Coconut Bay Resort

April 7th 2005 a day after my 35th birthday; the day I had been waiting for so long had finally come. Being born and raised in Iowa I hadn't been to too many exciting places. I had only left the state 4 times in my life so this was a big step for me. I was getting more excited with each minute that passed because I knew the next time I got on an airplane it would be taking me to my dream destination, St. Lucia. The view over Miami was absolutely beautiful and the sky was so clear I could see everything, all of Miami’s white sand beaches and all of the different shades of the ocean. Our 2 hour and 40 minute flight was smooth, the in flight movie was National Treasure with Nicholas Cage. I love to watch movies but not this time; there was no way I could trade the most magnificently beautiful views I had ever seen; for a movie. I saw the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos and more. I was sitting by the window on the left side of the plane just in front of the wing. I seen some many islands in beautiful shades of blue, turquoise and other colors I don’t have a name for. It was amazing. I just laid my head back on my seat and drank in the beauty. We had a nice and informative Captain and flight crew. We were served a Small Turkey w/cheese Sub, bread was tough, turkey was tasty, it was about 5 inches long, with dijonaise, lays chips, brownie, dried sweetened cranberries and a drink. American Airlines was on time as usual and the flight was smooth; I was given the perfect spot for this particular leg of our flight. I closed my eyes for what seemed like a few minutes. I woke by the sound of the Captain’s voice saying we will be landing in approximately 15 minutes. I looked over at my hubby; he looked content listening to his music, I glanced out the window. I saw nothing but space; so I closed my eyes again. I wondered if I would be able to see St. Lucia as we were approaching. I had dreamed many nights of seeing the Pitons from the plane. I opened my eyes again and looked out the window. There it was: St. Lucia in all it’s glory both pitons; beautiful oceans in every shade of blue, it was just as I imagined, with the exception of the greenery. Apparently St. Lucia had been suffering quit a dry spell and had been having wildfires. So the grass in some areas was a little brownish-green but all the same it was glorious. I couldn’t wait to embark on my journey; to see all St. Lucia had to offer and to see what Coconut Bay had to offer. Passengers exited the plane through the front and the rear; I never knew you could exit from the rear of the plane. We walked down stairs to the ground outside then walked into the airport. Upon entering the door to the airport we immediately saw about 6 lines for customs. It took us about 20 minutes to clear the passport part of customs, and then we went to the baggage part of customs and waited about 10 minutes. Then we walked through another door that immediately led us to the shuttle-taxi pick up at the airport. They asked us what hotel we were staying at; we were greeted by a taxi driver named Godfrey a polite gentleman in his mid thirties. Godfrey placed our luggage in the back and taxied us to Coconut Bay; the driving on the left side of the road threw me off a little but, it was a pretty short ride. Godfrey gave us his card so we could call him if we needed to go anywhere while we were there. We approached the driveway to Coconut Bay it wasn’t anything spectacular just grass on the sides of a black topped almost 2 lane road. About ½ ways down the road there was a small guard at a gate. He opened the gate after Godfrey told him we were guests. We finished our journey down the road and arrived at the front of Coconut Bay Resort, a very plain building with a temporary banner sign; if you purchased the video you know what I mean. Check-in was fairly quick outside of the problem with my receipt from Tradewind Tours, that I had printed out on the internet. I had a stack of about 20 print outs from the internet with all of our reservations because I booked everything online. I couldn’t understand what the lady was asking me for at the front desk. She was asking me for my travel voucher. I had a full page receipt, but what she was asking for was more of a coupon than a full page receipt. Tradewind Tours gives you a full page receipt and then on a separate page they gave you a travel voucher that resembles a coupon about maybe 4 inches tall and 7 ½ inches long. I thought that voucher was a coupon for the free shuttle ride from the airport. I’m normally wise to things like that. But for some reason that one got by me. Anyway I finally figured it out and the baggage man took our bags to our room. We walked into our room; it was pretty dark and kind of warm. The bell boy reminded us that you have to leave a key in the slot by the thermometer for the air conditioner to work continuously. Our slot already had a room key in it and it was working. We never figured out if he was saying we had to put our room key in the slot or not. We just left the key that was already in the slot alone and it worked fine. The air conditioning isn’t ice cold but they have a ceiling fan that works great. The bathroom was nice enough an adjustable shower head, no tub, the toilet flushes weird the button is on top. We had 2 double beds in our room, I was going to complain about that but I didn’t; we normally like 1 king bed for the 2 of us. But it actually worked great because we used the second bed to store all of our junk on. There was a nice size closet with plenty of