We just returned from 6 nights at the Sheraton. During our stay we were able to see rooms in the Westin too. Here is the bottom line ------if you are on a budget and do not mind a few carpet stains, missing towels and a few loud guests on weekends, then stay in the Sheraton. For the price, you get all the same outside amenities as those paying over 2x as much at the Westin. You can even use the nicer beach towels at the Westin since even the towel cards are identical. Also, you have access to all the same pools, beachfront etc..

However --- if really want an ocean view, then spend the $$$$ and stay in a full ocean view room at the Westin. The view is spectacular. The rooms are nicer too. You will however pay over 2x as much as the Sheraton. We opted to pay less and did not regret our choice.

I rated the property "above average" overall because of the gorgeous beach and surrounding pool area. The outside is incredibly beautiful and derserves an "excellent." The rooms at the Sheraton were ok; about like a Hampton or Holiday Inn and I would rate them "Average."

Instead of tipping at the end, we opted to leave a smaller tip every day and found that the housekeeping staff did a nice job cleaning the room and replacing defective items (coffee maker, remote etc...) and replacing towels.

Based on other reviews on this site I was expecting the staff to be unhelpful or unfriendly. We found that if we started off any conversation with "hello and how are you" and ended with "thank you" etc that the staff went out of their way to be nice.

Now, about eating. If you are selective about where you eat, you can find some nice places to dine. We only at at one resort restaurant, Portobellos. It was expensive, but good. Expect to pay $50 a person for drinks, appetizers, meal and dessert.

At the marketplace, our favorite nightime meals were enjoyed at La Dolce Vita. Expect to pay $30-50 a person depending on whether you have wine, drinks etc. The staff was excellent and did a fine job timing orders. If you like Italian food, this is the place to go. The bread pudding with carmel sauce was incredible.

Also recommended is Le Med. We enjoyed some appetizers for lunch one day. With wine, the bill came to $40.

For breakfast, we heard Zorbas was good. We ate at Breezes and found the food to be ok; but the price was nice at only $12 for two

Overall, I would recommend this resort as long as you pick the type of room that suites you best. The grounds and beach front are very nice and there is some good dining if you are selective. Also, based on weather, April seems to be a nice time of year to go. The daytime temps were 75-80 degrees and the ocean was a comfortable but refreshing temperature.

April 24, 2006: Just got back from 6 days at Sheraton Lucaya, Grand Bahamas. Family of 4 - (2 middle school aged children). We had a partial all inclusive package for meals which I would strongly recommend. Food IS EXPENSIVE! We booked through Custom Classic Vacations and the travel agent recommend this. We more than made up for the cost. For $300 we had all breakfasts included, 1 dinner at Churchills (very expensive and very good resturant) and 1 Family dinner at one of the remaining 4 choices of resturants on the property along with a couples full body massage at the Westin Spa and welcome wine and cheese. We had a deluxe ocean front room on the 4th floor that was clean, freshly decorated and comfortable. The property has many options between the Westin and the Sheraton Grounds including ocean front sports such as water skiing, jet skis, parasailing, banana boats and sailing. The beaches are prettier than Hawaii. Just like the picture on the microsoft screen saver! It was in the 80's and sunny every single day to the point where we were seeking out shade! Staff was very couretous and the Island is very friendly, safe and clean. If I were to go back with my husband I would definitely stay on the Westin property but the Sheraton is definitely geared towards all the "activities focused on families". Would we go back? Definitely!

Surroundings are beautiful (beach, pools, layout of the property which includes Sheraton and Westin) but the attitudes of the Bahama locals can ruin it for you. We didn't notice it much a couple of years ago when we (my husband and I) were there without our kids (due to many umbrella drinks?), but this time we were traveling with our 4 kids for Spring Break (ages 7 to 14). We had most of our meals across the street at the Port Lucayan marketplace due to the really high prices on the resort property ($10 kids meals and $18 adult sandwiches for lunch can put you in the $80 range for a lunchtime even WITHOUT an umbrella drink!). People on the resort were polite (a few were even friendly) but few locals working at the Subway, Dunkin Donuts, etc. in the marketplace would even LOOK at you let alone listen to your order. They seemed to be offended at having a customer even show up. And Dunkin Donuts doesn't make many donuts, so don't get your hopes up! If you want to spend the money and eat dinner at any of the resort restaurants make sure you pack long pants for your husband/boyfriend... and a collared shirt & coat. They're strict about dress. And not all the restaurants are open every night - so check before you make plans.

There's a "no" fee ATM machine on the lowest floor of the Sheraton but it is HARD to find. If you head towards Barracudas entrance and pass the Tour desk on your left and keep walking you'll see it on your left. No one will want to tell you about it - - but you'll NEED it when you go through all your cash!

The rooms are average and both rooms had A/C units that leaked water all over the balconies and INSIDE the room. And they're LOUD. The free internet connectivity was terrific and allowed us to let the kids use the laptop for games and sending notes home to family. We brought PS2 and gamecube but the TV monitors in the rooms don't allow you to hook up to them.

The busses to get around outside the resort property are a bargain - $1.00 a trip... but you won't want to take them into town unless you REALLY need something (like we needed Tylenol/Motrin for children because the pharmacies across the street were OUT). It just doesn't feel safe...

We won't go back.... the kids had fun being in the water all day and having the freedom to roam the property, but for the money we could have been on an all-inclusive cruise (which we did last year for Spring Break - and will probably do again) or done an all-inclusive in Cancun/Belize/DomRep. At $299/night a room + resort fees, taxes, etc. it's just too much for what you get.

We stayed at the Sheraton from April 10 thru the 13th. When I first arrived I was not that impressed by the lobby. We arrived about 1:00 in the afternoon and had to wait on a long line to check in. The hotel never received our reservation so our name could not be found, I can't blame the hotel for this, but after about an hour everything got resolved. I went across the street to eat lunch at Zorbas which was average. When we got back at 3:00, there was such a long wait to check in, so we had to stand in line again, and were finally assigned our room. The hallways were not very nice, but once we were inside our room, it was very nice room. We were at the top floor because we are Starwood members. We had a beautiful view of the ocean and pool. The beds were very comfortable, but the bathroom, very, very small. The food at the hotel was very expensive, so we ate alot across the street. Be very careful of some restaurants because they do not take any credit cards, cash only. We were very surprised at that. We ate at International Sports Bar, and at the end of our meal we were told no credit cards, we gave him whatever cash we had on us, luckily, we had enough to cover the food but no tip. I think they should have told us that before the meal. But do not eat there, my stomach did not feel well that night. The pools by the Sheraton was very nice and cleans, other reviews complained about loud music but it was extremely quiet when we were there. At the Westin they have a heated pool and it was more crowded there. The big building there was so ugly it looked like a cruise ship, I am so glad we did not stay there. The Bahamians were very nice, if you were nice to them. Overall, our stay was average.