Reef Coco Beach Review

trevorsma · 04-14-2004

Well I just returned on Sunday night and here is my honest opinion on the resort. First I want to say that I have travelled extensively and have been to this area 3 times. I am not a complainer nor do I have high expectations of a place unless I am paying top dollar and I am at a Ritz or Hyatt. This trip was booked knowing full well there would be some glitches and that it was a bargain. I was just looking to get away from it all. So here goes. Check in was a breeze, My sister, her 13 yo son, my 21 month old and myself had no problems. We were offered a choice of 2 rooms 1st floor or 3rd both by the lobby. I checked the 3rd floor one and said it was fine never checked the other.Good choice since It was very quiet at night. Lobby is pretty, not big but just right for the size of the place.
The rooms are small, bathroom no biggie and not as lavish as say Copacabana but hey no problem. Our safe was broke but no big deal we used the lobby safe and saved some money. When we arrived the hotel was less than full and was nice for 5 days until the Saturday before Easter, then it was packed. They had signs up offering a 2 night stay at Iberostar Cozumel for free, departing April 8th. I guess that was there way of trying to solve the overbooking.
Now to the rest.The pool is nice and long not very wide or again extravagant with fountains and jacuzzis, but good enough. The beach is Gorgeous really. Plenty of chairs at both areas. The pool was never crowded but boy the beach was. We got 6 am wakeup calls to get a Palapa. but I have done this on all my trips. I also reccommend getting up early to reserve your specialty restraunt. by 5 minutes after 7 it is usually booked at both. This was a busy week so again maybe a little different then low season.
The buffet, well here is my beef. I loathed going there honest. I have never been to a place where I could not enjoy breakfast it was so humdrum. I am not a big egg eater but love waffles etc. Well everyday at exactly 7 when we ate, the french toast pancakes and waffles were ice cold. I dealt with it and caught on by putting them through the taoster to warm them. Other than that it was the usual but unusual breakfast fare. Hotdogs for breakfast nah not for me. I ate alot of toast and buns. Yummy. As far as lunch thankfully there was a snack bar it is a life saver. Great food but no rhyme or reasion to ordering. Sometimes your order was given to someone else. Who knows.
Never ate a real meal at dinner Buffet only went for my son. It looked ok. We ate at the Mexican restraunt 2x and loved the staff and food. As far as Italian I was there once and was really sick that night. I just sat there before making a speedy exit to my room. My sis said it was ok but we are italian and from NY so thats a touchy area for us. Picky I guess.
Went into town tons for shopping, dinner, lunch. I love PDC and it is so close and cheap by taxi. Did not walk it.
We did have problems with the minibar never enough water. Even with tipping. Front desk said they come by every other day, and gave us a ton to compensate. As far a s maid service it was always late in the day. We asked for it to be done early since I needed to bring the baby back to the room around 3 and it always was a problem having to get out so they could clean it around 4 or 5. So that annoyed me a touch, since they didnt seem to try to get it cleaned early. Our toilet broke. I called no one came, 2 hours later called again and they came right away and fixed it. So that was ok.
All in all a great trip. Now the bad part I was sick on Tuesday and never quite felt better all week. The night before we were leaving I got REALLY sick.Had to cancel our dinner in Puerto Adventuras. I was pissed Vomited 13 times in 4 hours not to mention other things. My sis went with the kids and I was left to die it seemed, lol. When they got back I had them call the Dr. He was there in 30 minutes. He gave me an exam, a shot and some meds. 140 dollars US. I did not care. I was dying.....Parasite he said. He also mentioned others were sick but I am not sure the reason. I barely ate anything since my first sick episode so I am not sure if it was the food. Next day I felt a little better and we departed with no problems. My son then was sick the whole time in airport and on the plane and I thought I would never get home.
Anyway Like I said I dealt with all the things that were handed my way. Did they ruin my vacation, nope. As we were leaving some man was screaming at the desk that they needed to buy more umbrellas and palapas that there was nooooo way he was getting up early to get one and he was appalled. Come on already adjust and get over it....... Hope this helped someone out there alittle

K and P · 04-14-2004

Wow feel bad for you getting sick. I was at the RIU and only had the runs for 3 days, and about 2 weeks after we returned.
The Reef Coco Beach, not sure what it costs, but just doesnt look like a great place. Are they calling it a 5 star? It just looks small, nothing special. Thats just my opinion. I would never consider booking it by how it looks.
It must be because its new that everyone is trying it out. I will stick to the bigger resorts.

trevorsma · 04-14-2004

Yeah 5 star, more like 3. It just does not have all the amenities to be considered a true 5 star resort. I knew that going in and also since traveling with a child I wanted something smaller.

nspoylo · 04-23-2004

Some people on Trip Advisor said that you have to make reservations for the Italian and other restaurants at 7am as they get booked very quickly. I'm curious if thats true and hoping you could shed some light on the dining process at RCB. We are arriving on Sat, 5/1, in the afternoon, and am wondering if we need to call the hotel on Friday to make reservations.
Thanks and really looking forward to it!

trevorsma · 04-23-2004

Reservations are taken at 7 am at the buffet restraunt, for the same night only. That is why I posted you need to get up early since they only take about 6 seatings each hour from 630 on. You can not reserve in advance.We ate at the buffet the day we arrived but the following morning we made reservations for the mexican no problem.

