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Bahamas (Caribbean) Reviews |
Colin Smethurst Warringto
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Flew with First Choice all flights were on time and very comfortable, I would recommend First Choice flights to anyone going long haul as the extra leg room and entertainment available make the long journey more bearable. Sadly the travel was the highlight of the holiday.
Behind the pleasant, modern facade and reception at Breezes lies the stark reality. Although as stated in other reports the beach is indeed very beautiful and the sea exceptionally clean and welcoming the hotel itself can be descibed in one word,"grotty".
It is a throwback to the mid 1970's nightmare holiday to Spain days and in desperate need of a revamp. The room we were allocated was grubby, there were electric sockets hanging loosley from the walls, stains on the carpet and some areas had clearly not seen a duster or hoover for some considerable time. The sliding door to the outside only slid when great force was exerted though why you would wish to open it in the first place would be a mystery as it opens on to a six inch space which even Twiggy in her pomp would have difficulty squeezing on to. The "protective" rail to stop you falling was loose and hardly fit for the purpose, if you have children be warned, ours was downright dangerous.
The bathroom was of similar ilk, I had the misfortune to have some shower gel burst on to a pair of my trousers in my luggage, after dousing them with water in order to remove it I hung them over the shower curtain to allow them to dry. The excess moisture dribbled down the curtain and formed a mucky pool in the bath, it was not from my trousers I can assure you. Many of the fixtures and fittings were loose and a lot of the plumbing visible to the naked eye, there is obviously a shortage of carpenters in the island as nothing was boxed in or tidied up in this respect, call me fussy if you like but it would only take a piece of white plywood and a few screws for heavens sake.
The food at the hotel was passable though the large communal dining room was often crowded and the tables and chairs that you ate at did have a "Ma Kellys Greasy Spoon" feel about them. There was a wide choice of food available at all meal times although due to the buffet method of service not all of it was piping hot and we were careful of what we ate as should the same standard of cleanliness that was applied tio our room spill over into the catering I should imagine that food poisoning is a regular occurance.
The main bar was loud and noisy and had the same entertainment on a rolling weekly rota, the furnishings have to be seen to be believed, another throwback to the 70's, it was like Butlins on crack. At one point one evening I turned to my wife and said"This is just like the Pheonix Club." The downstairs Piano bar was better however.
We did not us the pool, it looked grubby like the rest of the hotel, plastic drinks glasses were frequently seen bobbing in the surface along with cigarette ends.
The staff were quite friendly and helpful though as with anywhere in the Carribean you sometimes have to ask more that once to get what you want, the no tipping policy of the hotel may actually work against you in this respect.
All in all a very poor experience, I have stayed in worse places but I did not pay nearly as much for the privilage and basically got what I paid for. This report may sound a little vitriolic however I can tell you that we were not the only ones who felt this way about the hotel. Reception was frequently checking out guests who had arrived only the previous day, why didn't we join them? Well we did and went to stay at the Riu on Paradise Island and guess what? We made fiends with two other groups of holiday makers who had done the same the previous week. We also had several conversations with holiday reps (not First Choice) who had guests at the Riu who had moved from Breezes, one of whom said, and I quote, "The place should not be advertised, I have told them they need to pull it from the brochures, the whole place needs knocking down and rebuilding."
Enough said.
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craig disdell
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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| we stayed in this hotel for 3 nights and moved hotel this was a 5 star hotel what a joke our balcony view was very small and down below was all air conditioner units the pool was more like a paddling pool they had never got any towells for us the restuarants poor service one good thing the food was good we are so glad we moved hotel
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emma & mark
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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this hotel was brilliant,alltough i would not recommend traveling with virgin, as the flight i was not direct, defently try this hotel.
myself and my husband went to this hotel to get married and i would recommend it to any one, the staff doen every thing for the wadding and we just sat back and relaxed.
i would not say this is a family hotel as the bars close at 9pm for children, so youare left sitting in the lobby area which gets really busy. it is great for couples as the night life is great their is always something going on.
the rooms are great and they are cleaned daily, we were on the 8th floor and the view was out of this world.
the beaches are white sand and the sea is clear blue, the pools are rather cold but still nice to look at.
the food was really nice wish i could of stayed longer.
overall i think this was the best holiday/ wedding we could of asked for, the staff were so friendly and could not do enough for you, the virgin rep was not much help, but how often do you use them any way. we would love to go back.
