Coco Reef Hotel in Tobago was a fantastic hotel for service, cleanliness but best of all the food! The food was like eating in the best restaurant every night! Superb! Breakfast, lunch & dinner all equally brilliant!
Not sure about the need for formal dressing for dinner every night, but they did offer a less formal option in another part of the hotel. Very expensive though, and catering for mainly middle-aged or older clientelle.
Would recommend if you have the cash to spare for a little luxury (eg maid service 2 - 3 times daily!), included in cost.

Without a doubt, this is the best hotel on Tobago. That said, the competition leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall my boyfriend and I had a fabulous one-week holiday at the Coco Reef resort and spa (although I think they should lose Spa from the title as it really doesn’t consist of much).

On arrival, the staff were exceptionally friendly and welcoming which was pleasant after a long flight from London. We walked through reception, down the stairs on the beach as the sun was setting and it was beautiful. The hotel and beach are very clean and the sea is crystal clear (you can expect to see all sorts of fish in the lagoon there).

That said, there are a number of things about the hotel that could easily be improved and would make their guests stay much better

There are a massive number of sea gulls which sit on the rocks surrounding the lagoon and they make a huge amount of noise. It may have been worse when I was there because it was mating season, but the noise from them makes lying on the beach not a very peaceful experience. The noise from the gulls is so loud that you can even hear them in the bedrooms. Being the caribbean, there are a lot of birds everywhere, and the small ones can prove a hassle in the openair breakfast room.
The food in Tobago isn’t as good as you might expect. We looked hard for nice restaurants to eat in, but decided that the two restaurants at the hotel were the best. A word of warning though: DON’T MISS DINNER. We arrived back at the hotel at around 11.30pm after a trip to watch turtles and all the restaurants in the area were closed, as were all the shops. There was absolutely nowhere to get any food – there isn’t even a vending machine in the hotel and the staff were unwilling to even rustle up a piece of toast. As there was never any food in our mini-bar, we just had to go without food.
Check the towels in your bathroom as there was a couple of occassions when it was obvious that the cleaning staff had reused dirty towels that we had left on the floor, and just folded them back up and placed them on the towel rack.
The evening entertainment was unnessecarily loud and could be heard very clearly in all the rooms.
A couple of things to make sure you don't miss:

1. a gentleman called Peter who runs the snorkelling trips from the hotel lagoon was EXCELLENT. he is not cheap but it is totally worth it. he knows so much about the sealife that even as experienced snorkellers, we had a lot to learn and see.

2. a cocktail on the terrace while the sun is setting over the sea.



All in all a lovely place to stay

Our 2nd visit to Tobago, we booked here because we needed to make up for the poor holiday we had at "Cocobay Antigua" in October 07.

Airport : Advice

Tobago airport is a small ariport that IMHO cannot deal with 400 passengers, be prepared for when you land to wait around 1 hour for your passport to be stamped, if you are at the front then congrats, as you will be dealt with quickest. Another option is look to the right handside when you are in the line, look out for a office with a RED DOOR with a man sitting inside it, what some people did was they got their passports stamped in that room and effectivly jumped the line,please note that this was meant for residents only and you may on the wrong day get turned away and asked to rejoin the mile long line again, worth a try though ?

Taxi : Advice

You will get shouts of taxi as soon as you come out of the terminal, you can get a taxi to Coco Reef for around 4GBP/8USD, although it is so close you could walk (not recommended). Look out for licence plates, plates starting with an H means official taxi, plates with a P means private car. We made a mistake and got into a P car and the guys boot/ trunk couldn't close as our cases were too big, so he drove us to Coco Reef with our cases out in the open, BEWARE !!!


Coco Reef : Check in/Room

The minite you drive in the porters open the doors welcoming you to Coco Reef and take your bags for you, you get a nice welcoming drink (fruit punch)in a nice slim coco reef labelled glass.
Everybody that speaks to you says welcome to Coco Reef, you get you bags taken to your room and a member of staff takes you to it and shows you whats what, on the bed there is a welcome message in leaves and flowers which is a very nice touch.
The room is OK, has a nice big bed with a minibar,TV with 50 odd channels (some are poor reception) Bathroom is very nice with white tiles ,shower AND a bath, the shower head is wide and projects a good spray, hot and cold works.The room has aircon which works well, although abit noisy.
The room is cleaned twice a day, the latter being a turn down serivce. There are no room safes which is a minus


Coco Reef : 1st Impressions

Well, we can see why celeberaties have stayed here, we can see why this place has won awards,It is obvious to us that a lot of money has gone into this resort, the resort is well staffed in all areas to ensure top quality service.The decor doesn't look tired and it is all colour coded to make it easier on the eye. There are many plants and fountains in the resort to add to the welcoming feel.