space for our 4 huge suitcases, 2 small suitcases, hanging clothes, and there were pocket shelves for all of the clothing we took out of our suitcases. There was an iron and ironing board. Make sure if you are from the US you buy a conversion kit from Wal-Mart for approx. $26. Also reserve a transformer from the front desk and put the $100 deposit on your credit card. If you can I would advise you reserve the transformer before your arrival; we were told on the phone they had plenty of them, when we arrived there were none available. My hubby brought a portable DVD player and the charger for it. We brought a few $5.00 movies from Wal-Mart so on the days we stayed in we could watch a movie. This worked really great; he hooked the DVD player up to the TV in the room, we watched the movies and heard the volume through the big TV. They have satellite TV but the programming is very limited. He also brought a small portable CD player and tape player and hooked it up through the TV so we could have music, when we got dressed when he had his in room massages. We sat on the beds they were okay; not the fluffiest; we called down to the office and immediately requested 4 mattress pads; the mattress pad currently on the bed was the thinnest I had ever seen. We looked over to the window area there was a pretty thick curtain covering the windows. It made the room dark inside; we pulled back the curtain; it slid real smoothly. A nice size balcony and huge patio doors were behind the curtain but we were amazed by the beautiful we had. Our room overlooked the free form pool, waterslides, lazy river, and the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. We opened the door and stepped onto the balcony a nice warm breeze hit our faces. We sit there for a few seconds trying to adjust to the heat. We are from Iowa and it wasn’t really hot there yet so this was different for us. Let me list the downsides of this resort and get them out of the way. BUT YOU HAVE TO REALIZE THIS IS NOT THE BOTTOM LINE; THIS IS JUST SO YOU WILL BE INFORMED. IT IS REALLY NOT AS BAD AS IT MAY LOOK! 1. Little food choices we were told they will be improving the menu at the buffet and the beach grill and adding more menu selections. 2. You need to request mattress pads we requested 6 and had a wonderful sleep every night. 3. The only ice available was at the bars. 4. There were no refrigerator; or microwaves available and none available to rent. 5. No laundry room, we had our clothes laundered for a fee. $11 the first time and $15 the second for about 15 and 20 pieces of clothing. 6. Outlets were hard to figure out. 7. I would like fruit to be available for all meals. 8. Room requests take quite some time to be filled. 9. There are hardly any excursions available from the Hotel. They offered a trip to Castries, a full island tour, ½ island tour and a few other limited choices. That’s all I can think of for the bad stuff. Now let’s list the good stuff 1. Wonderful people, I read some reviews that said the staff wasn’t helpful at all but they were absolutely wonderful. They were so friendly and aimed to please. We were greeted every morning with warm smiles. I loved the staff. 2. The owner was on site and very concerned about the guest and their needs. He came up to us every day at breakfast and asked if we were doing okay. 3. We hired a taxi for 3 days-Winson Edward at The New Frontier Taxi association Call him his number is ---or --- We circled the island twice we just could not get enough of the beautiful scenery and people in St. Lucia; I looked at several other resorts you just cannot get the beautiful views that are found at Coconut Bay at other resorts; the light orange building we stayed in had a beautiful view of the pool, ocean, and some small islands in the distance from our balcony. In the back of our building we had the most beautiful views of the mountains and flowers; it was so pretty and refreshing. 4. A very affordable place at $204 per night for 2 people. 5. You can’t swim in the ocean directly behind the hotel but you can go down the beach a bit and swim in the ocean it’s nice down there. 6. The spa was closed but you could get in room massages and we prefer that anyway in the privacy of our own room. 7. Nice workout facility with a water cooler for drinking water. 8. Italian Specialty restaurant is wonderful. 9. Free internet access-2 computers 10. Peace and quiet; with nothing but the sound of the ocean and the breeze blowing through the palm, coconut and banana trees. Our first day at Coconut Bay was good and weird, weird because I couldn’t believe that I was finally on my dream vacation and good because St. Lucia was a beautiful place. I dreaded our final day as it approached; had 7 days passed already? I couldn't believe it! My husband who I had to almost remove a limb from to make him leave the Country was talking about buying a winter home in St. Lucia. As the plane headed down the runway on our departure I watched the goats and chicken the roamed almost right beside the plane in a pasture inside the airport; I knew I was a world away from reality. I had come to love Coconut Bay not for its okay food; but for its shear beauty in its surroundings, I would come back time and time again, to Coconut Bay; it’s warm friendly staff, its pools, its never-ending ocean, and the beautiful mountains that surround it. Once I got out of my spoiled American mode, I truly came to appreciate this resort and to respect St. Lucia; it’s a wonderful island, it has beautiful people, and Coconut Bay after all is a beautiful place. The End

