My wife and I went to the Grand Bahams for two reason:
for q quiet short holdida where we would play golf , swim in the pool, play tennis and enjoy good weather. We slecetd the Westin because of my experience and knoweldge of the chain. i travel the world extensively on business and therefore have an expectation of quality. We looked at the picture and the pool was a definite draw as well as the Golf course and the tennis.
What I found in the grand bahamas and the Westin in specific was very dissapointing.
1- Grand bahams: People were very nice, the weather was great but the Island was hit hard by the harricane and did not seem to recover. many developments were abandoned and infrastructure poor.
2- Westin Hotel:
1- Rooms: the rooms on the inside were nice and met our expectation. However the only location that the noise and view was acceptable was the Lighthouse point. We didn;lt get that at first as we stayed in the main hotel buidling and that was so noisy we felt that we were living in the middle of an industrial complex.
2- Pool: very dirty and poorly maintained. the pool floors were not regulkarly scrubed therefoire leaving a brownish thin film rather than seeing the emerald blue one sees in the pictures and in other westin hotels. Often we would find plastic glasses or bottles. We took the manager a couple of times to show them this. One day early in the morning we saw bathroom tissue. dsepite mantion this to the managers and the pool monitors, no impr5ovement was made.
3- tennis: to our shock there were fees for using the courts even the ones that requires hardly any maintenance. Mp wonder they were not being used.
Golf; the main course that is touted to be the best was in absolutely horrible condition and in fact not playable in many holes. the hotel staff did not have any information on rates times ..etc. the information they did give us was outdated and inaccurate. We ended up playing in the Reef course which was fair , but nothing exceptional and certainly not worth the green fees being chqarged for it ($120 for 18).
4- We did go snorkling and that was very nice,

Overall I would rate our eperience as fair. If we had no other option we would come back but given the many other options we do have it is highly unlikely we would be back.

Had some extra time off work and decided to look for a travel deal during end of August. Found this little gem island Grand Bahama and booked a deal during hurricane and took our chances. We had a terrific time.

Booked a package deal with airfare and hotel for two totalling $1200 from LAX to FPO for 3 nights/4 days. Incredible last minute getaway with excellent weather.

You'll love the 2 pools with infinity edges and the soft sand and clear turquoise calm water. The beach was beautiful and the water was warmer than expected almost hot. There was a small amount of seaweed but nothing that kept us from enjoying ocean. The pool bar was great and room was excellent. We had a marina view and was clean and comfortable overlooking the Our lucaya marketplace.

Ate once at the prop club but mostly across the street at the marketplace. Beware of the late night crowd there, my husband was drinking beers and was solicited to buy cocaine from the guys wearing "snowmen" T Shirts.

Food was good but not excellent. Various type restaurants and bars in the Marketplace made it convenient and never had to leave or take taxi.

Walked over to Sheraton and glad we stayed at Westin. Sheraton was full of kids on that sugarmill slide.

Enjoyed a quick weekend stay. A quiet island with friendly locals and calypso feel. Would return just doesn't sound like much to do except relax for a few days-not recommended for adventure seekers.

If you can find a deal, take it. This is a great getaway for sun, sand and relaxation!

This Westin resort was quite nice! I upgraded my room to an Ocean View room. Was only on the 3rd floor, so saw lots of palm trees, but had good glimpses of the ocean and pools. There are several pools to choose from that have umbrellas. There are no umbrellas available on the beach. Towel service is available. This time of year (and with the current economy in the U.S. which makes up the majority of tourists) was pretty quiet around the resort so there was plenty of peace and quite during the week. Closer to the weekend, it got a little more crowded.

The gym is quite nice with lots of cardio, elliptical, and free weights. No whirlpool / hot tub, but one poolside. Check in at the spa's front desk for a schedule of aerobics classes offered daily. The spa itself was just ok. If you book in advance like I did, check and re-check your booked services. They have fancy names for all thier services (sense of peace, sense of joy, sense of etc.) but they are all quite different. Almost ended up with a body exfoliation after a sunburn...ouch! On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give Senses Spa about a 7. It was nice, but I've had better.

