We visited Coco Reef for 2 weeks in March 2007. The architecture is reasonably pretty and very like the brochure pictures. The staff were welcoming and we received a bottle of wine & plate of fruit on arrival. Our maid worked exceptionally hard and the room was generally spotless. She also spent time decorating our bed most days which was sweet. The rooms themselves are somewhat dated and tired reminding us of the 1970s. Whilst the beds are OK we couldn't describe them as 'comfortable'. The air conditioning worked but was noisy and smelly. There is no extractor fan in the bathroom and with no window one is really needed. The shower was needle sharp, the bath very shallow (more of a shower tray) and hot water was variable - some days we had it, others we struggled. The patio windows were very 1970s and the balcony furniture was cheap plastic. There is a TV which worked sporadically. However, as we spend very little time in the rooms we were not overly concerned. The 3 things that irritated us were not having tea/coffee in the room - apparently because we were not 'all inclusive' we were not entitled to this & this is NOT stated in the brochure. Also there is no safe which meant we had to make at least 3 trips per day to our safety deposit box in reception which was annoying. Additionally there is no mosquito net and I did get badly bitten over one night.

As we weren't all inclusive we only ate breakfast in the hotel. This was a plentiful buffet with freshly cooked eggs. Sometimes items were missing by 9.30 though that weren't replaced e.g. bacon. The tea & coffee was absolutely dreadful and often only lukewarm. You are seated by Benecia who is delightful and made sure that we always got a table with a sea view. Service was highly variable with humourous Lucy on the upper level and a myriad of trainees who didn't seem to do anything except stand around towards the bottom. The birds do attack your tables each morning so you do need to cover up your food/drinks if you leave the table to go to the buffet. However, there is little the hotel can do - they do feed them before breakfast to try and reduce their scavenging but it doesn't work very well. Again you get used to it and the bananaquits are cute.

We didn't dine in the restaurant any evening and therefore cannot comment on standards. We were told that the dress code is strictly enforced so make sure gentlemen take trousers, shoes & collared shirts (ties & jackets not required)

Day times centre around the beach. There are plentiful sun loungers but they are the cheap slatted kind and without a cushion they are pretty uncomfortable. There are plenty of beach umbrellas but don't expect any help in anchoring them in the sand!

Beach service is highly variable too. For our first week we were pretty much ignored, but on our 2nd week we were asked most days at some point if we wanted a drink. However, most of the time we went to the beach bar ourselves. The beach bar area gets very crowded, particularly at lunch time. Again we didn't eat lunch and can't comment on the standard. We hated getting all our drinks in plastic disposable cups - really tacky. Service is generally friendly albeit slow. We only ate in the beach bar once in the evening (our 1st) and it was OK. Grilled meat or fish with salads etc. Not particularly inspiring or good value.

The manmade beach is lovely with soft powdery sand and the little lagoon is fabulous for watching the wide variety of fish that come in. The seagulls were annoying when we were there (they are so loud!) but you kind of get used to them. Sunsets are stunning.

Evening drinks are served on the terraces & service is slow and not particularly friendly. If we had been all inclusive we would have been disappointed to find that brandys are excluded from the package. Drinks in the hotel are substantially more expensive than outside partly due to the 25% taxes/service charge added to every bill. Be careful with this as prices are quoted without and it makes a hefty difference. We also found that the red wine had not been stored correctly and was undrinkable.

The evening entertainment was generally pretty poor although the steel pan player was excellent. Think more reasonable karaoke standard singers and you'll get the picture.

We found that taxis, boats and car hire were all pretty much the same price if booked through the hotel as if you tried to book independently.

The age group was much older than we are used to - mainly pensioners with the occasional young family and only 1 other couple our age (late 30s/early 40s). That's a shame as the island is wonderful and with great restaurants, bars and plenty to do we would have expected a more mixed age group.

Having said all of this the Coco Reef is the best hotel on the island with the nicest spot (we visited a few). As we loved Tobago this is where we would stay again unless hiring a villa.

We have also added reviews for things to do on the island and restuarants elsewhere on this site. In summary Bamboo Mile is by far the best restaurant, definitely hire a car and drive round the whole island, go to Sunday School, take a boat and see the island from the coast ...