iCove Beach Hotel

I was looking for a great place to celebrate my sister's advance birthday celebration and I stumbled upon this place. It was amazingly cheaper than I expected and was in a perfect beach location.

We took the bus from Dau to Olongapo and took the jeepney to Barretto. This beach hotel was along the highway. We were both backpackers so no big deal. If its your first time, make sure to withdraw your cash while in Olongapo since there were no close ATMs at this beach hotel.

Check in was smooth. We were sent to our rooms with very cordial staff and we toured the site. Two bedrooms was great. No bathtub and window on this room but its all good. You have to pay more if you take the balcony room.

The pool was next to the beach so it was a perfect setting when you want to switch where you want to swim. There was a notice at lobby about the presence of jellyfish at the beach so just be aware about that. The beach was not too clean since its shared by all but the water is fine.

The food was good. We also had free breakfast when we booked the room so that was a good deal too.

We checked out early at 11am the next day since we did not want to rush with all the other guests on the regular 12pm check out.

The staff was really good from the front desks to the servers. They were all very accommodating and willing to help us. They are the reason why I might come back in the future. This hotel really did a great job keeping great staff.

Thank you so much to this hotel for the wonderful stay. This was an advance birthday getaway for my sister and she loved it.

I hope to be back again in the future with her or maybe with some friends.

Cheers Icove!

I stayed at I Cove Hotel in Barreto, Olongapo for a week, and I honestly regret booking this place. If you’re thinking of staying here for just a night, maybe you’ll get by — but for anything longer, avoid it. There are far better options in Olongapo or beach resorts in Zambales like Anawangin.

The issues were nonstop:
1. The room looked old and worn out — walls badly need repainting and general maintenance is clearly being ignored.
2. No drinking water provided in the room, no water dispensers either. We had to keep asking for water like it was a luxury.
3. No electric kettle. Want coffee? Go buy one at the bar — even budget hostels offer more.
4. Room hygiene was terrible. I found a cockroach crawling in my room. That alone says a lot.
5. The beach was filthy — full of trash. It felt neglected and uncared for.
6. The Wi-Fi was terrible — extremely slow and unreliable. You can’t even load basic apps or send messages without frustration.

Honestly, it seems like the management has no idea what hospitality means. There was no effort to make guests feel comfortable. I would never stay here again, and I strongly suggest looking elsewhere. You deserve better for your money.

Beach access was good but I did not like their restriction on outside beer and snacks.

This is a relatively new property that seems to be maintained well. There were some issues with internet service but this is the Philippines.

The hotel is good. Breakfast is good. It's right at the beachfront.

I have given one star only because I couldn't put zero.
This hotel is way overpriced, it is in need of some serious refurbishment, rooms are very tired and dirty, things broken or missing. If your holiday requirements include any of the following, you should do yourself a favour and avoid icove. Hot water (shower and sink) a sink that actually drains away. A clean room (not clean on entry. Or cleaned during following 10 days) Toilet rolls can only be got via a visit to reception, never replaced by service staff. Servicing of the room was not done once during our 10 day stay. Like a coffee when you wake up? No coffee/ tea facilities in rooms here.
Don't be swayed by the lure of the complimentary breakfast, trust me, you will gladly pay to eat elsewhere.
The majority of the staff seem to have a couldn't care less attitude.
The only good thing going for icove is it's location, sadly that really doesn't make up for overpriced tariffs, tired and dirty rooms and very poor overall service

There are other options...... Explore them, I certainly shall next time.

This Hotel is in need of major refurbishment, everything is tired, dirty missing or broken. If you require any of the following look elsewhere. Hot water, toilet rolls, clean bedding, clean towels, make coffee in your room, or even friendly helpful service. Very few of the staff fit this bill. Don't be swayed by the complimentary breakfast, trust me, you will be eating elsewhere. In summary Poor service, overpriced, tired and dirty.

The hotel has a great location, looks great from the road, nice pool, direct access to the beach.
Was told no outside food or delivery. Restaurant seemed like it was closed.
Room was okay size. Walls could use some fresh paint, and mattress definitely needs to be replaced. Woke up with sore back and neck.

The place and its facilities is small, old, and not well kept. Room has good ac but small because most of the space went to the balcony area.
Beach is not clean so its not good for swimming or even picture taking.
We stayed in their sea view room for 4 persons. However free breakfast is only for two persons which doesnt make sense since we paid for a room for 4. Free bottled water and toiletries are also good for two persons only.
Breakfast menu is very limited, tapsilog was the only available breakfast meal for the 2 pax who dont have free breakfast and costs around 300 php. Other food/meals in the menu seem overpriced as well.

