The location of Hidden Cove is amazing and deserves 5 stars however the level of service and lack of attention to detail in the accommodation facilities brought the overall rating down to 3 stars.
My partner and I booked Hidden Cove after seeing it on Luxury Escapes. The advertisement was talking of romantic luxury and having our every need met to ensure a relaxing and stress free holiday. After arriving and having spent a couple of days at Hidden Cove, it soon became clear that this was not the case. Many things noted on luxury escapes did not occur such as:
• Welcome orientation tour of the local town (we were dropped to the grocery store while Sue waited outside)
• Romantic 6 course degustation on arrival (we were served a 4 course meal)
• Welcome snack on arrival consisting of hummus, crackers, pate, biscuits and more (we were served some hummus and stale water crackers)
• Feel like a VIP with airport transfers (picked up in a Mitsubishi dual cab Ute). Tooted and waited in car when dropped back to airport at end of stay.
• 2 cooked breakfasts (we received one cooked breakfast on our last day as a results of us reminding Sue about it on our second last day)
• 2 x 30min massage + additional 30mins each for staying 6+ nights (Sue said she would arrange these for after our horse ride. This did not happen and we had to remind Sue to rebook for another day.) We were also charged 6000 VT for the additional 30mins each.
• There were no kayaks or electric bikes; or at least no mention of them from Sue. There were two pairs of fins but only one pair of old reef shoes.
• The WiFi did not work for the first three days so we were unable to do much research of the area, make reservations or contact home as the mobile network was limited in the area.
• 24 hour front desk - no front desk but you are supplied with a mobile so that’s how we contacted Sue when needed. The water ran out mid way through an evening shower and so I texted Sue to let her know (we had been talking to her 30mins prior so knew it was appropriate to text at 8:30pm). She did not get back to us that night and mentioned the following morning at breakfast that she had seen our text come through but didn’t open it.
So those were the things that we were paying for that we didn’t receive. The following were basic standards met in most levels of accommodation, let alone luxury accommodation.
• Incomplete compendium in the room to aid in things to do which in combination with the lack of WiFi meant we felt isolated. Nil information on what services were offered through hidden cove in terms of laundry or food options. We had to ask about everything and go off other people’s reviews on Trip Advisor.
• Fan above bed was broken so there was a pedestal fan in place. No mention of this inconvenience from Sue.
• Freezer section of bar fridge didn’t freeze.
• There were 9 single chairs in the villa but no sofa to stretch out on or cuddle up on to watch a movie.
• Tv very small and screen was broken. Volume turned to MAX and still hard to hear over the waves/wind.
• The outdoor bathing pavilion has a two headed shower however the pressure is weak so can only use one at a time.
• Mouse poo in dresser drawer. Kitchen drawers smelt of it as well.
• Lamps untidy and stained
• Bedside table not wiped down. Coffee stains on them
• Stained linen
• No individual sugar sachets. There was a jar of clumped sugar in the drawer with yellow marks in it from where previous guests have likely spooned out sugar with their coffee spoons.
• No tea mugs in room. Had to ask Sue to bring some over.
• The crashing waves and loud wind stopped us from having a restful nights sleep. There was a container with earplugs in it next to the bed but we had no way of knowing if these had been used previously. We closed the tent up around the bedroom at night to try and reduce the noise however only one side of each of the three tent flaps zipped shut so they flapped in the wind.
• Prior to making the trip, my partner had emailed Sue asking for a recommendation on a restaurant for a special night out for dinner. She said to leave it with her as she would try to organise a candlelit dinner by the water somewhere. This wasn’t organised and she didn’t get back to him.
• Private beach doesn’t have any sand to lay and sunbake on.
• The pool was never in the sun so was too cold to swim in. The ocean was warmer so we waded in there instead.
• Two ironing boards but no iron.
POSITIVES - yay, because there definitely were plenty of positives.
• The location was incredible and we enjoyed the privacy our villa offered.
• Ideally situated to local activities such as kayak tours and blue holes. If we had electric bikes we could get to them all easily.
• Being nestled among nature was special. Lots of butterflies, geckos and even crabs in our shower.
• Sue has two dogs which are a delight.
• Regina was respectful and helpful bringing in our breakfast, making our room up each day and bringing in fresh flowers for the vases.
• I needed some washing done whilst there which Regina organised for me on site and delivered them back on the same day.
• Sue organised the hire of a car for us from a nearby lodge and dropped us there to pick it up. We would definitely recommend getting a hire car while there.
Overall Hidden Cove has the potential to be everything described in the ad but at the moment it is really missing the mark. It is set in a stunning location but the luxurious honeymoon stay envisioned is not well executed. The attention to detail and level of service that luxury accommodation offers is not evident here. Unfortunately the negatives did outweigh the positives during our experience.
We could not fault any of the activities we did and would definitely return to the island to do them all again, however after researching alternative nearby accommodation options we would book elsewhere that offers better service and value for money.
