COCOS Hotel (Antigua) — Hotel in Antigua

This was our first visit to Antigua and I had planned this particular trip after a lot of research over a year ago.

We were met at Cocos by Gary who immediately made us feel welcome and led us to the front desk. Our bags were taken to our cottage not long after. Check in was efficient and the staff were all delightful. Of note, we were not pressured to purchase any of the add-ons at resort. They were mentioned but that was it. We had already purchased a couples massage and eventually booked a yoga session (free).

We chose the beach front pool cottage and we were not disappointed. I cannot say enough good things about this particular cottage.

Let me start addressing some of the negative things in reviews that I have read from the last couple of years about this location:

The property not being updated/serviced: That must have been a while back because I did not see that and I looked for it.

Beach vendors: All the beach vendors were super nice. None were pushy and most were just conversational. No one certainly “swarmed us” as I saw one reviewer write.

Food quality: All I have to say about the food is if you had a problem with it, you must have led a lifestyle far better than mine. The food for all meals at the beach bar and the restaurant was excellent each time.

Service: I had read some poor reviews about the service at the resort and I am not sure who those people were talking about. Every single person we conversed with there was pleasant and went out of their way to help us and answer any of my wife’s questions about the culture and food. Most seemed eager to explain their culture and everyone was keen on wanting us to be happy and relaxed.

Cleanliness: Our room was very clean and was kept clean the whole time.

Bug bites: I had read an awful lot about the mosquitoes there and other bug bites. I barely saw any mosquitoes. Yes, they were out early in the morning and at dusk. But it was nowhere at the level I saw some people articulating in their reviews.

Plunge pool water quality: I can tell you my wife and I spent an awful lot of time in our pool and we certainly didn’t see any negative effects from our time in there. It looked clean enough to us and each has its on pump and filter.

Poor entertainment quality: We actually enjoyed all the entertainers with the exception of the one that was supposed to be there our first night, Saturday. They were supposed to begin between 8-8:30 and by 8:45 they had not showed.

House wine was poor: It is an all-inclusive resort. We didn’t have any issue with the house Chardonnay or Cabernet that was provided.

Beach chairs: I saw some negative comments about the pads on the chairs. We had no issue with ours.

We took advantage of the free yoga class provided on Tuesday morning. I have only taken a few beginner level yoga classes recently and I had no problem keeping up with a large majority of what occurred. It was a really good session. The ladies that provided our massage at the spa that day did a great job in my opinion. Another thing there that I felt was well worth the money.

The beach is the biggest attraction. There are two but we never really went over to the Jolly Harbor side. Clean white sand; picturesque water. The beach is raked each morning around 6:30am.

There were a few minor inconveniences that I think the resort could take a look at and try to improve upon. My biggest concern however is the property next door. It serves as a place for people on cruises that have docked for the day, to enjoy the beach. The problem is, there is barely enough chairs for resort customers when it seems to be at capacity and I saw them occupied by people that were clearly not Cocos customers. I also saw people at the beachfront bar that were not customers.

Once again, Cocos is the one place we have been to that when we left, we were sure we wanted to return to. We always want to try and explore other places but this place seemed to capture our hearts. We think our stay was worth the money we...

cocos hotel was an absolute dream. we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary and 3rd kiddo on the way. we have never done an all-inclusive hotel, and our experience at coco’s was top notch. first and foremost, the staff was amazing. thank you kris (duty manager) for welcoming us with open arms and recommending the perfect excursions that fit exactly what we were looking for. amayah, thank you for getting us checked in, showing us to our cottage, and for your genuine sweetness - she even went above and beyond and came up to our room the day prior to make sure we had a taxi ride lined up for the airport the next day. the wait staff that served us each day was so friendly and made every meal memorable. shout out to kerry-ann, stephen (excited to meet the family some day and have our kiddos play together - also, you have some killer dance moves!) jeannelle, shanelle, and so many more. thank you to the cooks in the kitchen, including chef wayne, for serving up the most delicious meals every day. the wonderful housekeepers kept our room clean and stocked each day and met us with a smile every time we passed by on the property. they even brought us fresh juices each day to our room. to the groundskeepers who kept the hotel property as beautiful as ever and always greeted us with smiles and quick chats!

second, the food and drinks. the food was 🙌 we felt like we had a gourmet dish prepared for every meal. the drinks were fantastic and the selection was great quality wine, beer and liquor. we were so pleased with this aspect of the hotel. not to mention the restaurant is overlooking the crystal clear blue water of jolly bay for the most epic view and ambiance.

the hotel has two beaches to choose from - we spent most of our time over on valley church beach. great shaded lounge chairs, beach bar to enjoy cocktails (and mocktails for me!), the water was so clean and warm and just a joy to swim in. they also have a grill down there where you can have lunch in your lounge chair or in their outdoor dining area. don’t skip out on linden’s lobster lunch offer on the beach - he’s a genuinely great man running his fresh lobster gig. he grills it right there on the beach and brings it to you at your lounge chair.

