I was lucky enough to stay here for 10 days in November 2018 when I won a package to a poker tournament, Baha Mar had just been built then and was an immense size and the service and hospitality were second to none, real 5 star service. Fast forward to 2023 and I'm back again for 7 nights to play probably the best tourney of the year and its only January! Baha Mar now has added water park which looks amazing, I only say that because I am ashamed to say I didn't partake in what is one of my favourite things to do, but to be fair I was quite busy playing poker, swimming with piggies and attending all the bloody parties, anyway we were going to go there as a crew on the last day but the only day of torrential rain happened then so scuppered that, but is obviously great and your room wristband gets you free entry so it's a very nice bonus. In Bahamas a local phrase is 'I got you' and they really do, the only thing more beautiful than the views in the Bahamas is the people…
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.…
It’s near impossible to accommodate the perfect vacation stay for every traveler, but if you know a resort with more than what the Baha Mar has to offer please shoot me those details.. The staff was the most polite and professional I’ve seen in some time. Nicole at check in, Christoper at the blackjack table, the wonderful ladies who checked us in at a fully booked Fi’lia and last but not least #Peaches at the Piano bar are amongst the best. A special shout out to Zack for keeping the entire resort happy and laughing all weekend long. ‘Til our group sees your again…. rfk
Check in took over 5 hours and staff did nothing to accommodate me. I didn’t receive my room until 8pm. I was supposed to get early check in with discoverist but instead they didn’t give me my room until 8. Had to attend an event and had to change in the bathroom since room wasn’t ready. Check out took almost an hour and nearly missed my flight as a result. They added extra charges onto my bill that I didn’t buy. Breakfast cost over $100 for two people and was very subpar. Server at the swimming pig restaurant screamed at me because someone else took my order. The list goes on. Service is very bad, property is amazing and room is amazing. But everything else terrible. I’ve stayed at hyatts all over the world and love all of them but this one.
Baha Mar struggles with it’s identity. During the day, there is a lot for kids to do such as water park, beautiful pools with a cove/aquarium, animal experiences, etc. At night, there is not much for them to do besides mini-golf or dropping them off at the Kids discovery club for $25/hr per kid. It’s basically Vegas at night. We were unimpressed with the rooms. Bathrooms offer zero privacy without door locks and a private toilet area. The rooms were either too cold or too hot whe HVAC was on. Lighting in the room is strange with placement of switches in random spots. Staff wasn’t overly helpful. The place is like a maze and doesn’t have sufficient signage on how to find places. Everything is extremely expensive food wise. Starbucks will cost you $50 for a family of 4. We went to Sugar Factory as a family of 4 and it was $200 without any alcohol (4 dinners and a desert). The upscale restaurants you need reservations for well in advance and I’m sure will be very costly. The grounds are Beautifiul and there is definitely a lot to see and do. We liked the complimentary Pink Flamingo March and Water Park. I wouldn’t rush back here. I’ve stayed at much nicer resorts for less money.…
We went to the Hyatt with large expectations as many from work were talking about it. The check in process was long. We got moved from the east to the west tower line up but staff seems just not responsive and simply slow. There was someone behind the counter just talking to someone else instead of helping us in line. We got to our room and it seemed worn down. The duvet cover had two holes in it and the sheets seems pretty worn. The pillows were also not great. I went down stairs to see what they could do and was met with, “So what do you want me to do about it”. No smile, no solution. But a ton of attitude. Then she offered me a suite which would have cost another 600 a night! Are you kidding me? She finally asked after 10 minutes if we wanted to move to the east tower but kept saying the room was smaller and your view will be bad. The staff just didn’t seem to care. Gratuity is automatic so I guess that means customer service does not mean anything.. The resort was okay. Food was meh at best. There is nothing for kids at night. The water park was good, the beach was alright. I expected way more and honestly wish it had met my expectations. …
This resort is pure luxury. It is not for the frugal minded but well worth the expense. The property is absolutely beautiful and kept extremely clean at all times-even the heavily used common areas. The water park area has something for all ages. The restaurants were outstanding. Marcus Samuelsson has a food truck and a Fish and Chop House at the resort. While I did not eat at the food truck, I was able to get a reservation at The Fish and Chop House. This experience was elevated due to the fact that Marcus was actually cooking there that night and I was able to meet him. The food was tremendously wonderful. I was also able to eat at the Italian restaurant which was first class. The service over the entire resort was outstanding, including the pool attendants, bartenders, and housekeeping staff. About the only negative I can give is that the cocktail waitresses were few and far between in the Casino. Aside from that I would recommend this resort if you are willing to spend a little more on a vacation.…
Overall not as modern as I expected a resort opened in 2017 would be. No digital keys, or other modern applications, signing receipts and filling out name, room#, etc. for each transaction - more of a 90s vibe. Very nice pool area, water park and beach. Good quality and nice selection in the restaurants, unfortunately the menu posted in the Baja Mar app often was outdated and in the restaurants we would see slightly different options/prices (for example the menu online listed a 20oz surf and turf and in the steakhouse menu the price stayed the same, but was now 16oz).
We absolutely had the best time. All the beautiful pools, the water park , the beach and most of all the employees. This trip was a big deal to us. I had a CME meeting, but my children and grandchildren all joined us. It was our first big out of the country trip since Covid and let me tell you it was Sooo nice.! The pools are super, especially Dean’s Blue Hole, my little grandson cried everyday when he had to get out of the pool. The bar on that side also has really good margaritas. The service on the beach is spot on and servers are so nice. It can be a little crowded but the employees will always help you set up a spot with the (free) umbrellas. Bahama Mama drinks out on the beach are really good The water park is really fun, the way to go is renting the daybeds at the ocean club. You get whatever you spend back on food and drink and service is fabulous!! Just be careful getting off water slides because pavement can be a bit slick. Restaurants are on the pricey but you are trading convenience of just walking from your room down to dinner. Out favorite was Costa. I just also want to say that we were most impressed with how nice everyone was at the resort. We never walked by anyone who did not say hello with a beautiful smile. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful trip.…
Beautiful hotel! Vegas style. Appreciated the complimentary water and coffee in our room. Very clean. Staff very kind and friendly. Very pricy to rent tennis or pickle ball courts/equipment so did not play. Beach and pool were great once you figure out the where you can sit (VIP areas!) The waterpark was lots of fun. Great stay!
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