- Lots to do at resort, day or night
- Grand Slam tennis facility is unique and cool
- Cheap eats and shops right across the street for the budget-minded
- Nice selection of excursions
- Prop Club nightclub draws locals as well as tourists
- Freeport air service a bit lacking
- Isle of Capri Casino action sometimes slack
- Lots of kids under foot; not necessarily a romantic setting
- Large resort fills most of 7.5 acre property, so privacy is at a premium
- Address: Royal Palm Way (Sheraton) or Sea Horse Lane (Westin), Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas
- Phone: 242-373-1444 (Sheraton), 242-373-1333 (Westin)
- Rates: Room-only, $110 to $450 nightly. All-inclusive rates also available
- Dining: Steakhouse, Asian, Latin, international buffet; about a dozen eateries total
- Spa: Sense Spa and Fitness Center
- Other Amenities: Golf, tennis, nightclub, casino, pools, beach, water sports, Kid's Club
- Rooms: 740 (Westin), 478 (Sheraton)
The Westin and Sheraton stand side-by-side on a stretch of sandy beach on the north coast of Grand Bahama Island, close enough to the main town of Freeport for an easy daytrip but far enough away to ensure a sense of isolation. The Westin is the more upscale of the two, but both resorts share such amenities as a casino, golf, spa, three pools, a unique tennis center featuring the surfaces of all four Grand Slam events, a kids club, multiple restaurants, and the Prop Club disco.
You could stay on the resort property and never get bored -- and a new all-inclusive package encourages that -- but one nice feature of Our Lucaya is that there’s a marina and entertainment complex (the Port Lucaya Marketplace) right across the street. Guests can take a quick walk to dine at fine restaurants or fast-food joints, drink at an open-air bar next to a stage where junkanoo dancers and bands perform, or shop at a scaled-down version of Nassau’s famous straw market.
Grand Bahama Island also is far less developed than Nassau’s New Providence Island, so you won’t be battling traffic when you want to do some touring. Among the excursions available from the hotel are exploration of a unique cave filled with crystal-clear water in Lucayan National Park, a kayak paddle through a mangrove preserve, and a lunch outing to a vast deserted beach that’s ideal for a romantic afternoon for two.
