We needed a break from our typical “on-the-go” vacations, so we decided to book a week at an all-inclusive resort in Nassau, Bahamas. We chose Sandals Royal Bahamian, because we’ve wanted to return to the Bahamas and visit one of the other islands.
Day 1, Saturday, Nov 9th
As usual, our flight was at 6 AM, so we had to get up way too early and head to the airport. When we arrived at CLE, it looked like they had changed their security procedures and the line for TSA was backed up across the entire departures area of the airport. Since we have a couple more flights planned within the next year, we decided to splurge on Clear and walked right through to the security scanners!
On arrival, we were greeted with champagne but told our room wasn’t ready yet, so we took a quick walk around the resort, then hit the swim-up bar before grabbing some lunch at Kanoo Restaurant.
After checking into our room and putting a few things away, we headed back out to watch the Newlywed Game at Coconut Grove – some funny answers and we played along and got 9/10! Some hot tub time, then walking around the resort at night before dinner at The Queen’s Pearl Public House.
Day 2 Sunday, Nov 10th
It was a pretty lazy day today – we started with breakfast at Kanoo, then spent some time at the beach and pools. The weather is a bit cloudy and windy today, so access to the private cay is closed due to water conditions.
After spending a lot of time at the swim-up bar, we decided to grab some lunch at Tesoro – they turn into a pizzeria for lunch. We had an interesting combination – prosciutto with fig jam – it was different but good!
We spent some more time on the beach until it started a light rain and decided it would be better in the hot tub during the rain. We had dinner reservations at La Plume French restaurant. The French Onion soup, Filet, and Sole were all delicious!
Day 3 Monday, Nov 11th
Transport to the cay was open today, but we had a tour scheduled at 1PM, so we figured we’d be going over there and pretty much right back, so we just hung out on the dock and watched the process.
Since we enjoyed dinner at La Plume last night, we decided to try them for breakfast. The Eggs Benedict and the French Toast were delicious! We walked around the resort some more and decided to check out the gym on the top floor of the resort, overlooking the ocean. Don’t worry, we didn’t work out, just checked out the views! 🙂
We were picked up by the Taste of Nassau tour shuttle bus at the front of the resort. There was just one other couple, so the tour was pretty customized. The driver drove around and pointed out some landmark buildings, such as Baha Mar Resort and Casino, Atlantis Resort, and some government buildings, including the huge new US Embassy. We stopped at several popular Bahamian shops, including The New Duff, a tea and pastry shop; Rum Cake Factory, where we bought a six-pack of rum cakes; Tasty Teas, a tea shop with an attached outdoor bar where we sampled some local drinks; and John Watling’s Distillery, where we sampled their rums and vodka and grabbed some lunch. All along the way, the tour guide gave us information on their government, celebration ceremonies, local fauna, the history of some of the resorts, and the healthcare system – definitely a knowledgeable tour guide!
We recommend the Taste of Nassau tour!
Dinner tonight was at Gordon’s over the Water, their seafood and steak house at the end of the pier. Although they don’t take reservations, they should – the wait was long because it’s such a small place. Luckily Coconut Grove bar is at the beginning of the pier to wait for your table.
Day 4 Tuesday, Nov 12th
After eating breakfast at the Tesora buffet, we headed to the pier to go over to the private cay.
After an obligatory stop at the swim-up bar, we did some quick snorkeling, but there wasn’t much to see there. We grabbed lunch at Aralia House and some beach time before boarding the last boat back to the main island.
We had dinner at Tesoro Italian Restaurant before making it an early night.
Day 5 Wednesday, Nov 13th
Today consisted of a whole lot of eating, drinking, and hanging out by the beach. Breakfast at Kanoo, lunch at Calico (the best and messiest nachos on the island), and dinner at Soy
Day 6, Thursday, Nov 14th
We were so lazy that we missed the breakfast buffet, so we stopped at Sweets & Tings for some Carribean coffee – you know how a Latte is about half cream? A Carribean coffee is about half alcohol! La Plume was still serving breakfast, so we stopped in there for a quick bite. The weather was a bit windy and the water was rough, so the island and boat activities were closed for the day.
We tried lunch at the Coco Queen food truck, then took a stroll down the beach. A custom speedboat caught our eye as it flew past!
We had dinner reservations at Butch’s Steakhouse, so we had a chance to put on our fancy clothes and have a fancy dinner.
Day 7, Friday, Nov 15th
We woke up at 6 AM to catch the sunrise, and were greeted by an angry high tide! The waves were coming up the beach and had knocked down two of the straw tiki umbrellas. Unfortunately, the sunset was behind buildings along the coast, so we didn’t get much of a show.
We decided to walk around the Village gardens and get some pictures of all the different flowers and plants before breakfast.
The rest of the day consisted mostly of laying around the pools, hanging at the bars, and generally relaxing until sunset. Again, it was behind buildings along the coast, so not a great show. The full moon, a supermoon, was beautiful, but I didn’t have the right equipment to capture a good photo.
We returned to the main resort area and Christmas trees had started sprouting up!
Day 8, Saturday, Nov 16th
After breakfast, we had enough time to walk around the gardens before checking out and heading to the airport. Grabbed a few pictures of the room and resort before we left.
Goodbye Bahamas – until next time…
