Cove Haven Resort — Hotel in Paupack Township

I tend to be pedantic and wordy. Just as a caveat - we stay at Cove Haven, probably 4-5x a year (sometimes, Paradise Stream.)||Your resorts are magic, and if sold or closed, a part of our lives will be forsaken. We love Cove Haven beyond words. ||Start with simple things---the printings. There was a urinal not working, and unlike yellow tape, there was a cute, branded 'we're out of order' sign. In fact, everything there is carefully thoughtful and branded. Not saying a non-working urinal is not a good thing, but CH has taken the time to put up a sign with cute language. ||So many things are branded and make us smile. ||I can't even begin (or finish) how wonderful you guys are!||Just checking in is magic in the lobby and its champagne glass (we've taken many photos.) We love the seasonal backgrounds during the seasons for we come for all seasons. ||Before I get into the grounds, we love Carol and Liz among many others. They are welcoming and concise. We've appreciated waiving 3-night minimums and always note that we are Forever Gold guests. Carol and Liz come to mind. ||The grounds...amazing, I love you guys have opened up the second pool and put the previously-constricted plastic animals by the tennis court. I'm not a fan, but the deer are amazing. City folk seem to love the deer. The overall grounds are very well-kept despite Poconos weed/lawn activity. You guys always take care of the creatures, which I would involve lost of labor and money. The two amazing heated pools in October on a beautiful, warm October weekend was amazing. ||The rooms: they are out this world, one-of-a-kind. Pools! And always clean and welcoming! Kudos to housekeeping. We always leave a $20-plus cash tip. We always try to keep the room as we found it, towels not withstanding. The Champagne Towers and Garden of Eden Apples are like stepping into another realm. And parking is right there, some can walk to the dining room or there is the Scooby Van. I can go on and on the room about aesthetics, but they are beyond wonderful. ||Food: Incredible---the layout, Cupid's Corner, the sprawling view of the grounds. We especially love the dining entertainment, whether it be the folk duo or the guy with the didgeradoo or the gentleman playing a piano. The food is amazing: the variety, the vast salad bar. And most incredibly, the servers---Chris, Nicole, Dennis (hope he gets better) and many others. Food at CH is tough with seeming lack of staff, but how can one complain with the didgeradoo and the wonderful singers, dulls the hunger and appreciate the music. ||And for the spirit of the Poconos. You guys are the lasting reminders of the honeymoon Poconos. I think I speak for others that you are just not a unique property with amazing amenities, but a part of, not the past, but of the future. I sing CH as far as I can. ||The 'but' part about it...||Room 730's key and door mechanisms worked fine until approximately 845am this morning. My wife, Kim, and I went down to enjoy the wonderful indoor pool and hot tub and came back to find that the door would not open despite the light turning green when the card was applied to the sensor. A maintenance worker tried, but was unable to open. He radioed Steve, who arrived shortly thereafter with another gentleman. The first guy said he'd never experienced a situation like this. My wife and I, still in swim gear and wet heads and no IDs, no credit cards, etc, decided to go to breakfast since the issue seemed to be a head-scratcher for all. We awkwardly dined wet and disheveled, sort of embarrassing. And we didn't have cash, which we ALWAYS have for Nicole, Chris, Dennis back in the day (hope he's well.) We really scarfed down breakfast while stressing over the issue. We walked back to room 730 and saw that they were still at it. We heard hammering sounds and tools hitting the pavement. But after a half-hour of this, they bludgeoned the door open. We came in and saw that their efforts led to quite a bit of damage. But we were in. ||The first maintenance man told us vaguely that he'd bring keys to a new room (we're Forever Ever Lovers Gold so we still had a couple of hours. Finally, Nicki from Guest Services called back to offer a new room and extend our check-out stay. I politely declined, not wanting to unpack and render a room as used, if only for a few hours. We left a cash tip and left the door wide open as clearly instructed. So we enjoyed the beautiful warm hours at two of the wonderful pools and the nature trail. So all was not lost. But it was very stressful to have your whole life (wallets, etc, not to mention clothes in a situation that a veteran maintenance man clearly said was a conundrum. ||I was told that the GM would be in contact with me on Sunday, but it's Thursday and I haven't had a response to my email or numerous messages left. I also sent a glowing email to love@covehavenresorts.com a few weeks ago, but received not an acknowledgment. ||I know times are tough, but we're super fans of the resort and I am disappointed that no one has gotten back to me for...

