Trip Report | Baha Mar — plan it petersons

As my 40th birthday approached (eeeeeek!), I knew I wanted to go on a romantic getaway, just me and Mark, someplace special. I had a long list of criteria - I wanted to go somewhere we’d never been before, I wanted to lounge at the beach (and my birthday is in October, so we definitely had to head south), I didn’t want to have to travel too far from home like Europe or even the West Coast, and I wanted an upscale resort since we weren’t going to have the kids with us!

I had read about Baha Mar and had some friends who visited, and every bit of feedback was nothing short of spectacular. I knew this place would fit the bill!

Overview

Baha Mar is an incredible, sprawling high-end resort located in Nassau, Bahamas (note: Baha Mar is not an all-inclusive resort). It’s actually three resorts in one - the Grand Hyatt, the Rosewood, and SLS. Honestly, I didn’t look into the Rosewood or SLS too much because I knew we’d stay at the Grand Hyatt (hello points!). All three resorts are beautiful, trendy and luxurious. They all share access to the property’s restaurants, casino and amenities, so I don’t feel like there’s a bad option. However, if you’re using points, there’s no contest - the Grand Hyatt is definitely the way to go!

Baha Mar is an easy 15 minutes from Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) and we booked roundtrip transportation via the resort. Our driver was prompt, polite, and we liked talking with him about growing up in the Bahamas - and Mark and me growing up in Pittsburgh. He told us he has a cousin who lives in Pittsburgh and he sometimes visits him on vacation. We laughed about someone from the Bahamas vacationing in the Burgh!

When we checked into the Hyatt lobby, I immediately noticed the huge and glitzy casino in the center. There was also a really unique fish tank built into the wall with lots of colorful tropical fish swimming around in it. The front desk staff was very welcoming. The woman who checked us in wished me a happy birthday and said that she was excited to offer us an upgraded room to make our celebration even more special.

(Sidebar: The Grand Hyatt staff emailed me a couple weeks before our stay to send along some info about the resort, their restaurants, amenities and activities, and they asked if we would be celebrating anything during our stay. I had read that hotels are often very accommodating with room upgrades if you simply ask ahead of time. I decided to try it because what did I have to lose? I responded back to the hotel staff and explained that we’d be celebrating my 40th birthday and that my husband and I were anxiously awaiting our kid-free stay. I said we’d heard amazing things about their sprawling property and top-notch service and we couldn’t wait to experience it. And I mentioned that we’d really appreciate a room upgrade if one is available at check-in. All true! I actually never heard anything back and didn’t think much of it until we were standing at the check-in counter.)

On our way to the Grand Hyatt elevator bank, we passed through the casino at the center of the property. There are several long hallways jetting out from the casino area where the resort’s restaurants and high-end shops are located (we’re talking Cartier, Bvlgari, Rolex, Tiffany and others). There is also access to the outdoors from the casino, where we could see a number of pools, cabanas, and the beach and ocean at a distance. The property is expansive and truly breathtaking.

The beautiful and massive Baha Mar (photo cred: bahamar.com)

Accommodations

When we got to our room, we realized we were in for a serious upgrade. For starters, we found ourselves at the very end of the hallway on the 18th floor. They put us in the Grand Executive Suite, a corner suite with huge windows and views of the ocean on one side and the main entrance of the resort/fountain view (a la the Bellagio) on the other side.

The suite consisted of a large living room with a couch, chair and ottoman, TV, small kitchenette, and glass sliders out to a furnished patio that overlooked the beach and ocean. The bedroom is off the living room, and it had a king bed, another chair and ottoman, and another set of glass sliders overlooking the same beach/ocean view. There was a hallway off the bedroom that led to a small room with double closets, a full-length mirror, and (kind of strangely) a desk. But I’d be lying if I said Mark didn’t use the desk to check his work emails on his laptop a few times during our stay! Passing through that room, you reached the enormous bathroom with the biggest shower I’d ever seen, a separate water closet with window, a soaking tub, and double sinks. The whole bathroom space was wall-to-wall windows overlooking the main entrance and fountain display, which would have been a little weird except a) there were shades that closed, and b) we were so high up on the 18th floor, no one from the ground could have seen in. In a word, it was…luxe. And apparently I need to photo document our hotel rooms better on future trips.

