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.

This place has all the makings of a great resort -- comfortable, functional well appointed rooms, lots of space and peace, friendly staff. Unfortunately there were alot of minuses that would be straightforward to address to make this place better.
1. The breakfast service at Dockside Grill was TERRIBLE. By the time we got our coffee, we had finished our breakfast. And you couldn't ever find anyone to ask. The waiters would disappear in the kitchen and never come out. I saw people wait to have their order taken, and get up and leave after waiting too long.
2. Despite what you read, there are no snorkel trails. I realize that unfortunately hurricanes destroyed the reefs, but the resort should stop advertising snorkel trails and maps.
3. Don't expect very much in the town of West End. It is a quaint, peaceful fishing village but limited services. You need a car to get to the nearest town.
4. The women at the Tiki bar could be alot friendlier.
It would not be worth it to go back.

I finally have a chance to review this resort. I attempted before but had so many negative comments to write about that I didnt finish. My husband and I decided to try our first trip to The Bahamas. The pictures online of this place look incredible. When we arrived at the airport we were picked up and driven to the resort. The resort is about 20+ miles from the airport. As we were driving to the resort there we drove through miles and miles of poverty stricken towns. I guess its kinda hard to start a relaxing trip when you drive miles and miles through houses that are built out of what they could find laying on the ground. That was the beginning of a long trip at Old Bahama Bay. When we arrived to our rooms we were impressed with the rooms. The rooms are the best part of staying here as you have a balcony that overlooks the ocean, huge jet jacuzzi tub, marble, etc. The rooms are great! We decided to go to the properties 'store' to get stuff to nibble on since we were so hungry from a long flight. When we went to the store we were shocked by the lack of items to choose from. I think they had some chips, bread, and cookies. I guess we were thinking the store would like like a mini mart not a store that was going out of business. The weather was so windy we spent the next 4 days in our room and working out. When we got a nice sunny day we were shocked by a couple HUGE problems. The first thing we ran into is that the resort has a severe problem with no see-um bugs. My husband and I laid out by the pool and were attacked by these little bugs every few seconds. I actually read my book from in the pool so I would stop getting attacked by the bugs. I guess they come out when the wind stops and the sun is shining. We were told by the resort to use the bug spray in our room. Well, who wants to add sunblock and then add some bug spray to then get attacked by the minute by these small black bugs. They were horrible. We finally left the VERY SMALL pool to go back to our room. As we changed clothes we noticed that we had red bumps all over our body and they itch so bad. We went to the store where we did noticed they carried a cream to stop the itching. The next day we decided to hang out in the ocean thinking the bugs would not be over there. We met another couple who actually had to go to the island's doc to get a cortizone shot for his severe case of no see-um bug bites. They were staying 4 nights and said that was way too long to stay at this resort. The more we spoke with them the more we realized how bad the bugs and terrible service by the pool was. When we placed an order for drinks and food at the pool we quickly realized that the people behind the bar did not like 'us tourist' and that we would not be served our drink or food by the pool. We would need to go get it ourselves! We thought with spending $250+ a night that the service would be much better. And, its not like there was a ton of people at the pool that they were so busy. They just didnt want to happily serve guests staying there. We heard a rumor from another employee there that they have had problems in the past with customer service and had to shut down the resort. The restaurants are okay. The food service is SO SLOW. The first night I went to eat at the restaurants they were out of a main entree, second night I tried ordering something different and they were out of what I ordered again. The restaurant was not that full that our food service could have been quicker. Then one morning we ordered the banana loaf (which was on the menu) and when we got back to the room they had charged us over $35 for the load of bread!!! We were shocked. My husband and I worked out twice a day because we were so bored from lack of activities to keep us busy. We did all we could in the room each day to keep us busy. And, you didnt want to ride your bikes into town because fear of the locals wanting to beat you up! After 5 nights my husband was ready to go home. We checked out early and headed back to Florida where the food and customer service is much better. Even better we didnt get eaten alive by these no see-um bugs. The hotel did refund us for the days we didnt end up staying which was very nice. When we arrived in Florida our entire bodies were covered in red bug bites. They itched just like poison oak and was hard to sleep for the next few nites because of the bites. The rooms were exceptional at this resort. But, you could only eat at the two restaurants which were always out of main items. There wasnt a lot of stuff to do here. There is no internet access in the room either. No newspaper delivered to your door. No spa room to hang out in. When we got home we actually had lost weight from working out so much in there work out room. Usually, you gain weight on vacation not loose. We did venture into town one day ($80 to rent a car for the day) and the town was also very poor and desolate. Save your money and go somewhere else. Too many other excellent choices to choose from to be here.