York Cove Hotel (Under New Management)

I recently had the pleasure of staying at York Cove Apartments for one night and overall, it was a lovely experience. The room was big, spacious, and impeccably clean, which made for a comfortable stay. The bed was particularly impressive—fluffy and spacious, ensuring a great night's sleep. On first impressions, the bathroom appeared lovely as well. However, I did notice some mould around the shower seals and tile grouting, which detracted from the overall aesthetic. On a positive note, the towel warmer was a nice touch and a fun novelty to have! The lock box for the keys was a fantastic idea, though I advise remembering the code! We did have a bit of trouble figuring out how to unlock and open the front door, and I think a little signage indicating “turn key and pull” would be helpful for future guests. While the concierge was responsive, helpful, and very accommodating, it was a bit awkward that they weren’t on site just after 5pm when we had our front door mishap. We do apologise for having to call them away from a Woolworths shop for assistance. Our journey to our room felt like a maze, and it definitely would have been challenging to navigate without the warm greeting we received upon arrival. More signage could help distinguish the doors and stairwells, making it easier for guests to find their way. The gym looked impressive, and if I had been staying longer than one night, I would have loved to take advantage of it. One thing to note for future guests is that the bakeries and restaurants in George Town close quite early, around 3pm. The only option available was a Chinese restaurant which, while reasonably priced, didn’t provide a fantastic dining experience. The food was rather bland and reminded me more of home cooking, and the canned desserts were a bit underwhelming. In summary, York Cove Apartments offers a comfortable and spacious stay with a few areas for improvement. With a little attention to detail and better signage, it could be a truly fantastic place for longer visits!

Not really a hotel anymore >< we were the only living things on the property, no staff, no other guests, no signs of life at all. Very much a quiet place vibe. All you have is an abandoned restaurant, an empty pool and a locked of marina. Check in is just a key box by a back door, some backrooms walk down a flight of stairs to your room and all the doors only lock from the outside even the room you stay in. Just a meh $230 a night air BNB at this point. Spa bath is nice, room is big, tv is pre war so bring an iPad. If you need a place to stay to see the penguins it will do just fine ^^

Upon arrival, a departing staff member informed me that the hotel had flooded and that rooms were no longer available. No attempt had been made to contact me in advance. I have since been unable to reach the hotel regarding a refund (2 months).

I can only imagine they've read the comments and amended things. The room was easy to find, instructions were clear and sent via email. Corridors were well lit and easy to walk along with luggage. It is not a high rise so no lift needed. We stayed in the 2 bed apartment which was huge, well maintained and fully equipped. Including a washing machine and dryer. We stayed for two nights and the cleaner came the first morning, although we didn't need them. They did help us with putting the heaters on. My only comment is the restaurant is closed and it would be helpful to let people know that in advance. Overall I would highly recommend. It is a good location and easy to explore the surrounding area.

I booked this through booking.com back in September 2024. I chose this hotel as a special treat for my 72 year old mum as she lives overseas & we hadn't seen each other for a number of years. When I booked it showed a thriving hotel with a restaurant, staff, reception, a functioning pool and lovely views. At no point were we informed that this was no longer the case. Can you envision our shock to arrive at what appears to be an abandoned creepy unstaffed hotel. Having to walk through backdoor entries, dark corridors, a staircase that would never have enabled us to get our luggage to our room... not to mention the smell! The room was clean & fine, although there was a dodgy looking stain on the bed cover, a cigarette butt under the outdoor chair on our "patio" & the view of the empty neglected pool was something else! My mum was devastated as was I and neither of us felt safe staying there a second longer & promptly left. Due to this we also had to cancel our penguin tour as we no longer had accommodation in the area. Booking.com have reimbursed me for our 2nd night. I would like to be reimbursed for our 1st night also as your accommodation is simply not acceptable & not as advertised at the time of the booking.

For any guests wanting to stay here, be warned. The bathroom was cold as the two small heat lamps were not enough to heat a huge bathroom, ironically with only 1 vanity. The spa bath did not work, which was one of the reasons we booked this place. The entire bedroom room shook during high winds during the night, yes, I kid you not, it literally felt like going through a mini earthquake during the night which made it impossible to sleep, perhaps an engineer is required. Their is also too much light coming into the bedroom from outside as blinds aren't blockout. No coffee machine, just basic instant coffee like a motel in the 90's. To make matters worse and more ridiculous, their coffee machine/breakfast facilities downstairs don't open until 12pm 🤣 it's a hotel with a coffee machine! The restaurant at night was also pathetic and very expensive. Food was tasteless, service needs training on the menu and menu didn't match the plate (further review on restaurant's google review page). A nice shout out to the cleaning lady in the morning, who appeared to be the most genuine in terms of customer service while mopping the restaurant. Unfortunately, I will not be back.

Rooms are quite lovely and very spacious, you could sleep a dozen people in the size of the rooms, they are modern for the most part, apart from the out dated air conditioning and tvs in the rooms and most of it is clean. Service, the service of this hotel was the poorest service I have ever had, employees are non existent, over our 3 day stay we saw 1 JUST ONE EMPLOYEE which was a fleeting visit from the house keeper with no new towels, nor toilet paper all she did was made our beds, downstairs is deserted not a person in sight, the restraunt looks abandoned and the reception IS abandoned, when getting your key you have to open a plastic box with a pin lock and you must only grab your key, then if you try and ring them which we did daily over our stay, they never awnsered even when we tried calling them because someone was locked out, the poor man had to take the key of another room because there was such bad service! Overall if you ignore the fact that the door doesn't self lock and chooses when it does lock, it was a nice experience in the room itself, beds are comfy and furniture is to be expected.

Beware if you book a room here. In fact, just don't waste your money. Despite the descriptions of 'enchanting luxury and sophistication' promised by the website, it was pretty awful. The hotel IS close to the water, but there is no 'serene ambience' when your room is below ground level and looks out at a dirty, falling apart, unusable pool (see photo). Far from the promised, 'refined luxury of the heated pool and spa'! Once you've collected the key from the lockbox - no reception available at al, you have to navigate dingy corridors, 4 doors and 2 flights of concrete stairs - no lift, to get down to the rooms. The huge room with a king size bed was the only thing that was accurately described. No couch, though. Just 2 single chairs and a tiny table. The 'smart tv' was not! The high speed WiFi password provided was incorrect, and we got no response to requests for the correct password. 'Tea & coffee facilities' were a couple of old, moisture damaged tea bags and coffee sachets and 4 tiny milk pods. The gym was well appointed.

The hotel itself feels a little like a cookie cut corporate conference venue. However, there are three things that make this place spectacular: the amazingly friendly local staff, the jaw dropping sunsets and the food! The chef's hat chef does an amazing job here. The salmon fish cakes (if a dish of the day) is well worth it!

This restaurant carries high expectations from its promotions, but the reality is well deserved. Had the set 3-course dinner, and was quite impressed. Service is exemplary, and very glad to have chosen this venue.