This trip report is a bit late, since we took this trip in September 2015. Time sure flies!
We usually have St. Martin as our first pick for vacations but this year a couple of things made us look elsewhere. First, our favourite beach was “under construction” and other beaches on the island were reportedly clogged with sargassum weed. After checking, I found that the Bahamas were pretty much weed-free so we set off for Breezes on Cable Beach, near Nassau.
The hotel is all-inclusive, with no children allowed. Now this not a Hedonism II “no children” designation but just an adults-only place.
We flew non-stop from Toronto to Nassau and after a short bus ride arrived at our destination. As we stood in a short line to check-in, a staff member offered us frozen lemonade, a concoction that immediately became one of my favourite drinks while there. A few minutes later, that same staff member showed us to our room.
We had a room overlooking the pool and the beach. It was very clean if a bit sparse with the furnishings. An odd assortment of pictures on the walls: in one spot, two photos of orchids beside a very close-up photo of feta cheese chunks skewered with red pepper.
The rooms have no balconies but sliding glass doors that open to a railing that, hopefully, prevents you from falling out onto the garden below. People who have ground floor rooms get hammocks,
No fridge in room, no coffee maker, although the brochure mentioned these as included. The hair dryer gave off black smoke the first (and last) time I tried it.
There is a big pool and you can readily see where the shallow kiddie pool has been set up with lounge beds in the water.
There is a bar out by pool, very busy all day. Also, there is a bar inside near the lobby and the area where entertainment happens at night.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are buffet. There is also a grill down by beach with burgers, fries, etc. They made the most amazing crab Caesar salad, absolutely fresh and delicious. Buffet had a “smarter choice” section with salads, etc.
At breakfast, you could make your own waffles or pick from the ready made stuff on the buffet. There were eggs to order and omelettes, too.
Lunch and dinner were varied enough so that you could find something you liked. Desserts were fantastic. And, I don’t usually drink coffee but did this time and the coffee was some of the best I have ever had. It was Maxwell house.
There was also a Japanese place to eat and a pasta place but the buffet usually does it for us.
All the staff were exceptionally pleasant.
The beach has lots of beds and you can request an umbrella. They also have cabanas that you can rent for $20.00 per day. Worth it. They have nicer beds, towels already there and steady bar service. The beach boys will also bring your lunch from the grill, if you request it.
The water was crystal clear and the beach was white sand.
There are water sports included in the hotel package. There was a games/entertainment crew around the pool and in the nightclub area at night. The entertainment was mainly a local group with a wide repertoire of songs and the ability to get people up dancing every night. There were also other games such as pool, table tennis, etc.
My husband struck up a conversation with a lady from England who challenged him to a table tennis match. He was pretty good in his youth and still has some of the moves. In return, her husband offered to help us brush up on our skills at the pool table. I played a lot as a teenager but don’t do so well anymore.
One night was toga night and the staff dressed up, along with a few guests. The togas were very imaginative.
We were intending to just go and stay on the beach every day. We rented the cabanas each day that we were on the beach – 4 in total.
On the other days, we first went into town and looked around. Lots of good shopping, very similar to that in St. Martin. We went in by taxi - $15.00 from the hotel to the centre of town. We looked around, bought some items for the daughter and granddaughters and checked out the straw market. As we were heading back, looking for a taxi, a young man stopped us and, after checking our bracelets from Breezes, asked if we wanted the bus back to the hotel. He said it was $1.50 each person so we hopped on. The bus was clean, full of tourists and locals, and dropped us right in front of Breezes.
On another day, we took a tour of the island, seeing Paradise Island, the rum factory (with samples), the water tower and Queen’s Staircase and a number of historic buildings.
We had great weather, just a couple of sprinkles on one or two days, otherwise sunny and warm.
The one thing I remember from all of this is the people – so friendly, so helpful and pleasant. We did not meet one disgruntled local anywhere. I was reminded of the way people were in Bermuda back in the 60’ and 70’s, even going to the trouble to phone other stores for you if they did not have what you wanted.
I would go back to this place.
