Fifteen minutes after being picked up from Nassau airport in a Cadillac SUV, I arrived on the manor-style driveway of Rosewood Baha Mar, the place a small troupe of staffers in navy blue blazers and crisp white shirts greeted me by surname. Earlier than I may get my bearings, my rolling suitcase was already ready for me on the entrance desk, and a receptionist supplied a alternative of two welcome drinks: a Flamingo mocktail or a Switcha, a neighborhood limeade spiked with rum.

Baha Mar, the 1,000-square-acre upscale resort within the Bahamas, is a fabulous seashore getaway for individuals who like nonstop motion and high-touch customer support. There’s a water park with 24 rides, an 18-hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus, a Vegas-style on line casino, limitless poolside lounge chairs with cabana attendants, and three resorts, together with the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar and SLS Baha Mar, totaling 2,200 rooms. Nonetheless, Rosewood Baha Mar is arguably essentially the most elegant, drawing a extra discerning and spendy crowd.

The foyer was stately and colonial, with polished marble flooring, handpainted murals of palm timber, and scented with lavender, ginger, and lemongrass. A courteous bellhop escorted me to my ocean-view room, providing useful ideas alongside the best way: the place to guide water adventures, the way to open my terrace door, and the way to unlock the room with my grey wristband.

After a chew at The Palms at Baha Mar, an off-the-cuff poolside restaurant, I wandered across the mega-resort. There was rather a lot to soak up—pink flamingos, a surf simulator, a personal seashore membership, a thousand slot machines, a round pier, uphill water coasters, a swim-up aquarium with sharks and tropical fish, meals vans, jet skis, celebrity-branded eating places, swimming swimming pools of all sizes, and a white sandy seashore with cerulean blue waters. All over the place I appeared, there have been households swimming, consuming, buying, ingesting, laughing, browsing, tanning, and Instagramming—it was fairly a feast for the senses.

By the point I lastly received again to Rosewood Baha Mar (there are not any straight paths, so it’s simple to get misplaced), I discovered myself taking a deep breath and relishing its calmer vibe, lushly landscaped pathways, mellower poolside scene, and hushed hallways. It already felt like dwelling.

Right here, my full overview of Rosewood Baha Mar within the Bahamas.

The Rooms

The resort is formed like a horseshoe with 226 visitor rooms, all with no less than one personal terrace, divided between two towers (professional tip: the east tower will get higher sundown views). Rooms on flooring one via six are thought-about backyard views, owing to the thick cover of palm timber that develop within the courtyard, whereas these on flooring seven to 12 have ocean views. The visitor rooms are adorned in a Bahamian manor model with nautical touches—assume white shiplap partitions, rattan furnishings, white porches, and beachy paintings.

My customary ocean-view room was a beneficiant 500 sq. ft and furnished with a four-poster king mattress, a three-seat sectional couch, a writing desk, ample closet area for 2, and a glass hutch that held a Nespresso espresso maker, artwork books, and diverse collectible figurines. The marble-lined lavatory had a separate bathe and water closet, together with double pocket doorways that permit in pure gentle if you happen to’re soaking within the deep tub.

Massive suites and standalone villas are additionally accessible, together with a six-bedroom, 6,200-square-foot residence with an infinity pool and chef-ready kitchen overlooking the seashore.

Meals and Drink

Rosewood Baha Mar has 5 eating places and bars, the most recent and arguably nicest being Café Boulud The Bahamas. It options a few of chef Daniel Boulud’s basic French dishes, served in a good-looking eating room full of Bahamanian artworks. Costa provides refined Mexican dishes in plantation-style cabanas set over a koi pond and surrounded by palm timber.

Simply previous the foyer are The Library, a light-filled lounge for breakfast and afternoon tea, and the Manor Bar, a wood-paneled saloon that serves smokey cocktails. Probably the most informal is Tingum on the Sand, a restaurant for conventional Bahamian breakfast and lunch.

If none of these fit your style, Baha Mar has over 20 different eating places to select from, together with a kosher Asian Latino grill, a haute Chinese language restaurant, an artisanal pizzeria, and a chophouse by Marcus Samuelsson.

Actions and Experiences

It’s all about being close to the water, and Rosewood Baha Mar provides three major areas for that. The fan-shaped cabana pool is about within the courtyard and provides loads of locations to learn, take a dip, or drink cocktails. The squiggly-shaped lagoon pool is nearer to the ocean and invitations extra kid- and family-friendly play. Then there’s Cable Seashore, well-known for its gentle white sand. A non-public space is roped off for Rosewood friends and provides more room and nicer seashore chairs than its neighbors.

Whichever spot you select, seashore and pool attendants will arrange your chairs, regulate your umbrella because the solar strikes, and convey contemporary juices, lobster rolls, gelato—even Champagne with French fries—on the push of a button. Day beds and cabanas may be reserved for a further value.

The resort’s well-equipped health middle is on the decrease flooring, whereas train lessons are held outside frequently, together with flamingo yoga on Sundays (with precise flamingos).

The complete menu of experiences accessible at Baha Mar is simply too lengthy to record, however every room is supplied with a pill that lets friends make bookings straight, whether or not it’s court docket time on the new John McEnroe Tennis Heart or a half-day boating journey with a reef knowledgeable.

The Spa

Sense, Rosewood’s in-house spa, has seven rooms that provide Bahamian-inspired remedies. The Gullah Geechee Tea Tox is a 90-minute session that features a cleaning sizzling drink constituted of Indigenous vegetation, and a detoxifying physique rub with neem oil. Facials, manicures, pedicures and aromatherapies are additionally accessible.

Household-friendly Choices 

Whereas all the resort is already family-friendly, the resort does supply a number of kid-specific perks. Rosewood Explorers is a clubhouse with supervised actions, equivalent to sandcastle constructing, kite flying, pizza making, finger portray, and marching in a Junkanoo parade. Three classes are held every day, and don’t require superior reservations or added charges—which suggests you possibly can drop off the troublemaker on the final second.  Different made-for-children actions embrace cooking lessons, a wildlife sanctuary with stingrays and sea turtles, and a mini-golf course. 

Accessibility and Sustainability 

There are accessible king rooms on the decrease flooring with wider doorways, handlebars for the bathroom and bathe, a switch bathe with a seat, a decrease sink self-importance, in addition to decrease gentle and air-conditioning controls.

Sustainability efforts embrace a ban on single-use, in-room plastics, reusable stainless-steel water bottles (which friends can hold), and water refill stations all through the resort, together with the seashore.

Location 

Every part at Baha Mar is inside strolling distance. The resort is large, so snug sneakers are really helpful for anybody planning to discover. Native taxis can be found, however Uber and Lyft will not be.

The way to Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep 

Rosewood Baha Mar doesn’t supply any loyalty packages, however the resort is a part of American Categorical’ High quality Accommodations & Resorts assortment. Rosewood Elite is an invitation-only program accessible to pick journey advisors, and it comes with perks like room upgrades, resort credit, and early check-ins.