Coco Beach is my daughter’s favourite local resorts, primarily because of the child friendly nature of the resort and it’s water slide, which I think she went down at least 100 times over our weekend getaway.

Coco Beach Resort is located near Sabang, which is a 60 minute boat ride away from the Batangas Pier on the southern tip of Luzon.  Batangas is about a 2 hour drive from Manila, but it can take longer if there is a lot of traffic.

There are three main options to get to Coco Beach.  Public ferry, Coco beach provided shuttle and ferry, or private ferry arranged by the resort.  We opted for the private ferry, but at at 5,500 pesos per way, the other two options are generally the more popular ones unless you are travelling with a large group.  We opted for the private boat because we wanted to dictate the time we travelled without having to take the public ferry.  But if you are able to leave at 7am from Manila on the Coco Beach Express to their group ferry, which departs at 9am from the Berberabe Port in Tabangao, Batangas, it only costs 2600 pesos for adults and 2200 pesos for children round trip.  See http://www.cocobeach.com/getting-there.aspx#cocoexpress for more details.

The resort, while not upmarket per se, is a comfortable family friendly place where there are lots of activities for kids of all ages, nice views, and adult oriented activities such as the spa, scuba diving, island hopping and hiking.

There are four restaurants and a bar. The main open air Carabao restaurant lunch and dinner options were, in our opinion, pretty average, but the restaurant did serve some good basic dishes that appeal to kids, but the Italian restaurant –  Trattoria Sotto ale Stelle – located separate from the main resort area is quite good and atmospheric.  We did not try the other two restaurants – Doña Lina Revolving Restaurant or Coco Grill – when we were there, but both seemed to offer good food, but neither were suitable for our daughter as the revolving restaurant was too upmarket and offered a five course dining option and the Coco Grill was on the top of a hill, which offered fabulous views, but it was too long of a hike for a three year old to get there.  The Saturday night buffet and show at the main restaurant and beach made up for the relatively average main meals the rest of the time! (More on that later…). The free breakfast buffet suits the environment with lots of tropical fruit and typical breakfast options and freshly made omelettes.

The resort beach for sunbathing, but not great for kids as it is a bit rocky and small.  But the view is nice and the large pool overlooking the beach makes up for it.  This was to be expected though, as Puerto Galera famous for scuba diving and optimal environment for scuba diving does not lend itself to big sandy beaches!

The pool was the highlight for our trip in our daughter’s eyes. The water was not too cold, it was big enough to swim around and it had a water slide.  There is a small adult only pool up near the Coco Grill, as well.

There are other great ways to entertain the kids outside of the pool.  There is a tennis court, sports equipment, a turtle pool, and games. The grounds are also great for just walking around exploring nature.

There are many levels and types of accommodation available at Coco Beach.  We stayed in the Heritage Suite, my mother-in-law stayed in a a Deluxe room, and our nanny stayed in a Standard room.  All rooms are assigned a house family who is responsible for maintenance and cleaning of the room and attends to your needs during your stay.  This a wonderful way that the resort assists the local community with jobs and accommodation and it is a very good experience to sit and talk with the families and watch their kids play out in the gardens.

The Heritage Room was –located in a resort garden and did not have a sea view, but it was air conditioned and had hot water! The room had a loft and was furnished with three queen bed and two single beds.  The room’s maximum capacity is 8 persons, but you are charged for the number of people staying.  They are quite strict on this and will not allow extra people in the room if they were not included in the reservation.  The room cost us 6300 pesos for two adults and one child.   While the room lacks charm, unlike the deluxe rooms, the air conditioning and garden space out near the room’s exit are great for families with young children.

The Deluxe room was located a short walk from the beach near one of the hillsides surround the resort.  It is important to note, though, that some of the rooms in this category are located up a very steal hill and may not be suitable for people with young children.  The rooms are lovely and look like little cottages.  They have fabulous sea views but no air conditioning.  This room cost us a bit over 4000 pesos per night.

The Standard room was located at the back of the resort, has no sea view or air conditioning.  The available bed configuration options are one queen bed and one double deck or one queen bed or two single beds.  It is important to note that this level of accommodation does not offer hot water but it is still comfortable for the relatively cheap price of circa 3000 pesos per night.

On the last night of our stay, we joined the Saturday buffet event hosted by the resort.  Our daughter and my mother-in-law loved it.  We started with cocktails and canapés on the beach and then moved to the main restaurant for a buffet dinner and performances.  The hotel staff provided everyone with flowers and even served the children in attendance an early children’s meal of spaghetti and French fries to tide them over during the show.

The house families performed traditional dances and other wonderful performances, which ended with the presentation of the tradition Filipino “lechon” (roasted whole pig).

All in all, we had a great weekend at Coco Beach and plan to try to get back there again soon.

In summary, the pros and cons of the resort are as follows:

Pros:  Nice pool, large gardens, walking paths for exercise, and reasonable accommodation.

Cons: Average food, might be a bit boring if it is raining, and lack of air conditioning in many of the resort’s room.

Contact details to make a reservation at the Coco Beach Resort:

Coco Beach Island Resort Reservation Office
Unit 1036 G/F Miramar Hotel
1034-1036 Roxas Blvd. cor. U. N. Ave.
Manila, Philippines 1004
Tel# (+63 2) 521 5260 / 526 4594
Fax# (+63 2) 526 6903
E-mail: reservation@cocobeach.com
Website: http://www.cocobeach.com