Hotels

In the hotel descriptions, we've listed regular room prices or "rack rates," but these are simply for ease of comparison. They are likely to be accurate for smaller properties, but you can almost always do better at the larger hotels and resorts. Note: You might want to consider a package deal before you book a hotel separately from your airfare, and if you do book yourself, always inquire about honeymoon specials, golf packages, summer weeks, and other discounts. In many cases, too, a travel agent can get you a package deal that would be cheaper than these official rates.

Hotels add a 12% "resort levy" tax to your rate. Sometimes this is quoted in advance as part of the net price; at other times, it's added as an unexpected last-minute afterthought to your final bill. When you are quoted a rate, always ask if the tax is included. Many hotels also add a 15% service charge to your bill. Ask about these charges in advance so you won't be shocked when you receive the final tab.

Taxes and service are not included in the rates listed below. We'll lead off with a selection of hotels within the heart of Nassau, followed by accommodations in Cable Beach. Most visitors prefer to stay at Cable Beach since the resorts here are right on the sand. But you can stay in Nassau and commute to the beaches at Cable Beach or Paradise Island; it's cheaper but less convenient. Those who prefer the ambience of Old Nassau's historic district and being near the best shops may decide to stay in town.

Cable Beach

Cable Beach has always figured high in the consciousness of The Bahamas. Since the development of the more dramatic Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island, it has flourished, and occasionally suffered, in the shadow of its more dramatic counterpart. Cable Beach derived its name from the underwater telephone and telegraph cable that brought directly onto its sands electronic communications from the outside world. For years, it was a rural outpost of New Providence Island, flanked by private homes and a desirable beach that was a destination for local residents. Its first major touristic boost came with the construction of the old Ambassador Beach Hotel, now the site of Breezes Bahamas. In the 1980s, a building boom added the string of condos, timeshares, and hotels that defined the area's appearance for the next 25 years, all designed to serve the holiday needs of sun-seekers and casino-goers. The district boasts a wide variety of restaurants and sports facilities, lots of glitz and glitter, and one of the two biggest casinos (in terms of square footage) in The Bahamas.

In 2005, a consortium of major-league investors, coalescing under the Baha Mar logo, pinpointed Cable Beach as the eventual site of one of the most far-reaching resort developments in the Atlantic. In 2006 and 2007, they inaugurated a plan that will radically alter the present landscape of Cable Beach, adding to the overall competitiveness of Nassau in general and its northern seafront in particular. Expect big changes between 2008 and 2010, when a multitier redevelopment program will alter the status of Cable Beach as the "also-ran" to what might -- if all phases of the redevelopment are completed -- become one of the most talked-about casino and resort destinations in the world. The project is being run by Baha Mar Resorts Limited, which owns and operates Cable Beach Resorts and Crystal Palace Casino.

In 2007, massive, multimillion-dollar improvements were made to the existing hotel infrastructure, with radical renovations completed within each of the pre-existing accommodations, During most of 2008, look for the destruction of some of the most outmoded of the elements within the Cable Beach landscape and the inauguration of a building program that, by anyone's standards, is awe-inspiring. By 2009, some of the radical redevelopment will be more visible, and by 2010, clients will find an environment that's totally different from the venue as it stands at press time.

We're talking makeovers on an extreme -- and hyperexpensive -- scale that evoke the labors of the Pharaohs. Major infrastructure changes will include a revised layout of West Bay Street, one of New Providence Island's busiest traffic arteries, to direct traffic away from what will become building sites for as many as four additional name-brand hotels. The overall vision will include dredging new lakes and marinas, creating water traps for a thoroughly redesigned golf course, demolishing some older buildings within the Cable Beach compound, and extensively enlarging the existing casino.

The project also calls for constructing a new string of resort hotels, all of them members of the Starwood group. Each property will cater to a different resort market. A W hotel, for example, will accent avant-garde design and, it's hoped, attract a youthful, trend-setting clientele. An all-new Saint Regis hotel will offer more conservative -- and probably somewhat plusher -- comforts geared to the haute bourgeoisie. And serious gamblers looking for Las Vegas flash will gravitate toward a new incarnation of a Caesar's Palace hotel, still in the planning stage, but eventually equivalent to the best of big-time Nevada. The makeover melee will also include intelligent reuse of some of the existing structures, including a radical rethinking of the Wyndham and Sheraton properties, which -- in their present incarnations -- are recommended in "Where to Stay in Cable Beach" .

Even in its current form, Cable Beach has many loyal fans, some of whom think Paradise Island is too expensive, too snobbish, too contrived, too artificial, and too derivative of a Disney-inspired theme park. Come here during the lifetime of this edition for comfortable lodgings, diversion, distraction, and lots of flash. But know in advance that what you see is likely to be remade, reconfigured, replanned, and restructured into something that we predict will become a world-famous tourist sensation beginning in 2010.

New Hotels in the Making

On New Providence Island, the famous Compass Point hotel is reopening in 2008 following a long renovation. It's owned by Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records, and will offer 18 brightly painted huts, two-story cottages, and cabanas. This is obviously the best place to stay for rock 'n' roll revelers.

In another development announced, the former home of Bob Marley, reggae great, is opening on the island as the Marley Resort. Rooms will boast Bose stereos, better to listen to Marley's music. Of course, the reggae star was more famously associated with Jamaica but came to Nassau for a retreat. He and his wife, Rita, escaped here from "the pressures of Jamaica."

The biggest hotel news yet is the announcement by the Ritz-Carlton people that they are going to build an exclusive resort on Rose Island, just 4 miles off the coast of Nassau. The deluxe retreat will be set on a 92-hectare (230-acre) enclave that will also include a marina, estate homes, condos, and townhouses.

Family-Friendly Hotels

Both the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort and its immediate neighbor, the Wyndham Nassau Resort, provide supervised programs for resident children aged 4 to 12 within their shared facilities, Camp Junkanoo and The Kids Klub, at no additional cost. Activities include swimming, treasure hunts, and nature walks. There's also scavenger hunts, arts and crafts classes, nature explorations, swimming lessons and games, and lessons in such electronic diversions as Nintendo and Xbox. The entire venue is configured as a means of allowing parents to deposit their charges in the morning and pick them up later in the day, secure in the understanding that they'll be fed, watered, amused, and cared for during their short-term separations.