There are some posts that I can’t wait to write about, and this was definitely one of them. It’s no secret that this girl loves to lay by a pool, on a beach, or anywhere where there is sun and a Pina Colada handy. This time around I spent time at the Baha Mar in the Bahamas, and I LOVED this resort!
It took me a while to get this post together because, well life happened, plus I brought along my new drone, and it took me a while to put together a video of my trip. It’s not the drone’s fault – the software it comes with is so easy! It was editing in what I didn’t take with the drone that took me a while.
Check out the highlights of my trip below and I’ll catch you on the other side!
I started my trip on the SLS side of the resort, and finished it on the Grand Hyatt side. What does that mean your probably thinking?? The resort is divided into three sections – the SLS Baha Mar, the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, and the new Rosewood Baha Mar opening in June 2018.
The amenities are shared, but there are separate accommodations for the SLS, Hyatt and Rosewood.
I arrived as an SLS guest which included free airport pickup in a swanky Mercedes SUV, along with a lovely greeting by a hotel representative and a short trip to the hotel. Being picked up at the airport was beyond easy – in the Bahamas a few of the hotels have their own desk at arrivals and the Baha Mar is one of them. If you stay at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar there is an airport pick up option you can purchase at an additional cost.
The SLS team was pretty amazing from start to finish. From the moment I arrived they took care of my luggage, the check in was quick, easy, and I was offered a drink right away so it appeared very seamless to me! The SLS lobby was full of flowers and smelled AMAZING. Probably my favorite lobby at a resort ever.
My room was gorgeous! Seriously, the wallpaper really gave the room such character. The room had a modern feel, and it included a touch screen device which gave me details on amenities, restaurant menus, and details on the resort.
I had a view of the ocean, a cute balcony, and the welcome champagne that greeted me was a lovely bonus! Although I didn’t spend much time in my room during my trip, this was a spot I loved waking up in. It was clean, fresh, and it was a spacious room. I miss that bed – it was so comfortable!
The resort is cashless so everything was connected to my room account including food, drinks, and shopping. My favorite places to eat were the food trucks on the beach. I ate breakfast burritos, sopas, margaritas, nachos – anything they were serving I was eating. El Jefe was my favorite truck! The prices at these food trucks was much lower than the rest of the resort.
I also loved the fresh conch salads served in a little hut called the Conch Shack. They would fish the conch out of a tank – that’s how fresh these salads were. They were also huge so sharing would be a good idea. They truly were a work of art – watching them being made at the bar seating was a neat experience.
I also ate breakfast at The Swimming Pig pub one morning which seemed like a popular spot for breakfast. Their two egg breakfast with toast, bacon and an orange juice was $25USD.
Outside you could find was food served near the pools either by wait staff to your beach chair, or at one of the smaller outdoor restaurants. Poolside I tried a burger and fries – they served their food in small wooden boxes which was neat. For the burger, fries and a Pina colada the bill was $35 USD.
I ate at a few of the restaurants at the resort including Katsuya which had some really good California rolls, and some regular sushi and sashimi fare.
It’s funny because I wasn’t in the mood for Italian food when I went to Fila, but I ordered a pasta with lobster that was so good I was glad I didn’t skip out on this one. So many people were ordering pizza’s I wondered if I was missing out! I thought the portion size of my pasta was very small, but once I finished it I realized it was more than enough – the food was very good here!
Cleo Mediterraneo was so good I ate their twice! Of course I had to try the flaming Haloumi Cheese Saganaki, but it was their Feta & Lebaneh that I was dying over. So good! The Greek Salad was so fresh, and their flatbreads were amazing.
I was also very happy to find a full-sized Starbucks on-site since I’m a bit of an addict! Such a huge bonus!
I also really loved their French café called Cafe Madeleine. I spent a lot of time there eating Macaron’s, cupcakes, sipping on hot chocolate, and I had an avocado toast there as well. The space is so pretty, and it was a nice place to relax.
The beach area wasn’t huge in size, but the sand was clean and it wasn’t over crowded. There were wait staff taking drink orders on the beach as well.
The pools were amazing. I loved the SLS pool – it was my favorite one to sit at, and it had cabanas for rent as well. There were staff taking food and drink orders, along with a bar you could walk up to as well. The pools were all immaculate – everything was very clean, and there were staff all over the pool areas taking orders and cleaning up.
Shopping – they have an interesting mix of stores. They have a full sized Tiffany along with so many watch and jewelry shops for high-end trinkets. Outside they had a set of different stores for more Bahamian goods, and they had some places you could stop in for dresses, beach cover ups, bikini’s and beach bags. It looks like they still have a few spaces that will open with new stores soon as well. They didn’t have as much shopping as I would have loved and the prices were high-end, but I did find a few things to bring home to my son, and an adorable new beach bag!
Closer to the beach they had a small store with kids beach gear and toys which was nice. I would recommend trying to bring the essentials with you – deodorant was a whopping $24! Magazines and books were limited and very expensive as well. This is pretty on par with some of the other resorts on the island as well from what I understand. I found the prices to be similar during our stay at Atlantis.
I did switch over to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar for part of my stay as well. This section of the hotel had a different lobby which was less opulent as the other, and had different style of décor. The staff were nice here as well, but not as attentive as on the SLS side. I had to wait longer when I had questions, and they were less friendly than the other side. I found myself heading over the SLS side again to ask questions, and to have my car pick me up and drop me off just because I really loved the staff.
My room was even larger on the Grand Hyatt side it seemed, and the room was beautiful, but I couldn’t help but love that SLS room just a bit more! The Grand Hyatt side is further from the ocean and pools so it did have a different feel, but it was still pretty amazing. My bathroom and bathtub opened up into my room which was so cool – the layout of the rooms were really interesting.
When it came to nightlife there weren’t many offerings at the Baha Mar. The casino was huge. Seriously, they had everything and I ended up spending a lot of time there! I left as a winner (ok, I think I won $90 on slots, but that’s still something!).
They had an open sports bar which was fun to hang out at, and they had a nightclub called Bond Nightclub that you had free access to if you stayed at the SLS.
Final thoughts – I LOVED this resort. It’s just gorgeous. Every corner is so pretty, and I loved the pools, the staff, and my rooms were gorgeous.
The only drawbacks I would say were that the food and drinks did tend to be expensive (there is no all-inclusive option), and if you forget things like magazines, deodorant, ect. it’s costly to buy them at the resort. Otherwise would I go back? Yes! I seriously can’t wait to do just that.
Items in this post may have been provided to me for review, but all opinions are fabulously my own.
Looks like a beautiful place. The bedroom at the SLS is exquisite.