the room. we stayed in one of the bayview cottages. the room was perfect for us - spacious walk in area with a closet complete with robes, slippers, shelves and a safe. the bed was comfortable and had a mosquito net to keep out the buggies. when you check in, they ask what kind of drinks you want in the room (both alcohol and nonalcoholic), and includes coffee and electric tea kettle. our deck had the most beautiful view of jolly bay - a hammock, 2 chairs with a little side table, 2 lounge chairs, umbrella, hammock, and an awesome infinity pool. the nights were beautiful too, sitting out in the warm breeze, occasional rainstorms, and listening to the chirping frogs and the pretty lights over the bay and jolly harbor in the distance. i’ll also note, cocos is on the side of the island that gets amazing sunsets!

night life - there isn’t much near the hotel, especially in the off season (we we’re there the first week of september). but the hotel had lovely live music each night until about 9/10pm and it was great to just hang out with the other hotel guests before heading up to your room for the night. if you’re looking for a vibrant night life, this isn’t a place that will fulfill that. this is a place where you can spend true quality time with your partner/friend/etc. you can venture out in a taxi to other parts of the island, however if it’s during the off season be sure to call to see if your intended destination is open - a lot is closed during parts of the year.

all in all, if you’re looking for an awesome hotel, with a relaxing atmosphere and killer food and drinks, and top notch service, this is your spot :) we cannot say enough about their kindness and hospitality. we...

We stayed in a sunset view room, and had a great view of the, you guessed it, sunset. Most nights we were going for one last swim while the sun was going down, but we had great unobstructed views of the ocean all the way to the horizon. The rooms was a good size with a roomy bathroom and balcony.

When we arrived, the bed was covered in flowers, the fridge was stocked with the items we selected, and a bottle of champagne was waiting for us. They restock the fridge each day when they turn the room. They don’t always restock the items requested. The first day they forgot the juice so we had to go ask for some. And sometimes they miss the rum delivery. Water and ice was a short walk away from the room and they provide you with an ice bucket and travel thermoses.

The beach is nice and secluded. Usually pretty vacant but we went in November so it could be out of season. Valley Church is better than Jolly because that closed section of Jolly traps more seaweed and the ground has tougher, more whole shells to walk on. There are three tandem kayaks and three SUPs to borrow on Jolly though. Very easy to ask from the bar down there and access the ocean. As for swimming, the bar doesn’t always have towels unfortunately. Towel rack is often empty.

The food service is different than promised in the email and website. The websites says they will ask you what kind of portion you would like, but they don’t do that. The welcome email promises snacks provided by the bars between 12:30 and 5:00pm, but when I asked, the bar told me to go to reception and reception said I could buy snacks at the gift shop, which is never open by the way. This has led me to over-ordering at meals, and they just respond with “anything else?” So you’ll get fed well at meals, but forget any snacks in between. The grill on Valley Church is okay, but it’s just okay. The chicken wings have good flavor, but you get over them quickly since that’s one of the menus that doesn’t rotate.

A few dishes I enjoyed were the Cornish Hen, Seafood Bisque-great flavor, good portion, lots of meat; Tomato Soup - good flavor and portion. Fruit parfait, callilou soup (they do soups and stews well). Mushroom soup. On the fence about the eggplant salad because they don’t tell you it’s breaded and fried. When you’re going for a healthy option, this is important. Calliloupe soup was the best soup there.

A few dishes I would avoid are Goat Curry- while it had good flavor, you get barely any meat and it’s about 80% bones. Breakfast is kind of a wash unless you are feeling adventurous in trying the local specials like fish at 8am. Breakfast menu doesn’t rotate and it’s mostly American and English breakfast items.

Suggestions: omelette could be cooked at a lower heat or less to prevent burning, boiled eggs should be given a 5 min ice bath between boiling and serving. Lyonnaise potatoes could be browner and crispier.

Bar - drinks vary in strength based on who is tending bar. Sometimes the bartender uses the wrong ingredient, ie silver rum instead of gold for rum punch.

Beach bar - both times we ordered quesadilla the tortillas were burnt, but the flavor of the filling was great.

Health wise they kept their promise. There is plenty of vegetables with each meal.

Too many indoor smoking areas near people. I know this is more of an American concern, but it would be nice if people couldn’t smoke so close to food. Smoking is encouraged and accommodated by ashtrays in the main lobby which is gross.

There are people selling jewelry, clothes, sunset boat rides, horse riding, and jet skis throughout the day. They aren’t pushy, but they are legit. We did an hour jet ski rental which is moderately priced. It...