In January of this year, we escaped the cold, snowy winter in Pennsylvania for a week in tropical Saint Lucia in the Caribbean. My family of four (myself, husband, and 2 kids ages 8 and 12 at the time) stayed at Coconut Bay Resort and Spa and had an amazing time. Get a quick look at the highlight reel in the video below, and read on for more details about our vacation. (Be sure to read to the end for our toad story!)
Coconut Bay Resort St. Lucia Review
Our favorite part of any Caribbean vacation is the water – pools and beach. Here are some of our favorite views, including the one where my lovely daughter tried to drown me in the lazy river waterfall. Man, I love that kid.
The Resort and Rooms
Coconut Bay is divided into 2 sides: Harmony and Splash. Harmony is the adult-only side, and Splash is family-friendly. This kind of gave me pause when booking our vacation because we were traveling with kids, and I hate feeling like certain things are off limits. It turns out this was really a non-issue. The sides are so separate we never really even knew Harmony was there. On our part of the resort, the kids were allowed to go everywhere and do everything.
The lobby is the hub of activity. This is where you’ll check in and out, make your dining reservations, and book any excursions you want to take. The Coconut Walk Marketplace is also located in here, and that’s the buffet that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We ate there for most meals.
At night, you might find singing happening on a stage in the lobby, too, and there’s a nice bar in there as well.
There’s a covered area outside that includes another entertainment area and bar. We watched one of the Eagles playoff games here and it’s pretty cool to travel all the way to Saint Lucia to meet fellow fans! Some nights you’ll find entertainment on stage, and country night was my favorite!
My son enjoyed MANY games of pool, and there’s a ping pong table in that area as well.
My kids are old enough that they want to hang with us and not be put in a kids’ club, but I think they almost reconsidered when we met some of the entertainment staff. There are activities planned throughout the day, and we played a serious game of cornhole with two very cool employees that my kids fell in love with. You’ll find a list of the day’s events in the lobby area.
Coconut Bay also has a petting zoo, which was a little weird for us. The animals are all sweet and when we walked over, the gentlemen tending to them allowed my kids to feed the goats which they loved.
We did, however, find horses tied to a tree on a tennis court that was covered in poop. There were other horses that were running loose around the petting zoo area. It was just kind of a head scratcher as to why this was even on the resort. Kinda neat for kids who love animals, but also kinda odd.
The views from the resort are gorgeous. Tons of beautiful palm trees and the sunsets are stunning. We stayed out by the pools until the sun went down on most days.
Our room was lovely with two beds and a great view. There are different levels of rooms, and we chose the Splash Premium Ocean View. Our room was on the 3rd floor with a nice view of the pools and ocean. If you want a view, go for that level or higher. I think on the 2nd floor or below, you won’t be able to see much from your balcony.
The housekeepers were wonderful and left us fun towel art and a personal note each day. The rooms include what you’d expect: hair dryer, safe, closet with hangers, and toiletries.
Pools + Water Park
There are 3 family-friendly pools at Coconut Bay. One is the Splash Pool which is the biggest and most fun for little kids with a zero-entry side. This is also where the pool bar is located. Hello! There are a couple of towel huts where you can sign out towels and exchange them for fresh ones, so no need to worry about packing those.
There’s a small pool in little bit of a hidden spot that often no one else was in and we used it as our own private pool! That’s the Splash Plunge Pool located near the water park area.
Finally, there’s the Activity Pool where some of the recreational events are planned, like pool volleyball and exercise classes.
There’s one hot tub on the Splash side, located near the Activity Pool. It’s got an amazing view and you can sit in it and watch the sun set over the ocean. Unfortunately since there’s only one, it was often full and we only got in it a couple of times during our stay. You have to stalk it out a bit to catch it when it’s empty or at least less crowded.
Coconut Bay Resort also features a really fun water park. It might be a bit of a stretch to call it a full water park since it’s pretty much one lazy river and two water slides but it’s a total blast and we spent a lot of time there.
We floated around that lazy river over and over and over again. There are a couple of waterfalls to go under but it’s mostly a very relaxing, perfect way to soak up some sun.
One of the water slides is open-air and deposits you in one small pool, where you go down a second small slide to get out. The other slide, no one in my family tried. It’s completely enclosed and looks pitch black inside. Not for us, but if you’re a thrill seeker and like twisting around in a slide in the dark, go for it!
Food and Drink
Coconut Bay Resort is an all-inclusive, so all of your food and drink are included. They have really fun menus at each of the bars and my husband and I sampled a lot of them! The Island Volcano was my #1 top pick – try it if you go!
The bars can all make specialty drinks for the kids with no alcohol and mine loved trying all kinds of new concoctions. The best kids’ drinks come from the pool bar, which is split into an adult side and a kids’ size, each complete with its own menu of beverages.
