So, you’ve likely read the many reviews on Baha Mar. You know that Atlantis is akin to MGM Grand Las Vegas while Baha Mar is akin to Aria. You know that everything is going to be 25% more than what you had initially priced out because of the 15% automatic gratuities that are added to everything and the variety of VAT taxes that will be assessed. You probably know that your quoted room rate is just the tip of the iceberg because you’ll also need to add the daily twenty-dollar-and-change housekeeping fee plus the $60’ish resort fee. Bottom line … it’s a great place to vacation but it’s going to be pricey. On our end, our party is a mom, dad, a 14-yr old girl and a 12-yr old boy. Here are a few tips to perhaps stretch your dollars out a bit more here at Baha Mar. We stayed at the Grand Hyatt, so these observations mostly focus on that property. 1. Don’t be afraid to plan meals at the fast-casual Chinese restaurant (Stix) and the fast-casual Italian restaurant (Pizza Lab) as the food there is actually quite good. For the 4 of us, eating at any of the fine dining spots (more on that later) would routinely bring the bill to over $200 (and we didn’t order any alcohol!) once the VAT and gratuities were added. You could probably keep the bill to about $120 or so at these fast-casual but no less delicious eateries. I can’t comment on the only other fast-casual, Sugar Factory, as we never ate there. 2. Of the all the fine dining restaurants we tried (which included Cinko, Cleo, Fi’lia), our dollars went farthest at Cleo. That’s the Mediterranean restaurant located on the SLS side. I say this because they offer a Mezze platter for 2 for $120. It consists of several proteins and sides and I think that it was enough to feed our family of four (although we did add in one more appetizer). So, perhaps two Mezze platters for a party of 6 adults could be enough. In any case, this was the only dinner that we had where the total bill came in under $200 and we felt full (I think the bill was about $175). Moreover, it’s not that it was the only meal that held value, but I thought it was the tastiest of the three restaurants that we tried. 3. Breakfast? Hmmm… Starbucks is always reliable and not really overpriced. Café Madeleine is very good and reasonable and something you should try, although the selections are a bit limited (their best items are the honey-infused fruit plate and the French toast; we were able to get breakfast for under $100 after the VAT and gratuity). If you need a buffet though, there are two. The Regatta and the aforementioned Cleo. IMHO, Regatta is the better option. There are more food options on display. But, in keeping with stretching your dollar, this one is the better value overall. Cleo is $10 more per adult, with a price tag of $55. Also, Cleo’s “adult” pricing starts at 6 years old. Regatta comes in at $44 for an adult, $15 for any child 11 and under. Regatta gets the nod here on every level that counts. 4. The housekeeping fee includes up to 4 bottles of Dasani water brought to your room every day. And, you’re going to want water. Even if you didn’t finish the water from the night before, hide the unopened ones so that housekeeping gives you four more when they clean the room. If you totally run out of water, you can actually find complimentary bottles of Dasani in the Departure Lounge (Grand Hyatt West, lobby level). Obviously, don’t abuse this secret. Take one bottle if you need one. Don’t be THAT tourist. If you purchase Dasani from somewhere on property, that will cost about $4. 5. There is actually a place where you can get some “free” drinks. And, that’s at the entrance of the Grand Hyatt West lobby entrance (by the bell hop). Between 11a’ish and 4:30’ish every day, there is someone there who will gladly give you a cup of either punch (non-alcoholic) or rum punch. There is no tip jar there, but I know that leaving them $1 is something they’d appreciate. Every time I walked from one part of the hotel to the other, I would find a way to make my way past this punch station. It probably saved me $50 in drinks a day that I would’ve spent otherwise at a bar. 6. The casino – although I admit my lack of planning costs me in this department, but I don’t usually bring loads of cash to a casino nor do I establish casino credit. If I feel like I want to play, I usually will take money out of my credit card (I have a card through my credit union that I keep handy solely for this purpose). I bring this up because the fee for withdrawing from your credit card here at Baha Mar is 3% of the amount withdrawn. That is actually incredibly reasonable. Here in Washington DC at the nearby MGM Grand National Harbor, that fee is 7%. And, most of the casino properties in Las Vegas levy 5%. 7. Invest in an afternoon at the Beach Club within the water park. Let’s assume that you plan to be at the water park all day. Let’s also keep in mind that we have the mom/dad/two kids scenario. This Beach Club is a premium experience within the water park. It’s a private area where you can rent an all-day chaise lounge chair for one adult ($100); a two-person day bed ($200); or a cabana (not sure of costs). This private area gives you access to their gorgeous infinity pool and a private bathroom area. But what made this worth it for us is that the entire $200 (we rented the day bed) can be used as food credit while you’re there. The food comes from a beachfront restaurant called 25 Degrees North, so the food is “high-end” as opposed to coming from a hot dog stand / burger stand. Technically, we purchased the day bed so only two of us are allowed in that private area. But the monitors are pretty lax about letting kids come in and out to connect with their parents. In any case, the kids would probably just check in with their parents, grab some food, and then head back to the main water park anyway. So, the $200 entry for us equated to good food throughout the day, private time for mom and dad, wading in the infinity pool (or joining up with the kids in the water park). BTW, while I say it’s $200, it’ll be $250 when you get the bill due to the VAT and auto gratuity. 8. Finally, consider whether this (or Atlantis) is where you really want to go. Let’s say you’re a solo business traveler and you find that you have meetings to attend / work to do from 9a-5p. You won’t then be able to enjoy the water park or the swimming pools (they all close at 6p). Do you then really need to stay at a property like this (as well as Atlantis) that charges $80’ish extra dollars for water park access and 4 bottles of Dasani daily? Or maybe your goal is to try the local island cuisine (like the restaurants of the Fish Fry where a taxi ride will be $22 one way there) more than just once. You may just want to find a different property all-together in downtown Nassau where you can still enjoy the island vibes and proximity to Bahamian culture without being charged all those fees for services you won’t really use and taxi costs that you can otherwise avoid.…
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.