My family and friends stayed at the resort from april 10th to the 17th. We all had a great time. The rooms were spacious and clean, air conditioning and hot water worked fine. The staff was very friendly and eager to please. The buffet had a good selection, something for everyone and the Italian restaurant was excellent. The lobby area was beautifully decorated with custom made furniture which was perfect for relaxing and listening to the band in the evening. The finishing touches that took place during our stay did in no way diminish the quality of our vacation. In short I have nothing negative to say, we all had a wonderful time.

i am currently at the Coconut Bay Resort and just the fact that it is my second night here at 11:30 at night and i am sitting here searching the web should tell you about this resort. I arrived on Sunday. I am traveling by myself and I am extremly disappointed. I was not informed about this resort at all. All I knew was that it was a new resort, I was not told that the choices for food and liquor would be as limited that there would by No people>>>> The majority of the people here are married or have families. Noone really knows what is going on. Is the disco open or not??? Simple question 5000 answers. It was supposed to open tonight at 10 was up there no disco just about 7 people standing around and waiting. I am trying very hard to get out of this resort and I would truly recommend not coming. Maybe in a year when it is ready to really open. There is no beach, this hotel is on the Atlantic side not the Caribeen. N0 water sports, nothing. No hotels in the area. It is an hour in a half away from all the hotels, Castries etc. Food: What food??? I have only eaten in the buffet downstairs. Now for the money I am paying, I have been at many all inclusives before and the selection is tremendous so much so you go home sick... not here. For dinner tonight the choice was salad, one thing of pasta, plantains, pork, curry or fish...... don't even get me started about last night or about lunch. They have two restaurants upstairs, I have not gone but heard they have a very limited selection. Drinks: ok, all inclusive... in order for me to get a bottled water I need to go upstairs to the boutique and buy a bottle. They only have one type of bear and I think 7 mixed speciality drinks to choice from. If you are a couple or family or don't care about crowds, people, food or paying money for an all inclusive and not having everything then this is the place for you. I'm so angry I have been looking to get away and can't believe i am Stuck here. I do not recommend this hotel for anyone. I wish I checked the reviews, or knew about all the stuff that was not together yet. Do not come to this resort!!!!!!

This "all inclusive" is the worst I could of imagined. All the bad reviews are accurate so I won't repeat what has already been written. Do not go here it's a waste of money!!!!!! I guess when you ask them for a coffee at the resort they go to a computer, write a good review here ,and then bring you your coffee,because that's the pace they work at there.

This hotel is simply not ready and should not be open for business. There is construction all over the property. There is more caution tape here then on an episode of CSI. The beach was being bulldozed while we were there, which sent the ants and sand into the pool. They were having sewage and water issues. Showers would go from scalding to freezing. There was some sort of sewage back up. There were digging holes all of the property causing the entire place to smell like sewage. The food, service and activities were below par. The activites were non-existant. The pool bar offerings were meager (you couldn't even order a pina colada). The poolside grill has limited offerings, hamburgers and hotdogs and all guest had to share one ketchup bottle. The Italian resturant was good but it only seated about 30 people and reservations were needed 24 hours in advance. The daily buffett was good for breakfast but otherwise I would avoid it. There is no spa, no gift shop, no excursions and no umbrellas. Though the gym was nice, it is set off from everything else. There is no lighting or attendant with many construction guys wandering around. It wasn't safe for me to work out there by myself. This place had none of the trimmings a four star resort should have. If it is going to be on the south side of the island by itself, it needs to do some major upgrades. It takes about 1 1/2 to get to the north side. So, if you stay here you have to love it. Please don't just take my word for it, look at the attached pictures.

i stayed at the coconut from the 28th of march until april 3rd. 5 nights to many. for the 1st 3 days there was no air conditioning no hot water, then hot came after 3 days witch you could not regulate. the meals were horrible same 3 or 4 choices every day for 6 days. on the last 2 days of my stay the two a la carte restaurants opened with waits over 1 hour you could fit maybe 30 people per restaurant. the 2 were side by side on the second floor of the main lobby shared the same kitchen and a litle more tto choose from the buffet downstairs, witch by the way was only open from 7:00 am to 10: am then 12:00 to 14:30 then 18:30 to 20:30 the was also a beach grill open at any other time where you could eat a burger a hot dog or a grill cheese with fries. at the bars i counted 12 botles of alcohol to choose from no blender for frozen drinks nor fuits to make them with, same applies to meals there was never any type of fruit ever served during my stay, sad. the staff was very nice and the hotel it self nice the beach is one of the worst i've ever seen and the hotel location one hours drive from anything interesting .i would not recomend this place to my worst enemy.

