Coco Reef Resort & Spa

My new happy place. We visited in June this year and had an absolutely wonderful holiday at this truly lovely hotel. It’s a very special place with lots of character, a perfect location and fabulous staff who are so helpful and friendly! Is it 100% perfect - well no- seriously where is? BUT would I return YES and Do I recommend this hotel? ABSOLUTELY. I will list as much info as I think might be helpful to anyone planning a visit or considering a place to stay. Getting there: We emailed before arrival and Jane arranged a taxi to picks up - it’s only 5 mins away and cost about £5 ( give or take). NB although it’s close you do NOT hear the planes in fact we would try and watch out for them ( they are fairly infrequent ). It’s actually really a good thing not to face a long drive after a long fight! Location- can’t be beaten! Lovely beach, snorkelling within just a few feet to see so many fish- store bay is a 5 minute walk away- we also walked to Pidgeon point. Food- excellent! Choices were very good and quality was impressive. Staff: Adrian the manager went out of his way to talk to guests at every opportunity and was there to meet us on arrival with rum punch. A very special shout out to Janelle who sorted a taxi to meet us at the airport and kept in touch during our stay with the biggest of smiles! ALL the staff were so lovely I can’t remember all their names but those I do include Pattirice,Onecia, - honestly all the staff at this hotel were wonderful.. Things to do. You can make this holiday as active or as chilled as you like. Snorkelling is brilliant - so many fish of so many types. Island trips are brilliant - we used Hans tours ( leaflet available at hotel) Hans was a fantastic guide he made the trip so interesting - he was very knowledgeable about the island - we used him again for the boat trip to Nylon pool and Bucco reef- we didn’t want the party boat and we wanted to make sure we could snorkel- he picked the right boat for us and we had a great time. We can highly recommend him. Store Bay beach which is literally a 3 minute walk from the hotel, is absolutely fabulous- we headed there most mornings- the ocean is emerald green the beach beautiful sand and you can sometimes see a hummingbird or two in the greenery above. There are great little stalls above the beach if you want food, snack, or trinkets etc I bought some AWESOME handmade soaps from Antheas - honestly the soaps are made from al sorts of goodies many to mention and she has a write up about what each is best for - highly recommend . Don’t miss this beach if you’re staying at Coco reef! You can google all the other places to visit on the island so I won’t make this post tiresome by listing them all here. The hotel put on a couple of entertainment evenings which were great ANy negatives? Not really as in no biggies- but If I had to come up with something by way of suggestions I’d say the following : More nightly music and or entertainment would be the perfect addition As it was very quit in the evenings. I’d also make sure there were always water bottles and milk available in the fridge and proper selection of tea/coffee (often not replaced) in the room for first thing in the morning- though when we had none we just headed earlier for breakfast! As mentioned by many the bathrooms could do with updating ( but personally we had no issues- we always had hot water when required and the rooms were always clean). The view was to die for so what more could you want? Looking at some of the criticism in other reviews - if you really are after a newish sterile hotel then maybe look for a chain but honestly this hotel has so much character and charm which depicts Tobago so beautifully. Tobago is a wonderful unspoilt island. Would we return? ABSOLUTELY!

Coco Reef Resort welcoming atmosphere and a breath of fresh air when coming to the staff and customer care. The facility is a bit dated and amenities are sparse but the staff, food, ambiance, and location is definitely among the very best that I’ve experienced. Jenile, Mr. Smart and Mr. Livingston were among the few names that I can recall that made it an amazing experience and definitely planning on returning in the near future. Note to management: updating the facilities is definitely worth the money. Excellent location right on the beach, next to store bay where you can board the party boat to the lovely Nylon pool an experience you will not want to miss. Overall, great experience and highly recommended.

An interesting visit all round. The hotel is wonderfully `dated`, in, dare I say, neo-colonial style, but really could benefit with the addition of a simple luggage lift; I nearly gave myself a hernia dragging a case up that flight of stairs. No complaints at all about the rooms. Your staff are wonderfully friendly and attentive..especially three I managed to catch names..* Onecia, Patrice and Simon; please pass on my best wishes to them all. Just one drawback, I have already sent two E-mails to you, but no response; no matter.. Oh yes, finally, that old car in the front, ask its owner can take it off his hands, providing he provides me with the means to bring it over here.. *I include everybody from Reception, Security and other duties.

