The Paradise Island Harbour Resort in the Bahamas offers the Best Value & Location Overall (3/09)
Looking for an affordable all-inclusive resort in the Bahamas? Nassau is the most tourist attended island of the approximate 600-700 Bahamian islands. Across the bridge on Nassau is a place called “Paradise Island” and this is the place to be. The Paradise Island Harbour Resort has a lot to offer for the modest traveler.
The resort has a beautiful view of the harbor and its location is excellent. Only about a 10-15 minute walk is Cabbage Beach, located on the northern side of Paradise Island, this stretch of white powdery sand is held to be the most aesthetically pleasing of its kind on the island. Also about 10 minutes walking is the prestigious Atlantis Resort. Atlantis is worth a visit, but extremely expensive. There are aquariums, swimming with the dolphins and extreme water slides, shopping and a casino. Be prepared though, there are hefty entrance fees to everything except for the shops and the casino. The waterslides and dolphin beach and adventure start at $130 per person and go up from there.
For about 1/3rd or 1/4th of the cost per day The Paradise Island Harbour Resort is a much better value. It is only a 3 star resort but had many advantages. There is food all day long and until 11pm. The main dining area serves a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner while the quality is pretty good. Breakfast is about the same every day with an omelet station, fruits, cereals and a selection of hot entrees like waffles, pancakes, French toast, oatmeal, bacon, etc. Lunch has a wide variety with pizza, pasta, sandwiches, salad and more. Dinner always has a theme with many choices including chick, seafood, meat and side dishes. A nice salad bar and dessert station are plentiful.
Other options include the pool bar (Wahoo’s Poolside Grille) serves burgers, sandwiches and finger foods from 12pm- 11pm. The outside grill next to the pool is open from 2pm- 6pm and offers hamburgers, hot dogs, French fries and the BEST marinated chicken breasts. The grilled chicken there is a definite must! Lastly, there is a fine dining restaurant (The Harbourview Restaurant) available for dinner only. You must make reservations the morning of at breakfast. This menu is seasonal so it will probably be the same each night during your stay. Everything is cooked to order staring with an appetizer, entrée and dessert. Our top suggestions were the fresh Creole Grouper with rice, the Fresh grilled Tuna with mashed potatoes and the tender Chicken Marsala with linguini.
The resort offers unlimited drinks at their open bar with specialty rum and vodka drinks, beer and wine choices all day and night long. The value can’t be beaten while the convenience of meals is taken car of.
Also included are the many activities and games. Choose from beach volleyball (on their small man-made beach) overlooking the harbor swimming in the pool, bike riding, tennis, basketball and more. There is an evening show which changes nightly from dancing singing, limbo and a fire dancer starting at 8pm each night.
The view, location and outside grounds are great. The only thing keeping this resort from being of higher quality is the interior. A good remodeling job updating the rooms would put this resort into a higher category and on another level. The rate for being all inclusive makes the Paradise island Harbour Resort very reasonable for all that you get. If you are looking for a ritzy, luxurious place, this is not your place. However, comparing everything you get and the great location, this is an excellent deal. The most positive thing I can mention is how friendly and hospitable the whole staff is. All the workers go out of their way to make you feel welcome. You are constantly being greeted. The front desk staff and servers at the restaurants are very courteous. We would like to give a special thanks to our server Craig at the Harbourview fine dining restaurant and the General Manager Scott for making extra efforts. The server and staff are so genuine that with the all inclusive package, most people do not tip. The whole staff was wonderful without having expectations for gratuities. Tipping is not obligated but very much appreciated and we were happy to oblige. One would assume that the workers at the Atlantis resort would be more friendly and outgoing but it was the exact opposite. We found the Paradise Island Harbour Resort staff to be more welcoming, friendly and helpful. That is huge coming from a much less expensive style resort.
In the lobby of the resort are people selling excursions and time share opportunities. A big tip in case you want to try an excursion or time share experience is to make sure everything is in writing and don’t be shy to negotiate on what the time share people offer you. More often than not, you can get more but you have to ask. If anyone offers anything verbally, do not believe them as they are just trying to get your money. Whatever you conclude, make sure it is written on the contract.
One great dining experience walking distance right over the bridge if you want the best local seafood is called the Poop Deck. Check out the review on our Dining Outside Los Angeles page or their website at
www.thepoopdeckrestaurants.com
For more info on this Best Value Resort in the great location of Paradise Island, please check out: www.paradiseislandbahama.com