"We just came back from the British Virgin Islands and stayed at Coconut Point. We absolutely loved the place. We went there for a wedding and the grooms cousin had set us up with our accommodations. After we had made reservations we saw the last review on tripadvisor and were very concerned, because we had booked Orchid and Bougainvillea, which apparently were the two units the former reviewer had negative comments about. We (my fiance, my cousin, her mother and me) stayed in Bougainvillea the downstairs 2 bedroom/2 bathrooms because my aunt Mimi has problems walking and didn't want to have to go up too many steps. The bride and groom stayed in Orchid, which is the studio on the second floor.

We e-mailed Xavier and forwarded our concerns to him, but he was very surprised - he thinks that Coconut Point is one of the best values for your money in the BVI. Since he decided to leave the US and live in a "Third World Country" following his dream being a dive-instructer, we still weren't so sure whether his take on the place would correspond with ours, but he was right.

The pool is a little small, but the grounds were perfectly groomed and Uschi couldn't have been nicer. As a matter of fact, the day the bride and groom went into Road Town to apply for their wedding-license we planned to go to Jost van Dyke and visit the Buggly Pool and she had told us that the most fun it will be when the surf is up. Aunt Mimi decided to just stay around the house and cool off on the pool and we went to Jost van Dyke, which was an adventure I need to share. We took the ferry and went to Foxy's looking for a taxi, which couldn't be found. Justine (Foxy's daughter and the proprietor of Bamboo) then offered us a ride on the back of her truck to Bamboo and there we went. She was afraid the ride would be to rough, but it wasn't a problem at all. We decided to go to the Bubbly Pool first and have lunch after, so I asked a Local at the bar for directions, which he gave, but I didn't quite get - must have been the fault of the two Rum and Coke's I had already ;) - so we went on the path and luckily did turn right instead of left, when we weren't to sure.

The Bubbly Pool was an experience with the waves crashing in and pushing you around, what fun. Before we left Bamboo's we had checked the menu and we had to laugh when we got back to Bamboo - because here was the map to get to the Bubbly Pool right on the front of the Menu. The same evening going through the guest-information book at Coconut Point - guess what - there was the map to get to the Bubbly Pool also right in the book.

On the last day of our stay I couldn't help myself then ask Uschi, what happened, that there was such a bad review and she told us, how sorry she had been about that, when the former guests were there she had been 2 persons short on staff on her job and put in lots of hours and one of her long-term tenants had left and she had to get the apartment ready for the new tenants, which had to move in on a certain date and she had some workmen repainting that apartment at that time. We will stay at Coconut Point on our next visit to the BVI. The apartments were both clean and so nicely appointed, our place even had a juicer and the place is so peaceful and so conveniently located - and no scary drive-way!!! The brides family stayed in a Villa and I was not too happy, when we visited them and drove up and down that hill and switchbacks. We are happy that we discovered the BVI and will definitely be back, one week was not enough."

We rely so much on these forums that we felt we should give back some useful information regarding our stay at Coconut Point Vacation Apartments. We stayed in the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom Frangipani unit (which is on the top floor of the smaller bldg.) We would highly recommend this unit over the others even if there are only two of you for the following reasons. It is quieter than the others (most units are close to the road where there is a fair amount of vehicle and pedestrian traffic) and the waves crashing against the rocks may keep some light sleepers awake. The A/C’s in the bedrooms were very noisy so we never used them. Because the apartments are situated in a residential area, there are a lot of stray roosters around that start up at about 2am. You’ll get used to them after a while. The view is also much more pleasant from the second floor where you don’t have to look out at parked vehicles (by the way, there are a few long term tenants here that keep to themselves, not even a hello!) The grounds are quite littered. Paint cans, trash and other debris are scattered throughout the property. The villa itself is well appointed but could use a thorough cleaning. We paid a 10% “service” charge which is charged at all hotels and only a few villas whether you get service or not. It was well equipped except for the fact that the BBQ was so old and rusted out that the controls were locked and you had to put tin foil on the grates. Uschi (our host that everyone seems to rant about) never once called or asked how everything was or if there was anything she could do to make our stay more enjoyable. In fact, a few days after we checked in, we said hello at Sebastian’s, however, she did not appear to have time to talk. Our visit to Tortola was wonderful although we would definitely look at alternate accommodations on a return visit.

