We spent 10 glorious days at the resort and it was everything we imagined it would be. The service from every person at this resort was impeccable. From the reception, to the kitchen, bar, beach area and everywhere in between, everyone was genuine and seemed to really enjoy their jobs. My hubby and I are always interested in tasting new dishes and everything we tried, at every meal, was great. Denise, Jermaine, Jahmorlie and Kerry always took great care of us in the dining room. Our cottage with plunge pool was so wonderful that we didn't even visit the infinity pool. We did have a visitor in our cottage - a big spider. I know it's the tropics so there isn't much you can do about that. Snorkel gear on the beach was great but a few extra paddles for the kayaks would have been convenient. Monique went over and above to deliver refreshments and cold towels to us on the beach. What a trooper!

Our favorite off property excursion was the snorkel trip / lobster lunch with Creole Cruises. Captain Glen and his team showed us a fabulous time! I highly recommend it.

While picking up some wine at the supermarket at Jolly Harbor, we checked out the hotel there. It did not even compare to the atmosphere at Cocobay. I'm thankful we picked this resort and not any other on the island. Very boutiquie and not commercial like the others. Thank you for making our 25th anniversary a memorable one!

I was recommended Cocobay by my sister who had stayed there a few years ago and she had said that I would love it and she was not wrong.

The hotel itself was helpful and friendly from the moment we arrived, there was no waiting around and when we got to our cottage it was more than what we were hoping for. The views were amazing (cottage 41), the room was beautifully presented and it has everything you need (fridge, enough drawer/cupboard space etc) The showers had a door next to it so you could look out to the sea whilst showering which was lovely. The only thing I would say is that they need to put a mirror in the main bedroom because there was only one in the bathroom, so it got very hot when I was drying my hair. One thing you may want to consider if you have booked to stay here and you have trouble walking any distance, call the hotel to check the location of your cottage you have been allocated as our cottage was a fair walk to the restaurant/ pool etc which was not a problem for us as we are ages 23 and 26 but it could be a problem for older or less able travelers.

The restaurant was lovely, the menu changed on a nightly basis, it was four courses which always included a vegetarian option on each course and as I mainly had them I can say that they were delicious and always full of flavour. One night we went to the Sheer Restaurant and we overlooked the beach, the food here was on another level and I would go as far as saying was one of the best meals I have had in a restaurant, particularly in a hotel restaurant! Highly recommend the cocktails served at the hotel bar, especially the daiquiri’s.

The best part of the hotel was the pool, it was absolutely amazing, it was always very clean and relatively quiet, but even when other guests were there it was always a nice atmosphere there and never too busy. If being at the pool is not your thing then, you can’t get much better than the beach, again it was very clean and the water is crystal clear and very warm, especially if like us you experience a rainy day the sea is like a bath.

There is not much to do at the hotel and it is very quiet especially in the evenings as the entertainment is only twice/ three times a week. For us that is what we wanted as we were more worried about doing activities during the day and having an early night. We generally found that we were so tired by 10pm we didn’t even want to venture anywhere else anyway.

A few things that may be helpful – the internet in the hotel is ridiculous in price, we went on it for an hour and they wanted to charge us $30 (USD) so the equivalent of £25, considering we pay £10 a month at home, we refused to pay what was originally asked they agreed to put it down to $20 which we still thought was too much but we did agree in the end to pay it. The taxis are very expensive, so when possible use the shuttles that are arranged by the hotel or your travel company or try and find some other people going to the same place so you can share the cost.
Take lots of mosquito spray especially if you are a woman, it seemed that all the men in the hotel were not bitten but women were covered.


I completely recommend going to Shirleys Heights on a Sunday night as that was by far our best night there, lovely food, great music and a great atmosphere, if you go using the shuttle service, try to go in a cab with people that agree with your driver to stay later, as leaving at 8pm is far to early as it is just getting going then. Also if you are more adventurous the Rainforest zip line trip is fantastic and a very fun morning away from all the relaxing.

All in all, I could not recommend this hotel enough. We had a wonderful stay and I think it far exceeds the 3.5 star it is given and I would definitely return one day……….. don’t listen to any bad reviews.

