Coconut Bay Beach Resort & Spa

Just back to a cold and a snowy UK after a fantastic seven days at Coconut Bay Beach Resort. Prior to leaving we were constantly checking the BBC Weather app which showed Vieux Fort (nearest town the the resort) as having constant thunder, lighting and rain for every day and all day of our stay. My advice is ignore the BBC Weather app, it was completely wrong. We had sun every day, some cloud, a wonderful cooling sea breeze and only had rain on our last day. The hotel is only a 5 minute drive from the airport which is great after an 11 hour flight. No need to worry about the airport causing a disruption during your stay. Aircraft only came in from about 4pm and had left again by 8pm. On a busy day there would be four planes so nothing like living next door to Heathrow or Manchester airports. On arrival we were greeted with a cool towel and a welcome cocktail. Perfect start. Roney on the front desk checked us in with a smile and made us feel very welcome. He explained everything, gave us our welcome pack including the Breeze newspaper which details the numerous daily activities put on by the resort. We were in room 345 on the Harmony side. The room looked beautiful when we first entered. Our room attendant Star had left a lovely message and wonderful towel animal. Star worked hard all week keeping our room spotless and leaving us little inspiring, cheerful messages. The hotel has a ‘Strive for Five’ motto and I so wanted to give the resort a five but sadly I feel I have to knock off a quarter of a point for the room. There is rust in the shower room and on the coffee machine. The shower has a curtain rather than a screen so the floor often got soaked. It was also very difficult to maintain a good temperature, either too hot or too cold with just the slightest movement of the control. The cupboard in which the fridge was kept was chipped and the door hanging off. I didn’t report these items to management because we could see that rooms were being refurbished. In future if these things are fixed as and when so the refurbished rooms maintain that new look then this resort will definitely achieve their five stars. On a positive note regarding our room, we had a superb view of the gardens and ocean. The fridge was stocked with Piton beer, Coke, Sprite and water. Every day items were replaced and if we wanted more of anything Star kindly arranged that for us. There was plenty of space of our clothes, we had 24 hangers which was more than enough but I’m sure Star would have got us more had we asked. Our room had two beds both were firm and that was perfect. I love a firm bed and had the most wonderful sleeps. The room was quiet. Only noise we could hear were the toads chirping as soon as it became dark, soothing sound to listen to. I had read reviews before we arrived saying it is almost impossible to get dinner reservations. We were too tired to sort these the day we arrived so went to the reservation desk after breakfast on our first morning. We had no problem in getting reservations for Silk, Calabash and Trattoria. Out of the three Silk was our favourite. The presentation of the food in all restaurants was lovely but the flavours of Silk were sublime. The service we had in all three restaurants was definitely five star. Neptune and Cherie in Silk, Philma in Calabash and Jomiah and Rockson in Trattoria all made us feel very special. Thank you. Most mornings we ate breakfast at the Coconut Market Place where Theona was always on hand to top up our drinks. An iced coffee and Mimosa is my ideal way to start the day! We tried the smoothie, waffle and omelet stations. All superb. My favourite smoothie was the Hulk. On a couple of mornings we had breakfast on the Veranda. Definitely paradise sitting there drinking mimosas, feeling the sea breeze and looking out at the beautiful view whilst eating delicious French toast. Kirara did a fabulous job looking after us. Lunchtimes we ate at FlipFlops. Great cheeseburgers and veggie quesadillas. We spent most of our days by the pool so FlipFlops meant we didn’t need to change out of our wet swimsuits. It was also close to two cocktail bars so what’s not to love! Bre worked so hard keeping all the tables clean and helping us bring food to the tables. Always with a smile too. Some people would leave towels on the sunbeds from early morning but we never had a problem finding two chairs in a spot we liked whenever we arrived. One morning we picked a spot next to three chairs that had been ‘reserved’ with towels and a hat. Those chairs were never used by the time we left at 1:30pm. That area of the pool was closing at 2pm to get ready for an evening event. So those selfish people never even used those chairs. The resort has so many pools and plenty of chairs for everyone you really don’t need to be one of those people. Although we were Harmony guests our favourite pool was the Splash pool. Possibly because it had the swim up bar! The Dirty Banana is the best! Dona D worked the poolside, offering to bring drinks and tidy away glasses. Always smiling and a chat for everyone, such a lovely lady. Despite the hotel being at full capacity we never had a problem getting a sun bed. Never had to queue at a bar. Always found a space to sit and chill. We wanted to rest and relax this holiday. Which we did, I got through four books. I left three on the bookshelf to the left of the Coconut Market Place, so if you read more than you expected, pop along and find yourself another read. Due to our lazy, chill mode we didn’t get involved in much of the resort entertainment but we did attend the Country and Western Night which was great fun sitting by the pool eating our meal and singing along to some country classics. We weren’t brave enough to get up front and dance! Our server Brad did a marvellous job of helping us stay hydrated. The other activity we attended was the Rum Tasting on the Star Gazing Deck. I stopped counting after our 14th run! The Marigot Bay Peanut Cream tastes like a liquid alcoholic Snickers bar. Heaven! Jedi was very knowledgeable and Mel and Kaylee were great looking after the shot glasses. We arranged two excursions with Tiffany at the excursion desk. We weren’t entirely sure what we wanted but Tiffany was extremely helpful and informative. We settled on the half day Whale Watching and full day Land And Sea. Both trips were fabulous but the Land and Sea was our favourite - ocean, Pitons, rum punch, swimming, waterfalls, volcanoes and views. In summary, stop reading reviews and book this resort. You will love it. We did 😍🌴 Read less