I found this site very informative thus preparing me and My King for our holiday at Coconut Point.

We live in the C/Bean and travel around the C/Bean so we hold very high expectations of the places we visit.
This was my first visit to Tortola so I was very excited. We travelled via LIAT and got in the early afternoon. We have pre-booked a rental jeep from Internation Car Rental - (Sherlan John was very helful, we had lots of communication prior to our visit). The Emmigration Officer ( a female) was not full of smiles but we managed to get through without a hiccup. We collected our luggage and proceeded to the car part to seek for the car. While I stayed with the bags, my King went to look for the car. I was very impressed to find the locals around the airport(some looked like taxi drivers, other perhaps the baggage folks who asked if they could be of assistance. I believe the airport experience gives you some idea of how your time will be.
We got the car, packed our luggage in and started on to find our villa. Uschi (the Manager, had given us directions in an earlie re-mail). She usually ask folks to stop by Sebastians but we declined that idea and asked her to meet us at the Villa instead.
We stopped in town to get our local drivers licenses but Sherlan was off and I did not want to deal with anyone else.
We met Uschi, wo showed up around the villa and explained the contents - jacuzi, bidet, two fridges, microwave, stove, grill, tv, fan, phone. We settled the paperwork - pay the balance for the entire holiday - two weeks) and was given the keys.
There isn't a beach at Coconut Point so you may want to find another. I liked the Long bay which was wonderful. I grew up on a beach on a coral island so this did live up to my high espectations.
A word of caution, Tortola is very hilly so a jeep would be ideal. Take note of yoru gas gave as service stations are far and few between in the countrysides.
The electricity went off quite a bit in the Carrot Bay area (Coconut Point) especially around 6:00 p.m. each day. That was most disappointing as that was the time we returned from our excursions ready for a shower, play our favourite CD and sip some organic carrot juice.
Villa was well kept, clean and we never saw the Housekeeper except one day she came to ask if we wanted service that day as we slept in rathe rlate (10:00 a.m.) ha ha ha!
We did not eat out once since we are vegans and prefer to prepare our own meals.
teh smoothies at the Adventist place in Road town are simply to die for.
Groceries were fairly priced compared to other C/Bean island, expensive by US terms.
All is all we had a blast. Since we got soem imput from this site we pleged to put a little something back to help others.
I was somewaht taken abackc as how the mangroves are dying because of the wanton use of perto-chemicals. this desperately needs soem attention from the EPA on Tortola as the island will change dramatically without those mangroves to protect the land.
Nice homes perched all over the hillsides. Agriculture - say soem very nice vegetable gardens.
Need nore laundry facilities though.
Our departure was sour and the LIAT clerk did no texactly make it easy. She told us one bag was over weight and surtly informed us to go buy a bag over at the shop. We did purchase the bag (US$20.00). After such an embarassment of taking our some clothes(undies falling on the floor), we placed the bag again on the scale to be told we had to take more stuff out as we never took anything out as thus still over weight. By this time my King was livid so I took over the situation to explain we did take soem stuff out and please check the scale again. We did find out that the scale was not working properly thus giving false readings. I thought an apology was necessary but the Clerk was too proud and stuck up to give one. A word of caution, don't but too many souveniers like I did:)
We thought of staying another two weeks but had to go back to our Business.
Have a grand time when you go and do leave some for me to return :)

Empress Nile

This was our first trip to Tortola, the BVI, or even the Caribbean, so we were at a slight disadvantage at trying to plan where to go, what to see, where to stay, since all we knew of the island is what I found online. When it came to hotel shopping, all I could find were resorts (too expensive), all-inclusive resorts (way too expensive), small hotels (reasonably priced, but it's a risky business to make honeymoon arraingements at a small, unknown hotel), and the obvious flea-bag hotels. After several days of frustrated searching, I found the Coconut Point Apartments website, and immediately made reservations. The woman who helped us (presumably the owner) was unbelievably helpful, giving us tips for what to see on the island, helping us to arrainge some of the finer details, and giving us just general advice.

