Poets Cove Resort & Spa

They are the same owners of Harrison Hot Springs and they went off their property to destroy a close-by natural (free) hot springs that locals had looked after for years. They don't want the people going to the free hot springs and pay for their gross trashy resort.

Late September, off season, not crowded. We had business on the island, tried for a Friday ferry, 100% full. On Sunday the available ferry space was at 65% so we went....but didn't reserve a room at poets cove. We arrived at 4:00 and my wife tried to order a room that she saw on their website. The guy at the front desk was clueless about their website and had only his canned program to book rooms. My wife tried to explain what she saw on the website but it fell on deaf ears so she settled on a room with 2 double beds, $420.00 a night. We were told at that time that they would need to get housekeeping to go over the room first, so we went to the restaurant for an appetizer and a drink. We returned to the front desk to get our room keys and were told they wouldn't give us the room for one night, we would have to book for two nights. I suppose they figured that since we were on the island, and nowhere else to go, they had us by the short hairs. We were looking forward to an evening (as advertised) looking out on the bay watching the sunset with a glass of wine. Based on the customer service at the front desk, we chose to race to the next ferry off the island. Based on the reviews I've read on tripadvisor.ca, we should have read them first. We will NEVER go to Pender Island again.

Disappointed 😔 Chose this resort for a family celebration but found the resort to be dated and smelly. Room had a foul smell that we reported to the front desk and were told nobody was available to deal with it. The next day, we reported the same thing and were told someone would check it out but never heard anything further. Worried that the smell was potentially dangerous so slept with the windows open all night. We were told that switching rooms was not permitted either. Restaurant (only on on site) does not take reservations…perhaps the front desk could share this information at check in. Food was good. Two pools- one cold and one green with algae. Two hot tubs- one out of service, one filled with non paying customers who come in from the marina and joke about it. The views are beautiful but there are many other places to visit who appreciate travellers and offer superb service. Do not recommend 🙃

The 2 bedroom villas were very run down, the spa did not have the steam caves and it was also closed for most of the days we were there. The restaurant did not have much for fish on the menu and the better restaurant was closed. There were many people in the pool area from their boats and they said they did not pay to be there. It was expensive to stay there so we were not impressed that the pools were open to all. The location is beautiful but we were also not told about the road closure on Pender Island and that meant we couldn’t go to the other side of the island. I wouldn’t go back unless they renovated.

Starting with the good - we had a great time in this beautiful location, the Cove itself is stunning and was a lovely place to spend 3 nights as a family. The lower pool was heated to 39 degrees which made for lovely evening swim in the dark, and the hot tub in our cottage overlooking the bay was great. Food in the restaurant was also nice. The bad - where to start… At $1k a night and the claimed ‘luxury resort’, we expected the 3 bedroom cottage to be stunning. Sadly the whole resort seems to have been left to fester and fall apart, our accommodation was filthy - leftover food on the dining table on arrival, dirt on the floor, surfaces thick with dust, contact lens on bathroom floor, outside cushions heavily stained and covered in hairs, the scene under our bed was like a scene from the film Arachnophobia - we could go on and on and on! We immediately went to the front desk to ask for the whole place to be cleaned - they wrote down the request including the top list of the most grimy things to sort. Nobody came. Day 2 we ask again. Nobody came. We understood there was something clearly wrong with how this place is being run so decided to carry on and enjoy the trip vs constant chasing of the skeleton staff (who did seem to be trying but are clearly low on numbers with no senior managers providing any form of management or direction). Beyond our cottage, the whole place needs a deep clean! The pools were utterly filthy - dirt floating everywhere, dirt scum on the side walls, tiles chipped or missing. I can recommend swimming in the dark! In one of the villas there was a bag of rubbish strewn over their outside table and deck, which was left their for 2 days and I expect is still there now as I type! The shop has barely anything for sale - not even bottled water, milk or bread, and it’s closed at 1.30. Seeing as this is the only shop on the South Island it’s not great especially with the main road closed 10-2 every day! Overall a great time but that was nothing to do with the hotel itself. It’s really sad to see a resort that could be truly fantastic, being run into the ground by owners and management who clearly don’t give a crap. If the price was 10% of what we paid I’d say give it a go but take some cleaning supplies, for anything near the prices they are asking I would avoid like the plague and maybe hire a boat and use their marina so you can have a nice swim at night! Looking at the replies it’s all from chat GPT so I look forward to the automated response with zero action or follow up.