How We Got There

We flew from Pensacola to Nassau.  The beauty of Baha Mar is that it is a quick 10 minute drive from the Nassau airport to the resort.  It makes it super easy to get to which is very appealing.  We had good luck with Cheryl’s Bahamas Taxi & Tours Service.  She has several different size vehicles which was helpful because we were a group of 14 when we were all together.  You can email her at cherylfoxferguson@live.com or call 1-242-423-4982.

Where We Stayed

We booked at the Hyatt at Baha Mar. We were happy to at the least expensive of the 3 resorts since we had a slew of kids with us.  For our room, I decided to choose between two adjoining rooms or one queen bedroom suite.  We are a family of five and really can’t all squeeze into one room anymore.  We opted to go with the one bedroom suite and ended up being very happy with it.  The room was extremely spacious and we had a 2nd bathroom, a big living room, dining room and our own full kitchen.

The kids all decided to camp out in the living room, so Matt and I ended up having our own room basically.  The living room had a pull-out couch that my son slept on and then the girls ended up making pallets on the floor with the couch cushions.  I will show you a picture of how sweet the cleaning ladies made up their beds every day.  We also could have called for a rollaway if we ended up needing it, but we never did.  I think they charge $50/day for those.

This was our living area space transformed into the pull out couch plus little mini beds the housekeeping staff made for the girls using sofa cushions.  The kids loved it and they got to have one big slumber party.

Other Options:

There are two other resorts on the property.  You can stay at the SLS hotel or the Rosewood which is the priciest option.  Both look beautiful.  You have access to all the resorts on property, but the Rosewood does have its own private pool that only their guests are allowed to use.  SLS seems to be a little bit more of a “party scene” with one pool that turns into a Miami or Vegas style club scene.  I feel like that would be the hotel choice for bachelor/bachelorette parties, etc.  Rosewood is the swankiest of the hotels and would be a beautiful place to stay with family and they also have their own kids club there too.  I really don’t think you could go wrong with any of the 3 hotels.  They offer a great variety of price points and each a little different style.

I will say that the entire time we walked all around the Baha Mar property, we “ewwed and ahhed” over all the thoughtful details and the most gorgeous vegetation all over the property! Every cabana and each bathroom outdoors had the cutest style and they really didn’t miss a beat.   I really appreciated that.

Where We Ate

We made reservations for dinner every night before we our trip.  We were a group of 14, so I knew it would be really important to have reservations.  Even if you are a smaller group, I would highly recommend to go ahead and make reservations before you go.

There are sooo many dinner options, which makes it really nice. You can read all about them here.  Most of them let you book online to make reservations which is great; but if you have a larger party, you may have to call the restaurant to secure a reservation.

Dinners

Our first night we ate at the Sugar Factory which the kids thought was really cool.  I didn’t know what to expect for this one.  I didn’t realize it was a chain.  But the vibe is really fun and loud for kids and they serve these huge and extravagant desserts and also drinks that the kids are obsessed with.  The food was mostly just average to me, but the experience was cute for the kids.

Our next night we had dinner with everyone at Costa at the Rosewood hotel.  This place was so freaking cool and I highly recommend.  The adults and kids both loved.  They have koi fish ponds surrounding small little huts that have dining tables.  The kids were able to feed the fish throughout dinner and thought it was so much fun.  We also had some amazing food here.  The tuna ceviche appetizer was out of this world good!  We also had the lobster enchiladas that were so unique and delicious.

On the third night, we sent the kids to the kids club in the evening, and the 6 adults went out to dinner.  We had dinner at Shaung Ba in the Hyatt and it was one of the best food experiences.  We were put in this really great private room that had our own private bathroom which was so unique.  The table was round with a lazy Susan in the middle which made it so fun to eat all the food family style.  We loved the Kung pa chicken, the dumplings, and the duck.  I am pretty sure we had just about one of everything on the menu and it was all delicious! We also got to go hit up the Sky Bar at SLS which was so cool and then another really cute, quaint bar at the Rosewood that had live music, I forget the name.  Then it was time to pick up the kiddos from kids club.

On our last night, we had dinner at Marcus steak house, which is right on the beach.  We celebrated my son’s 10th birthday on this night and the restaurant was so accommodating.  We were in a partially private room and the kids had a little side door that they could run out of and go play on the beach.  We all had some really good meals here too.  The corn bread with bourbon butter was a huge hit! I think we went through about 8 of them for our table of 14.  We also loved the filet with lobster tail and the seafood pasta!

Breakfast

All-in-all, we had really wonderful food at the resort. I think our group was all so pleasantly surprised by how much we loved every meal.  That is such a bonus in my opinion because of course, nothing is inexpensive down there.  For breakfast, we either skipped it or we ate at the Swimming Pig one morning or Pizza Lab.  Both were good.  You also have the choice of two Starbucks on property, but I will tell you, the lines stay SO LONG!  I never chose to wait in them. And I never had any luck with either Starbucks allowing for mobile orders using their app.  I also tried to run into Cafe Madeline one morning which was a French coffee & bakery spot, but the line was out the door for that one too.

Room service is an option too.  We never ordered it to our room but my Brother & SIL did and they said as long as you ordered off the express menu (which I think had mostly kid stuff), they would guarantee it in 30 min or less.  Otherwise, the larger menu, you may wait an hour or so for room service.