Check in was smooth. Got to the room and it looked great at first. Went into the bathroom and the toilet was leaking onto the floor. Nice puddle had formed. Informed the front desk and they had someone come mop it up with towels in the morning. Never addressed the cause and spent the next 35 hours with a growing pool of water in the CR.
The shower didnt drain either. Standing water for two days in the shower. Problem never addressed. Whole bathroom with standing water from wall to wall is a big problem. They were indifferent. Huge red flag.
Went to the restaurant and ordered a coffee in the morning. Got the smallest cup of coffee ive ever been served, which cost around 150 pesos, maybe more. Friends came to have breakfast with me. The "free breakfast' i paid for didnt work because i dont eat meat, so i ordered a veggie omelet. No discount whatsover, no 'hey we can give you 10 percent off" , (usually some type of empathy is shown) which would have been better than absolutely nothing. By this time the accumulation of their indifferences is starting to add up and Im getting frustrated. Never was i offered any type of discount or different accommodations, full price was needed for everything, and their lack of concern is a new bar ive seen set. Ive traveled to thousands of hotels and ive never seen such a cash grab on the coffee/breakfast and the lack of concern on the water issues with the plumbing.
The pool and patio is beautiful, but not worth the other headaches.

The hotel itself is great located on the beach and near the local night district. However, there fees and services are outrageous. I was charged 200 peso for morning coffee and when asked for transport to the bus terminal I was quoted 500 peso. On a metered taxi the cost is around 180-200. I understand a small connivence charge but over 100% mark up is not reasonable.

Bed very comfortable shower ok room size comfortable. What makes this hotel average is 50 percent of food I wanted to order of there menu wasn’t available and drink options even less,it’s a shame we spent more time eating in the hotel next to it

iCove Beach Hotel is where male room attendants can sexually harass female guests and get away with it. It has been weeks after the incident, but iCove's management, who never seemed to be at the premises during our stay, still hasn't addressed the issue.

Upon entering the hotel room, the refrigerator that was included in the booking we paid for wasn't there. A medical condition made the fridge a necessity for us, so we requested it. After back-and-forths with their receptionist and attendant who seemed hesistant to provide it, two male hotel staffs finally went to our room to deliver a refrigerator unit.

My husband stayed in our room to accommodate the delivery. I happened to be at the corner of a stairway between 1st and 2nd floor, when I saw the 2 male iCove staff approaching, carrying the fridge.

As they passed me, I heard one of them say "Sarap!" (Means delicious in English, and is commonly used in this country as a sexual remark) And followed it with "Sarap ng hagdan" (Means that the stairway is delicious).

After a moment, I realized that it was a malicious remark aimed towards me. But I wasn't sure yet and wanted to observe the male iCove staff's behavior. I quietly followed them into our room, trying to gauge his reaction. I noticed that he kept on looking back at me.

I remained quiet as I watched the two men go back down the stairs after delivering the refrigerator into our room. The one who was silent the whole time never looked back at me for the whole duration that I was following them, but the other one who made a sexual remark as he passed me, held a steady gaze at me even as he went down the stairs!

It felt very uncomfortable, but that staring game allowed me to confirm that he was not innocent.

I told my husband the details of my encounter with the perverted iCove staff, and and then we reported it through the receptionist and asked to confront him.

The receptionist was female and seemed upset upon hearing about the sexual harassment that I have experienced from her fellow iCove staff. She apologized, handed me a pen and paper, and suggested that I write a letter to the management because as they were not in the premises.

As I wrote the letter to formally complain about the sexual offender who is employed by iCove, the offender showed up, along with several other hotel staff in the reception room.

The offender asked us why we wanted to talk to him. After I narrated the incident in everyone's presence, Roger said "Sorry po kung akala niyo na kayo ang tinutukoy namin. May iba po kaming pinag-uusapan noong nadaanan ka namin." (Means: Sorry if you thought that we were talking about you. We were talking about something else when we passed by you.) It found it strange for Roger to use "kami" (means "we") when he was the only one who was talking during the sexual harassment incident.

I played along as he feined innocence and asked him, "So bakit ka nagsabi ng 'sarap' pagdaan nyo sakin, sabay bawi at ginawa mong 'sarap ng hagdan'?" (Means: So why did you say 'delicious' earlier, and then covered it up with 'the stairway is delicious'?)