The staff at the Westin is nice, but make sure you ask questions and get clear answers. (i.e. please explain the towel card). Also they can be very slooowww...not that they don't care, they just kinda do things on their own time. I was never in a hurry, but some stuff that you would think only take 2 minutes takes 15. Room service was pretty good on timing.

Places to eat: definitely Zorba's for breakfast (eggs, toast, hashbrowns, and OJ for $6). Irsis's is definitely over priced but decent food. If you're there on a Tuesday, you can get a ticket for a free drink at Churchill’s Bar in the hotel. Really good chicken quesadilla’s at the Casino. Good shrimp and fries for $10 at Rum Runners. Unless you are dying of starvation, don't eat at China Beach right by the pool: WAY overpriced (turkey sandwich, chips, soda for $13.00 + !) If all else fails, there is a Quizno's and Subway in the Port Lucaya Marketplace which you can get all that plus cookies for $8.00.

Do NOT order coffee at the Seattle Best Coffee stand on the other side of security at GBI airport. Worst coffee I've ever had...and I am a connoisseur!

Happy Travels!

My husband and I stayed at the Westin Lucaya in mid April. We were celebrating our anniversary and our purpose in going was to really do absolutely nothing. Overall review was that it was a nice property/location but we probably won’t go back – we just weren’t wowed as we’ve been at other properties.

So, here are the nitty gritty details:
The cab from the airport to the hotel was about a 15 minute ride ($25 with tip). We arrived around 3pm and there was no line at check-in so things went smoothly and quickly. We were greeted very warmly from the front door to the desk.

We were staying at the employee discount rate but despite that were given a really nice room (in the Breakers Cay section of the hotel… 5th floor – SPG level). We got the King sized bed and ocean view we requested. The one disappointment about the Starhot rate was that the food and beverage discounts were VERY limited. Most other properties let you use it at all their restaurants including room service. Here the only places you could use it was for the breakfast buffet, the poolside grills and one of the casual poolside restaurants (Prop Club). So that was a big letdown. Though we found plenty of places to eat off property which ended up being a good thing and I’ll get into that later.

The room was clean and the view was great. Our bellman that took us to our room was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the grounds. The bathroom was clean, but could have used a little updating. Out tub had stains in it from what looks like someone attempting to dye their hair (I know from experience what that looks like). We got complimentary water and coffee refills every day since we were on an SPG floor.

Breakers Cay was just a few steps away from one of the smaller infinity pools and the large serpentine pool (not to mention the beach). Unfortunately the day we arrived there was unseasonably cold weather (60 degrees was the high… and windy!). So it took us a couple days to work our courage up to use the pool. The first few days it was pretty cold. But once the air temperature got back to normal (high 70s) we were able to take a dip. It was still cold getting in, but once you were in and swimming around it was fine. The beach looked nice, but the water there was even colder, so we stayed poolside most of the time.

It was quieter by the infinity pool (which also had a pool bar attached – Hammerheads). We would get to the pool around 11am and always found a good spot. They also had little covered patios you could occupy which was nice for taking a break from the sun.

Our days were basically spent lounging by the pool and eating – which is just what we wanted. It was nice and quiet the first few days we were there, but then it got really crowded when the weekend crowd came… with a lot of annoying families. We kind of like to be away from the ankle biters and the parents that don’t find it necessary to pay attention to them, so this was a bum out.

One day I saw a group of three boys that couldn’t have been more than 10 years old sitting at a table drinking beers. Parents were no where in sight that I could tell. I doubt the bartender actually gave a kid a beer, so if you’re going to give your kid a beer (I could drink when I was a kid – a cultural thing) at least be there to supervise them… We also saw a lot of minors (high school kids) running around buying cigars, trying to get booze etc. So it was kind of annoying to be surrounded by these little dum-dums trying so hard to be “cool.” Again, where are the parents?

Lastly there was a large group that occupied the entire other side of the property (where the Lighthouse area is). Groups of families on some sort of massive reunion – so you could pretty much forget about using the facilities on that side. They controlled everything there. It was probably a group of easily 300 people. So all that was kind of annoying since we were looking for something a little low-key and romantic.