Surprise wine and strawberries delivered to our room

Activities

First off, Baha Mar is huge. Every day, Mark and I walked around the property just to explore and we logged some serious steps. We didn’t get to experience everything during our 4-night stay, but we did a lot.

We spent time at various pools on property. Since we were there during the off-season, we had zero problem getting chairs by any of the pools. In fact, we were the only ones there sometimes! Friends who visited over the summer said they needed to save chairs in the morning because the pools got super crowded, but we didn’t have that problem in October.

I loved the beach, which was relatively small considering how huge the resort is, but it was just big enough. We also never had an issue getting chairs there. The water was that beautiful turquoise blue that you see in photos and think “Is that actually what it looks like?” The answer is yes! I don’t recall seeing waiters on the beach, but maybe they’re there during the high season. Still, there are a number of bar/grills and food trucks right on the beach, which made it super easy to grab lunch, snacks and alcoholic drinks.

We spent a morning at the gym which was a nice facility. We only used the treadmills and didn’t get too adventurous there!

Then we headed to the spa which is adjacent to the gym. We both got 60-minute massages, although it wasn’t a couples massage (we had two separate rooms). This was a fabulous experience and Mark said it was his favorite massage ever. The spa was pretty large with many massage rooms, men’s and women’s locker rooms, separate steam rooms and a unisex sauna. I probably could have spent all day there. Highly recommend!

We also really loved the casino and spent time there on two separate evenings at the blackjack tables. The first was more successful than the second!

Baha Mar is also known for its massive waterpark, Baha Bay. They have a number of water slides (some more intense than others), a lazy river, lagoon and even a surf simulator which looked pretty awesome. Scattered around the various water attractions were cute little pathways that took you to food trucks, snack shacks, souvenir shops, even a few boutiques including Vineyard Vines. It was really quaint and picturesque.

Great view of Cable Beach and the Baha Bay waterslides from our balcony

Cable Beach at Baha Mar - look at that water!

Have you ever seen cuter restrooms in your life? No.

Dining

Baha Mar really shines in this area - although it sure isn’t cheap! The plus side is when we pay $0 for accommodations, we don’t have a problem splurging on food and experiences like visiting the spa. We didn’t have a bad meal during our stay! They have a wide array of cuisines to appeal to everyone. Here are the places we tried and would absolutely recommend:

Cleo - Mediterranean/Greek/Moroccan ethnic cuisine. We had the saganaki (flaming cheese) and spanakopita to start, I had the saffron chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives, and Mark had tandoori chicken and filet mignon kebabs.

Cinko - Asian Latino grill. We had the “guacamame” (guacamole with edamame) to start, I had the chaufa fried rice with chicken, and Mark had the sudado Thai red snapper and a variety of sushi rolls which were super fresh and handmade in front of us. The waitstaff surprised us with the homemade churros for dessert as a surprise for my birthday and they were absolutely to die for. I dream about those churros…and I’m not even really a churros person!

Café Boulud - Traditional French cuisine. I was especially looking forward to this one! The restaurant actually had to switch our reservation to another night, but it was no problem as they handled the logistics. As an apology for the inconvenience (and they were also aware it was my birthday), they gave a bottle of prosecco and dessert on the house! We opted for the classic crème brulée and the warm chocolate soufflé with vanilla ice cream. Prior to that, we had the beet and apple salad with whipped goat cheese (recommended by the waiter), the rice pilaf, and the lobster platter for two which I believe was a special. It was an incredible meal!

Throughout our stay, we also visited a variety of places for lunch or evening cocktails, all delish:

Café Madeleine - Get the pain au chocolat!