When we got there, room itself was just perfect. We rented the Orchid room for a week, which was listed as a fully furnished studio apartment with full kitchen, private balcony, whirlpool tub, AC, and ocean views. In no respect did it fail to deliver any of what was promised. As far as stuido apartments go, this one was huge, much larger than your average hotel room. The king sized bed was very comfortable, and the AC (a precious commodity on the islands as few hotels have them) was an absolute blessing. The kitchen was fully stocked, and we saved quite a few bucks by making our own meals (go shopping in Soppers Hole at the market near Blue Water Divers, it is very well stocked and has the most reasonable grocery prices on the island), since eating out was *very* expensive (for two, our meals averaged around $70 excluding drinks). There were tons of towels, even a cooler and beach chairs for us to borrow for going to the beach. The woman who cleaned our room on Saturday was an absolute sweetheart.

From our private balcony, the ocean was, literally, a stone's throw away. The only thing between our 2nd floor apartment and the ocean was a road. Though the beach in front of the apartments is not good for swimming (there is a reef around the beach full of stinging urchins and the waves were too strong for me to feel comfortable snorkeling there with all the stinging urchins), the beach combing was excellent. We were even lucky enough to watch some nurse sharks feeding from our balcony.

Since the apartments are right on Carrot Bay on the West End, you have the advantage of not only staying where the waves are the most "active," but staying on the less tourist plauged part of the island, meaning it was quieter (quieter with regard to people and activity, soundwise it was actually pretty loud because the waves were so constant... But we loved every moment of it). Sopper's Hole is a short, 5 minute jaunt away, and Smuggler's Cove, home of the best snorkeling outside of the Baths, and Cane Garden Bay, arguably one of the best beaches, are both about 10-15 minutes away (depending on how the roads are). The Sugar Mill Resteraunt, the *best* dining on the island is less than 3 minutes away, and world-famous Bomba's Shack (an adults-only, hard-core party people favorite) is about 4 minutes away, close enough to gawk at but not close enough to keep you awake (note: don't drink the mushroom tea there, unless you're looking for a... Hallucinogenic experience).

My only complaints about where we stayed aren't even really complaints, but just observations. The first being that parking there is sort of a trick since the lots are so small. However, space to park anywhere on the island is an absolute rarity, so we're lucky we had our own private lot, even if it did only fit 3 cars. Secondly, we got awful, awful rain there (so bad Road Town flooded and they closed all of the roads on the island), and there were a few leaky points in the apartment, namely by the door and by the AC. The first leak we were warned about, and honestly, I think that with the kind of hard, driving, constant rain we had, even the best of places would leak.

My advice to those staying on the island:

1. Rent a Jeep or other 4X4 if you want to tour the island at all, and rent it from the airport. Trust me, the extra couple of dollars is worth it when you see the other rental places.

2. The locals are awesome people... IF you reasearch their island, familiarize yourself with the customs of the area, and take an active interest in them and their island. If you act like a dumb tourist (which a lot of people did while we were there), they'll treat you like a dumb tourist... Or wont give you the time of day AT ALL. There's also some pretty hard living on the island by the locals or Belongers, which can be something of a shock on a vacation in paridise.

3. Visit The Baths at Virgin Gorda via Speedy's or Smith's Ferry in Road Town, and spend the day there. You won't think you'll need to, but trust me, you will.

4. Skip anything at Prospect Reef Resort (it's an absolute dump), and DON'T DO DOLPHIN DISCOVERY. It's a well known fact around the island that Prospect Reef is a dump and that they mistreat the dolphins at their program. About a year ago, they actually had their dolphins die from illness and one escaped several times because the "tank" they have it in is a cement pond with a chain link fence.

5. Stay at Coconut Point Apartments, the nicest place on the island. Best view, best rooms, best location, best price. For those of us who don't want the tourist vacation and want privacy, it's the only place to stay.