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Paul & Sue
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Just back from a great holiday at the Radisson. Lovely hotel and grounds opening out onto a great beach. Pool area spacious with lots of beds, no getting up in the middle of the night with towels. On a negative note, not enough parasols by the pool or on the beach if you like shade. Coral reef just off the beach, can walk to it depending on tide, lots of colourful fish, barracudas etc good snorkelling.
Not been all inclusive before so didn't know what to expect. We found the food excellent. Plenty of choice, buffet for breakfast and lunch and 6 restaurants to choose from on an evening. British people in the minority so we tended to stick together and met some lovely people. Trips - Swim with Dolphins and Powerboat Adventure were both excellent. Found Nassau a bit of a dump and I missed the Mediterranean type resort where you can have a walk around on an evening after your meal before the drinking begins.
However would recommend the Radisson to anyone visiting the Bahamas
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Ruth and GaZ
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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This hotel was excellent and everything up to standards! Had a brilliant time. Would recommend this hotel and First Choice as both were excellent! Beach and pool area on the hotel were fantastic and have plenty of space. Reccommend travelling about September time as you miss out on the busy American holiday break, which is between june and august, and the weather is still fantastic. Wasn't crowded at all.
They have 6 restaurants which are all excellent, have plently choice servng a wide variety of food to suit all tastes. We recommend doing the excursions as these are a once in a lifetime opportunity! we did dolphin encounter, hartley's undersea walk (which is unbelievable!!!) and powerboat adventure. got to say the powerboat was the best of them all as you spend all day on a secluded island were you get to got snorkelling, feed the rays and pull the sharks in!!! (if your brave enough!) and you also visit a small island which is full of iguanas which you can feed if you want to.
overall this was a fantastic holiday down to the last detail!! would reccommend it to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5*****
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Caroline - Lincolnshire
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Well where do I start. We went to the Bahamas for a friends wedding, the wedding it self was wonderful, but everything else was a complete nightmare.
On arrival at the hotel we were not given the correct room upgrades, but none of the rooms were spectacular so it never really made a difference. Our room was damp for the whole 2wk stay, we asked our rep for a room change and the other room that was offered was also damp. The whole hotel was tatty and it hadn't even seen a paintbrush since it opened in 1983. Our bathroom ceiling was falling down and the patio doors leaked all over the carpets when it rained. We reported all this to the Virgin rep and she was absolutely rubbish, my partner even heard her laughing with another member of staff saying 'that they weren't her problems and she wasn't there to sort out our problems' I thought that was a reps job, please excuse me for mis-understanding.
We had to fight nail and tooth for a restaurant reservation most evening as the places to eat at the Radisson where only buffets so if you wanted anything a little more up market you were supposed to be able to use the Wyndham Hotel which was linked by the casino.
We were staying all inclusive so getting a table at the either of the Wyndham restaurant was a hassle as they only had 10 places per evening for all inc guest and to top this off I then got food poisoning on the fifth day of our holiday and was then in bed for five days, my partner then had to pay out for drinks for me as I wasn't able to leave the room and the bar wouldn't give us bottles of water and the only water they did supply was tap water!!!
There was no evening entertainment and there were only two bars to go to in the evening and one of those closed at 22:30 every night. The bars didn't have drink lists available so we ended up with the same cocktails every time we wanted a drink. We would never go back to the Radisson cable beach even if they offered us a free holiday. This wasn't a cheap holiday and it is the only the holiday we will be able to afford this year and it was a great disappointment.