Marcus at Baha Mar - The food wasn’t mind blowing imo, but the atmosphere and the views were insane. They also have a rooftop bar that’s open in the evenings which looked awesome (but we didn’t make it there).

The Swimming Pig - We went here for drinks before dinner. The atmosphere reminded me of a British pub, but it was kid-friendly with elevated American bar food.

Manor Bar - Paneled in dark wood with velvet couches and very attentive bartenders, Manor Bar offers a wide selection of cocktails, spirits and wines. We felt fancy being here.

Monkey Bar - Trendy atmosphere in the lobby of SLS with the best espresso martinis.

Jazz Bar - Such a great vibe. Live jazz music, cocktails, dancing, fun! The bands changed every night and one in particular was just fantastic. I could have listened to them all night (should have asked for their name). One night, the band sang happy birthday to me and our cocktail waitress gave us an apple tarte on the house.

T Squared Cigar Bar - Owned by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake. The epitome of cool. Get a cocktail, choose a cigar from the massive humidor, and let the staff re-light it for you all night (if you’re me)!

Starbucks - For morning coffees. They have two on property, which is basically a dream come true for me.

Hot tip: Be sure to make any dinner reservations in advance. Also, note the restaurants are only open for dinner, not lunch (at least when we were there in October). And not all restaurants were open every night, so check it out in advance and make sure to book the places you really want to try.

Espresso martini at Monkey Bar in SLS lobby

Apple tart (and another espresso martini) at Jazz Bar

Pondering our selections at the T2 humidor

Tips for Next Time

We probably would have liked to spend more time at Baha Bay waterpark, if only for the lazy river. If we had the kids with us, I’m sure we would have spent a lot more time there testing out the waterslides too.

It also would have been fun to try an excursion or two, but again, the point of this particular trip was to chill and I have zero regrets that we didn’t venture off the resort this time!

We tried to go to Skybar which is the rooftop bar/lounge at SLS. Sadly, it was closed that night (and the remaining nights we’d be there), so we never got a chance to visit!

We also thought about visiting the SLS Beach Club which had an adults-only space and two infinity pools, but never made it there either. There was a charge to enter that area and we didn’t see the point since the other (free) pools were practically empty.

We loved all of the restaurants we tried, but we’d be excited to try some others next time! I just feel like you can’t go wrong with any of them.

One of the infinity pools at SLS Beach Club

Conclusion

Baha Mar gets two enthusiastic thumbs up. It’s a fabulous destination for a couples getaway and would also be amazing as a family vacation with the kids. (Although I have to admit, Mark and I were thrilled to be there just the two of us. Love you kids!!) And when you can book the resort completely on points and get mostly free roundtrip flights, it’s really a no-brainer. Add it to your list if you haven’t already!

Points & Miles Breakdown

Accommodations - Paid 84,000 Hyatt points for 4 nights (21,000 points each); we were subsequently upgraded to the Grand Executive Suite. $0 out of pocket!

Flights - Paid 56,550 Southwest points for 2 roundtrip tickets from Pittsburgh to Nassau. Not the best deal from a points perspective, and we also paid a total of $245.40 in taxes and fees since it’s technically an international flight. Still, much better than paying over $1,000 in cash.

Had we not used points and miles for this trip, the accommodations and flights alone would have cost us $3,600!

To earn these points, I applied for a Chase Sapphire Preferred at its standard offer of 60,000 points. Later, I referred Mark for 20,000 points and he earned another 60,000 points after meeting his minimum spend. This was more than enough to cover our 84,000 points for 4 nights.

We also had enough Southwest points in our accounts to cover our flights. Had we not, I would have transferred some of the points from our Chase Sapphire Preferred welcome bonus over to Southwest to cover our flights. Or, one of us could have opened a Southwest card to earn Southwest points that we could have used for our flights.

If you decide to visit Baha Mar on points, let me know! I’d love to help strategize credit card welcome bonuses with you and I’m happy to answer any questions.

Trip Report | Baha Mar

❤️ Liz

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