Return to Tobago as BA made a good offer. Our second visit to Coco Reef and lots of small details have been attended to by the staff led by Adrian, mostly on the health & safety aspects of the hotel. Well done. Steps to beach and the pool hand rail are much appreciated. Beach bar area renovated & extended, new seating, sun beds and umbrellas. Hotel occupancy seems much reduced this time and this is across the whole island it seems. Geopolitics is taking its toll on tourism and it’s a real shame as Tobago is a pretty peaceful place. We had no concerns going out and about seeing stuff across the island, eating in local places. Very friendly place, proud of their homeland for good reason. So…we agree that Coco Reef is a fairly faded (in parts) old lady. New shiny airport terminal is soon to be opened which in turn means new hotel investment is on its way. So we tourists will have choices: bright shiny US type hotels or heritage crumble with charm. We will vote Coco Reef every time. Ongoing maintenence / renovation is evident, a long term process needed in that climate. Plus investment in the old lady to bring her up to a competitive standard is needed. Noted the new room doors and electronic locks. 👍 Room lighting in our spacious room is dismal. I won’t describe the ‘past its best bathroom’ again. Beds are comfy and we slept well. Our fridge was having a hissy fit and chose to freeze the contents on a regular basis. Engineering checked it out but it never resolved the problem. A/C blower was stuck so chilly for occupant in nearest bed. We fiddled with everything. The solution? My duct tape off my sugar container held the offending plastic in an ideal setting. Maybe renovate a few rooms for disability tourists? Public restroom needs at least one handrail in toilet. I loathe the idea of “marketing” but realistically to compete in a tough world, this needs consideration. Hotel room folders need all the info to hand for us to consider. We only found out about the massages because chums had used the service. Apart from the slog up the stairs, Lynn was a skilled masseuse and well worth the effort. Thank you. Her facility was pretty tiny and not especially attractive. She’s an asset to CR and needs a better room, preferably downstairs. Who put the spa on the top floor?? Not a kind move when you have reduced mobility & lung function. The shops need thought. I think CR has an attractive logo. I have bought your t shirts. So would other residents I would think. Btw bless you for the last of those Easter shirts, my family will love them. Your staff are the real asset. What a lovely bunch. As I am deaf, it’s hard for me to pick up names and I ask those who I don’t directly name to forgive me. Beverley, Patrice, Oneisha, King, Xavier, the bar tender upstairs and their colleagues. All really good people. Thank you for the doubles on our last day… The breakfasts are enormous. Seriously huge. Our guest did the breakfast justice when she visited us. Impressed the staff and they have seen big eaters in the past… New chef, Lennox, nice guy and very keen to impress. Food is clearly much improved from last year, that’s obvious. Lots of locally sourced food especially seafood. My caveat would be less tweaks and flavours and let the steak / fish / chicken / lamb sing its own praises. Good ingredients don’t need lots of messing with. Well done, no crabstix! It’s a tough balancing act being the new chef, trying to impress. Sadly because of the low occupancy, lunch menus are now easy stuff (burgers, chips, salads) rather than the hot pans. The ginger shandy is tasty. As are the cocktails and the rum punch. Not much evening entertainment much to the chagrin of a number of older guests. It seems some people expect acts after dinner. I heard people whinge because the publicised managers event on a Friday didn’t take place. Personally I like peace and quiet…but support Adrian & staff meeting the guests. Hard work putting out all that kit if few attendees. Last Friday being an example. Thank you Kelton. He’s the bird guy someone ranted about on TA some weeks ago. Clearly didn’t ask about the story before tossing toys out of crib. I bang on about attracting hummingbirds to CR. I realise locals have no idea how entrancing we find these birds. Europeans love them. We have nothing remotely similar. You have a few hummers darting around an area of flowering bushes and people will be drawn in to see more. The eco farm with birds near Arnos Vale is lovely. Just saying… I left my 2 piece cossie drying on a sunbed by the pool. We hope to be back next year, if you find it, please keep it for me! Thank you to all. A lovely two weeks. Guest relations have the repository of books.

Great location and private beach just minutes from the airport made this hotel super convenient. The rooms are a bit outdated and could use some refreshing, but they were clean and comfortable. Breakfast was excellent with a good variety, and the front desk staff went above and beyond—very friendly and helpful. Overall, the staff were great and made the stay enjoyable. With a few updates, this place could be a real gem.