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S Burbeary
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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In Sept 2006 my boyfriend and I decided to go to the Bahamas.We found the accommodation in the brochure, and it looked beautiful, described as an exclusive resort with turquoise waters with beautiful landscaped gardens. As this was our only week off work together, we were over the moon to be jetting off to the Bahamas for an all-inclusive getaway.
We arrived in the resort after a very long and tiring journey, but full of anticipation for our pending holiday.
The initial thing that hit us as we walked into the lobby of the hotel was the overpowering damp, musty smell, not very welcoming, and as it happens this was the beginning of a string of unpleasant events. The booking in was a joke, and took over 1hr ½ to book in approximately 40 guests. We had not been forewarned about the 'swipe' of our credit cards they wished to take to cover for 'incidentals' (which became interesting considering the state of the rooms when we got there).
There were electric sockets broken in the lobby and wires were exposed, the general feel and look of the lobby was extremely dirty, tired and old.
We attempted to stay in high spirits, and made our way to the room, the first thing which hit us as we stepped out of the lift was the smell of mould, and damp again, and this continued as we stepped into our room. The room had 2 tiny 'double' beds, which were more like ¾ beds. The windows were sealed shut, and were made of a plastic material, which had numerous scratches, this, together with the thick dirt made the visibility terrible and the fact that they would not open very claustrophobic.
The bathroom's fixtures and fittings were rusty; there was mould on the shower curtain, and ceiling. The room was unclean, and a massive disappointment. It was way below any worse expectations, and certainly did not measure up to any standard.
We went to the dimly lit dining room where the food looked inedible, and we chose therefore not to eat that night, instead we ventured into the lobby bar, where the evening entertainment of 'name that tune' was taking place. The bar staff seemed eager to please and that was our one and only saving grace. The rep on that night was extremely unhelpful. When we stated we were unhappy with the accommodation her reply was 'what can I say, different people have different standards' she also went on to say 'some of my guests complain about the 'Atlantis' for god's sake'. The rep was very reluctant to offer us any alternative, or options at that point. We found out practically all the guests had moved rooms at least once, some at their expense-to 'upgrade', I really don't think that is possible in the Harbour Resort.
Following a sleepless night due to unhappiness and the constant groan of the lift, we finally got up to initiate the move from this hotel, we knew that if this was not made possible to us we were prepared to fly home as we could not have stayed at that hotel for another day.
We went to the dining room, and managed to eat toast, but this was disrupted by an unwelcome visit from a mouse in the dining room. We decided to have a look around outside whilst waiting the arrival of the hotels own rep. We found the poolside and pool to be dirty, and watched as local cats drank from the side. We walked around the jetty, which surrounded the 'lagoon' the lighting was broken and wires exposed, at the end of the jetty where it met the man made beach, we could smell an overpowering smell of ammonia, and found 2 large pipes pumping out what appeared to be raw sewage into the area we were expected to bathe in. The water had a blue film over the top of it, obviously from the engines of boats in the 'harbour', which was in fact a working port, all in all a health and safety nightmare.
As we sat and waited for the rep in the lobby, I believe we identified where the damp smell was coming from, we could see black fungal spores on the wall surrounding and coming out of the air conditioning vents, they had quite obviously not been serviced in quite some time. There were also big puddles of water on the lobby floor, where the vents were leaking.
Through perceverance, ourselves and 12 others moved to a neighbouring hotel at expense to ourselves.
My advice to anyone considering going to this hotel - don't, you will regret it.