Coco Reef : The Beach

The beach is man made, but it is a PRIVATE beach, so nobody pestering you with Mangos, Aloe Vera,Catamaran trips,Wakkie Backie, or anything like that. There is a wall around the beach which is about 90 yards from the sand, in the middle it is deep enough for guests to swim, and at each end left and right there are shallow areas for kids to swim safely, a tip here is to note where the boats are floating which gives you an idea on the deep areas. You can hire pedelows,kyacks and snorkling gear for two hours. You can venture outside the private cove by swimming through the wide gap where the boats come in, here you will experience a sudden change in temperature (colder) and a tad more rough sea, there are public beaches either side of the cove. You can go round the back of the cove for good snorkling (the water is clearer outside the cove) all in all this beach caters for everybody and its private.
Look out for the guys in green as they are the beach servants,they will get you bottled water or any drinks you wish and bring them to you loungers yeap this is all inclusive in your package. Either way you will only have to walk a maximum of 50 yards from the beach to get a drink anyway !!
I like to know where I am treading when it comes to the sea and the water in the cove is clear so you can see what you are treading on, and there is no sea weed or any nasties on the bottom, there may be the odd hidden rock but that is all, safe treading and swimming here. There will be no monsterous waves that will turn you over either, the water is calm. No water is safe ,but if you have kids, you can be asured that they wont be dragged out into the ocean at this resort as there is no real current, so it is as safe as it can be IMHO. Plenty of loungers to sit on and they are yellow coco reef branded, keep and eye on your beach towels as we had ours pinched (Whoever did take ours, shame on you,and a truely sad individual that you are)

Coco Reef : Service

You can sit anywhere in the building and you get asked for drinks, yep when you finish them they come up take your glass/cup and ask if you want another during the day or at night.
You can get a snack at any time after 10am at the beach restaraunt/bar, you can get a sandwich,baggette or even the good old fasioned burger and chips whenever you want !!!
You can get drinks or snacks deliverd next to the pool as well.
Our advice is remember you room number as you will get asked this everytime you request a drink or food around 1000 times during your stay. The service during all courses is fast and can be slower during busy times as you would expect, our advice is when you finish your drink put the empty glass at the side of your table, this will prompt them to come over. IMHO the service from the staff makes this resort, they do treat you well.

Coco Reef : Food

After our experience of the food at the other resort in October, the food would be the telltale of improvements here. Tamaras is the location for breakfast, you have a big ciruclar buffet in the middle which contains fresh fruit, milk machines,fruit punch machines,orange juice machines, fresh ham,serials etc. You have next to that a station where a chef will cook you omelttes and eggs, to the outer edge you have a station for bacon,saucages,fried bread,pankakes,bread rolls, curried beans etc. The choice here can cater for kids,adults,the healthy eaters, and even fussy eaters like me, nobody will go hungry here. They do replenish the food often, but I would say be prompt with you time just in case
Lunch is at the bear bar/bbq called baccinals, here you get a buffet next to the bar with many choices, breads,pastas,meat,salads etc, you can also move 10 feet down to the BBQ where you can get chips,sauces,and meats (pork,lamb,tuna,and beef burgers) cooked in front of you, yet again good for kids,adults,the healthy eaters, and even fussy eaters like me. I will add that they allow smokers to light up in this area which dissappointed us as we are non-smokers and with children present is not very nice for them either. You can lunch in here even if you have been beach/water bound just make sure that you are covered up with a towel or they will ask you to be, so you don't have to go back to your room and tart yourself up for an hour to accomodate your lunch.
Dinner you can have a choice, ala carte execpt thursdays and saturdays at Tamaras which you need to book or you can go to baccinals for a buffet casual dinner, although we booked late and still got in. The ala carte has a good selection and the portion sizes are IMHO generous (see picture),you can ask the staff if you dont want a sauce on a choice no problem. For me I am the fussest eater in the world, and I always found something to eat here. You get bread rolls of a good size brown/white, water which is filled up (from a bottle not tap) everytime you empty it, and drinks at your will. Starters are a good size, the mains are good size and you get a chocie of vegtables or salad on a seprate dish per main, so you get two plates of food for your main, my opinion ..outstanding. Desert menu does not change,howver thes come out big and good presntation considered as well.
Also, the menus for both restraunts are put up in the lobby area or outside them well before you eat, so if you look and see nothing you will eat, then you could go down to the beach resteraunt for alternatives (note in low season baccinalls offer ala carte as well not buffet)
Dress code for Tamaras at night is men ; trousers and a shirt, no jeans,tight t shirts,baseball caps or anything that could be considered casual, this is to preserve fine dining. Women can were anything that is not revelling i.e tight skirts or low cut tops.
The above can be worn in the baccinalls within reason ,so if you dont want to get all dulled up and just want something to eat then go down to bracinalls and enjoy !
As for the drinks you get wine (chardonnay, sovereign blanc,pinot grigio for dinner)