There are many dining options to choose from, and we found ourselves at 2 places the majority of the time: The Coconut Walk Marketplace (the buffet), and the Jerk Tree House.
The Jerk Tree House serves jerk chicken and pork with sides like rice and peas and friend plantains. It’s SO good, and it’s the perfect place to take a break from the beach or pool and go grab some grub. Plus, Piton, the local beer, is on tap and you can’t leave Saint Lucia without having at least one!
Coconut Walk Marketplace offers a variety of food for everyone and they even have a separate station just for kids with things like chicken fingers and mac and cheese. For breakfast, there’s a smoothie bar and the kids got to choose their own mix-ins, plus they had homemade crepes that were divine! Dinner is themed each night, so even though you’re eating in the same place, the food is always different. Dress for the buffet is resort casual, so you’re fine in shorts and a t-shirt.
There are other restaurants on-site that require reservations (and a resort evening dress code), and if you’re interested in that, I’d make them as soon as you can. We waited a day to stop by the desk in the lobby to book ours, and there were slim pickings, particularly if you are traveling with kids because they have special time slots for families.
We made reservations for three different places we wanted to try, and the first one we went to was Silk, the Asian restaurant. The service was very slow. The food was pretty good, but it didn’t justify the wait and despite the limited availability for this restaurant according to the reservation desk, it was empty when we arrived. That also made the slow service a bit confusing.
We were glad we tried it, but we ended up deciding we didn’t want to plan our entire day (get out of the pools by 4:30 so we’re all showered and dressed and ready to roll to dinner by 6) around a meal like this. It kind of killed our whole evening. We cancelled the remaining reservations we had and dined at the buffet or Jerk Tree House for the rest of our trip. We actually met one other family who did the exact same thing, and they hadn’t eaten at Silk but at a different restaurant.
If it were just me and my husband, I might have been more inclined to be patient with the dining. Because we were twisting arms to get kids out of pools in order to make our reservation, it made it not worth it. Your mileage may vary on this one.
The Beach
Coconut Bay is on the Atlantic Ocean side of Saint Lucia, so while you won’t find that pristine, clear, Caribbean water, the beaches are still gorgeous. Take a walk north to Paradise Beach, a stretch of the beach that’s still on resort property, to find the bluest, calmest water. There’s even a bar up there and a bunch of beach chairs and umbrellas, so that’s the spot for your beach days.
One day we saw a bunch of riders on horses on the beach which was gorgeous. You can pay to ride them, too, or book a similar adventure through the excursion desk in the lobby.
If you’re into kite surfing, there’s a whole station for that at this end of the beach as well. That’s not something we really know how to do but it was fun to watch and we talked to other guests that said they come here year after year just for the kite surfing.
After a quick rainstorm one day, we were rewarded with a beautiful rainbow.
Tips for Your Visit
I tried to cover the big bases above, but here are a few little tidbits that might help you plan your trip.
Flights (what to wear)
Our trip was in January and we flew direct from JFK in New York City so it was cold when we left. We arrived in Saint Lucia in pants, and our room wasn’t quite ready when we got there. We were able to walk around the resort, have lunch, etc. until we could get into our room, but I wish we would have packed shorts in our carry on so we could have quickly changed. We were HOT by the time we got into our suitcases to change clothes.
Frogs
This is probably me being a careless parent, but nevertheless I’ll share it with you. One night we walked around the resort looking for wildlife – one of our favorite parts of traveling is discovering the local animal scene. In the grass we saw eyes staring back and us, and these two crazy kids ran after them and caught these toads.
We were all, “Wow, they’re big! So cool!” And it was quite a find…I mean, look at them! After we got back to our room that night we Googled what kind of toads live in Saint Lucia. These are Cane Toads, the largest toads in the world. They have poison glands and toxic skin. Something you want your kids picking up? Probably not.
They’re toxic to animals that eat them, particularly dogs, and while they were introduced for pest control purposes, they’re actually considered invasive now. I’m not an expert here, but it looks like they secrete their toxin after being squeezed or if they are fearful, and that toxin has to be ingested or absorbed through the eyes or other mucous membrane. Anyway, stay away from the toads. My kids thoroughly washed hands and we have this lovely photo to remember that time…
Excursions
I’m going to put together another post on this, but Saint Lucia is not the place to go and sit at your resort for a week. GO SEE SOMETHING! It’s a gorgeous island, we felt totally safe traveling with our kids, and some of our best memories were made while snorkeling or jumping in a waterfall.
Tipping
Should you bring money for tips? We did. Tipping is not required since this is an all-inclusive, but it is permitted and appreciated. Bring some ones and fives for your servers, bar staff, drivers, excursion hosts, and your housekeeper.
