First Trip Report so bear with me! I am going to try and add pictures after posting via the Tapatalk app. I lost steam towards the end, but please feel free to ask if you have any questions or comments!
My wife and I do not go away often and this was kind of last minute without the kids... I know that my spending was not ideal and a lot of you would not have done what I did but hopefully this might help someone else in the future.
I booked tickets from JFK to NAS via Chase using my Chase UR points. Most of the points were accumulated on my Freedom Unlimited and moved to my CSR. Flights were extremely expensive for the dates we were going. Jetblue flights round-trip were close to $1500!I used 93,000 points to book Roundtrip via Delta direct to NAS.
Flight was quick and easy and we landed about an hour early. NAS is a new airport and quite small but nice. Immigration took no more then five minutes and we were serenaded by a live band while waiting (Quite a contrast from JFK).
After immigration we got our luggage (really quickly) and headed to customs. Per the others that had written here, we only brought Pomegranate meals with us and other cooked food. We had no raw meat or fruit but I had been told by a friend that customs might give you a hard time with the Frozen meals if they see it in a box so we packed in a suitcase. The woman in customs hardly looked up and waived us right through.
Next stop was finding a taxi. While my hotel (Rosewood, more on that soon) was happy to arrange a taxi for me I was inclined to find my own as they wanted $75. As soon as I got out of Customs, the Bahamar Resorts all had their own waiting areas and greeters. The woman took my luggage, got me a taxi and checked me in while we got cold water (Champagne and Macaroons were obviously not Kosher).
I told the woman I was happy to take a shuttle and I think I almost gave her a heart attack. She was scandalized that someone staying at her hotel would do something like that
The tax was $25 and took 10-15 minutes.
With regards to the hotel... Atlantis seemed to be very loud and crowded and slightly rundown. While the Cove is nice and would include a microwave, fridge etc. we wanted something a little nicer. As I said, I dont get away often so I splurged on the Rosewood. I sold some Amex MR to cover the cost and booked 3 nights (fourth night free promotion) at $595 a night. This doesn't include VAT (12.5%!) taxes etc. For those that do not know, the Rosewood is the third and final piece of Bahamar and has been in the works for quite some time. The other 2 resorts are the Hyatt and SLS. All hotels are connected and share a beach. Rosewood members have access to all 3 but SLS and Hyatt guests are not allowed on the Rosewood beach or pools. The hotel is not completed yet (on the inside) so I would guess they are operating at 50% capacity. I did not hear or see of any construction while I was there but was told there are modifications being worked on.
As soon as we arrived we could see the hotel was special. The lobby is massive and beautiful. We were greeted by multiple attendants and they had more Water (and Rum Punch drinks) ready for us when walking in. My room was ready but first we got a tour of the grounds from one of the front desk attendants. While this was nice, we were tired and the tour ran almost an hour! I did not want to be rude but at a certain point we were ready to just go to our room. They showed us all around and introduced us to our Butler, the Hotel Manager and the concierge. Over the entirety of our stay every single person that saw us greeted us by name. Room Service, Front Desk, Butlers etc. They put an extreme focus on CS.
Butler Service- I have read that this can be an overrated service but in this case I found it to be amazing. As soon as you get there they added us to a Whatsapp Chat (all communication with Butler is done via Whatsapp, its awesome) and we used it plenty. I would request more drinks, food warming up, reservation questions, shoe shining etc. They would respond in seconds and there was nothing I asked for that they did not handle.
After arriving and settling in we went to the pool which was empty. They have three pools, all connected. The Cabanas are free for now and first come first serve but not fully finished. All they had were cabanas with chairs, there was no fan, TV etc. As soon as you sat down, someone came over and brought, water on ice (All Dasani, not some knockoff brand water) Lotion, Aloe spray, Cold towels a menu and a choice of newspapers. I doubt that there were more then 10 people at the pool the whole time we were there. We did see some people try and sneak in and security quickly kicked them out. They are taking the exclusivity part very seriously.
As soon as we got there they took some of the meals and put them in the freezer. They also gave me a nice size fridge so I could defrost some with me in the room. We also made a stop to a local supermarket and picked up some fruit, Vegetables, snacks. etc. They have EVERYTHING American that you would see in a regular supermarket but of course at a higher price and that silly 12.5% VAT.
Dinner was warmed up and they set us up in the Library of the hotel which is a beautiful room made for sitting and relaxing. There are couches in there, dozens of Teas to Choose from, books and of course Free Fast Wifi throughout the hotel. They found us plastic cutlery and even offered me brand new utensils which I could have used or Toiveled in the ocean (ask your LOR).
