we stayed with our 2 kids 8 and 11 for 5 nights from Dec 24 to 29. We had the deluxe room with two queen bed. The room was neat and clean with an amazing view of he ocean and the pool.
The Reception is a long wait, i noticed this is vey common in Bahamas - "its their way of life".- laid back
The corridors were outdated and needs upgrades, Has just 1 elevator for the entire hotel, so be prepared to walk. No fridge in the room, can get one at $10 per day. No wireless in the room but has wired internet connection for free.The lobby internet is very slow for any mobile devices. No coin laundry on site, have to use their service.
The beach is the probably the best I have seen, clean, soft sand and blue water. All the water sport is included in the room price except for skidoo. Lots of beach chairs available, no need to reserve one.The swimming pool was cold, they should have heated pools. The hot tub is too small. The food is expensive and not much choice. The pizzas were the worst we ever tasted. There is a good thai restaurant walking distance average price for a dish is $18. 10 mins walk to grocery store and more eating place.
Take a bus just outside the lobby to "FISH FRY" $1.25 each way , thats where the locals hang out for food and most tourist visit Fish Fry for cheap food, it is basic but tasty, ambience is not classy but worth the price. We had the Lobster with pea rice and plantain $25. Beware the bus stops at 7pm, you have to take a cab $20 to hotel.
DO NOT get caught with "Royal holiday" they will offer you free lunch and $100 to see their presentation for 90 minutes, you will be stuck for 4 hours. They say its not time share but its the same crap in a different way. They have terrible reviews. we got sucked into buying but got it canceled next day, I hope we get our money back.
We would definitely go back to stay here, even though its pricy $230 per night its pretty decent definitely not a 4 star.

After reading some other reviews my husband and I were a little concerned about choosing this hotel for our 2nd honeymoon, but our concerns were completely unwarranted! Our plane was delayed and as a result we checked into our hotel at around 11pm while there was a wedding reception going on. A bell hop greeted us at the taxi door and helped us with the luggage. Once we entered the hotel we were immediately greeted once again and were able to check in only a matter of minutes. Even though there were multiple weddings going on that weekend our room was very quiet and peaceful. The bed was extremely comfortable and the view was gorgeous! The concierge was able to set us up with Blue Lagoon sea lion tour (recommended!). More importantly, I have a severe life-threatening food allergy and because of this I ate at the restaurants at the two hotels for the duration of my stay. The hotel was able to accomodate me with a smile and because of their carefully controlled food practices I was able to eat at their buffet which I am usually unable and unwilling to do because of the risk of cross contamination. My husband and I enjoyed the spa, the HEATED CENTER pool, the heated hot tub, and the drinks from the bar were excellent. Our room key was inspected before we entered the elevator every time and the hotel was in a good location. Although there was construction from the new resort I never heard any noise. The hotel staff were friendly and attentive to our needs. The only complaint I had was that there was a severe thunderstorm that closed the airport which delayed our arrival and because of this there were some leaks in the hotel around our sliding glass door and in a hallway. When we alerted the front desk they immediately apologized, explained the storm, and offered us another room. The leak from the storm was patched up by the next morning. I would stay again.

.... But yes, the Bahamas can be expensive!!

My fiancee and I stayed at Sheraton Nassau for five nights, the week before Christmas 2012. It is mentioned in the reviews and when you book, but know going in that there is a $40 per night "service fee" that will be due at check out.

Also, as 95% of what the islands consume is imported, food is very expensive. We didn't leave the resort property to go shopping, but we were told a gallon of milk is $8-$10, etc. The hotel cafe food and restaurants are pricey too. We paid $6.02 for a small bottle of orange juice from the Caribe Cafe, including the mandatory gratuity (which is included even when you only purchase a souvenir at the gift shop or packaged food at the cafe). A 15-18% gratuity is automatically added on to every service bill at the restaurants. We ate at the Italian restaurant once, and the Dolphin Grill for lunch -- both had limited selection but were very good food. The full breakfast buffet is excellent and recommended if you want to pay for it, but it costs $18 a person for continental and $25 a person for the full hot breakfast.

As long as you know what the prices are before going and prepare accordingly, you will get a great Caribbean experience at this resort. The hotel is very nice, the lobby is beautiful and was decorated with Christmas lights while we were there. The rooms were standard, clean enough (cleanliness is especially important to us when we travel!) and the beds were comfy. The balconies are small but get the job done, we only had one chair but we were mostly just standing anyway to take in the breeze and the view. We booked a Resort View room but ours had a good partial ocean view (we didn't ask to be upgraded, so we were surprised!) and the view of the water every morning was gorgeous. We kept the door open most of the time we were in the room and we could hear the waves outside.

Housekeeping staff was pleasant and said good morning to us each day, no one was rude or no significant service problems. Our room was kept clean, we had fresh towels and soap daily. The front desk staff was friendly, answered all our questions, and no long delays or waiting in line beyond the average.

All in all, it's not a luxury all-inclusive resort, but I don't think it needs to be. After all, you are in the Bahamas to enjoy the beaches! Cable Beach is absolutely gorgeous. There are picture perfect turquoise waters, soft white sand and plenty of beach chairs to lay on. If you want some more activity, there are paddle boats, kayaks and jet skis to rent right on the beach. There is also the beach bar (though beware, the cheapest beer is $8.50 a can for the Bahaman Kalik beer) There are some vendors selling dresses and trying to book tour groups, but if you catch the Coconut Man I suggest trying one of his Bahama Mamas in a fresh coconut.