04-14-2004	#1 (permalink)
trevorsma sandflea Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ny Posts: 9	Reef Coco Beach Review Well I just returned on Sunday night and here is my honest opinion on the resort. First I want to say that I have travelled extensively and have been to this area 3 times. I am not a complainer nor do I have high expectations of a place unless I am paying top dollar and I am at a Ritz or Hyatt. This trip was booked knowing full well there would be some glitches and that it was a bargain. I was just looking to get away from it all. So here goes. Check in was a breeze, My sister, her 13 yo son, my 21 month old and myself had no problems. We were offered a choice of 2 rooms 1st floor or 3rd both by the lobby. I checked the 3rd floor one and said it was fine never checked the other.Good choice since It was very quiet at night. Lobby is pretty, not big but just right for the size of the place. The rooms are small, bathroom no biggie and not as lavish as say Copacabana but hey no problem. Our safe was broke but no big deal we used the lobby safe and saved some money. When we arrived the hotel was less than full and was nice for 5 days until the Saturday before Easter, then it was packed. They had signs up offering a 2 night stay at Iberostar Cozumel for free, departing April 8th. I guess that was there way of trying to solve the overbooking. Now to the rest.The pool is nice and long not very wide or again extravagant with fountains and jacuzzis, but good enough. The beach is Gorgeous really. Plenty of chairs at both areas. The pool was never crowded but boy the beach was. We got 6 am wakeup calls to get a Palapa. but I have done this on all my trips. I also reccommend getting up early to reserve your specialty restraunt. by 5 minutes after 7 it is usually booked at both. This was a busy week so again maybe a little different then low season. The buffet, well here is my beef. I loathed going there honest. I have never been to a place where I could not enjoy breakfast it was so humdrum. I am not a big egg eater but love waffles etc. Well everyday at exactly 7 when we ate, the french toast pancakes and waffles were ice cold. I dealt with it and caught on by putting them through the taoster to warm them. Other than that it was the usual but unusual breakfast fare. Hotdogs for breakfast nah not for me. I ate alot of toast and buns. Yummy. As far as lunch thankfully there was a snack bar it is a life saver. Great food but no rhyme or reasion to ordering. Sometimes your order was given to someone else. Who knows. Never ate a real meal at dinner Buffet only went for my son. It looked ok. We ate at the Mexican restraunt 2x and loved the staff and food. As far as Italian I was there once and was really sick that night. I just sat there before making a speedy exit to my room. My sis said it was ok but we are italian and from NY so thats a touchy area for us. Picky I guess. Went into town tons for shopping, dinner, lunch. I love PDC and it is so close and cheap by taxi. Did not walk it. We did have problems with the minibar never enough water. Even with tipping. Front desk said they come by every other day, and gave us a ton to compensate. As far a s maid service it was always late in the day. We asked for it to be done early since I needed to bring the baby back to the room around 3 and it always was a problem having to get out so they could clean it around 4 or 5. So that annoyed me a touch, since they didnt seem to try to get it cleaned early. Our toilet broke. I called no one came, 2 hours later called again and they came right away and fixed it. So that was ok. All in all a great trip. Now the bad part I was sick on Tuesday and never quite felt better all week. The night before we were leaving I got REALLY sick.Had to cancel our dinner in Puerto Adventuras. I was pissed Vomited 13 times in 4 hours not to mention other things. My sis went with the kids and I was left to die it seemed, lol. When they got back I had them call the Dr. He was there in 30 minutes. He gave me an exam, a shot and some meds. 140 dollars US. I did not care. I was dying.....Parasite he said. He also mentioned others were sick but I am not sure the reason. I barely ate anything since my first sick episode so I am not sure if it was the food. Next day I felt a little better and we departed with no problems. My son then was sick the whole time in airport and on the plane and I thought I would never get home. Anyway Like I said I dealt with all the things that were handed my way. Did they ruin my vacation, nope. As we were leaving some man was screaming at the desk that they needed to buy more umbrellas and palapas that there was nooooo way he was getting up early to get one and he was appalled. Come on already adjust and get over it....... Hope this helped someone out there alittle

04-23-2004	#4 (permalink)
nspoylo sandflea Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5	reservations for restaurants Some people on Trip Advisor said that you have to make reservations for the Italian and other restaurants at 7am as they get booked very quickly. I'm curious if thats true and hoping you could shed some light on the dining process at RCB. We are arriving on Sat, 5/1, in the afternoon, and am wondering if we need to call the hotel on Friday to make reservations. Thanks and really looking forward to it!

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

04-14-2004	#2 (permalink)
K and P beachaholic Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Ont, Canada Posts: 343	Wow feel bad for you getting sick. I was at the RIU and only had the runs for 3 days, and about 2 weeks after we returned. The Reef Coco Beach, not sure what it costs, but just doesnt look like a great place. Are they calling it a 5 star? It just looks small, nothing special. Thats just my opinion. I would never consider booking it by how it looks. It must be because its new that everyone is trying it out. I will stick to the bigger resorts.

04-14-2004	#3 (permalink)
trevorsma sandflea Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ny Posts: 9	Yeah 5 star, more like 3. It just does not have all the amenities to be considered a true 5 star resort. I knew that going in and also since traveling with a child I wanted something smaller.

04-23-2004	#5 (permalink)
trevorsma sandflea Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Ny Posts: 9	Reservations are taken at 7 am at the buffet restraunt, for the same night only. That is why I posted you need to get up early since they only take about 6 seatings each hour from 630 on. You can not reserve in advance.We ate at the buffet the day we arrived but the following morning we made reservations for the mexican no problem.

register to remove these adverts