I had one search term (well, two words): teal water. I wanted the weeks after our wedding to be sun-filled, teal water soaked, and looong. We were lucky enough to be able to take 2 weeks, and I figured we could jam two mini-vacations into that time.
We decided on one week at the activity-packed Sandals Royal Bahamian that had every amenity and beach activity you could dream of, and then the second week we’d fly to a remote island I had to Google extensively to find any information on. That seemed like a good start!
Read on for our Sandals experience, which was amazing, luxurious, and included a suite with a teacup shaped tub. Yes, you read that right.
To learn more about the beaches and other must-sees on the remote island of Eleuthera, read on here! We rented a home on a private pink sand beach, and I kinda wish we stayed forever.
Sandals Royal Bahamian in Nassau, New Providence, the Bahamas
I knew as soon as we landed that it was going to be hard to get back on that JetBlue flight to LaGuardia. I had spent the flight (and any stressful wedding planning moments) dreaming of all the things I wanted to do once we landed: sit on the beach, lay on the beach, read on the beach, drink an ice cold beer on the beach… you could say I was excited about the beach.
Sandals Royal Bahamian is in Nassau, which is located on the main Bahamian island of New Providence. It is a stunning resort with palms and Grecian architecture, delicious food, and all the amenities you could imagine. Our first night we were greeted with this sunset!
Waterfalls, swim-up bars and poolside service are the norm, and there are restaurants of every kind, and even one on both their pier and their private offshore island. Thanks to some generous wedding gifts, we were able to book our first suite (ever!) which included an outdoor tub that was shaped like a giant white teacup - it was amazing! It was our own personal hot tub, but somehow much more comfortable and unique. I’ve maybe been Googling how to get our own personal one ever since.
We paddled, swam, floated, sailed, ate fries and filet mignon, drank daiquiris and day champagne. You can rent kayaks, paddle boards, inner tubes, water bikes and trikes, sailboats, and there’s even windsurfing! My husband took me out on one of their catamarans and I almost freaked out about how far out we were, but he had a blast and it was absolutely stunning.
The highlight of Sandals is their on property PADI Scuba certification and their world renowned diving sites. They are voted one of the Top 5 Dive Operations in the Western Hemisphere! We were able to get completely certified, learning the basics and training in a small pool on the side of the property. They had an extremely professional and warm team that included Sonny, the most patient and kind Scuba teacher I imagine in the world. Seeing that he managed to both talk me down out of a legit panic attack 5 feet underwater, and still get me to Scuba successfully a few days later - well, I was impressed! It took a lot of deep breathing, some more Googling, and my husband reading the entire Scuba handbook to me out loud, but I managed to get over a decent fear of open water (that I didn’t know I had) and get to experience the absolute magic that is breathing underwater.
Sandals a Royal Bahamian Recommendations:
Their suites are wonderful! Ours came with an outdoor tub, private garden, and enclosed patio space where you could soak up the sun or enjoy the sounds of the island at dusk. The room itself was fresh and bright with a king bed, gorgeous bathroom with a walk-in shower, and an attached living area with a couch and separate television. There were daily snacks brought, a fridge to keep the inevitable leftovers, and a full bar - like really full.
Snorkeling on their private island, Discovery Island. There's giant swings and a hammock over the water, lounge chairs for days, and gorgeous snorkeling - we swam alongside a family of turtles for almost an hour! There’s also a little restaurant and pool with a swim up bar and cabanas that was like a mini-resort that you could escape to for a day, and we totally did. It actually started raining while we were still there which made it so we almost had the place to ourselves!
There was a personal assistant service that we were clearly not the right audience for, but was a great asset for most. If reservations are your thing, their amazing staff knows how to do it right! They’d always get the best tables available at any of the restaurants, and could reserve any pool chairs, beach cabanas, or get information on activities that you may want. It was an incredibly luxurious service!
To be honest we didn’t see much else of Nassau outside of Sandals, but that really is because it has everything you need!
Read here for the second half of our honeymoon in paradise, on the remote island of Eleuthera!
Have you been to a Sandals Resort or someplace else beautiful in the Bahamas? Let me know in the comments below!
Kommentare