Cove Resort Palau

Overall we liked this hotel. There were a few issues with the room on the first night. The front desk clerk was extremely apologetic and immediately handled the problems she could. The free breakfast was amazing and the food in the restaurant was plentiful and good, although service lacked. The desk clerks are nice, but seem to know nothing about any tours, directions, or even what's in the immediate area. Three separate times we went to the hotel next door for tour info, brouchures and island maps. In hospitality, desk clerks should have at least some local knowledge to answer basic questions about the area. Because the electric is off when no one is in the room, you can't charge phones or use the fan or AC while out. If the room is unused for days prior to your arrival, the room can smell stale and musty. The rooms are large, have great beds and pillows. The ground floor walks out to the awesome pool, second floor has small balconies and third floor, just windows. Be Aware of their massage service. They advertise a 'Cove Resort Massage Service', but it's not in-house. I requested a $40 foot massage at the front desk. A car came and picked me up and took me to a back-alley downtown parlor. The women spoke 99% Chinese. The massage was fine, but they charged me $50 instead of $40 advertised at the hotel. When I questioned it, they claimed I had agreed to a $50 foot massage. Untrue! I felt this was very bait-and-switch and told the front desk upon my return. Later, I found other massage places that also had transportation and are MUCH nicer, cleaner, more professional and are the same cost, or less. Overall, this is a nice hotel and Management should do better than associating with a substandard massage parlor that ultimately reflects poorly on them. Palau Tip: Make daily plans well in advance, there is minimal to do nearby and all tours were full at least 2 weeks out.

We stayed for a one-week diving trip. We booked the hotel as part of a package with Palau Dive Adventures (PDA). Our package included airport transfers—20 minutes to the hotel from the airport. Here is the need-to-know information. Breakfast was excellent. Everything you could ask for was available. The restaurant was open for lunch and dinner. We did not find the prices exorbitant. Higher than surrounding restaurants but not too bad. There are a couple of restaurants within walking distance (Kramers—excellent) but you will need a taxi to get to other restaurants. We used the driver from PDA. The process was very easy. The rooms were large and could easily fit three people. Each room had a king and single bed. The beds were excellent, and the walls were thick. We heard no outside noise. Each room has a fridge and a safe for valuables. The water in the shower was OK but not super-hot. Toilets flushed without problem. The Internet was excellent. I was able to do Zoom calls and Skype without difficulty. The pool is large with plenty of chairs. However, there was never anyone in the pool. Everyone was diving. If you have non-divers, they will have no problems using the pool.

Very nice staff

Staff is pleasant. Building is showing its age. Lack of maintenance is starting to effect structure.