Let me tell you about this Gem. It's only 20 minutes by air from Ft. Lauderdale, where my wife and I flew from, on Spirit Air, for her birthday. Spirit is the way to go for sure, so forget the rest.
The hotel is in the heart of Port Lucaya, on Grand Bahama. No need for a car, everything is in walking distance, such as the market, and restaurants- unless you want to drive the 35 miles to Gold Rock Beach, one of the most beautiful, and absolutely deserted, beaches in the world.

The staff at Pelican Bay, Jonell and Larika, cannot be more helpful and friendly if they tried. We stayed in one of the suites, an apartment really, with robes, croissants delivered to our private box with newspaper each morning, 4 poster king size bed with comforter, rain shower, and spacious living room.
The resort is not directly on the beach, but is on the bay, but not to worry, it is directly, say 500 feet, across the street from the huge Westin/Sheraton resort, where rooms, standard rooms, will be 1/3 the size and triple the price, that is on the ocean. The Westin is a huge resort with a gazzillion people at the pool, and four or five restaurants, so its okay, if you want the Disney resort feeling versus the Bahama's getaway.

Otherwise, the Pelican Bay staff will take you by (free) 10 minute ferry to another more private beach with a huge lazy river lagoon pool, and of course, the beach.

Port Lucaya is truly "Margaritaville", very mellow with beautiful beaches and the journey out to Gold Rock Beach is worth the trip to Grand Bahama on its own.

Other than Gold Rock and the small towns nearby that beautifully spectacular Corona Beer type beach, there's not much else to see on the island.

So otherwise stay around or in Port Lucaya. Eat at Sabors, for wonderful food, outdoor waterfront dining at around $25-35 per person, or Pisces where two can eat for $40, try the seafood combination platter, or lunch at Zorba's for the friendly service, did I mention friendly service, try the fried conch for $10, or finally Luciano's, about $110 per couple, a truly superb European restaurant on the harbor that is pricey but great for special occasions, and hey, you're on vacation. But Luciano's is not for the kids. Its country club food and fare.

If you stay at the Pelican Bay Resort you will thank your lucky stars. It is a great find, a great deal, on a great little island, with great people, so darn close to Florida but it seems like it is a thousand miles away! Enjoy, we did!!

We read in Trip Advisor that this facility was rated No. 1. Trip Advisor has always been right on--BUT NOT THIS TIME GUYS! I spent my birthday here with my friend and we agreed that IF we come back to the area, there's no way we'd stay at this facility. In brief, the hotel was certainly no where near capacity, yet we were assigned room 104 which is a dark, dreary room with a view of a wall with some plants. Hello? This facility is surrounded by water and pools and this is what we get? Well, we went right back to the desk and was given room 323 (after some huffing and puffing by the staff) which at least had sunlight!
But even that room had numerous problems. The dresser drawers were broken, the bedspreads faded, dated, and pretty disgusting, the bathroom faucet sprayed all over, the water in the shower never turned off and ran all day and all night, the lighting (although we asked three times for new bulbs) was terribly insufficient, the wait staff in the kitchen was definitely running on Bahama time and were rude, our requested wake up call was quite late, the grounds were not up to par, the remote for the tiny t.v. didn't work, and on Saturday night when we wanted to get a ride over to the restaurants on the beach (we were assured that there was a golf cart with a driver at all times available to us), we were told that there was no one to take us because several employees called in sick, and three of the four nights there when we wanted to come home from the casino late at night, again, no one would come to pick us up so the casino provided a ride. Many employees had a real attitude problem, especially the waiters since the tip is already in the total, they don't feel the need to give you service.
I'd have to say that if you must come to Grand Bahama Island, find another place to stay. The only saving grace of this place is the location (oh, and by the way, there is construction going on in the parking lot--which no one tells you either), and they serve a lovely breakfast. The Westin appeared very nice, fyi. But if I were you, I'd find another Island!
This was a very disappointing trip. They even have on their 'stationery' that they're voted No. 1 by Trip Advisor. Well, maybe that was years and years ago (check out the dates of the other reviews!!), but it certainly isn't now!!!!!

After reading reviews on Tripadvisor, we were surprised when our first encounter at check-in was with a rude lady at the front desk. She briskly ran through a large amount of important information (such as when the where breakfast was, the shuttle schedule to Taino beach, rules for use of the beach at the Westin) and when we asked her to repeat a few things she scoffed and was annoyed to do it.
Breakfast technically ran until 10:30 and we usually showed up at 9:30 and they were already low on food. One morning they even ran out of milk!
The maid service was also sub-par. One day only half of our towels were replaced and the robes weren't picked up off the floor. We also ran out of toilet paper twice.
Despite these problems the location was great, 2 minutes away from the Lucaya marketplace and across the street from the Westin. The shuttle-boat to Taino beach was easy, and the rest of the staff was very nice.
I would say for this hotel it's decent for the price but if you want a full-amenities, fancy hotel go with the Westin.

My brother and I stayed at this hotel for one week in December for a quick diving trip. The weather wasn't great for a few days so we spent more time than we anticipated at the hotel. We had reserved for a mid-range room but were upgraded upon check-in to a suite, which was a nice surprise. Front desk staff was friendly and helpful.

The suite was clean if a bit dated. The plumbing was terrible, with a waterfall-type fixture spraying water everywhere. This was especially annoying as we had to take at least two showers daily to wash off the salt water after diving. The constant replenishment of fresh towels to the room was impressive and despite our frequent showering, we never wanted for dry towels.

The air conditioning was excellent until it malfunctioned one night and leaked water all over the floor. This was dealt with promptly, however, and only proved a minor annoyance.

We only ate breakfast at the hotel as so many previous reviewers had mentioned that food was much cheaper nearby. The complimentary breakfast was below average in terms of selection and quality.

The wait staff might as well be absent. They cluster behind the bars and gossip, seemingly oblivious of the guests. If you're sitting by the pool or the hot tub, you'll wait in vain for someone to come and ask if you want a drink. You have to get up and walk over to the bar, get someone's attention and order. Then you have to wait for them to prepare the drink as they won't come and bring it to you. Similarly, if you're at the buffet breakfast and a plate is empty, the three staff responsible for keeping the buffet stocked have to be interrupted from their chattering before they'll refill it. Tips are included, which probably explains the general lassitude of the wait staff.

There is no beach at this hotel. You have to walk across the street and use the beach at another hotel (the Sheraton or Westin) and you can't use their pools or other facilities. The beach itself is very nice.

The location is very convenient for divers as the UNEXSO dive shop is on the premises, though it is pricier than the other shops around the island. The difference is worth it simply for not having to lug your gear a great distance or having to take a shuttle. The shop's boats leave for the dive sites from directly behind the hotel.

I had heard that the reef at Cozumel had suffered terribly during a recent hurricane so booked Grand Bahama instead. Unfortunately, the reef there wasn't much better. The dolphin dive was fantastic and we sighted plenty of sharks so this offset the letdown.

There are two other hotels nearby - the Westin and the Sheraton. They front the beach and seem much nicer though their rates didn't seem appreciably higher. If we go again we will book with either of them rather than the Pelican Bay.