Outlets
If you’ve got stuff to plug in that uses a 2-prong outlet, get a converter before you go. From their website: The voltage of most electrical outlets on resort is 220/50 Hz, so guests are recommended to travel with a converter. A British 3-pin plug (which are available for sale at any electronics store pre-travel) will suffice. Recent renovations on resort did include the addition of 110V outlets (higher room categories only) however, converters are still recommended.
We were in an upgraded room and I think we had 2 outlets in the room that we could use. If you’re charging 2 phones, a GoPro, a tablet, etc. etc., I would take a converter with you. This one looks pretty foolproof for travelers.
Currency
We only traveled with US currency, which is widely accepted. We did get a few Saint Lucian coins for change which was fine and a good keepsake.
WiFi
The WiFi at the resort is strongest in the lobby and kind of iffy elsewhere. We put travel passes on our phone with our carrier that included our unlimited plan that we have at home (we have Verizon) and the service was actually really good, so we were always connected.
Learn More
Have more questions? Leave me a comment and I’ll respond. Check out the Coconut Bay Resort website for more pics, video, and info on all of the resort amenities. This is one of our favorite vacations that we’ve ever taken and highly recommend this resort as a great value, great experience, and a lot of fun for those of us that take the kids!
Meredith says
how did you get around the island? did you rent a car? taxi?
Lindsay Frank says
We didn’t rent a car, and I think you can do that, but most people that were venturing off the resort had planned excursions that included transport. So, for example, when we went on our snorkeling excursion, a van came to pick all of us up and drive us to the dock. If you just wanted to go explore the island, I might hire a driver who could give you a tour. Ever driver we had was awesome and taught us a lot about the island.
Diane says
Is there a dress code for dinner? how far in advance must you make dining reservations? With young adult children we were thinking to stay on splash side did you find it easy to get around to adult side pools etc? it appears most amenities are centrally located.
Thanks for sharing your trip!
Lindsay Frank says
Hi Diane! Our kids were 12 and 8 during this trip, and we stayed on the family side. It’s not hard to get over to the adult side, but we didn’t venture over because we couldn’t take them with us. I agree, most amenities are centrally located. There is a dress code for some of the restaurants. We mostly dined in the Marketplace which is the buffet. Great selection, great food. One night we ate at the Japanese restaurant and it was a really long wait that kind of killed our whole night. Good food, but with young kids, it wasn’t worth it. Make your reservations shortly after you check in. There was limited availability for us and we waited a couple of days before looking at dinner options. Maybe make your reservations after you arrive, and see how it goes one night (if there’s a long wait, etc). You can always cancel the remaining reservations if you find it eats up too much of your night. Have a wonderful time! The resort is fantastic!!
Jolene White says
I am looking at booking this resort for my families upcoming Christmas vacation. I will have to separate into two rooms – one on the adult side and one on the splash side due to availability. My oldest daughter who is 18 will stay with her sisters on the splash side and my husband and I will stay on the Harmony side. Are the kids not allowed to go over to the adult side at all? Also, the ages of my children are 19,17 and 12. Do you think there will be enough for the older ones to do? Other all inclusive we have stayed at are Beaches Turks and Caicos and Hard Rock in Punta Cana. My last question is regarding the sea grass and if it is possible to get in the water right by the resort or if you need to go down further to access good beach water? Thanks so much for this review of the resort. It was very helpful.
Lindsay Frank says
Hi Jolene! I don’t think the kids can go over to Harmony at all. You might be able to have the 17 and 19yo walk over with you, but not the 12yo. And I really think it’s mostly couples over there and not families, so you probably won’t want to hang out with them on that side even if you can get away with it at all. There is PLENTY for everyone to do at this resort. The water park is fun for all ages. Your older girls will have fun in the lazy river, and the beach is beautiful. The pools are really big, too. There’s kite surfing if they are adventurous! And Saint Lucia is gorgeous. Look for the other post on my site for things to do with kids in Saint Lucia. We did a sail and snorkel and a green jeep safari that were amazing. Perfect for your kids at their ages! We were able to get in the water near the resort. Based on our Caribbean travel, I think seaweed is unpredictable. Some days it was heavy (though they remove it) and others it was clear and that has been the case on all islands we’ve visited. This resort is not on the Caribbean side of the island so it’s not that crystal clear water, but it’s beautiful and you can definitely swim there. Walk down the beach to the left for clearer water, another beach bar, and more seating. We stayed at Beaches Turks and Caicos too. This resort is not as large, but we consistently say this is the best trip we’ve ever had. The resort is great, and more so, the island is incredible. We didn’t go out and explore in Turks, but you really need to do that in Saint Lucia. The island is just stunningly gorgeous. We had a great stay in Coconut Bay! Let me know if you have other questions! Happy to help! Enjoy your holiday, wherever you end up!