If you are looking for beautiful beaches and a relaxing Caribbean experience, I recommend Sheraton Nassau!

After reading some of the other reviews on here about the Sheraton we were a little hesitant but pulled the trigger because we found a great deal on Hotwire.com (which included ALL resort fees, I did not have to pay a cent at check-out/check-in). We stayed for 4 nights during december 2012.

My wife and daughter and I had a wonderful time. Yes the hotel is not a 4 star by American standard, but people, YOU ARE NOT IN AMERICA, you are in Nassau. You need to relax, smile, be polite, be patient and not expect to be wrapped in a warm blanket and have your hand held constantly like we are fortunate to be treated here in the good old USA.

We found the people to be very warm and hospitable and if you treat them the way you like to be treated, then you get the same back.

ok here is my actual review:

Hotel - Checking in was quick and easy (although there was only 1 couple in front of us). The lady at reception was very friendly.

We requested a room with a King bed but she ended up letting us choose between a King or 2 Double beds. After reading reviews on TripAdvisor, we asked her for a room on a high floor near the elevators and she gave us a room on the 8th floor. The view from our balcony was absolutely AMAZING.

The room itself was fine. Nothing fancy, but perfect for our needs. After all, when you are in the Bahamas you won't be spending too much time in your room. The room had a flat screen TV, 2 double beds (my wife and shared one and it was fine), a chair and a desk. Yes it was outdated compared to most modern USA hotel rooms, but NO BIG DEAL.

The only con was that the plug in the bath tub did not close properly. NO BIG DEAL, we improvised and placed a plastic cup over it and let the water pressure seal it and WA LA, problem solved.

The room also does not have wireless access, NO BIG DEAL, we read about this beforehand so we brought our laptop with to use the tethered connection and it worked perfectly. There is wireless down in the lobby that we used for our iPHones and it worked perfectly as well.

One morning, we got to the room after housekeeping had been there, they did not replace the bath towels we had used, NO BIG DEAL, I walked down the hallway, found the housekeeping lady and politely requested more towels and she apologized and brought us new ones within the next 20 mins and was very polite throughout. It did not happen again during our stay.

We ate breakfast every morning at the Caribe Cafe, the bacon, egg and cheese english muffins were about $6. Overpriced yes, but not totally ridiculous. We ate breakfast there every day and it cost us around $21-$24 for the 3 of us. We would also have lunch there as the sandwiches were around $9-$10 (cheaper than anywhere else at the resort)

We never once ate dinner at any hotel restaurant as we would catch the Jitney (bus) down to the Fish Fry for $1.25 and have dinner there. We would have to catch a cab back though because the Jitney stops running at 7pm. The Fish Fry was great, we ate at Twin Brothers (the seafood platter was not that great) and at Frankie Gone Bananas (was much better, our favorite Fish Fry restaraunt).

DO NOT TAKE THE TAXIS downtown, simply because they charge around $20, when you can catch the local Jitney bus (number 10) for $1.25. We used the Jitney bus a lot, and loved it, was more of a local experience.

On one occassion we were waiting at the bus stop and a taxi stopped and he said he would take us downtown for the same price as the Jitney. He was wonderful, gave us a tour and when we asked to be dropped off at the road leading to the Ardastra zoo ( a 3 min walk), he dropped us off at the zoo instead. All for the same price as the bus.

The beach is awesome, lots of deck chairs (yes some are old but NO BIG DEAL, they are still comfortable). We swam just about every day in the pools and in the water. It was december but the water was still warm enough to swim.

To the people who complained about the water being too cold, grow a pair. Seriously. My 8 year old daughter could last about 30 mins before she would get out, warm up a bit, then jump back in. And this is in middle of December when we would otherwise be freezing here in the USA.

I paid $50 to go snorkelling in the G-Man boat and despite the high price it was AMAZING. They drop you off at a reef next to the Sandals island and give you about an hour. I saw Stingrays, Barracuda, Nemo, and tons and tons of tropical fish. Was glad I did it afterwards, initially I was reluctant about the high price. The next day there were a few more people so he charged me $40.

Yes a lot of people want to sell you stuff, but if you politely (but sternly) say no thank you and keep walking, then they leave you alone, NO BIG DEAL. Not once did we feel harassed. At the end of the day, remember that most of the people are just trying to put food on their tables. We are much more fortunate here in the USA than they are. Keep that in mind, and stay humble and patient.

Not once did we not feel safe as some of our sheltered fellow Americans have said in their reviews. Even at night time downtown and near the Fish Fry (where I read reviews from ppl complaining about this). But at the same time don't go walking around with $100 bills coming out your pocket, use common sense. In fact, the most boisterous/annoying people we came across were the kids from the cruise ships who were all drunk due to the lenient drinking laws in Nassau.

To conclude, we had a FANTASTIC time. The biggest con of our vacation is that everything is PRICEY, but if you do some research ahead of time, you can still find a lot of good value and have a great time without blowing over your budget. Some good value options are catching the bus everywhere, drinking at the Daq shack (went there twice a day), bring some snacks with you from the US, buy at the liquor store not at the hotel itself, etc.

Come with an open mind and adapt to the island culture (leave the American culture behind) and you will love it.

Can't wait to go back to Nassau