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colin andrew
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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viewed some bad reports about this resort before going (cant for the life of me think why) ok its rooms ar not the hilton, but are clean roomy and a location to die for.staff are the most friendly you could wish to meet and nothing is to much trouble,we paid the extra for a full ocean view(price very cheap 7 pounds a night extra) spectacular would have been happy just to sit on the balcony.food was excellent varied and always hot (even at late sitting we ate 930 one night lots left and hot).excellent service from buffet resteraunt staff helping and clearing away and as much time as you want to stay.
beech huge and wonderfully clean diserted stretches(ok we were there in december but it was 82. drinks and food is served on the beech every day (all inclucive),towels and none motorised water sports equipment supplied.would highly recommend going first week december to catch the christmas local tree lighting,all the locals gather for a concert and food and drink ist superb the best people in the world.transport to other parts a bit expencive if you dont fancy using the buses (12 dollers each way to the main markets and entertainment and casino).go to the carabean divers center and dive to the reefs its superb (and with sharks if brave enough)
all in all an excellent holiday so dont believe all you read (but cant say what its like in high season).
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mhairi and colin semple
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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We went to Breezes for our honeymoon, an had such a great time that we would go back!
Food and drink was plentiful, and there was so much choice! We both loved the buffet, and the 2 a-la-carte restaurants were romantic. The service in all these places was top class-we couldn't believe people could be so friendly and efficient! We particularly enjoyed the free flowinf cocktails and sparkling wine.
There was so much to do on offer that you could never be board, though we most often opted to sit back and relax at the beautiful beach and pool. There are folks on the beach selling trips, jewellery etc but if you're not interested then they go off happily when you say no thanks.
Defo reccomend the powerboat adventures, amazing day!!!!!!!! We also enjoyed a very boozy night at Senor Frogs- it was a very good laugh!!
I wouldn't reccommend this hotel to people who want a very quiet time, but people who want a bit of fun. The rooms are clean, and have basic amenities- all you need (though thought a wee fridge with some beers would have been nice too!).
The weather was great- take high factors! We had 2 days of heavy rain, but the rest of the fortnight was scortching!!
We both had a good time - enjoy!!!
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shelley page
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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| This is an absolutely fab hotel , we were in a suite room , well worth the extra treat , simply divine , we had our own butler who opened our champagne and even turned down the bed at night . Fantastic to be dining with superstars ( elton john was there the same time as us !) we will being staying there again this christmas .highly recommended
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Mark Fry - Ledbury
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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We stayed at the Atlantis as part of our honeymoon as it looked spectacular in the Virgin brochure, and it was. This is not just a hotel its an amusement park in itself!. If you like water parks and being around marine life creatures then you must visit...Its fantastic.
The accomadation is second to none and the staff are so freindly and welcoming. There are at least 10 different resturants on site which you can dine at every night though some are very pricey at approx £50 per person, you can purchase meal deals when you check-in but its not much cheaper. There are cheaper places to eat about 5 mins walk outside the complex. There is a free cinema within the hotel that shows blockbuster movies that are not even released in the uk which is great and you can get massive hot dogs in there for £3.
There is also a 24 hour casino which we didn't use but was very popular.
We doubled this holiday up with Orlando as its only a 1 hour flight from Florida.
We have traveled all round the world in the last 5 years and the Atlantis is one of the best hotels we have stayed in.
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Yasdev Wendy Jake
Guest
Voted this Destination:Not voted yet
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Due to personal circumstances we were not able to book our holiday to the Atlantis resort until a few days before, hence we had trouble getting a room anywhere let alone the Royal Towers, we eventually had two options, one was for the comfort suites, slightly off site, for around 2700ish, room and breakfast. and secondly 3300ish for a sea view room in the beach tower, both prices were for 2 adults and 1 infant with direct flights with virgin from gatwick. I was quite aware we paying a little more than usual, however we really wanted to go, and couldnt book early nor be sure of roughly when we would be able to in the future. We were dissapointed we couldnt get a royal tower room initially, however we were optomistic we could upgrade once there.
