We arrived at Cove Haven on Friday, February 3, 2012 at approximately 4:30 pm. It was my husband’s birthday and we were celebrating for the weekend. Unfortunately, we did not have the weekend that I planned and I thought we deserved given the amount of money we paid, specifically - $703.88 for Friday from 4:30 pm through Sunday at 11:00 am.

For my husband’s birthday, I researched romantic weekend getaways. I thought about the Baltimore Inner Harbor or maybe Atlantic City for a weekend of shows and good food. I opted for the Cove Haven Resort based solely on the representations on the website and through customer service representatives when I called. They were wrong.

All Inclusive…

Cove Haven advertises that it is “all inclusive.” I have stayed at four all inclusive resorts and I assure you that this resort is not “all inclusive.” I understood when going to this resort that alcohol was not included in the price but a soda? Really? I was also charged $2.00 at one point for water – actually $4.00 – my husband ordered one too. We weren’t even given the option for tap water; we were just given a bill (Champagne lounge during newlyweds game Saturday afternoon). During the same afternoon we were told we could have wings and nachos in the champagne lounge. I missed the part where they said it was an extra charge. I could probably have swallowed that, except for the fact that the nachos were offensive. For $6.50, I received a plate of chips that I physically saw a guy take out of a generic store brand bag and put on a plate. He put a small plastic cup of cheese and salsa next to the chips and there were my “nachos.” My jaw dropped. We take a vacation a year and “mini” vacations a few times a year. We have never been given chips on a plate and charged for it. To the extent that this resort chooses to serve such a “dish,” it should, at the very least, be complimentary. (However, I would take a little more pride in what I call “nachos.”)

Moving Forward – Customer Service…

For $703.88, in two days, I would have expected the customer service to be amazing.

Breakfast - For Saturday morning breakfast, we ordered “breakfast in bed,” which included a box delivered to our room with breakfast sandwiches, juice and cereal upon request. Saturday mornings a small champagne is included, which was a nice touch. According to the materials provided, breakfast delivered was an option that was included, “and/or” we could go to the dining hall for a buffet breakfast. Because we did not receive cereal with our breakfast (we did not check off the box), I ventured to the dining hall to get cereal. Once I was in the dining hall I looked at what was in the buffet. I noticed there was potatoes and put a spoonful on a plate to bring back to my husband. I then asked for cereal. I was told by the hostess that I could have the cereal but could not have the potatoes, which were already on a plate and ready to go. She said that the all inclusive feature was only if you were sitting in the dining hall. I was confused. Did she think I was going to drive one spoonful of potatoes back to my family three hours away in Philadelphia? It was for my husband 30 feet away in our $703.88 room. In order for her to give me the cereal and for me to walk out for the potatoes, she made me “hide” the potatoes on a table 10 feet away and pretend to not be taking them back to my room. Really? How old am I? And am I doing something wrong? She said she could get in trouble if she let me take the potatoes.

The Champagne Lounge – on Saturday afternoon, we thought it would be fun to attend the Newlyweds Game. We understood that the game started at 2:30 pm but that the appetizers were served at 2:00. We showed up at 1:40 to grab a cocktail before the game. When we arrived, we sat at the bar and were greeted by a middle aged woman tending bar. Before she came to us, she was helping a group at the other end of the bar. When she approached us, I asked her how to sign up for the game. Her response, in a sarcastic tone was “well come back at 2:30 and someone will tell you” – and walked away. We were confused as we thought we were on time, maybe a few minutes early, according to the pamphlet we received. We didn’t leave right away. She came back a few minutes later and asked if we wanted anything to drink. We ordered our drinks. In a perfect world she would have politely stated that she doesn’t run the game but stick around order a drink and we’ll all find out! We felt so out of place. We also heard her complaining about other guest to other patrons, which we found to be very inappropriate.

After finishing our drinks, we moved closer to the stage at about 2:00 where we saw others were gathering. We figured this was where the game was. We sat down and waited for service. The waitresses talked to the people around us and passed us several times. We sat and watched as people who sat down after us were served. No one looked our way. We thought about leaving; however, 1- we wanted to see how long the service would eventually take and 2 – we really wanted to check out the game as it was really fun when we saw it on a previous cruise. 20 minutes later, a waitress approached us for drinks. This was the $2/4 waters we ordered, $6.50 nachos and $9 wings – really $9 for 6 wings – yet, again, all inclusive….