(Google wouldn't for reasons unknown post this review)||These properties (Cove Haven & Paradise Stream) are spectacular if you can look past some minor issues. ||We've been coming since 2018 (about 4x a year) & it's truly our 'happy place(s). We almost always go to Cove Haven even though it's a bit further from us since we're coming from Allentown, PA. ||The rooms: You'd be hard pressed to have a pool in your room (Garden Eden Apple & Champagne Tower). The rooms are always clean and make you feel like you're stepping into another world. Sure, there are some cosmetic boo-boos, but maintaining suites with pools is no easy task. We get skylights, a fireplace, ultra comfortable beds, toiletries, pool towels for the room, It's truly modern, transcendental and we could stay for days and be in wonder. We've stayed 25+ plus times in all seasons & it's truly magical. Clean, "ah" moments". Kudos for housekeeping for they do a wonderful job. Minor cosmetic issues aside, these rooms are magic. There's a refrigerator, wonderful shower, lamps that have USD/electrical outlets. Internet is non-existent, but who cares? I could go without news and sports for a few days, and that's part of the charm.||Grounds/pools: As stated, we stay at Cove Haven in Lakeville mostly. There are, in season, two outdoor pools. There's a wonderful one inside the spa area, too. These are all well-kept, and hey, there's a gigantic heart-shaped pool with a bar in season (TanLines.) The pools are wonderful and clean. We especially like the secondary pool at Cove Haven where there are bathrooms outside the pool and one can get a delicious lunch at nearby Spooner's and walk a nice cheesesteak (the best!) and eat at one of the many tables by the secondary pool. ||The grounds are sprawling from the hiking trail to the golf upon entry to many buildings that are on property. There's a chalet (staffed) that rents out (for free for guests) archery equipment, cornholing, etc. People might be enthralled by the deer on property (drive slow.) There is 'feed' for sale to feed them. Personally, I find the deer to be kind of scary and eager for a nibble, but they carry Lyme's Disease so while they're beautiful, we try and stay clear of them and never walk barefoot on the grass. ||Parking: you will park within a few feet (75-150) from your room. One can drive to the spa/indoor pool, outside pool/Tanlines, the marina/Lookout Lounge or simply, the front desk. Drive slowly and watch out for the deer. ||Food: This is much maligned for reasons unknown. They have a wonderful salad bar and the entrees are sumptuous. The staff (Nicole, Chris, Kimberlee, too many others to mention are attentive and hustle without knowing they're working their butts off. I really feel that the food gets underrated. They do a wonderful job, and usually with, nighttime entertainment. Breakfast is buffet and fresh and plentiful. Hot, warm plates, great folks seating people (for dinner as well.)||We eat a lot (and drink) at Spooner's. Best cheesesteaks ever. And that comes from a Philly area person. It's spacious, friendly and there's bowling and an extensive game room one level below. In off-season, there's an MC hosting quiz games, etc. There's a pool table as well and a cool 'selfy-station.' ||Tanlines, at the main heart-shaped pool, has delicious drinks, some kitsch (we had drinks served in a take-home pineapple glass.) The food comes from nearby Tanlines and is delicious. During Memorial Day and Labor Day, there's a complimentary BBQ with clams, burgers, hot dogs, etc. ||Entertainment: There's plenty of stand-up comics, goofy hosts of game shows.||Others: There's an incredible area near the Lookout Lounge and the indoor pool and spa and gym where one can rent kayaks and paddleboats in season. Or just a few steps down to a beautiful dock that is on Lake Wallenpaupack. ||Reservations: the staff is wonderful, the wait times are minimal and they're always accommodating. ||I could go on and on, but this is our favorite place - anywhere. The prices are very reasonable for what you get. If you can look past a scuff here or there or some rude guest leaving garbage, you'll be astounded. ||Thanks for reading and maybe we'll see you...

I would give this place a 0 star rating if that was possible. To start off our experience, we drove a whole 6 hours to this place, check-in luckily didn't take as long as the other reviews stated. We drove to our room, everything seemed okay at first. Of course we wanted to try out the heart shaped pool! The pool had heat, and was overall warm. After being in the pool for five minutes we began to see how DISGUSTING it was. It almost looked like someone shaved their feet into the water and nobody cleaned it up. Absolutely horrifying. We then began to inspect the rest of the room and noticed the hot tub is also quite filthy, with long human hair and lots of dirt build up as if nobody has cleaned it in months! Seeing this, we automatically called the front desk and requested if someone could kindly take a look at the pool and hot tub to clean it for us. After 30 minutes of waiting, a nice gentleman came and cleaned the pool for us and changed the filter. He said it looked like the pool had napkins in it and there was nothing to worry about. (???) Feeling disgusted, we did not go back into the pool and instead decided on what else we should do. The hot tub was still dirty, and the pool was just not appealing to us after that experience. We decided to go up into town to get cleaning supplies and snacks. Drove back to the resort, cleaned the hot tub, and tried to enjoy our time. It's absolutely ridiculous we had to purchase cleaning products to clean a hotel room we paid $1,220 for. Such a shame.

The next day, we went to breakfast which is included with our room. The dining room was nice, didn't seem dirty and the employees were also friendly. I will say though, the food was very subpar. Not awful, but definitely just okay. We decided to leave the resort and go around to local places to enjoy our time. It started to go well and we began to forget about our previous day, however, when we came back to our room we realized it was a bit colder than before. We decided to ignore that and try the pool again since it had been cycling for a bit now. The pool room and water was freezing! Like the heat was completely gone. Disappointed and cold, we wanted to try and shower. Nope! No hot water whatsoever! We ran it for 20 minutes and it was ice cold! Nobody would be able to tolerate that temperature. Tired with our experience, and the fact we did NOT want to stay another day and a half, we decided to pack our belongings and head to the front desk to let them know we are leaving early. We explained our situation and how would like at least a partial refund. The woman at the front desk seemed very understanding and apologetic, then got the manager for us.

We spoke with Mr. Mitchell Crichlow about our experience and he apologized to us, asking if there is anything he could do and how he wanted us to stay. We then exclaimed we have driven 6 hours to the resort, just wanted to have a nice weekend getaway and have had nothing but trouble here. We stated we were highly disappointed and saddened with our experience and wanted to leave early. There was unfortunately nothing that could change our minds about staying any longer. Following that, he stated that we could email him the photos and videos that we have along with a brief description of what had happened, and he would show it to the corporation. He also mentioned that we would be able to get a full refund for the days that we wouldn't be there, and at least 50% refund for the first night. All we had to do was call booking.com and let them know we left early and are requesting a full refund, since they did not yet have our funds. We did just that, and we now have heard nothing back from anyone. Just like that, $1,220 gone. We followed up with an email asking about our case, and nobody responded. It has now been about a month and a half and they still have our money. I am extremely disappointed in this business and will never recommend this place to anyone in the future.

The photos really don't do it justice about how nasty it was. If I could upload a video with the...