We flew out with virgin through jetline holidays in the first half of november. The flight was fine and the crew in general were pleasent, polite and helpfull. We arrived on time around 1pm, immigration and baggage retreivel took a further hour. Now the transit to the Atlantis resort is basically a single decker bus, being the time of day it takes a little longer than the stated 30mins, however on the way back it was closer to the said time.
If your staying the Beach or coral towers you are dropped of at the coral towers to check in, there wasnt much of a que at all, I asked if there were any rooms available in the royal towers and he replied it would be an extra 1050 dollars, with a wink and a nudge he dropped this down to $300, this was a deal, a steal, the sale of century, in fact i did wonder why he didnt keep it for himself,but there you go, my only regret was not to think to ask if he had any imperial rooms available.
Now the beach and coral towers are nice, but to go all that way we wished to stay at the Royal Towers and very glad we did, the decor of the lobby etc is impressive, the rooms large and cleaned daily with an express clean aswell as your bed sheets being turned over in the evening whilst your out for dinner. The view as i said is of the harbour and from our french balcony we could see the cruise ships whilst they were docked.
As Id left the luggage with the bellboy dude at the coral towers it took a while around 40 mins to get our bags, the reason being they transport the luggage between towers by veichle.
We decided to buy the meal plan whilst there, theres two on option however for the gourmet plan you need to book two weeks in advance, which wasnt possible for us, so we took the alternative, which was $70 dollars a day, u.s., take u.s. dollars, as they use this far more anyway. For 70 dollars each, you can have breakfast in a choice of 4 restaurants, lunch in a choice of 5, and dinner in a choice of 8, two of the dinner options require booking, possibly days in advance, one was wateredge, which was seafood buffet, including lobster. Although do note, this dosent include tips, which are settled at the end of your stay.
We had breakfast mostly at the market place, which was handy as its not far from the lift at ground level in the Rtowers. To cut a long story short regarding food, its very good, we had not had a bad meal, nor service, its london prices or slightly dearer.
I would advice to avoid cues, especially if you have young children to eat fairly early, breakfast 7-7.30, dinner 6.30 - 7.30, thats arrival times at your chosen eating venue, as it can get very busy after, due to American people eating later, 95% of the people at the resort are American, and it would appear they depart from only two locations from the U.S. silicone valley and mooseville. Although a little loud and annoying there quite polite and civil.
We went for a week and felt it was enough to do most things the resort has to offer, not to say i wouldnt of stayed longer given the choice, theres some great slides and pools, some of which are very good for young children as they slope down, instead of the traditional drop in to the water, although theres some good aqauriums they failed to impress me, mainly due to seeing the ones in jaws 3, i will not go wow till i see one like it in real life, buts hats off, bloody good effort. The beach and lagoon beach too is very nice, and at the time of year we went quiteish, considering where you are.
All in all a great holiday, its pricey, but worth every cent, nickel and dime. Excellant hotel, room, service. Good food, great pools/slides.
My only beefs were
1. People placing towels on chairs, need i go on, yes to get it out me system, one day we were sat by the pool with 4 or 5 sun loungers which some one had placed towels on for future use, we arrived there at 8.30am, and stayed till 2pm, when there freinds arrived behind us,as we were leaveing it came apparent they were in Nassau shopping, absaloutly disgracefull, god forbid anyone else have a nice holiday.
2. On bills at certain bars eating establisments you will see on the bill, an option of giving an extra tip, im obviuosly barking up the wrong tree in my profession, if as a barman you recieve a wage, 15% tip, automatic, and another tip, which could quite possibly be a dollar extra for taking a bottle cap off, they dont earn that much but its in proportion to there economy, I quite often leave extra tips, well over the suggested 15%, but come to expect/ask and all what happens is put people backs up.
One point to note for people with young children and buggies is there are quite a few stairs, usually 4 or 5 steps which you may need to carry the buggy down.
Once again a fantastic holiday, and would definatly return, they are in the process of building a couple of new towers close by, and i understand theres to be a version in dubai. However would avoid peak seasons, as it must be mobbed.
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