We stayed at Shane Shack, the best villa on the beach. The location is amazing, weather was good, and all in all we had a very relaxing time. However, since we paid $295/night plus taxes, energy charge, etc, etc, I had expected a bit more for my money. Although I loved our "shack" I felt that FBV wanted every penny they could get from me. Peanut butter sandwich $5, hot dog $10, supper for 2 = $100. Which I could live with if the pre-teen children staying down the beach hadn't been permitted to run screaming and yelling throughout the dining area constantly. Can of pop $2.25 at the honor bar, which, btw, charges $1 just to use the blender. Go towards town to any store and buy pop for 85 cents. We brought our own sandwich stuff, bought a loaf of bread, and saved hundreds of dollars not eating breakfast or lunch at the clubhouse. There are good restaurants towards town, the staff can point the way. The beach towels and beach chairs were of the lowest possible quality. Our bed was only made once. Night manager was extremely friendly, and we liked Donna, Cara made us feel very welcome, but other staff not too outgoing.But my biggest beef was that even though we were told we could get a ride to the airport 1 mile away, when the time came, they insisted we take a cab. $15 for 1 mile on top of our well over $1000 bill didn't sit well with me. I was just tired of the stinginess. I know that the other resorts offer their guest shuttles even though they are much farther from the airport, and their rates and meals are much less expensive. We did tour a couple of them, and they also were in beautiful spots. Bugs were not a problem except for the last night, before a rain storm came, the bugs came out. We did tour the island with a local we met, the islanders are very friendly, virtually no crime, but no streetlights either! I will go back to Fernandez Bay, but I will be renting a private house on the beach for much less money.

First off I have to say book your stay through Majestic Holidays Ltd. We have no affiliation with them but saw them mentioned in another review. If you book with Majestic you are not charged the mandatory room tax, levy, housekeeping gratuities and utility surcharges, they add up to over 10%. I guess it is because Majestic is a Bahamian company. They were great and kept us informed all the time.

Now for FBV, if you want activities to do all the time, or have kids, you may want to look elsewhere. We were looking for a place to do nothing for a week but play in the water and veg out on the beach or in the hammocks. We went in July and the water was unbelievable. Every day as far as you could see up and down the beach we rarely saw another person. If it got to hot (it did not) all you had to do was move 20’ up the beach and lay in the hammocks strung between the coconut trees.

Every day we would take the free kayaks and paddle up into the mangroves where we saw some baby sharks that came up to you.

We never had a bad meal or went hungry. The honor bar was really great too, with live music every night. During dinner we ate under the stars every night. My wife always gets eat up with bugs where ever we go. Simply some bug spray with Deet solved those problems (which only happened at sunset for about 1 hour). If you forget to bring your own there is a basket full of bug spray and sun tan lotion that guests leave behind that is free to use.

Each room has a refrigerator and I brought my own six pack of Pepsi since that is my only source of caffeine.

The rooms were nice, we stayed in the Conch, but the garden bath takes a bit to get use to (if you ever do).

The owners and staff were great and always made you feel like special guests.

We have been to the Caymans, Aruba, St Barts, etc but we have not found a place like this before.

We booked a week long vacation after reading some good reviews on TripAdvisor. Everything said about Donna previously is true. The woman is a real asset to the place and the Bahamian gentleman that makes the rum punch at the bar was a pure pleasure. The rest of the staff, particularly the wait staff were not as friendly. The place itself is nice, it was wonderful to have use of the kayaks and bicycles to explore the island of which the Hermitage was well worth seeing. The beach was secluded and the sunsets are indeed lovely. That said the whole experience was ruined by the outrageous charges for the meals which were truly sub par. We travel frequently and have paid less for 5 star hotels in the Carribean with far superior cuisine than Fernandez Bay. It was a slap in the face to get the bill on the final day and it ended up ruining our whole experience. Also, beware this is a family-owned resort . We were there during a holiday weekend and the visiting family and their friends took over the common areas without much regard for the guests who paid to stay there.

Words cannot possibly express how wonderful our trip was. We just got back two days ago and I wish I was back there already. Sun, sun and more sun! The beach was immaculate and it was almost as if we had our own private beach. The weather was perfect everyday with sunshine and temps in the 80s. We couldn't have asked for more. (However, I will give you one hint: bring bug spray with a high percentage of deet. They have sand flies (no-see-ums) and they do bite so if you're sensitive to bug bites it would be smart to bring bug spray.)

The meals were spectacular and you can either dine in or out where you have a view of the stars like you've never seen before. I'm unsure what some of the previous writers meant when they thought the meals were not good. We had fried conch one night, amazing steak another, curried lamb, and always a vegetable! I'm a pretty picky eater and have high standards and the food really was quite tasty. Breakfast was also superb. It alternated with french toast/pancakes, potatoes, yogurt, cereal, fruit, toast/bagels and hard boiled eggs. And if you want eggs a certain way you can simply knock on the kitchen door and they make them fresh for you. You really do have a choice between eating healthy and completely endulging at every meal.

There are also plenty of things to do while you are there. I'm unsure what other reviewers were complaining about. There are kayaks, small motorboats, bicycles, games or you can simply sit on your chair or a hammock and read the entire day away. A quick bike ride will show you to the south side of the island. We chose to relax most of the five days we were there.

The accomodations were clean and had all the amenities you will need during your stay. The bathrooms are considered garden bathrooms and you really feel one with nature. I'm not the type to go camping and I honestly felt quite at home staying at Fernandez Bay. And as if it couldn't get any better the manager, Donna, will help with absolutely any need you might have. She was welcoming and went beyond the call of duty to keep us happy.

We really had a magnificent stay and we'd go back in a heartbeat!