HotelChatter

From the Queens Highway, we made a right up a small incline on a rocky road to the Cove, where the beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean greeted us. We parked near the main house, an all-white structure with a wrap-around porch and plenty of windows with views of the beach.

When you first step into the main house of the Cove to check-in, the hotel's rave reviews from the travel press are blown up and framed on a wall on the left-hand side of the check-in desk. NYTimes, Travel and Leisure, Dallas magazine and others. For those of you who prefer internet reviews, the place is ranked #1 for Eleuthera on TripAdvisor.

This main house is rather small, no bigger than a typical hotel lobby, and it contains guest registration, a small gift shop, a restaurant and a small u-shaped bar overlooking the freshwater pool and the beach. We sat here at the bar and spent time talking to the bartender Wallace, who has been at the Cove for three years. He offered to make us a Cove Smash but when we heard the ingredients included both rum and brandy we opted for a simple pina colada instead. We were on our way to freedom.

Wallace filled us in on the island of Eleuthera and the history of the Cove which had its heyday some thirty years ago. But its poised for a new golden age, thanks to the new owners who took over the place in 2005 and gave the Cove a new look and modernized its facilities.

We also learned a bit about the island's most famous resident---Lenny Kravitz who has a house on Eleuthera and has been known to jog along the island roads and show up for impromptu jam sessions at local clubs.

Once we downed our pina colada, we headed to our room. The Cove has 26 villas ranging from one to two bedrooms including the Point House suite which sits atop a small cliff that juts out into the ocean. Our villa was #2 which was for the most part a garden view room, although if we stepped out on our little porch we had an unobstructed view of the beach.

Room Reaction
Villa #2 was a spacious suite with a living room and king bed. There were two sinks in the bathroom and two separate entrances. Most of the decor is white and white wicker but there are splashes of colors in the table lamps, the chairs and the fresh flowers placed throughout.

You won't have to worry about losing your room key here because the hotel doesn't offer them. It was hard for us to leave our villa without being able to lock the room but when we looked around and saw pretty much nothing else but the Cove, we were okay with it. Afterall, it's not like we were staying in New York. And the only unwelcome visitor we had was a harmless little gecko.

For fraidy cats likes us, you can lock the sliding doors from inside if you please.

Amenity Assessment
There are no TVs, no phones and no clocks. This we loved. If you have to have TVs or phones when you travel to such a beautiful location like the Cove, then you have serious issues.

The baths had basic toiletries like shampoo, conditioner and soap but the gift shop sells any other items you might need like suntan lotion.

The Cove also has a list of complimentary amenities/services you can use during your stay such as bicycles, tennis equipment, snorkeling gear, kayak equipment and even rented iPods.

For making phone calls, the hotel has a US line on which you can receive calls and they offer free calls to the US under five minutes.

Internet Connect
The Cove may not have TVs in the rooms but if you are desperate for internet connection have no fear. The Cove has free wireless in the lobby and even has a laptop that is complimentary for guests to use. (You can't take the laptop out of the lobby and it's advised not to spend hours trolling the web if other guests are waiting to use it.)

The hotel's manager Kirk Aulin also let us know that guests can access the internet wirelessly in their rooms. Although when we were there, it was not available due to a glitch from a recent tropical storm.

Dining
The Cove's restaurant serves breakfast from 8 to 10:30am, lunch from 12 to 2:30pm and dinner from 6 to 8:30pm. The style is Noveau-Bahamian cuisine but it's not too exotic. We recommend the conch salad and the lobster tail in garlic butter sauce and the French toast for breakfast.

Bottom Line
With an average rate of $235 a night for the Garden View rooms, The Cove is an excellent getaway. It's practically like having your own beach house with a private beach. But what we liked the best about the Cove was that you can make it whatever type of experience you want.

If you want a quick three-day getaway filled with absolutely nothing but sitting on a beach and eating good food, you can get this here. If you want to stay longer to do some island exploring and water activities, you can get that here too. Just don't drink any Cove Smashes before you go adventure-seeking.

Check out more of our photos from the Cove in the HotelChatter Flickr Pool.

Note: If you would like to see more video, the hotel has their own video on the Cove's website under the Gallery section.