Monday- We used the gym which was huge, brand new and amazing. My wife went to a class offered by the Spa which was $10. Bring a CC, the hotel doesnt take cash for anything. After gym was breakfast, pool, beach and a taxi to the Straw Market. The taxi was $25 each way and the hotel arranged with a nice driver who had a new car. While they told us the market was fun and has what to do we felt it was seedy and boring. It is a couple of blocks of tourist traps right next to the port where the Cruise Ships dock. They sell all the standard trinkets plus cigars, Rum etc. Some of the vendors are aggressive in getting you to come inside and buy something from them. If you keep kosher and cant eat, I would not recommend this activity.
We returned to the hotel and hit the casino for a little while. Lunch was warmed up and brought to the pool which was really nice. The casino is attached to all 3 hotels and was roughly a 10 second walk from my room. In order to get to the room portion of the Rosewood you need a room key to access different Hallways.
The hotels also have some water activities that are free like Kayaking, Paddle boarding, etc. The water is so clear and nice that you can just sit out on a circular raft they provide for a while and just relax. While there, we saw turtles in the water just hanging out. Dinner was served in the bar which like all the other rooms was beautiful and fun. The drinks menu is extensive and there were a couple of drinks that are Kosher (Again, ask your LOR). Jazz plays lightly in the background and it is just a great place to have a drink, relax or work. I saw people from the others hotels inside the bar at times and although we missed them, I was told that July 4th guests included Shaq, Dak Prescott and Todd Gurley.
Tuesday morning we woke up early for Snorkeling on a 4 hour tour. There are an endless amount of water tours and activities but most are a small fortune. Snorkeling was $98 a person and did not take up the entire day.
We were picked up at 830 and driven maybe 30 minutes to the boat. You are given the choice of renting a wet suit for $13 and after a little while we were off. The boat was driven maybe 20 minutes out and after some instruction, we were in the water. This was my first time snorkeling and I enjoyed every second. The water was 86 degrees and crystal clear. As soon as we got in we saw dozens of different types of fish and turtles. The guide would put out fish food at points and we would be surrounded by hundreds of fish. We stayed at our first stop for about 30 minutes until the spotters saw sharks in the distance and made us hustle back to the boat. AFAIK, there are many different types of Sharks at that part of the Atlantic and the guides are aware of which are okay to be close to and which we run from
Our next stop was to see some underwater statues and an intact airplane crashed in a Jaws movie. We also saw the homes of some celebrities and athletes. The second stop we were in the water for about 45 minutes. The third and most exciting stop was where we got to swim with sharks. These are barrier reef sharks so clearly not as dangerous but when you see a 15 foot shark with a fin sticking out of the water it is a thrill. The guides did not let little kids in, only adults and we all had to stay with one hand on a rope that they tossed out about 50 feet. There must have been 5 or 6 guides in the water watching to make sure all was okay and 2 guides in the boat watching with binoculars. They chummed the water in advance so there must have been 10-15 sharks swimming a few feet underneath us. Some people were frustrated we didn't stay there longer (maybe 10 minutes in the water) but I loved it. We had been considering a trip to another Island called Exuma but my wife got extremely seasick in the boat so we nixed that plan. After we got back it was more pool, beach and then dinner. We ate that night outdoors on a balcony overlooking the pool and ocean. The setup was beautiful and the food was delicious.
We had a few ideas for Wednesday but unfortunately the weather was just awful There were thunderstorms most of the day. We hit up a turtle and shark sanctuary in the morning by the Hyatt which was cool. They also have a bird sanctuary (all free) and they give you Popsicle sticks to feed the birds with. The rain really killed the day and we spent time inside at the casino and relaxing in the library.
Thursday morning we woke up early and went back to the beach (almost private since no one other then Rosewood can use it and we were there at 8AM. Our flight left at 1245 so we were out of the hotel at 1030.
Some Random thoughts.
Four days there might be too long unless you dont mind just hitting the pool or spending a bunch on activities.
Dan has posted in the past about Pomegranate meals and they were great. We had an issue with some of our order being mixed up but Pomegranate was nice about it and we worked it out. I had poppers, baby chicken, regular chicken and breaded chicken (I would not recommend this one, it got soggy). I also had the mac and cheese and Penne for lunches. All extremely good with huge portions. All of the sides were great and really did not taste frozen at all.
The hotel originally wanted to charge $30 Per person per meal to warm up food. I told them that the Atlantis charges $15 and they were happy to match that pricing.
They gave us a fridge at no charge in addition to bottled water all day. While it might not seem like a lot, I was told that other resorts charge up to $7 and charge for wifi. Small things add up.
Do not be an idiot like me and forgot a case for your phone for under the water. The place we went through had disposable cameras for $25, but I dont think that is worth it in a digital age.
Taxis are stupid expensive for very short trips, bring snacks if you can as opposed to buying at the grocery.
Global entry when leaving NAS was awesome, we had no line and it took 2 minutes. There were no customs when entering back into the US. We got to NAS two hours before the flight. We probably did not need more then an hour.