I stayed at this resort with my wife and we had a terrible time Horrible time. There was limited food, none of the amenities that are promised. The Coconut Bay Resort and Spa does not actually Contain a spa. NO JOKE! There is no gift shop there are no trips and there is certainly no knowledgeable / helpfulstaff. Honestly, this did not even resemble a vacation. I was scared that I would get sick from the unclean and poorly cooked food and there were literally no activities to occupy myself with. no water sports, no excursions etc. I recommend that you trust me and do not go to this resort. I am not exaggerating. I do not know who wrote the other reviews here, but I am mad that they did. I am not the only person who had a terrible experience. the place was horid really the pits - stay far from it.

Returned from the Coconut Bay Resort and Spa in St. Lucia last weekend (April 3-10). This resort, advertised as newly opened, is really not finished. The spa was not yet open. Generally, there was still a lot of construction going on. We had a good time despite this, mostly because of the tremendous staff and the other guests. But it wasn't what we paid for and did not meet our expectations for a resort advertised as five star. Note, for those travelling with infants and small children: bathing them is difficult as there are no bathtubs in the rooms and the air-conditioners seem only to work sporadically.

We arrived for our 10-year anniversary on 4/11 and departed on 4/15. We knew the resort wasn't fully completed, but the low rates made it a real bargain! We give it a four-star rating given the fact they weren't quite finished and our overall experience. Could definitely be a 5-star rating. Upon arrival, we were quickly checked in and given a bottle of champagne to celebrate our anniversary. The view from our room was stunning...atlantic ocean(blue), beach, big pool and palm trees galore. First day, pool was very dirty, but was promptly cleaned next morning and every morning after. Spacious and relaxing! Bartenders were poor to great. Some need a personality adjustment, especially the ones at the pool bar. The other bartenders were very freindly and accomodating. Food was very good. Breakfast was the best. Fresh omelets every morning and good selection. Service for water, coffee, etc. was a bit slow, but no one's in a hurry at St. Lucia. Italian restaurant was excellent, beach grill was very good and Asian restaurant was okay. I think it will get better once they work out some of the kinks. Rooms were very nice. Hot water in the early part of the day and cool water for the rest of the day. No problem after being in 85-90 degree weather all day. Maid service was excellent, towels, etc. were plentiful. Activities were not what we expected. I think they can improve on this and were in the process of doing so during our stay. Keep in mind that snorkeling is no good at this resort. No reefs and rough ocean (Atlantic side). You have to travel for most activities like snorkeling, scuba, horse back riding etc. Cab rides VERY expensive. However, the resort was working on tour packagaes for these type of activities and once they are complete, should be no problem. Worth the excursion and you get to see more of the island. Other than bartenders at pool bar, all other staff very friendly, helpful and accomodating. Top-level management was visible and stopped to get feedback from guests every so often. Good sign! We found all native St. Lucians to be this way, even the ones who weren't trying to get us to buy anything. Workout facilities were excellent. They have the latest equipment and plenty of space. Overall, we would definitely go back to the Coconut Bay simply because they were not finished and with that in mind, they did a great job of making it a very memorable experience.

First time to the Carribean. Needed a rest and got it! Knowing full well the hotel had only just opened and was still undergoing major work I was more than happy to be there. In the ten days all pools opened as well as whirlpool and waterslide . Food was varied and plentiful. All staff were friendly. Reception staff was still learning the ropes but by the end of the vacation they were much more confident in their jobs Yes there wasn't a lot of water pressure- but they are working on it. Yes hot water was hard to find but one only needs to adjust your shower time and BOOM there it is! I would love to return in a year to see the completion . Opening specials made it very affordable as a matter of fact air fare cost more. I came home rested in spite of the overnight work that was being done .Which by the was I didn't hear one nail being hammered Get up in the morning and miracles had occured over night and I didn't have to do any of the work. I would recommend this especially to families with kids there will be many activities for them Had a grand time. Coconut Bay Resort and Spa is a great place to rest and relax.