I had my wedding at Old Bahama Bay resort on August 4th, 2007. It was a great experience and I would recommend this resort to everyone. Although the resort is a little on the pricey side, you get what you pay for. The rooms are all very nice with tile flooring, flat screen televisions, dvd units with free rentals at the front desk, etc. It actually is all the nice free stuff they give you that makes this resort definitely worth the money. There is a washer and dryer in every room, and they give you detergent to do your clothes for free. They give you a big bottle of water complimentary when you check in along with other great items that help you feel like you are getting what you paid for. Additionally, they give snorkeling equipment, rafts, and all sorts of other fun items for any hotel guest to use for free. We had a wedding party of 46 with about 35-38 of them staying at the property, and everyone that we talked to had a great time and thought the resort was lovely.

I also want to mention the wedding specifically if anyone is looking for a place to get married in the islands. My new wife and I thought everything went without a hitch. The food was good, the drinks were great, and the service was top notch. Specifically, I believe it was Ricardo (I think that was his name) who was extremely helpful during the actual reception. He was always in controll and made sure that the groom (me) and my wife were kept aware of any situations.

A special thanks must be given to Carmel Churchill and Ericka Hield who both made our stay and wedding a special thing. Carmel coordinated the initial setup for the wedding and was also there when we got married to make sure that everything ran properly. Ericka was our contact person for the final preparations and when we got to the resort. Both ladies were lovely and their relaxed attitude made our lives much easier and less stressful. Ericka was so helpful to us. She brought us into town to help us get our welcome baskets for our guests. She had great suggestions and also helped negotiate with the locals for our gift baskets. With my wife's ideas and preparation and Ericka's help and negotiations, we were able to make great gift baskets. We were able to leave the baskets up at the front desk so that our guests could grab them as they were checking in. Apparently Ericka and my wife did such a good job, that other guests at the resort wanted to buy the welcome bags.

You definitely get great service at this hotel, and the fact that they only do one wedding per weekend really helps out on your nerves. Also I have to mention that the beach is great and long and there are definitely no hustlers trying to make a quick buck. You do have to watch out for the "no see ums" bugs as they were biting alot. However, they give you some free skin so soft and off bug spray to help combat this problem. Also, I heard that August is the worst month for these bugs so I think that I experienced the prime "no see ems" period. Additionally, the walls are a little thin, as we had security called on us a few times due to a little "reminiscing" with some of our old friends. However, when security would come they were very cordial and just told us to keep it down a little bit. After the first night, we just decided to go enjoy our friends company outside in the pool and beach areas, where, there was a security guard patrolling, but we did not get harrassed.

Overall, I would definitely consider this resort a small luxury resort and gives great bang for your dollar. It is a little tucked away in the west end, but for our situation where we just wanted to hang out with our friends and family, it was perfect. We had a day of disaster at the Cove at Atlantis during our honeymoon, and realized how great that we had it at Old Bahama Bay, for 1/3 of the price we paid at the Cove.

If you have any questions about the property, I would be happy to answer them, as I am proud to help promote the wonderful Old Bahama Bay resort.

We just got back after a 5 night stay at the Old Bahama Bay. When we arrived at the airport and went through customs a driver was there waiting for us, he was very welcoming and friendly. The hotel offers complimentary transportation to and from the airport. It was about a 40 minute ride to resort, the drive getting there was not impressive. The West End of the island has been bulldozed over and very run down looking. When we arrived at the resort it looked like a construction zone, they are building multimillion dollar homes and digging out the waterways for the boat docks. We later found out that they are building a 4.7 billion dollar resort here on the West End just on the other side of this resort. But it’s going to take years before they are finished with it. There are not any structures built yet, so it looks like several years before they start building the resort.
The lobby was very small and nothing grand at all. They first gave us a room that was on the 2nd floor but we asked if they had something on the ground floor facing the ocean. We wanted to be able to walk from our back door to the beach. They were very accommodating and moved us to another room. Rooms were clean with travertine floors, with small kitchenettes (microwave, sink, and small refrigerator). Bathrooms are nice size with shower tub combo. Beds where comfortable and with down blend pillows. Maid service was good. The grounds themselves where not too impressive, the pool was dated along with the Wal-mart furniture; and the pool was not heated. Looks better in the pictures than in person. Didn’t have the feel of luxury anywhere around. We didn’t get a massage but we stopped in and looked at the spa or should I say lack of…it was located in a small room, environment was not something you would relax in.
We ate The Bonefish restaurant mostly and had lunch at Straw Hut once and food the food was very good. Service as a bit slow at Bonefish, they didn’t seem to be in a hurry. Prices were not too bad. We had snacks and ate that during the day and then had a nice dinner at night. However, that day that we got there we ate at Bonefish. I was asking the waitress where we could buy beer and wine at. She said that they opened a liquor store up just down the road about 10 minutes from the resort. She came right out and offered to make a run to the liquor store for us. So she went and picked us up a case of Kalik (Beer of the Bahamas) for $48 plus 3 bottles of wine for $6.50 a bottle. Great deal, because if you order beer at their restaurants or straw bar its $6.50 a bottle and I got a case for $2.00 a bottle.
As far as activities goes they offered free use of the kayaks, bikes and sail boat. We got on the sail boat and spent a lot of time on that the first day, we have never sailed before but it was really easy to learn and they showed us how to use the equipment. We went way out and I couldn’t believe how swallow the water was even way out. We saw a huge string ray that was about the size of the hood of a car. If you go out don’t go near the rocks or the island or you will get stuck in sand bars, so stay to the right of those. On the 2nd day of our visit we had planned to go snorkeling, but they cancelled the trip because the winds were too strong. So we ended up riding bikes around and looked at the million dollar homes and boats. Day 3 we had scheduled to go out on an island for about 4 hours and have lunch, but again it was too windy so they cancelled the trip. We rented a car and drove into Lucaya where all the shops and other resorts are at. We ate at a great Italian restaurant called La dolce vita. Food was excellent but service was horrible. Every single restaurant that we ate at charged a 15 gratuity to the bill. So I guess that is why they don’t care about the service because they know they are getting paid anyway. If they gave us better service they could have gotten a 20% tip, but never happened. We thought we had a bad waiter and a bad restaurant but just about everyone else was complaining about the service as well.
As far as the service at the resort it was good and didn’t have any complaints. They seemed to go out of their way to ensure that you got service. Also after reading some of the reviews about bug bites we didn’t encounter any bugs around. Well maybe it was because the wind was blowing 15 – 20 mph. One other thing to note was the wind in Lucaya was about 8 -10 mph. Also since we couldn’t go snorkeling we didn’t get to see the reefs but from what we heard from people that did it wasn’t that great because the hurricanes damaged them.
The resort also caters to boaters, they have several boat docks and they were full the whole time we were here. They also have use of the resort as well after a while you can spot the boaters.
We have visited a lot of resorts and this one will not be one that we will ever come back to again, as well as the island it’s self. We’re not that picky of people but we get much better service in our own city than we did in the Grand Bahamas, and we have been in much nicer places for a lot less. If you are looking for a service and luxurious resorts then I wouldn’t recommend coming here to this island.
But if you have no choice but to come to the Grand Bahamas, you have two options. If you want to be absolutely isolated from the rest of the island and about 45 minutes from shopping then this is the place. If you want to a little more action, shopping, and gambling then I would stay in Lucaya at one of the bigger named resorts, we check those out while in Lucaya and checked on out for a night before we left. Had some of the same issues that I spoke of above, however the rooms were nicer in Old Grand Bahamas Bay.