We returned to the UK from Cocobay a couple of weeks ago and can honestly say it was a truly amazing beautiful place, we have been reading reviews on here for the past two years and found people either love it or hate it, this is because it is not a plastic hotel which could be situated in any hot country, it is a taste of the real Caribbean. If you want to sit in a room watching TV and surfing the net this is not the place for you, but if that is what you want from a holiday why go to the Caribbean?! You can relax here away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life in private comfortable accommodation.

Whilst staying at Cocobay we got married and found the wedding co-ordinator Carol to be fantastically helpful, in fact all the staff are friendly without sucking up and being fake as you often get in other resorts. When you get married at Cocobay you have a meeting with Carol on your first day to pick your photo package, flower colours and location, we chose to get married on the balcony at the Sheer restaurant as the beaches in Antigua are open to the public. Carol also organises all the paperwork and the trip to the government building. Our wedding day was perfect. The registrar was fantastic and everything was relaxed and very personal which is exactly why we wanted to get married at Cocobay in the first place.

The beach is clean and although there are occasional beach sellers there, this is no worse than other resorts (because the beaches are public) the snorkelling is good when the sea is calm and you can see fish such as Flameback Angelfish, however if it gets choppy the sand makes visibility low. There are always plenty of sun loungers and shades with fresh beach towels being provided free of charge.

Food consists of buffet breakfast and lunch and a four course evening meal there is also tea and cakes served in the afternoon. Food is always to a high standard and very tasty, we have very hearty appetites and never felt hungry in fact we often skipped lunch as we were still full from breakfast - if you require snacks there is a small shop on site and a supermarket is a $10 taxi ride away at Jolly Beach.

The resort is well taken care of with lovely gardens,

We stayed in Beach Front Cottage #2 which had a plunge pool and aircon, it was close to reception although we rarely heard other guests and our pool was very private. The aircon was great; at times we were too cold! The room is basic with a lovely large bed, small fridge and safe, although basic everything you need is there, if you really feel the need for Wifi you can connect in the reception area and a TV room is also available. As per previous reviews we did get eaten alive by bugs however never in our cottage which could be due to our aircon and mosquito plug in, the majority of our bites were gained whilst at the beach possibly due to the ants.

If you are thinking of taking any trips definitely take the Caribbean Helicopters trip to Montserrat but be careful if booking a catamaran trip as the service/standard varies intensely.

The only negative we have is not with the hotel but with Thomas Cook and their contracted representative in Antigua (St James Travel), if you haven’t yet booked your trip book it through Virgin! Thomas Cook were hopeless from start to finish and don’t care once they have taken your deposit, their rep from St James Travel couldn’t care less and lost us £140 by saying he’d cancelled our car hire only for us to find out he hadn’t on our return to the UK, he also forgot to book out seats on the plane home therefore we didn’t get to sit together on the flight home (not nice for newly weds!) once again I stress DO NOT BOOK WITH THOMAS COOK SIGNATURE! It was the staff at Cocobay that made this the honeymoon/wedding/holiday of a lifetime that we had dreamed of and we cannot thank them enough, we will definitely be back for another visit.

Having read ALL of the reviews for Cocobay we decided to choose this as our destination for our Honeymoon.
We were not disappointed in the slightest. It really is an amazing place. The views are spectacular, the accommodation was beautiful, the food was top notch and plenty of it and the staff are superb! The negative reviews that I have read about Cocobay appear to be from wingeing Brits or Americans who yet again did not fail to disgust me during our stay. After seeing it for ourselves they do seem rather petty. The resorts website and virgins state clearly what to expect and also many reviews here (of course there are mosquitos and noisey tree frogs, your in the tropics for heavens sake, and yes its hot there too so if you dont like these things then stay at home!)

All of the staff including Oriel, Saskia, Jermain, Mr Gore were amazing without being obtrusive, always smiling and happy to help. I really hope that we can get to go back there someday. As for Sandals, we saw this resort whilst on the Excellence Catamaran tour and it looked dull and costs a whole lot more. The beach looks very busy and built up and the hotel itself has regular hotel accommodation not like Cocobay with your own cabin where you can just relax in your own space.

Thanks for a perfect Honeymoon Cocobay!!