Pelican Bay is a civilized oasis in the midst of the spring break madness that seems to grip any warm water/sunny destination for Americans. First and foremost, the staff is kind, caring and involved in making your stay as comfortable and pleasant as possible. From Stanley Wilson the head bellman to Karen at the front desk, they have it under control and always have a thoughtful, kind word.

The property links up to the inner marina and has a boardwalk to the Lucaya market and its variety of awful to pretty darn good restaurants.

The suites are spacious and comfortably appointed, the regular rooms are spacious. The beds are very comfortable, but quite tall from the floor. The walls are thick and we didn't hear our neighbors.
The balconies overlook the harbor and pools on property, but the pool noise wasn't annoying.

The Resort is just starting to build a conference center at the front of the property, so be sure to ask for a room away from the construction, if possible.

My wife and I stayed at Pelican Bay for a week in mid-March. We chose this hotel due to the many, many good reviews and high average ratings it received. Of course, people are always concerned when they see negative or below-par reviews (we also second guessed ourselves after seeing one or two poor reviews), but in the case of this hotel, there were no negatives.

We had a suite overlooking the harbor opposite Port Lucaya and it was very peaceful. The room was beautiful, the bathroom spacious, and the service from the cleaning crews was top notch. Fresh muffins placed in a pass through slot in the door every morning to go with the coffee we made was a great start to the day (I did throw the NY Times fax into the trash each day as we didn't want to know what was happening with Bear Stearns or anyone else except our families back home.) It makes for nice packing material for our sea shells though :-)

This hotel is great for couples or families, but I wouldn't recommend it for small children as there is nothing for them to do there and the hotel is really a boutique hotel. If you have young children, the Westin or Sheraton across the street would be much better. I am happy to say I didn't hear a child cry all week and that was worth the money right there. There were no spring breakers at this hotel which was a great bonus. There are three, quiet pools, the staff at the desk was friendly, and the bartenders were helpful. The free breakfast in the mornings was a great start to the day and we really enjoyed it.

We did not eat at Sabor as we didn't hear a lot of good things about it, but we ate at many other places locally and they were all good. Our favorites were: Pisces, LeMed, and China Grill (across the street by the Sheraton - outstanding Oriental cuisine). It was expensive to eat just about anywhere in this area, and these three are at the mid to upper mid of the range. Nowhere near Luciano's or the Ferry House, but pricey nonetheless. There are places to get sandwiches, gyros, subs, pizza, etc. in the marketplace so don't fret if you are on a tight food budget.

The ferry over to Taino Beach was great; I think we used it at least three days. Paradise Cove snorkeling was the "value of the week" for us at $35 for the bus trip, lunch, and snorkeling. Renting cars is expensive but we only did it for one day. Funny I had to put a $500 deposit on a car that was worth about $300. But it got us over to the National Park and to another beach place for lunch. We really enjoyed it.

There were a lot of other things we did and saw but these are the highlights. OH! I almost forgot, you MUST go to the beach party on Wednesday night. We had lobster and rice and beans for $22 and then danced for a bit. Beers were still $4 or $5 so we still dropped $100, not including the $8 cab ride over. Make sure you leave before 10pm because it didn't feel all that safe later on. That was the only time all week where we said "let's get out of here". And we are originally from Chicago so we're not just some country bumpkins. Cabs come through there all the time so just eat, have fun for a couple hours, then hit the road.

We really enjoyed it and will return.

Our specific impression of Pelican Bay was similar to our impression of Grand Bahama Island as a whole: It’s a beautiful place to relax and enjoy sun, sand, and good company. But as soon as you start looking closely, it won’t take you long to see that both infrastructure and attitude are a bit frayed and in need of an upgrade.

If little things bother you and you absolutely insist on everything being shiny-clean and perfect, then don’t go to Pelican Bay. Don’t go to the Bahamas, either, for that matter.

But if you can overlook a few annoying details and go with the flow, give Pelican Bay (and Grand Bahama Island) a try. It’s kind of funky (in a good way), although a bit rough around the edges.

For perspective, we are a couple in our late 30’s who spent a wedding anniversary there from 3/12/08 to 3/18/08.

I think we really wanted to like Pelican Bay and give it five stars, but the longer we stayed, the more the rating began to dip. We had a great time just relaxing and essentially “doing nothing,” but were ready to hit the road after six days.

The positives: We got a killer price booked through Expedia, at nearly 1/3 the quoted rates on the hotel’s site. Upon arrival, we asked for and received an upgrade to a suite, and this is a big bonus—a private porch overlooking a stunning view of the bay, a spacious sitting room and separate king bedroom, both furnished with the coolest eclectic art we have ever seen in a hotel room. Our suite also included an in-room Nespresso espresso maker (a huge amenity if you are a coffee junkie), plus pastries delivered through a locked box in your door every morning. The property has three pools, ranging from a bar-area pool to a quieter heated pool, with another in between. You are within walking distance to everything you’d want to go to in Lucaya, and the general area is clean and safe.

The negatives: Simply put, the staff is flighty, but this attitude is not out of line with what we experienced throughout the island. The cleaning service was hit-or-miss. We were given coupons for “free” drinks at the bar and told after we ordered that we had to pay for them because there was a limit as to what type of booze you could order. One of the bathroom sink drains was broken, and the suite’s hot water was powered by a puny in-room heater tank that made it a rush job for two vacationers to take showers without running the tank dry. On one occasion, we were given a pool towel that actually had blood on it. The one and only time we asked for help with dinner reservations (for our anniversary at the nicest restaurant on the island), the desk person said she’d take care of it, and there were no reservations waiting for us when we arrived at the Ferry House. We were charged for mini-bar items upon checkout, even though we did not even break the seal on the refrigerator. It goes on like this; you get the idea….Although we must admit, sometimes, such flightiness worked in our favor: We had drinks in the dining room that were never charged to our final bill. And once we got a knock on the door, with a cleaning lady delivering an armful of fresh towels that we had “requested” (we had not).

One final note—a construction alert! The day we arrived at Pelican Bay, they were just starting to set up a construction staging area, complete with chain-link fencing, bulldozers, and lots of heavy equipment. They were moving entire palm trees while we were there, and the door attendant/greeter told us it was just the beginning of a year-long construction project that would be adding a gym, restaurant, and administrative offices. I’m not saying it should preclude you from going, but in our opinion, it now becomes imperative to book a suite that faces AWAY from the parking lot and out towards the bay.

We stayed at the Pelican Bay for 7 nights in January for our honeymoon and it was as perfect as all the reviews we had read beforehand suggested. We stayed in a suite and it was great having a bit more space with a living room. The four-poster bed was lovely (although possibly a bit tall for us shorter people to climb into!). The grounds of the hotel are very nice and it is nice that the hotel has a bit of character to it with all the different colours. Sadly we didn't end up swimming in the pools as it turned cold whilst we were there, this however didn't ruin our holiday as we still walked on both the Westin beach and Taino beach (a short ferry ride away) and it was great to be so close to the market place with all the lively happenings going on there. The free breakfast each day was much appreciated - with the complimentary breadbasket in your room and a buffet by the pool you certainly won't go hungry. Having read a few negative reviews about the hotel restaurant Sabor I must admit I am surprised. We ate there twice, once for lunch and once for dinner and both times the food and the service was outstanding. The cocktails are also delicious!! We loved out time at the Pelican Bay and having seen the westin/sheraton when we arrived I am definitely glad we weren't staying there - it looks so unwelcoming and I believe it is quite a bit more expensive. If we ever go back to Freeport there is no question that we would stay at the Pelican Bay again.