Be warned there is a dress code...... for a buffet restaurant! (Fine dining, it's NOT!)

We travelled for over 13 hours to get to this resort for two weeks relaxing in the sun, sea and sand. I think everyone who has travelled long distance gets a bit frazzled by the time they arrive. Reception was great and we had help with our cases to our room on the second floor with a beach view (238). We quickly showered and changed into something more appropriate and headed for dinner, I put on a nice pair of evening sandals, some good shorts and a smart T-shirt and headed out to eat before the restaurant closed.
On arrival at the restaurant we gave our room number at the desk and were told to take a vacant table. Water was served to the table as I sat down and my wife headed for the buffet. Almost immediately after, the restaurant manageress appeared and told me that I was quote "inappropriately dressed" for the restaurant and that covered shoes should be worn and a shirt with a collar that is not a T-shirt. I made the point about only just arriving at the resort after a long journey and manageress repeated that I was inappropriately dressed. As tired as I was after such a long journey, I never raised my voice or got angry but I did offer to leave, twice. There was absolutely no understanding or acceptance of my fatigue and again the manageress repeated that I was inappropriately dressed.
The manageress left and my wife returned from the buffet with her food. I eventually got some food from the buffet which I ate quickly and left, feeling more than a little bit upset at a "dress code for a buffet restaurant" which was not exactly fine dining.
I'm not the kind of guy that let's things like this get to me but when I go away on holiday, I go for the sun, sea, sand with a relaxed attitude and good cold drinks included. But this soured our first evening at the Coyaba and set the tone for the rest of our holiday. For the next 14 days we only ever used that restaurant once, after I had bought some covered shoes. The vibe there felt bad to me there. One of the things I go on holiday to enjoy is two weeks of not having to wear shoes so I didn't take socks either!
The next morning we read the info pack which included the "Dress Code" but who reads anything when you are that tired from travelling?
Fortunately, there is no "Dress code" for breakfast, also a buffet I may add. But breakfast was a pretty good selection and I could find no fault with it. Almost all our dining from then on was at the Pool restaurant which was excellently served at the table by staff who had smiling faces and seemed eager to please.
The bars were staffed by the good and the miserable, (As you can see, I didn't take names). One guy in the main bar (I think he was a bar manager too!) didn't smile the whole two weeks we were there and didn't seem happy to serve either but a few of the other seemed happy in their work and served with a smile.
The Resort itself is on the public Grand Anse beach, which I would rate as one of the best in the Caribbean with soft white sand and lovely clear water. We never struggled to get sunbeds, which we were able to move from the Resort ground onto the beach as we wished. The Pool area is clean and tidy and also has plenty of sunbeds around it. For those with children I would warn you that at one point the pool is 9 feet deep, so keep an eye on your little ones in this area.
The rooms were great with British style three pin plugs, so no adaptors are needed. A great big extra king size bed, plenty of hanging space and drawer space and tea and coffee making facilities are provided too. The rooms were kept very clean and tidy, towels and bedding were changed regularly and we were very happy with the room service. Another great point for this Resort is that the tap water is filtered and drinkable. I think this is the first time I have ever encountered this in any hotel in the world, so it's a definite plus.
The grounds of the Resort were kept very tidy by the gardening team too but it seems that almost every day of our holiday someone was using a very noisy strimmer and/or leaf blower early in the morning, so don't get a hangover for goodness sake!

I am not a religious person at all but there seems to be a very religious vibe to this resort, which is ok as long as it doesn't encroach on my holiday...... it kinda pecked at the edges but it didn't spoil anything.
What did spoil things a little was the draconian attitude to smoking here. If your a smoker of vaper you can only smoke/vape in the area between quote "The christmas tree" and the beach and there are no seats or benches provided in any of the open spaces in this Resort to sit and rest on, so if you want to sit you have to use a sunbed which is very low down for just sitting on and not easy to arise or get up from.

To close, I wouldn't recommend the Coyaba Beach Resort. We have stayed in many hotels in the Caribbean and this just wasn't our cup of tea.