We arrived for our first visit to Grand Bahama Island on Tuesday, May 11th and stayed until Sunday, May 16th. A shorter trip than I would have liked (isn’t that always the case?), but it was necessary as it was the only time I had between exams and beginning work. We took AirTran from Atlanta – no problems, direct flight, we left at 9:30, arrived in Grand Bahama by 11:00, and were in our bathing suits shortly after noon. We had perfect weather the whole time we were there – always a bonus.

We stayed at the Our Lucaya Resort, which is comprised of a Sheraton and a Westin. We had pricelined our room, so we were a little nervous about what $70 a night would get us, but no fear. We had our “starwood preferred guest” card, and we were very happy when we were led to our Sheraton standard room… with a partial ocean view! I definitely didn’t expect that, and was pleasantly surprised.

The room was small, but nice. It no longer had a mini-bar, so we were free to use the refrigerator that once was the mini-bar, which was a nice addition. To keep this from going on too long, I will give the highlights:

Resort Grounds and Pools: This is a mega-resort in every sense of the word. 1300 rooms, 5 pools, 10 restaurants, etc… For a resort this size, the grounds are immaculate. Very pretty, lush, with awesome pools.

Beach: The beach here is in need of some cleaning – too many straws, cigarette butts, etc… It didn’t bother us seeing as we spent about 30 minutes on the beach the entire time we were there. We went during an unusually windy period (when there were bad riptides in S Florida), so we were actually chilly at the beach and the water was a little cold. If it was warm, though, we would have spent more time at the beach – very pretty water.

Food: Holy S!*t, food is pricey on Grand Bahama, especially for what you get. I don’t mind paying $20/plate in St Martin or Aruba because you usually get what you pay for, but not so much in Grand Bahama. The food is at best average. The only really great meal we had was at Irie’s at Our Lucaya – fabulous curry chicken. Just an example – at our resort for lunch one day, two sandwiches plus two frozen adult drinks = $50!!! Felt a little high for what we got.

Restaurant Recommendations: we like Butler’s, which is a little deli in the Port Lucaya marketplace, for breakfast and lunch. Good bagels and deli sandwiches. We had a good dinner at Irie’s at Our Lucaya, and a good dinner at Pisces in the Port Lucaya Marketplace. I CANNOT recommend the Pub at Port Lucaya, as I received a chicken sandwich with a chicken breast that was still raw in the middle. That was my worst dining experience.

Entertainment: The port lucaya marketplace was fun on Friday and Saturday nights – they had dancers, singers, etc. There were a surprising amount of locals around. The casino at Our Lucaya was hopping on weekend nights – very crowded but a fun atmosphere.

Dolphin experience: we did the UNEXSO dolphin experience, which was fabulous. They seem to have a good thing going there, and do what they can to treat the animals humanely – they take them on ocean swims, etc… I was surprised at how friendly the dolphins were, like curious marine dogs. If you walked along the walkways that went over the water, they would stare at you, and they do things to get your attention. Very fun and educational.

Random Observations: We were offered “green” no less than three times by locals. Very funny, and they were nice when you said “no thanks”. Overall, we found Bahamians to be very nice (dare I say even more so than those on St Martin???). We were surprised by how friendly they were in many circumstances – or maybe its just that we are getting more comfortable with island travel? Who knows, but we had a good experience nonetheless. Also, the cleanliness of the island surprised us. They had nice paved roads, a fairly clean roadsides. One last observation: there were some fabulous yachts docked at the port lucaya marina. It was neat to see that – I would advise taking some time to look around at the marina, as you will see some amazing boats (floating mansions??). Ah… one day.

Overall, we had a nice time. I would go back if I wanted to just get away and veg, and have everything at my fingertips. You can’t beat an hour and a half plane ride to paradise. I would explore the island a little more next time. Since Grand Bahama is so close to the US, it probably lacks the true Caribbean-feeling flavor, but it was still really fun. Overall, it was a nice trip, and I will probably be back, especially for a long weekend getaway.