Cooper Island Beach Club reopens on 1 November 2026. That is the date on the resort’s own website. Last season it reopened on 26 October, so crews planning from last year’s dates are expecting it back a week early. If your charter falls in the last week of October, the moorings are there but the kitchen is not. Plan to eat aboard.
The dates
- Closed: the whole resort shut on 3 August 2026.
- Reopens: 1 November 2026: restaurant, bars, Coffee Box, brewery and boutique.
- Hotel rooms: the rooms page gives a different window, closed from 25 July to 7 November 2026. If you want a room ashore in the first week of November, confirm with the resort before you book. Caribbean Journal noted the same mismatch when it reported the reopening on 20 September.
The Rum Bar
The Rum Bar opened in 2013, a few steps along the beach from the restaurant, and now holds more than 350 rums from around the world. The resort’s dining page puts the count past 400, which makes it one of the largest rum collections in the Virgin Islands.
- Rum flights are the way in. The staff know the collection and will tell you where each rum comes from.
- House infusions, classic cocktails and sipping rums, including rare bottles you will not find at a typical beach bar.
- Cooper Island beer on tap, brewed on the island.
- Go before dinner, then walk down the beach to your table.
What else is on the island
- The Beach Club Restaurant. Open-air, on the sand, with fresh fish daily, salads and burgers. The bar serves the BVI classics: rum punch, Painkillers and Dark and Stormys. Dinner is smart casual, so bring a shirt or cover-up ashore.
- Cooper Island Brewery Company. The only solar-powered microbrewery in the BVI. The first beer was poured on 20 March 2016, and the taps rotate through beers brewed on site.
- The Coffee Box. At the northern dinghy dock: organic coffee, pastries made in house, sandwiches, gelato and free Wi-Fi.
- SeaGrape Boutique for clothing and gifts.
- Eight beachfront rooms, if part of the crew wants a night ashore.
- Sail Caribbean Divers run the dive shop on the island.
A resort that runs on the sun
- Cooper is off the grid. More than 300 solar panels power the resort and make its fresh water.
- The club started in the 1980s, when Toby Holmes and Steve Pardoe opened a restaurant for the growing yacht trade. The Harris family bought it in January 2009 and still run it.
- Hurricane Irma hit on 6 September 2017 and destroyed the docks. The resort reopened on 1 April 2018. The old dock now lies on the bottom and has become reef habitat.
- Anegada rock iguanas and red-footed tortoises live on the property. Leave them be.
What it means for a charter crew
- Late October: Cooper is still a good overnight stop, but nothing ashore is open. Provision for that night.
- From 1 November: book dinner before you arrive, through the resort’s restaurant enquiry form. The mooring field holds more boats than the restaurant holds tables.
- Moorings: Manchioneel Bay has 40 balls for boats up to 60 feet. Twenty orange balls can be reserved through BoatyBall; twenty white balls are first come, first served. Do not anchor off the beach club, because the bottom is seagrass. Hallovers Bay is the place to anchor.
- Rubbish: the resort does not take trash from boats. Keep it aboard until you reach a base or a marina.
- Current: it runs hard off the point. Keep swimmers close to the boat.
Our notes on the anchorage are on the Cooper Island moorings page, and the restaurant and Rum Bar are on our beach bars and restaurants page. For every other reopening date this autumn, see when BVI beach bars reopen.
Quick answers
When does Cooper Island Beach Club reopen in 2026?
The beach club reopens on 1 November 2026, according to its own website. The rooms page lists the hotel as closed until 7 November, so confirm with the resort before booking a room for the first week of November.
Is Cooper Island Beach Club open in October?
No. The whole resort closed on 3 August 2026 and does not reopen until 1 November 2026. The moorings are still there, but a crew stopping at Cooper Island in October should plan to eat aboard.
How many rums does the Cooper Island Rum Bar have?
More than 350 rums from around the world, according to the resort, and its dining page now puts the collection at over 400. The bar pours rum flights, house infusions and classic cocktails.
Can you reserve a mooring at Cooper Island?
Yes. Manchioneel Bay has 40 moorings for boats up to 60 feet. Twenty are orange balls you can reserve through BoatyBall, and twenty are white balls taken first come, first served.
Sources
- Cooper Island Beach Club: home page, closed from 3 August, reopening 1 November 2026
- Cooper Island Beach Club: rooms page, hotel closed 25 July to 7 November 2026
- Cooper Island Beach Club: 10 key facts (solar, moorings, rums, waste)
- Cooper Island Beach Club: history
- Cooper Island Beach Club: eat and drink
- Caribbean Journal: Cooper Island and its 1 November reopening, 20 September 2026
- Yacht Warriors: BVI closures list, Cooper Island 3 August to 26 October last season
- BoatyBall: Cooper Island mooring reservations
