Olivia and I celebrated my birthday in the Bahamas (best bday gift ever, btw) and it was phenomenal to say the least. We thought it would be a good idea to put together our stand-outs of the trip/helpful highlights for anyone is interested in traveling to the Bahamas, or specifically visiting the highly praised (for good reason) Baha Mar Resort.
COVID Safety:
The biggest thing when traveling right now is obviously COVID precautions/safety. Baha Mar does an incredible job at this and we felt completely safe our entire stay. One of the main draws to this resort specifically is that you’re able to cancel your stay 24 hours in advance. If you happen to contract COVID during your stay, the resort provides a courtesy jet service to get you back to the US, or a free stay at the resort if you test positive before departing the resort. This should go to show their incredible commitment to keeping guests safe. In terms of safety protocols, every person must have a negative PCR test before entering the Bahamas to begin with. Once you arrive at the resort, every guest receives a rapid antigen test before you receive your keys to your room. Once you get the test, you’re escorted to your room where you stay until you get your negative test results (30 minutes). You must complete a daily survey assessing any potential symptoms, and need to receive an antigen test on day five of your stay (and of course before traveling back into the US). Masks are required inside the resort, and we felt that it was very easy to maintain social distance on the beach as well. More on their Travel with Confidence program here.
Restaurants/Bars:
The resort has multiple great restaurants and our favorite and stand out was Fi’lia. We went there for dinner three times during our stay, and it was beyond expectations every time. The service was incredible and the food was out of this world. Our favorites were the bruschetta and caprese apps, fettuccine alfredo, mushroom risotto, truffle fries, and tiramisu. We’ve been home for a week now and are still talking about the food there. Fi'lia is an absolute must in our opinion if you stay at Baha Mar. We also went to Pizza Lab a couple of times and their figs & prosciutto and mushroom pizzas did not disappoint, and they had delicious tiramisu and other desserts as well. We also visited Sky Bar, which is an absolute must. The drinks were perfection, and the views were even better. We went to Monkey Bar for lunch twice and their Brie & arugala cheeseburger, caesar salad and sweet potato fries were the perfect lunch to split between the two of us!
Beach Days/Good Reads:
We didn’t partake in too many beach activities aside from laying out, swimming in the ocean, and drinking lol. With that said, there are plenty of activities available (boat tours, snorkeling, jet skis, and much more) if that’s your thing! For beach reads, Olivia finished “What I Was Doing While You Were Breeding” by Kristin Newman and rated it an 11/10. I finished “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reid and I can say it was one of my favorites- it’s a super fast read and keeps you entertained the entire time!
The actual beach was incredible all around: it was impeccably clean, everyone kept their distance from each other, and the water was the perfect temperature to be refreshing but still enjoyable to stay in for awhile. Snacks and drinks were super easily accessible beach side by the resort's amazing staff: huge shout out to Shanna who took the best care of us and was the sweetest person!
Resort:
The resort itself was absolutely beautiful and there's a reason for their amazing reviews. Baha Mar is comprised of three different hotels: we stayed at the Grand Hyatt hotel, but there is also Rosewood and SLS: keep that in mind if you decide to book! We stayed in a fairly standard room (Fountain View King), and it was perfect for us. We were only in the room essentially to sleep, so do keep that in mind, but everything was super clean, there was plenty of space, we had a large bathroom, and a small balcony. For us, the actual room isn't what we prioritize, so again we went with a more standard option, but the resort has plenty of options if you want something specific in your room.
The lobby of the hotel is absolutely gorgeous and is home to the resort's massive casino. We unfortunately only lost money at the casino, but it's still really fun and a great main attraction. There was plenty going on throughout the resort every night, so there's really something to do for everyone. The staff inside the resort was excellent, and always incredibly accommodating.
Overall, we really can't say enough about our trip and our stay at Baha Mar. It was everything we were hoping for and more. We stayed for five days, and it was so great to have time away together and enjoy the beautiful beach and resort. If you've thought about visiting the Bahamas, we really can't recommend Baha Mar enough and we can't wait to visit again soon!