This was our 3rd visit to our beloved Cocobay, & our 6th to Antigua. Having been absent for several years due to Covid we were really looking forward to it. However this time we were disappointed from the start. Having written to the hotel to express a wish to have a good view of 'the Sleeping Indian' hills which border Valley Church Bay we were shown to a room where the view was obscured by overgrown shrubbery. With immaculately tended gardens elsewhere this is something which the management has obviously overlooked. It was however attended to upon our request within a few days, but why was our request so unheeded? The resort has an enviable position with stunning beaches and views & friendly staff (up to a point, but more of that later). However the rooms are only wooden shacks with corrugated iron roofs, so bear in mind that if it rains hard in the night the sound is deafening. We like the rusticity of it as opposed to the more standardised hotels. However the 'bathroom', which had had a face lift of a coat of paint since our last stay, is really only a wet room as there is no room for a screen around the shower. Bear in mind that you need to shut doors & windows as soon as the sun goes down, around 6.30pm, to keep the mosquitoes out (I recommend you take a can of fly spray, I got 13 on the first night!) The rooms facing Valley Church Bay largely have a plunge pool alongside, several have had them added since our last visit, for which you are charged an additional £1,000 per week. Ours was in need of attention as it had several patches where the paint had come off (see photos). If you opt for a garden view room you will be on the other side of the hill (largely), where the government of Antigua have an established water osmosis plant which makes a constant noise when it is in use, day & night. I mentioned that the staff are very friendly, but I had occasion to ask at reception if anyone could get me some glue as one of my sandals had broken early on in the holiday. I was given a resounding NO! Not a 'we'll see what we can do to help'. Not good guest relations. However, our biggest disappointment was the food. OK we are self confessed 'foodies', but so are a lot of people. There is no option to half board or B&B so that you can eat out at the many good restaurants the island has to offer. Indeed Sheer Rocks restaurant is right underneath Cocobay's own restaurant, but is quite expensive at about £80 a head without wine, so unless you are prepared to pay the full board (all inclusive) and still pay to eat out there is no alternative. The quality of the food & drink has deteriorated. The menus very clearly watch the 'bottom line' and the portions are small. OK it is a 4 course evening meal & you will not starve, but the food was of poor quality, albeit prettily presented. A shrimp salad course consisted of 5 shrimp (I do mean the tiny ones!), a prawn salad was graced with ONE king prawn cut into tiny pieces! You can pay an extra $28 for 6 butterflied king prawns or a New York strip loin steak but they are the only alternatives. There were very few Caribbean dishes on offer (about 2: a rum based beef casserole in the evening and a chop-up (green veg) for breakfast), as the menus were mostly influenced by pan-Asian/Japanese. In addition, the breakfast & lunch time buffet has been done away with since Covid which meant that we were trapped for 1 hour minimum for breakfast & lunch & 1 1/2 hours at evening meals because of the painfully slow service. Also the lunch buffet meant that fish & meat was freshly cooked in front of you, not served dried out from waiting under a heat lamp as was the case for our evening meals. I have to mention here the Cajun Crab Cake which I made the mistake of ordering. It tasted of neither crab nor cajun spices, but was a mush of something brown, mostly carbohydrate & flavourless. I noticed others leaving theirs also. As for the deserts, they were mostly something & nothing & generally of cake origin. Tiramisu is a favourite of mine so I was disappointed to find the sponge was rubbery & wasn't soaked in either coffee or liqueur, but a lime cheesecake was very nice. Other than that there is always ice cream on offer, but whoever heard of putting grapenuts in icecream????? Maybe someone thought grapenuts were a fruit, not a breakfast cereal akin to Albran! The wines too were hugely disappointing as they were of a poorer quality than they used to be (my husband used to have a wine business so he does know). Again you can purchase outrageously overpriced wine if you so choose. I was particularly disappointed with the lower quality sparkling wine as it was something I enjoyed on previous visits. Yes, it is French in origin (according to the labels) & euphemistically called Champagne by the staff. It's pretty tasteless. If you can't afford to offer something halfway decent (as they do at the St. James' Club) drop it & serve Prosecco instead. The labelled spirits on offer are all the least expensive ones in the local supermarket at Jolly Harbour. Sadly I have to say that, despite it's good points: position, nice grounds, beaches, comfy beds & fluffy towels, it did not live up to our expectations from our previous visits and I would venture to suggest that it is now only a 3* establishment from its previous 4* and with all the advantages it has it has the ability to achieve far more.

The property and the staff are amazing. You should have absolutely zero reservations about staying here. It’s awesome! Thank you to the entire staff! The food is great and the people even better. Wish I could’ve stayed longer. My wife and I needed a break from our hectic schedule and this place delivered.