Visited the hotel with a friend at the beginning of November .. we’d requested a twin bedded room , but when we arrived we were allocated one of the renovated rooms which were lovely but unfortunately had a double bed .. we returned to reception but nothing was available and were told to return the following day.. The next day we were given one of the older rooms but at least it had twin beds .. the bathroom was dated but was clean and adequate .. the rooms were cleaned daily and we had towel animals and little messages left on the bed each day which was a nice touch . The food in the buffet was delicious with plenty of choice and was hot which In some hotels I’ve visited isint always the case .. We had breakfast on the terrace one morning which made a nice change from the buffet , we also tried the Italian and the Asian we enjoyed both but The Asian was definitely our favourite . We made friends with Mahailia on the coffee bar , she made the best Lattes and always made sure there were cookies for us to enjoy . We spent a couple of days on the Paradise Beach , yes there is seaweed but the hotel clear it as best they can several times a day . There’s plenty of activities to enjoy at the hotel if you want too, but the one you should take part in is the water aerobics with Vernon, he is amazing .. We did the land and sea tour which we booked through the hotel , was a great day out , we thoroughly enjoyed it . My one criticism would be a couple of the ladies on reception we found very unfriendly and the staff on the towel station the same Would love to return at some point and bring my husband Read less

Yet again the resort did not fail to provide the experience it promises. We are planning our 5th visit already. The staff were pleased to see us back and continue to be as at-tentative as always. We even met Donna round the pool bar, who we had not sen for 6 years, but she even remembered our names. Melika, our house keeper and Shekina, who looked after us in Coconut walk for breakfast, went above and beyond with help and information about the local area, customs and general friendship. Marx and Tyron in the bars are also worth getting acquainted with and run a really good vibe at the bar. Whilst I like the idea of encouraging guests to comment on how the staff do and the rewards they get for Trip Advisor mentions, what are the chances of the many faceless and nameless members of staff who we never get to meet or interact with, without who, the resort could not deliver such a grand experience. I am of course talking of the staff who work tirelessly to wash dishes, do the laundry, clean the pools, rake the beach, keep the grounds looking so beautiful, all the food prep, maintenance team and any others I have not mentioned behind the scenes. I personally try to get to thank as many of them as I can personally, but its just not possible to get to them all. It just seems they are the forgotten ones who I have seen no mention of in any review I have read. Please can you pass on our most sincere thanks to all those that we cant get to interact with personally, and maybe look at ways in which your back of house staff get the public recognition and praise they deserve. Steve and Karen Wright Read less

Wow! What a fabulous time at CBay! Have been to St Lucia before however wanted to try a resort nearer to the airport as the drive to Rodney Bay isn’t the best. This was a great experience and I am glad we decided to explore this option. Firstly the staff - what an amazing team, EVERYONE is polite and says hello at any opportunity. Nothing is too much trouble. Big thanks to Shakina in the main restaurant who brings joy and smiles every morning at breakfast time. Big thank you to Tari as well who greeted us at the airport when arriving in St Lucia, and made us feel welcome as soon as we arrived. Lovely touch of personal service with a complimentary shuttle from airport to the resort. Hotel & Rooms: Lovely open space everywhere, big pools, lazy river, no issues with sun beds at all. We had harmony adults only rooms and area, but often went over to the splash zone, which wasn’t crowded at any time. Would say the rooms we had could with a refurb, but this didn’t hinder any thing during our stay. Maid service daily, thanks to Sam who kept our rooms in perfect order. Food and drink: Tasty plentiful food, so much choice and absolutely no issues with anything we had. Speciality restaurants with no issue booking them, which was a pleasant surprise. Top shelf drinks were available, cocktails, everything included. Well done CBay and the management team, keep this level of service, we will be back! Read less