We mentally pushed aside the ridiculous costs in an effort to keep a “romantic” and cool vibe and have fun. That was until the host, “Honest Phil” (or Bill) arrived. From what we understand, he has been with the company for 40 years or so. Clearly he is given carte blanche to insult and humiliate guests as he sees fit based on his tenure. Maybe Cove Haven and this host needs to understand that people can fly to Florida or enjoy a 5 day cruise with the same money they spend at Cove Haven and not be cursed at in such a way. While I understand this was a “xxx” experience, I did not expect to be told to “get the [--] out of line” because my husband was 5 feet away when I wanted to get a ticket for the game (husband and wife needed to be in line together for newlywed game). Nor did I expect my husband to be berated. Again, “xxx” entertainment and straight abusive treatment are very different. He 100% crossed the line and no one thought it was funny. No one wants G-Rated entertainment but the same time guests should not be abused verbally to that extent.

Dinner on Saturday….

We had great steaks, the company was enjoyable and we really liked the stick player. (we had never heard of such an instrument). We will add that it took at least 30 minutes for the cocktail waitress to come around, which was not a huge deal but again, shows the lack of customer service.

In conclusion, I would say that the main perk to our stay was that our room was clean; although, the resort needs to better clean the Jacuzzi tubs.

The room is beautiful... Loved the comedy show... Eddie Griffin.....Very romantic..m Did the upgrade... flower pedals... strawberrys and cream....chamaign.... candles everywhere... very clean room..pool......soft bed..... Horseback riding was amazing.....Only downside was the fact my gps kept cutting out and the roads were scarry to ride on

The champagne towe extraordinary. My husband and I loved it and will be back soon cuz we are rich with love.

Well, we were introduced to a new term as we checked out; "a check in and out". We heard this because the 'resort' did not meet our expectations and so we booked out within two hours. My wife booked a two day stay at Cove Haven after scouring the internet, looking for a nice getaway for a long weekend. The reviews she read were glowing (Lord knows how) and so she booked. I think the cost was in the region of $620 for the two nights and expectations were sky high. We are both extensive travelers and have experienced everything from Youth hostels and five star, international hotels.

The "free WiFi" was the first surprise. It was not available in each room but only in a snack shop which was on site. The next surprise was the smell from the room when we opened the door. Neither of these were real deal breakers on there own but the 'surprises' did not stop there.

We got changed and went for dinner. We both felt very smart and somewhat in the mood, which was encouraged with all the romantic icons sprinkled around the place from the heart shaped bath for two, the circular bed and the strip show later in the evening.

With all of the romantic suggestion throughout the entire 45mins we had been on site, you can imagine our surprise and dismay when we were shown to our dinner table that was a cosy dinner for EIGHT! Go figure! We calmly requested a cosy, romantic table for two but were informed that there would be at least a half hour wait. At this point I looked around the dinning area and fought back (unsuccessfully) the realisation that it was mostly empty and we didn't really need to be kept waiting.

Well, we went through to the heart-shaped bar area and paid cash for the two cocktails we ordered as the receptionist did not share with us the option of being able to conveniently charge extras to our room with a simple request.

At that point we sat and discussed the potential for the rest of the getaway and we concluded that it didn't bode well. First impressions were far from positive and so we decided over those cocktails that we would check out.

After clearing up the few unpacked things from our room, we headed for the reception where a new crew were actually very helpful in checking us out. Credit where credit is due, they were very professional and had us refunded before we knew it.

Now while we were there being processed, there was a telephone conversation that we overheard where another couple (guests) were described as being a "check in and out". At first we thought they were referring to us but the room numbers didn't match and so we figured that another couple only a short time earlier, had arrived with a set of expectations that were different from the stark reality of what was waiting for them.

Now we traveled 2.5 hours from New York City and what we ended up with was nearly 6 hours driving further to Washington. We were much happier, we ate out and in fabulous restaurants and still had change after driving home form the original sum of $620.

I could not, with a clear conscience, recommend anybody to go to Cove Haven.