I am writing this review whilst sitting looking over the most amazing view from our balcony. We originally came here 20 years ago for our honeymoon, and it is still as magical as it was back then. The rooms are quaint rustic private cottages with large balconies. Our cottage also has a plunge pool. The room is a decent size with air-conditioning and ceiling fan. Super comfy bed with mosquito netting. The bathroom is large with a good powerful shower with plenty of hot water. You can open the doors from the bathroom onto the balcony which is a lovely way to start your morning having a shower looking out to sea. The rooms have a very cute ‘do not disturb’ system which involves a small and large shell just outside the door. The whole complex is extremely clean and the grounds are well manicured. There is a lovely restaurant called Rafters. There are always plenty of options along with the extra items you have to pay for. However, we always find the regular options to be delicious so have not felt the need to pay for the other choice. The restaurant has stunning views from wherever you sit. The wine and cocktails are plentiful. There is another restaurant which is not affiliated to the resort called Sheer. We went there 20 years ago but have not felt the need to go this time as the restaurant food here is top-notch. There are two pools here. We have not visited the top pool as the chairs are always taken from quite early in the morning but the lower pool is really nice and also has a bar right next to it. The beach is amazing with clear blue water. There are plenty of beach chairs and tiki huts. Plus a really lovely drinks service. We were here for Easter weekend which was busy on the beach, but it was lovely listening to the music. After the weekend, the beach becomes very quiet. Beach towels are available from reception and we never have a problem getting them. There are several towel drop huts around the complex where you drop your used towels at the end of the day. One of the biggest assets are the amazing people who work so hard at making the holiday so perfect. Everyone is so happy and helpful. We were made to feel so welcome with a bottle of champagne and a ‘happy anniversary’ spelt out on the bed with flowers and palm leaves when we arrived. We have absolutely no negative comments to say about Cocobay. If you want a laid-back relaxed beach holiday with excellent food and amazing people who work here, look no further! it really is a magical place to make memories. We will be very sad to say goodbye .

We have recently returned from 9 nights at Cocobay having booked over a year ago. I booked on the basis this was an adult only boutique style resort with Al a carte style All inclusive. Before going I was slightly concerned on reading some of the reviews but my fears were totally unfounded and my husband & I couldn’t understand why some had put what they had. The room, we had a deluxe room so one up from the basic. Bathroom and shower were great, the bed very large and extremely comfortable. Large veranda and sea views. Yes they are a little dated, but a good size. We had to have the air conditioning on constantly to keep it an ok temperature. We knew there was no tv but not an issue. Quirky is how we would describe them. The food we found to be superb. All Al a carte with good choices, yes portions are small but you get 3 courses at lunch and 4 courses for dinner if you want them. There are also paninis by the lower pool all day and mid afternoon snacks, not to mention the coffee bar which did cakes too. We found there was plenty of choice, meat, fish and veggie and everything we had was super, we enjoy our food and fine dining at home and were not disappointed. Pool was lovely but often struggled to get a bed, we didn’t sit round the lower pool but opted for the beach. All beaches in Antigua are public but we didn’t have any issues at all with anyone, you get served drinks on the beds reserved for hotel guests on the beach. Beds and palm shades are a bit worn but didn’t impact on our stay in any way. Finally all the staff were excellent and very friendly and helpful, throughout the resort which is in beautiful grounds with lovely sea views. The bar area was very good too with nightly Entertainment. We didn’t try sheer rocks the independent restaurant as there was no need it seemed pricey with no better view or food than what the hotel offers. We hope to return thank you.

Having fond memories of our first trip here in 2011 we were excited to return but had the niggling ‘what if it’s not as good as we remember it’ feeling. As soon as we arrived the niggles dissipated - Cocobay was as perfect as we remembered it with a few enhancements (coffee shop, poolside paninis and light bar bites) thrown in. The staff are still wonderful, the food delicious and the cocktails excellent. Before we went I couldn’t find too much information on the food within Tripadvisor reviews so hope the following helps someone out: * Breakfast, lunch and dinner are selected from a set menu. With a rotation of 14 menus you’d need to stay 15 days to get an identical repeated menu. Lunch is 3 courses (with 3 or 4 choices per course) and dinner is 4 courses; again with choices within each course. Always well presented, fresh and delicious. * the coffee shop opens early (possibly 7am) and serves hot drinks and pastries, cookies and other sweet treats * the pool near the beach had at last 2 panini choices a day * the main bar had 2 or 3 bar snack options. * there was a varied cocktail menu and each bar had a new daily cocktail on offer. * there’s a water cooler near the reception area and we were given water bottles to keep We’ve booked our return trip and are looking forward to another blissful week at Cocobay.