Coco Reef : Drinks

You dont just get the cheapo local beer and spirits here, you can get the usual caribbean cocktails,beers heiniken,stag,and local carrib, you can get guinness here as well as scotch whisky. Bottled water is part of all inclusive plan, highland spring we had as well, have as many as you want large or small to take to the beach or room, wine im not sure if it is the above mentioned but my other half said it was fine.
When you ask for coke/lemodnade/sprite you get it from a bottle, not a syrrup and water machine, so you get the real deal here. You can get milkshakes made for you using icecream from a tub and mixed (tastes nice)
The cup sizes are big, I have taken a picture of a cup of heniken, the glasses you get them in are big"ish" not stingy though. Like I mentioned before, you get served as many as you want.

Coco Reef : Trips

There are a lot of trips you can do,you need to go and see the "Social Director" located in the office next to the check in desk, we only did the waterfall and snorkelling trip which was 75 USD PP, a good trip that took us from 9am to 4pm, nice trip where you get to see the waterfalls and sail out to near Ian Flemings old house on an island, and snorkell for 25 mins off of the boat not the beach. I will add that it can be rough out on the atlantic side, but they do provide lifejackets and all gear.The only niggle here is that the price 75USD does NOT include the entrance to the waterfalls ??, so carry some cash (10USD for 2) on you or you wont be allowed inside There is also deep sea fishing for 80USD split charter which I failed to do due to a mixup at reception. I will add that we had a number of mixups with the trips, so make sure that you and they are signing from the same sheet as such as they cancelled twice and did not inform us.

Coco Reef : Nationalities

I would say that there are around 60% British, 30% US, and 10% German,Dutch and others.

Coco Reef : Entertainment

Good variety every night, creates a good upbeat ambience, it is loud but not in your face,it is located on the main patio where you can enter the beach/sea

Coco Reef : Gym

We used the gym everyday, the equipment is old especially the weights, you have free weights with a bench, also cv equipment consisting of a treadmill,a bike,a recumberant bike and a stepper,yet agin old,not excatly your 60 pounds a month cannons but it will do. The gyms air con is not adequate for a aerobic workout as you will build up a sweat, the treadmill has a personal fan,there is a water machine and towels to you needs. You can ask for an additional fan which you can put anywhere you want to breeze some air onto you. The bad part is the gym is situated next to planes of glass which with the heat outside shining onto you will make your workout harder. ASK FOR THE FAN !!
There are treatments you can get at a additional price, the gym is part of the all inc plan.

This is a fantastic resort if not the best,it must be in the top 5, any other info please just ask.
Thanks

Also we are asking anybody out there if they have been here and have been to a caribbean resort elsewhere and experienced similar, as we are looking to book a similar hotel again !!!

I have created a video of our stay so please look at it to see the different parts of the resort in the videos section.
Enjoy

Hello from Cathy & Ian from sunny Dunblane,

We stayed at Coco Reef 8-15 May after a week in Grenada; we had stayed at the hotel for a week in December 2005.

This must be the best hotel in Tobago; we have not stayed in any other hotel on the island but we have seen quite a few when we have stopped to pick up people for trips on the 'Island Girl' (by the way, this is an excellent catamaran trip), and some of the others look a little past their sell-by dates!

As repeat guests we were very impressed to be met on arrival by members of staff who knew our names and we very happy with the 'fast track' check-in for repeat guests, so if you have been before don't forget to mention this when you book your holiday. We were also allowed to have a courtesy room until 6.00pm on the day we left, which was a real bonus as we had used Virgin's chill-in, check-out service at 8.00am!

The hotel has a stunning location with a very clean and safe beach within the man-made lagoon. For those of you who were staying at Coco Reef at the same time, you may remember a man walking up and down the beach most mornings and afternoons, well that was me. For those of you who want to keep fit and work off the calories from the excellent food at the hotel please note that 10 times along the beach is equal to a mile. You might think I'm mad but after 2 weeks of all-inclusive living I put on exactly 0.1 kilos.

The hotel is great for couples and families with young children, although we suspect that older children might get a little bored. The staff are very friendly and helpful.

We will be back soon.

Ian & Cathy