I stayed at the Coco Reef hotel with my wife and 1 year old daughter for 1 week at the end of February.

After many hours searching online for a holiday cross-referencing places that looked good with the reviews posted on Tripadvisor we eventually settled on Coco Reef as we were after somewhere of a decent quality, but not a location where taking a 1 year old would be frowned upon.

We eventually booked through an independent travel agent called Classic Collection who offered a very good package that included a free upgrade to a Beachfront room, as opposed to a standard Oceanview room. The flights were also with BA and the transfers to/from the resort were by private taxi.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our time on Bermuda and at Coco Reef. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful and their attitudes were genuine and not just to get a better tip, (as this is all included in the price charged as it is in most establishments on Bermuda).

The rooms were clean and well presented. A cot was provided free of charge. The fridge in the room worked fine as did the air-con, tea/ coffee making facilities, hairdryer, mini safe, TV and cable box.

I did see that half of the Beachfront block was closed as it was being repainted so I guess a general freshen up in underway.

The buffet breakfasts were the same each day, but we enjoyed them and all the basics were offered - fresh fruit, cereal, toast, pastries, yogurts, bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs etc.. plus you could ask for pretty much anything else, (within reason) to be prepared fresh from the kitchen. Service standard and speed were also well above average as far as we experienced.

Also as part of our package we received a complimentary meal in the hotel restaurant which was excellent quality food, imaginatively prepared. In fact the food at Coco Reef was some of the best we sampled on the island.

As it was off season the hotel was only about 25% full so we had the swimming pool to ourselves on most days although we did venture on to Elbow Beach a few times.

I can understand the comments about the resort not being ideal for anyone with walking difficulties as it is built on a hill side and there are a lot of steep slopes and steps, but I struggle to see the complaints about the beach being too far away as it is really only about 100 metres across a grassy area and around a very small rocky outcrop on to Elbow Beach which we managed easily, even with a baby in tow.

Only negative I can think of was mainly the fault of the other guests as bottles, glasses and particularly cigarette butts were discarded in far too many places for my liking though the hotel staff were a little slow to keep on top of this issue.

Overall Bermuda was a fantastic choice of off season holiday destination for someone wanting a relaxed holiday of a very high standard with 'baby friendly' weather, although I appreciate its not for everyone as overall the island is rather expensive.

As a general note on Bermuda we purchased travel passes most days, US$12 per adult, (under 5's travel free) as the buses and ferries ran extremely frequently and the network was good.

We also sampled many restaurants and I would comment as follows: -

Paraquet - Just up the road from Coco Reef but seemed more of a breakfast/lunch diner than anything else. Cheap though.

Harbourfront - Hamilton outskirts. Great location, pretty good food, imaginative decor, very expensive and somewhat soulless.

Henry VIII - 10 mins west from Coco Reef via taxi. Great food, large portions, excellent service and friendly staff. Would be nice in the summer as had a large terrace.

Swizzle Inn - 2 exist but we sampled the 1 in Warwick as it was closest to the hotel. Great home-cooking style food at fair prices. Would be nice in the summer as had a large terrace.

Lobster Pot - In Hamilton. Better for lunch than dinner as far as we were concerned as venue not much to look at though food good and prices fair.

Hog Penny - As above, though basically this is more of a bar.

Portofino - In Hamilton. Ok Italian restaurant, reasonable prices but nothing you couldn't find in any average sized town.

Frog & Onion Pub - Dockyard. Good pub food and a decent choice of beers. Not that cheap though.

The Crystal Caves were a good tourist attraction. As was Fort Hamilton as on Monday's at noon the Bermudian Pipe Band gives a free display.
Shelly Bay is great for kids as the beach is gentle shelving and there is a decent play area just behind it.