some exceptional, memorable meals (up there with Galley Bay, which we've also visited) and none less than good: buffet breakfast with a variety of choices including fresh-cooked eggs; four courses including soup for lunch and dinner, as much wine as we needed and service never less than friendly. Similarly the genial bar staff produced anything we requested with a smile and a pleasant word.

Rooms were adequate - large bathroom, enormous comfortable beds and scrupulously cleaned - though we'd have liked better seating and lighting for evening reading. But the early morning panorama from the room terrace ,across the bays with the sun rising over the hills, was more than enough compensation.

If you enjoy chilling out on a hammock or sunbed surrounded by turtle doves and needle birds; if you love white beaches and a turquoise sea shading to aquamarine under scudding clouds and an azure sky; and if you can find your own entertainment rather than demanding a series of external attractions... then this one is for you.

We stayed at Cocobay during the Cricket WC 2007, for a week. The hotel is situated on a cliff, approximately 20 minutes from the airport.

We were welcomed with a rather strong rum punch and a wet towel and shown to our sea front cottage. The cottage is rather basic. 2 solid beds, a bathroom and a verandah. No phones, TV or A/C. Surprisingly, through out the stay during the first week of April, we did not feel the need for A/C. The breeze was good enough to keep the place cool. We did not notice the mosquitoes until the 5th day or so.

The views from hotel are incredible. Much better than the photos on the net. The pool stands out. We went on one of those circumnavigational tours and judging the other properties on the island by their location, I have to say that Cocobay is in a pretty good spot.

Breakfast and lunch buffets are standard. Decent, good quality food. Definitely not five star variety. Eggs cooked to order for breakfast and freshly grilled fish for lunch (Though I have to question the freshness of fish on at least one of the days). Dinners are more formal with an appetizer, soup and main course, all well prepared and presented. The quantity is really small. I had to eat 2-3 rolls every day to keep myself from starving. And oh, you will have to handle the birds during breakfast. Overall, my westernized eastern taste buds were not offended, although I was dying for a Kung Pao Chicken by the 6th night of my stay.

I wouldn't know if the bar is well stocked. A regular flow of the local beer and any drink with some rum mixed in are good enough to keep me in good spirits and they did.

There are two beaches next to the property. The beaches are public and on the Good Friday (public holiday), there was quite a local crowd on the beaches. I would rate both the beaches as just average. There is some kind of wasteland between the beach and the road (100 yards away), not very well used. To get to the beach on the right, you have to cut through some abandoned building.

The staff is very pleasant. Did not encounter any surliness at any time.

The Bad:
-- Lack of bottled water. Come on, these rooms are typically over $300 a day for 2 people. Throw in a bottle of water.
-- Dinner quantities.
-- I wish I could walk to a grocery store to pick up chips and water. You are dependent on the taxis for every thing. Taxis are not a bargain in that part of the world.
-- The shower has no curtain. However careful you are, water invariably leaks in to the main bathroom floor. We had to leave a couple of towels on the floor to soak up the water.

Overall, I would rate this place as above average. Not necessarily cheap, but given the Antiguan prices, not a bad bargain.

Cocobay is a fabulous resort and we got married there in March this year and we were really delighted at the way the wedding was organised as the co-coordinator at cocobay was wonderful, there were so many choices of various spots to get married, flowers to have etc and you could even choose the colour of icing on your cake! It was the easiest place to get married and the nicest wedding I've been to as the location was stunning.

The ceremony was really nice and the registrar, Evelyn Burns is wonderful. We opted for a video as well as the official photographer & we were very pleased with the quality of the video & the photo's which were not as tacky as we'd feared!

We were lucky to meet some others who were getting married that week and we had fabulous witnesses ( our thanks to Tim & Jackie!) and also thanks to our brilliant unofficial photographers, Richard and Sally, who were great.

We would recommend anyone considering getting married abroad to come to Cocobay as it's a very special place with great views, staff and the wedding package is much better than the typical conveyer belt type weddings abroad as there's only one wedding a day and they make you feel really special.