I was expecting him to make a lame but hard-to-debunk excuse such as "pinag-uusapan lang na masarap po yung ulam namin kanina" but no, The offender was a fish caught through its own mouth because of his next excuse for the sexual harassment: "Ma'am, iba po yung sinasabihan namin na masarap, hindi po kayo." (English: "Ma'am, we were talking about someone else; it's wasn't about you.")

So there you have it, he was making sexual remarks about "someone" as he passed me. Regardless of who it was aimed at, it was extremely uncomfortable as a female, alone in the corner of a stairway, to hear a male hotel staff talk make sexual remarks as he passed by.

I told him "Kahit hindi ako ang pinag-uusapan niyo, hindi ka dapat bastos." To which he couldn't respond anymore. He just stared at me, dumbfounded.

The receptionist said that the manager will talk to me on the next day.

Then came the next day, we were too uncomfortable to have breakfast in the hotel's restaurant in fear that The offender may retaliate with his friends in the kitchen, after being humiliated about his dirty deeds in front of his co-workers. After all, not many people in my country confront harassers like I do, so after the unexpected public confrontation, he must be really upset.

To our dismay, on our way to eat breakfast outside of the hotel, we came across the sexual offender, attending to his housekeeping duties as if nothing happened! There was no one at the reception area so we ate breakfast outside first, despite already having paid for the hotel's breakfast.

We found a different receptionist at the lobby when we came back to the hotel. According to her, the manager is still not in the hotel premises as they were attending an event. She assured us that manager will contact me via phone call soon as they are free. And now it's been weeks after the incident, and still not a single word from iCove Beach Hotel.

For me, the stay at iCove Beach Hotel was traumatizing. Imagine being sexually harassed by a staff who is expected to treat guests with at least an ounce of courtesy. And imagine being sexually harassed by a room attendant, who may access your bedroom and do nasty things... As if that's not bad enough, there was never a manager on-site to address the issue!

Our entire stay was filled with fear on my part, always watching my back, in case The offender tries something funny as payback for being humiliated. Humiliation is not a grave enough sanction when it comes to sexual harassment. There should have been a due process implemented by the manager, such as suspension from work. But the problem is that there doesn't seem to be anyone managing iCove Beach Hotel.

I would also like to point out that in terms of cleanliness and atmosphere, the room itself was not very good. Aside from initially lacking the refrigerator that we paid for, the bed sheet had a small hole, and there were many red ants crawling on our stuff.

And regarding the atmosphere, the male staff manning the bar during our stay seemed grumpy and it made ordering a scary process. There's also the uncomfortable feeling that the sexual offender is a room attendant there, who was working as usual in the premises on the day after we reported him, as if nothing happened.

Spend your money on a hotel that will make feel comfortable and safe, especially girls! Such a place is definitely not iCove.

Was put into a room when we first arrived which was outdated and the basin tap barely attached to the basin.
They changed rooms when we asked.
Would not stay again.
Breakfast included was horrible, two dried wafer thin pieces of Ham, about 3” square.one egg and one half piece of toast.

We came here expecting a fairly standard resort stay. It was a minor frustration at first that we had to request bath mats, the room was filled with ants and other insects, and there was no refrigerator provided at first despite it being one of the listed inclusions.

While we appreciate the quick response, we were shocked when one of the staff who brought up the refrigerator performed verbal sexual harassment towards one of our female guests. We couldn't stand for this sort of behavior in public, let alone an established resort, so we reported it immediately to the front staff.

The next day, we were told that action will be done by management but we still saw the harasser around the premises, working like nothing happened. This made us uncomfortable the entire stay and caused us to decide to skip the breakfast and use of any other facilities. Even until checkout, no response was given by management so we just quietly left.

Very thankful to the front desk staff for handling the matter professionally and helping us write an official complaint, but the lack of any response by management even 2 weeks later left a very bad taste in our mouth. Definitely not recommended, especially for travelling women.

Very loud until around 2pm. Broken faucet in bathroom but usable. TV didn’t work. Expected more for the money we paid.

Rooms need some maintenance. Old, musty smell from aircon. Fixtures are rusting in bathrooms. Overall was ok, just a little disappointed from my last visit. Staff is still friendly.

Nice hotel which leads straight onto beach. Rooms clean but toiletries a bit sparce. Hoel did refresh on request

Clean, coozy and a good place to relax. The food is good, pool is clean and they have friendly staff, planning to go back and have another long vacation this 2024. The place is located along the highway and very accessible to food and spas. If anyone of toy wanted to have a good and relaxing moment visit icove.

The view was great .but limited things to bring inside the rooms . No cooked food allowed inside. No electric kettle inside the room .
The staff service is good and very accommodating.