Over 24 years, coral cover declined from 37.24% to 19.6%, reflecting a roughly 50% reduction from the 1998 baseline. This decline was explained by reduced recovery rates after each bleaching event, despite coral mortality (both absolute and proportional) decreasing with successive events. Recovery rates dramatically increased after 6 years, suggesting a critical period of bleaching-free years needed for reefs to recover. We observed contrasting responses of coral genera which clustered in six groups representing distinct assemblage-wide patterns in distribution (depth and wave exposure) and bleaching responses. Genera with different life histories clustered together, highlighting the importance of local environments in determining the survival and recovery of corals across taxa.