Rosewood Baha Mar Bahamas Lodge Evaluation

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 might get my bearings, my rolling suitcase was already ready for me on the entrance desk, and a receptionist supplied a selection of two welcome drinks: a Flamingo mocktail or a Switcha, an area limeade spiked with rum.

Baha Mar, the 1,000-square-acre upscale resort within the Bahamas, is a wonderful 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, infinite poolside lounge chairs with cabana attendants, and three motels, 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 way in which: the place to ebook water adventures, find out how to open my terrace door, and find out how to unlock the room with my grey wristband.

After a chunk 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 non-public seashore membership, a thousand slot machines, a round pier, uphill water coasters, a swim-up aquarium with sharks and tropical fish, meals vehicles, jet skis, celebrity-branded eating places, swimming swimming pools of all sizes, and a white sandy seashore with cerulean blue waters. In all places I seemed, there have been households swimming, consuming, procuring, ingesting, laughing, browsing, tanning, and Instagramming—it was fairly a feast for the senses.

By the point I lastly acquired 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 house.

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

The Rooms

The lodge is formed like a horseshoe with 226 visitor rooms, all with a minimum of one non-public terrace, divided between two towers (professional tip: the east tower will get higher sundown views). Rooms on flooring one by 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 embellished in a Bahamian manor model with nautical touches—suppose white shiplap partitions, rattan furnishings, white porches, and beachy paintings.

My customary ocean-view room was a beneficiant 500 sq. toes 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 various collectible figurines. The marble-lined rest room had a separate bathe and water closet, together with double pocket doorways that allow in pure gentle in the event you’re soaking within the deep tub.

Giant suites and standalone villas are additionally obtainable, 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 traditional French dishes, served in a good-looking eating room stuffed with Bahamanian artworks. Costa presents 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. Essentially 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 presents three essential areas for that. The fan-shaped cabana pool is about within the courtyard and presents 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 smooth white sand. A personal space is roped off for Rosewood company and presents extra space and nicer seashore chairs than its neighbors.

Whichever spot you select, seashore and pool attendants will arrange your chairs, alter 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 could be reserved for an extra value.

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

The complete menu of experiences obtainable at Baha Mar is simply too lengthy to record, however every room is supplied with a pill that lets company make bookings instantly, whether or not it’s courtroom time on the new John McEnroe Tennis Middle or a half-day boating journey with a reef professional.

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 crops, and a detoxifying physique rub with neem oil. Facials, manicures, pedicures and aromatherapies are additionally obtainable.

Household-friendly Choices 

Whereas your entire resort is already family-friendly, the lodge does supply a number of kid-specific perks. Rosewood Explorers is a clubhouse with supervised actions, similar 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 embody 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 embody a ban on single-use, in-room plastics, reusable stainless-steel water bottles (which company can preserve), and water refill stations all through the lodge, together with the seashore.

Location 

The whole lot at Baha Mar is inside strolling distance. The resort is big, so comfy sneakers are advisable for anybody planning to discover. Native taxis can be found, however Uber and Lyft usually are not.

How one can Get the Most Worth Out of Your Keep 

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