The Cove Hotel, Long Beach

A good location for a pre or post cruise stay, with plenty of food options just a two minute walk away. I’ve stayed here before and after a cruise. There’s a bar that opens at 5pm, and breakfast is served there too. The price is reasonable, and I’d stay again.

There were so many bugs in the room and on the towels that we couldn’t stay there. We first tried to ignore it, but by around 10 we were getting ready to sleep and it was too much. At 11pm, with sleepy kids and no easy way to find another room, the front desk offered either a 20% discount because the hotel was full or the option to leave. We left at 11:30pm and went to a Hyatt for the same price, where it was very clean. I’m never going back. We’d arrived at 2pm, my husband checked in, and we went straight to the pool with the kids and stayed there. At 6pm Vannesa called asking when I’d arrive. I said we were already there, even though they’d given us keys. She said there were two reservations and they couldn’t cancel them, which panicked me because I’d only made one. At the front desk she showed me an ID photo and asked if it was my husband. It wasn’t. Then she said we were fine and they’d checked us in under a different name. We went to the room around 8 to shower the kids, then returned to the fire pit. Management should consider issues like this before booking the hotel completely full. I couldn’t sleep in a room full of bugs that might get into my kids’ ears.

The room was huge, and the front desk staff were friendly. From the online pictures and lobby, the hotel looked decent and nice. But on the first floor, we could hear people upstairs walking and talking throughout the night until early morning. The parking lot was rough, with a lot going on at night. It was just okay overall.

The staff were friendly and professional, and the shower was awesome. There was fast food all around, plus a 98 cent store about two blocks to the left of the hotel. The pool was nice, too. It’s a clean neighborhood hotel, though the location isn’t convenient for food and shopping. I’d give it four and a half stars out of five.