Lunch

We ate lunch every day out by the pools on property except for the one day we did a boat excursion.  All of the food we had poolside really was great.  We had lunch by the Beach Club pool twice and then once by Dean’s Blue Hole pool.  Don’t forget that kids under 5 eat FREE!! The one day we went on the boat, we had lunch at Footprints which was so delicious. I loved this spot.  So if you go on a boat excursion, ask if you can go by Footprints for lunch!

Other Restaurants we heard were delicious but didn’t make it to…

Graycliffs in Nassau – this restaurant is off property but my husband went with his work crew before we got there and said it was so incredible.  I do think this may be more of an adult spot and it is a very well known spot in the Bahamas.  They have an incredible wine cellar, 3rd biggest in the world I believe.
Cafe Boulud – this is a French restaurant on property at the Rosewood that I heard was delicious and I was hoping to make it to but we ran out of time.

What We Did

BAHA MAR ACTIVITIES + EXPERIENCES

Baha Bay WaterPark – This was a must and the kids and adults had a ball.  I loved that the water park was big but not too big.  They had several great slide options, a lazy river, wave pool, kids slides, tube slides, boogie board/surf board experience and more! For the larger slides, you did have to be 48″ or taller.

Kids Club (ages 3-12) – Our kids did one evening session from 6:30pm to 10:30pm which was fun. They liked being with their cousins and friends and the adults were able to have dinner, check out a couple of the bars and even gamble a little bit!  The kids club is new with a state-of-the-art theater room where kids watch movies and play dance-based video games.  The Explorer’s Club programs are divided into three daily sessions: 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Each session costs $65 per child and they often give you the option to add food for each kid if it is during meal time.  They play games, do crafts and have themed days.

Flamingo Cay – The flamingos are so cute and the national bird of the Bahamas.  They do a parade around the property which was so funny and you can also pay to have an experience where you meet, touch, feed and take pictures with a few of the flamingos.

Mini Blue – 18 hole mini golf – Sadly we didn’t squeeze this in but we went and looked at it and it looked like so fun for the kids.   The hours were a little weird with some daytime hours and some evening, so check the times first.

Private Charter with Born Free  – Boat charter for 1/2 or full day. These guys were awesome and we loved our experience with them.

Raquet Club – This is one of the most beautiful tennis facilities that I have been too.  It is surrounded by the most beautiful vegetation and they have a mix of hard courts, soft and one grass court that was gorgeous.  You do need to reserve your court and you can also look into lessons, clinics, Pickleball, etc. They also have a full basketball court that is really nice.
The Sanctuary – We didn’t get a chance to do this on this trip but it is something the kids really wanted to do.  They have a really neat wildlife experience where the kids can see and feed the animals and enjoy the touch tank. They have multiple times throughout the day that you can sign up for at a price of $75 per person.
Cooking Classes –  They have a beautiful, modern, state-of-the-art kitchen that they offer cooking classes in.  They have adult classes or family interactive classes to enjoy.  This looks like a lot of fun and if we had more time, I would have loved this.

A few thoughts and tips

• If you are staying at Baha Mar, you have free admission in and out of the Baha Bay waterpark.
• Don’t forget that kids under 5 eat free!
• Book your dinner reservations before you arrive
• Consider stopping at a grocery store (Cheryls Car service will do that for you) and bringing some groceries to your hotel room to save on costs at the resort.
• The resort was good about leaving water bottles in your room each day which was really nice because they don’t recommend the tap water and its expensive to buy water at the resort. Ask housekeeping for water bottles if you need more.
• The larger slides at Baha Bay water park required 48″ in height.  They do have plenty for the younger kids too though.
• At check-in, the entire family received a rubber wrist band to wear for the duration of your stay that serves as your room key and a credit card to use throughout the resort.  This was really handy honestly and the kids loved being able to have their own.
• Make sure you make it to the Dean’s Blue Hole pool if you have kids.  They have a walk through aquarium that the kids loved and two spots where you can jump off the rocks into the pool. It is manned by a lifeguard.
• Download the Baha Mar app on your phone before you leave.  They have a map of the resort and you can book dining reservations as well.
• Bring your on sunscreen and PLENTY of it! One bottle of spray sunscreen could put you back $40 at the resort!! Its crazy.
• As for getting chairs by the pools, I would say if you are out there by 9am, you are definitely good to get chairs if you didn’t reserve them.  You can try placing your towel and a book or some personal item there if you want to save it for a bit while you are not there.  But they will come by and remove vacant towels if people have not been using their chairs after an hour or more.
• A 15% tip is included on all bills.  Don’t miss that. I wish they would have just added 18 or 20% if they were going to do that because then it just made it annoying to have to add a little more each time.
• Drinks are expensive! It was normal to grab Matt and I drink at a bar and sign a $50 tab for 2 drinks! Brutal, I know. Just know that everything is expensive down there, so plan ahead if you need to.
• Join this large and pretty amazing group on Facebook called Grand Hyatt Baha Mar info and Discussion. It is a wealth of knowledge from people sharing their experiences and asking questions.
• Check out the Mega Resort Baha Mar documentary on Amazon Prime too!