We traveled to Grand Bahama Island on the Discovery Cruise ship and selected Pelican Bay based on reviews from this website and our personal preferences. We are not the type of people who enjoy huge sprawling hotels, even if it means not being in a beachfront hotel with a lot of amenities. Pelican Bay Hotel has 186 rooms, compared to 511 at the Sheraton and 749 at the Westin, and all 3 hotels are equal walking distance to the Lucaya Marketplace, where we ate all but one of our meals. Even with 186 rooms, the unique and beautiful architetcural design and layout make Pelican Bay feel much more intimate than one would expect. If we ever return to Grand Bahama Island, this hotel would be our first choice again.

We were told that we could use the beach at the larger hotels if we wanted to, but there was a water taxi (free for Pelican Bay guests), that departed hourly from behind Pelican Bay and took us on a 10 minute ride to Tiana Beach. At Tiana, there is a huge pool with a slide and a swim up bar, a small beach with comfortable cushions on the lounge chairs, a tennis court, restaurant, and more. Remember to get beach towels from the Pelican Bay lobby before taking the water taxi to the beach.

Pelican Bay also has a swim up bar, but I only visited it for the free continental breakfast, which was fantastic. In addition to juice, fresh fruit, cereal, breads and pastry, they also had hot hard boiled eggs, a hot omelet or other breakfast dish that changed daily, and a selection of cold cuts, similar to what you'd find in Europe.

When we first arrived at Pelican Bay, we were greeted by a very pleasant clerk at the front desk. When we found out that we were booked for a room with 2 double beds, we asked for a room with a king sized bed. The clerk changed our room, and because the room was not ready, she gave us tickets so we could have a free local drink at the hotel bar while we waited. Stanley, the porter, stored our bags until the room was ready. We were in room 205, which is just a couple of feet from the stairs and elevator. The room had a nice view, everything inside looked and smelled clean and the room was quiet and comfortable. There was a table that had a built-in sink and a mini-fridge, with a coffee machine on top. The A/C worked well. There was a working iron and ironing board. In the bathroom, we found a blow dryer, large, fluffy towels, cosmetics that were of good quality, and soft toilet paper. Speaking of which, the toilet became sluggish the day we left, and somebody was sent to repair it as we were leaving.

There is a map in the hotel room showing the layout at the Lucaya Market, which is about a 5 minute stroll away. Peek down as you walk over to see the beautiful tropical fish in the water along the way. We bought water, soft drinks and snacks from the Oasis Pharmacy. We later found out that a much smaller pharmacy at the far side of the Lucaya Market had cheaper pharmacy products (nail clippers), but the food items cost the same at both pharmacies. That night, we had lobster with delicious peas and rice at Pisces restaurant, which also has great pizza. The next day, we had wonderfully spiced jerk pork at the Irish Pub, and flavorful tzaziki as a snack at Zorba's. A local man recommended that we try the grouper and peas and rice from the Giovanni's take-out lunch window, but we missed it. The place is owned by an Italian man who is married to a Bahamian woman, so the food is reputedly spiced well, as opposed to most hotel food, which is bland.

On Wednesdays, a taxi van comes to the hotel at 6:30 to take interested hotel guests to Smith's Point beach for the local fish fry. The taxi fare is about $5 per person, depending on how many people from the hotel go along for the ride. At Smith's Point, there's a sit-down restaurant at one end of the block and a shack selling food on the other end of the block, directly on the beach, which is where the locals eat and where we ate. Expect to wait in line for about 20 minutes, but if you buy a drink from the bar next door and focus on the local music, the wait doesn't seem very long. They have fish filets (with the head on), lobster tails, and chicken. The lobster was fantastic. Make sure you add some hot sauce to the peas and rice. If you don't mind spicy food, the sauce is very flavorful. Stay away from the Sweet Potato pie for dessert. The taxi that takes you to the beach will return to pick you up whenever you're ready. Enjoy!

I use Expedia to book and Tripadvisor to double check my choice. This was one of the best finds. Expect a European hotel experience; solid breakfast on the water, simple rooms, simple staffing, lots of quiet during the day and on the weekends it can sometimes become a club.

You are within walking distance to the MarketPlace - a hub of shopping, restaurants, bars, piers for boating experiences and a center stage for live entertainment. The hotel has a pier; our boating tour by Capt Anthony Conyers ([----]) was over the top and exceptionally priced. He made the trip outstanding with a fishing trip and a cat boat trip of snorling and lunch.

The hotel has a relationship with the Ritz Hotel (verynice); a free 3 minute ferry ride from the hotel pier and you have access to a pool complex with a swim up bar, 2 story slide into a pool with several pool sections. We shared time by the pool and the beach; palm tree umbrellas, a restaurant, jet skis, water and sand this Philly girl only dreams of. Best Pics of the vacation were on this beach.

Everything on the island is shipped in; a case of local beer for $40 ...buy your water by the gallon in the market place. So expect that. Yeah, it's not Mexico.

We traveled with a 5yr, 17yr, 18yr and husband and I. This place is focused more on honeymooners....empty nesters...and 20+...depending upon the time of year. I would travel here every Feb. Was perfect for us all.

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!!!!!