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Bahamas Experience – Our first trip to Nassau and Paradise Island, Bahamas!

As I sit in Grand Bahama International Airport waiting for our flight home to the United States, I decided to write this article while things are still very fresh in my memory.

This trip started about 2 months ago when I was looking for a special place to get away and surprise my wife with a trip for our 20th anniversary. I budgeted around $2k, and figured that would be enough for a four day, three night stay somewhere nice somewhere in the Bahamas. I researched many different options, including cruises, all-inclusives, and others.

After much reading online on forums and talking to other friends and family, everyone recommended Nassau and Paradise Island. Looking at the pricing options, it made more sense to stay in Nassau than on Paradise Island, although after visiting Atlantis on Paradise Island, I will tell you that the difference between there and Nassau is night and day. We’ll talk about that in more detail in a moment.

I spent several days searching online for the best deals and decided to stay at a “Super Club” called The Breezes. They position themselves as a super inclusive resort. Although we have stayed at an all-inclusive before in Cancun, I have never heard of a super-inclusive resort before. According to the research, what that meant was that not only were all meals and drinks included, but also all other activities.

The other activities they mention were playing water volleyball in the pool, nightly entertainment in the hotel lobby, and use of all non-motorized water activities. They offered kayaks, small catamarans, and small sailboats as part of their services.

When we first arrived at Nassau International Airport, we took the taxi to the resort. Ernie was the name of our taxi driver. He was very personable and pointed out many of the local sights. When he dropped us off, he gave us his phone number so we could call him on the last day of our trip for our return trip to the airport. The taxi ride was only $20 and I gave him another four dollars tip.

Upon arrival at the resort, we were greeted by the concierge staff who offered to carry our luggage to our room. As we began to walk up the steps to the grand entrance of the complex, I could begin to see some very beautiful scenery unfold. Once we got to the top of the steps, I was able to see the entire hall and how it was open to all the elements. There were no front doors to the building and the back of the lobby area had giant openings showing one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen.

The views were awesome. We were greeted at the check-in counter by a gentleman serving a very tropical drink. After some trouble with our key card, we finally got to our room. The first thing we did was go to the window and open the curtains. wow! What an amazing sight! We were able to see a full view of the pool and ocean. The pool water and the ocean water matched. I told my wife that the trip to the Bahamas could have been over right then and there and that it would all have been worth it to me. He had experienced what he had come to see… I mean, the most beautiful waters in the world! However, this trip was not just about me, it was about celebrating 20 years of a wonderful marriage.

Although the room was clean, it was old and dated and did not match the hotel lobby area. It also lacked space to sit. The only two places to sit in the entire room…either on the bed or on a hard chair next to the desk. A love seat or comfy chair and ottoman would have been nice. However, the view made up for it. Also, we weren’t planning on spending much time in the room anyway. After a short rest in the room, we decided to go out and explore the complex.

After walking around the property and having our first couple of cocktails, we realized that this property had a lot of potential, but was in need of a great deal of tender loving care. There were many little things that made the difference. We could see broken tiles around the pool, loose boards on some of the decks, and unfortunately they certainly weren’t using top-shelf liquor at the bar.

After a short walk on the beach, we decided it was time to try the buffet. We entered the dining room and felt as if we had entered an igloo. We just entered the lobby from the outside, down the stairs and through the double doors into the dining room where the temperature dropped a minimum of 30°. It was at least 65° there. With the exception of one meal, we ate all meals out.

Apart from the buffet, the hotel offered four other restaurants. Unfortunately everyone required long pants to dine there. This posed a problem for me because the only clothes I packed were comfortable shorts and shirts. Needless to say, we never had a chance to dine at any of the other restaurants during our entire stay. As a side note, we looked for pants while shopping downtown, but the cheapest pair we found was $150.

The second day started with breakfast and an interesting ride into the city center to the ferry docks via a local bus. We found the bus ride to be quite interesting and very affordable at just $1.25 per passenger. We were going to rent a scooter initially, but after seeing how people drive in the Bahamas, I’m glad we chose to use public transportation. Driving on the opposite side of the road also seems pretty confusing to me.

Shortly after boarding the ferry that would take us to Atlantis, we met another couple who were from the United States and had arrived on a cruise ship. It turned out that we were all headed to the aquarium, so we decided to hang out together, which gave us a chance to take photos.

Atlantis was a very nice and upscale resort property priced to match. Everything costs money. They have day passes that can be purchased for various activities that start at $39 per person for the “Dig” aquarium tour (which we did), $69 per person for “Day at the Beach” or $125 per person for the water park. Although Atlantis was a very nice upscale resort, with amazing surroundings, it also seemed to be the most touristy area.

As with everything else on Paradise Island, even the drinks were expensive. I paid $14 for a drink called “Blue Balls” that contained four shots of different rums and a handful of blueberries. The drink was actually only $12, but I gave the young woman a two-dollar tip. Although the drink was very expensive, it was the best drink I had during the entire trip.

When the ferry returned to Nassau, we said goodbye to our new friends. They were heading to an internet cafe and we were going to go shopping and have a bite to eat. Not to mention that they would soon have to return to the ship anyway. We exchange our information and look forward to connecting with them again.

After a late lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe and some souvenir shopping in downtown Nassau, we returned to the resort and decided to swim in the pool in the afternoon. We spent the rest of the day and night just relaxing and taking in the incredible views of the ocean.

We finally got back to the room and decided to take a late afternoon or early evening nap. After our siesta we freshened up and headed back to the buffet for dinner. And yes, we ate out. After dinner we went to the hotel lobby to watch the entertainment. We ended up going to the pool tables and playing a few games of pool. After a few glasses of wine, we decided to call it a night and head back to the room.

The third day started with the buffet breakfast and a conversation about the day. We decided to hang out and relax. With that in mind, we chose to rent a beach cabana for the day. The cabin included full butler service. The day was uneventful, filled with delicious tropical drinks and a well-deserved rest in our little piece of paradise… On Cable Beach in the Bahamas.

Our last night was much the same as the night before. Evening entertainment in the hotel lobby was similar to the night before. We found the evening entertainment quite boring and in many cases very unpleasant.

On our last day, we once again ate at the buffet breakfast and took one last walk around the complex. While we were doing it we met another couple who were there to celebrate their anniversary, and they were also from the States. They had mentioned that this was their third trip to the Bahamas, but they weren’t impressed with The Breezes Resort. We were able to relate to how they felt, and discussed other places for our next visit to Nassau and Paradise Island Bahamas.

Overall we would rate this stay at Breezes a 7.5 on a scale of 10. The building was old and needed a lot of attention, the food was average for a buffet, the entertainment was marginal at best, but the service was excellent . That’s the only reason we even gave it a 7.5. If the service had been less, it wouldn’t even have been a 5. We filled out the comment card and hope this resort fixes the issues. Otherwise, I couldn’t see myself coming back or being able to recommend anyone else.

Overall, we had a great time, even though the hotel wasn’t the best. Everything else really was. The view, the trip to Paradise Island, the city center, meeting new friends, etc. I think it’s only a matter of time before we go back to the Bahamas.

As I’ve been sitting here at the airport, I’ve been looking for other places to visit in the Bahamas. One of those places is Harborside Resort on Paradise Island. It is a five-star resort that offers all the comforts. Through a discount travel club I found, we can now stay in a two-bedroom villa at a five-star resort for just $299 a week! With that kind of deal, you can bet you’ll be returning to Paradise Island Bahamas in the very near future.