Our first night we decided to go to Iries (despite the lack of discount) because other reviews had raved about it. The food was indeed delicious but the service was a little subpar. That feeling of hospitality and warmth that we had encountered elsewhere earlier in the day was missing. The waitstaff kind of behaved like they were getting over a head cold or something – really unenthusiastic and minimal amount of attention. Our meal came to $110. I live in Boston and I’ve eaten at better restaurants for less – granted this is a hotel restaurant, but overall the place left me feeling underwhelmed. I don’t mind shelling out the bucks for great meal and service – I do mind shelling out money for okay food and mediocre service

We had room service for breakfast the first day (a tradition with me and my husband). It was okay. It came 30 minutes later than what we had indicated on the door hanger menu though. Our basic breakfast came to $45. Again, underwhelmed. Afterwards we’d have breakfast at the buffet. The buffet at Willy Broadleaf was actually really good. Around the time that we’d go down (10am) it wasn’t too crowded. It was the usual spread of breakfast food and it all tasted really good. It’s normally $20 per person – which would be too expensive if you didn’t have the discount. But with the discount it was more than reasonable.

We also ate at the Prop Club for lunch once. I had the Grouper sandwich, which was very tasty. My husband had a burger which though good, looked like it was from a frozen patty. The service here was again kind of ambivalent. The waitstaff seemed more interested in catching up on gossip than paying attention to the little things like soda refills etc. We also ate at China Grill just for the convenience factor – the food was subpar as was the service. Again we got discounts at all of these places so the price was right, but without that discount… so not worth it.

Our food salvation came in the form of the Lucaya Marketplace which is right across the street from the hotel. When we were in the hotel we thought the lackluster service was a result of the mandatory 15% gratuity they add on everywhere on the island and/or just “island mentality.” However, we quickly discovered this wasn’t the case.

We ate at Zorbas a lot. It’s a casual little Greek place but the food is great and the service is great too. They are friendly, welcoming and attentive. One night we did take out from them and moved the desk from our room out onto the balcony to dine al fresco in our room.

We also ate at Pisces a few times. Their pizza is pretty decent (though I’ve had better) but all the waitstaff were so friendly – and the ambiance outside is really nice. One night I had the cracked conch which was excellent. Actually everywhere I went I tried to eat conch (usually in conch fritter form).

We also ate at Dolce Vita for Italian (right near the pier) which was pretty great. The waitstaff were very fast and efficient – they ran the place like a well oiled-machine. We ate outside, but the inside looked pretty cozy and modern. The food was excellent. My husband had the filet mignon and I had the pork chop. Both were cooked perfectly - the pork was nice and moist. It was the pricier (and fancier) of the places we went to off the island… but still cheaper than the restaurants in the hotel. If you were to eat at Churchill’s for example you’re going to spend $50 on the entrée alone. That’s just ridiculous in my opinion. I’d rather spend that money at the Four Seasons here in Boston.

The other great thing about the island marketplace was the liquor store. We bought liquor, wine and mixers there to have pre and post dinner cocktails for more reasonable prices.

We never felt unsafe, but there were a few bars that had “questionable” clientele and meatheads populating them which we stayed away from. During the weekend they’d also hold cultural performances which were kind of cheesy. They seemed more like lame attempts to embarrass the square tourists by getting them to shake their hips in front of everyone. Don’t get me wrong, it was amusing in that sense, but didn’t seem like a genuine display of culture and art.

The one big negative about the hotel is that it’s kind of open for anyone from the street to just walk onto the property (probably due to the casino). While this wasn’t too big of an issue, one day someone did offer to sell my husband cocaine and marijuana… in the middle of the day… by the pool. So that was kind of sketchy (albeit an amusing story to tell). We kept a watch of our valuables and anything else of value kept it locked in the safe. We never had any issues. You should just be aware of your surroundings.

We indulged in a couple’s massage which was excellent. Though I didn’t actually use the fitness center it was really nice and state of the art - very clean too (especially the locker rooms). They also offer free fitness classes! Had I known I might have actually brought my workout gear.

Our housekeeper was also excellent. Most days the room would be done by the time we came back from breakfast. She would always say hello in the morning and ask if everything was okay.

So overall a nice little getaway… but nothing really “Wow!” about it, which is why we’ll look elsewhere for our next trip. We wanted something a little more romantic and secluded than what this property could provide. I would recommend it to anyone thinking about going for a quick getaway (especially if you get a good deal) but it’s not a place that needs multiple trips back.