My fiance and I needed to get away from the hectic pace of South Florida and just relax by a pool and a beach, and basically do nothing. Old Bahama Bay met our needs perfectly, although I can see how it would not be ideal for everyone. We bought a five night package on luxury link at a nice discount.

The resort is situated on the far western tip of Grand Bahama and is about a 25 minute car ride from the airport. We were picked up by Simoney, a friendly and colorful employee of the resort. The west end of Grand Bahama, outside of the resort, is not a very wealthy place, particularly after being ravaged by hurricanes in 2004 and 2005. However, it has a community feel which is reflective of the laid-back island pace.

Once at the resort, you are greeted by several two-story Key West sytle buildings, along with a marina, two restaurants, and a store. I agree with the other reviews that the rooms are the best part. Our junior suite included marble flooring, a king size bed, kitchenette, a balcony, and a beautiful bathroom with roman tub. (The water pressure was great, which is a big plus.) The rooms also have central air-conditioning, a washer/dryer, and a tv with cable.

The week we were at the resort, winds were a constsant 20 - 30 mph, with 8 to 12 foot seas off-shore. This caused all snorkeling and fishing trips to be canceled, which did not affect our plans. We spent our time by the pool, which includes palm trees and umbrellas, allowing an escape from the beaming sun. A pool side bar and restaurant was a convient place to get a drink and something to eat.

The quality of the food was also excellent. We did not leave the resort during our stay, but we did not grow tired of the restaurants. Bonefish Follies was great for everyday meals, while Aqua was a nice step-up, with excellent food. The grouper sandwhich and the conch chowder were standouts.

Overall, OBB was perfect for what we were looking for, which was a secluded place to relax. We learned from some of the other guests that a shuttle bus will take you into Freeport and Lucaya, which are the more touristy locations. If you are seeking an all inclusive resort with constant activities and other attractions within walking distance, this is probably not the place for you. But other than our flight back when someone freaked-out and we had to return to the terminal, we had a very enjoybale and relaxing time at OBB and would recommend it.

Suggestions: - If you plan on staying for an extended period, you may want to stock-up on items at a store in Freeport. OBB has a store, but the supplies are limited and are a little pricey. Bring sunscreen with you - regardless of your complexion, you'll need it and the $18 bottle of Panama Jack from the OBB store lasted one application for us.

We have stayed at Old Bahama Bay several times in the past. This is our first stay since the Ginn Company purchased the property and started the massive expansion. Things have gone downhill. As previous reviewers mentioned, the place is currently in the midst of a massive construction zone. But that is not the worst of it. The out-island, comfortable, friendly, feel of the place has changed completely. I have heard morale is low amongst the staff stemming from anxiety about the Ginn purchase and it shows in the attitudes of the staff. The previous, very popular, manager who was fond of hanging out at the beach bar with his dog and lab chatting with guests was replaced by a "stuffed shirt" Ginn company man who seems out of place and downright irritated to be even be on the island. Clearly they are looking for a different target market than the "old" OBB. Service was poor in many respects (activities, restaurants etc.). The rooms are still nice but that is about it. worst of all the plans are to eventually expland to a soul-less, monstrosity of a mega-resort. we were constantly bombarded with sales propoganda about the new/expanded resort, a place of ridiculous bad taste and proportions. I am quite sure the explansion will never open let alone turn a profit, but, I am afraid, the damage has been done.