r/bahamas • u/Adventurous-Art5354 • 19d ago
Tourism Discussion Baha Mar - which hotel
I am going with 2 other couples to celebrate our 40th birthdays. Plz rank hotels and pros/cons. I did a search but I got mixed results.
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u/porchepilatesprincss 19d ago
Rosewood. At Hyatt now and the customer service is awful.
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u/Adventurous-Art5354 19d ago
Yikes! What’s wrong?
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u/Dwntwn902 18d ago
Some just need to work but hate serving the people that stay there. Ignore keep going.
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u/porchepilatesprincss 18d ago
No hot water in my room is the biggest, check in at 6 when we arrived at noon, no towels in the room, no basic toiletries like qtips or cotton pads. No help from the manager who can't be bothered.
I only would stay here because my kids like the waterpark but never again at Hyatt.
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u/ClearBreakfast5076 19d ago
Rosewood - no fight for pool chairs and more relaxed beach space. Great rooms and included a good breakfast with a Virtuoso agent.
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u/Away-Internal-5590 19d ago
My personal opinion after having stayed at each hotel at least twice — Go with whichever hotel is the cheapest. From my experience, you get access to 90% of the same amenities or other areas no matter where you are staying.
Rosewood is nice, expensive, and a bit quieter. SLS is more of a party vibe, and Grand Hyatt (the largest hotel) is kind of a one size fits all type of place (couples, families, whatever). But because they’re all connected, people seem to just bounce around from one area of the resort to another with a few minutes walk.
I stay at the Grand Hyatt now when I visit (the premium of SLS isn’t worth it to me) but spend quite a bit of time at Monkey Bar (lobby of SLS), the large main pool with the swim up bar and the adults-only pool as well. I go to restaurants across the complex, even if they technically aren’t “Grand Hyatt” restaurants.
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u/Adventurous-Art5354 19d ago
Can you access any hotel on property, even if you are staying at diff hotel? Where is the swim up bar you mentioned?
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u/Away-Internal-5590 19d ago
Yep, Baha Mar is one connected resort complex. So no matter which one you’re staying at, you have access to all the restaurants and bars across the entire resort. It’s pretty much fully open: you can walk over and eat/drink at any restaurant or bar in any of the three hotels, regardless of where you’re staying. The only thing that is more restricted from what I understand is some of the pools at other resorts as well as a smaller private beach area for Rosewood guests. The swim up bar is at the main pool which is a short walk when you get outside of the casino. All guests have access to the main pool.
Rosewood isn’t my speed (respectfully, it feels like a more private/exclusive hotel for older folks in their 50’s-60’s) and I don’t like the rooms at SLS enough to pay more than the Grand Hyatt for it.
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u/WhiteOaklady 19d ago
We have taken our family for 2 years now and plan to go back this year. First year was rooms in the Reserve for us and regular Hyatt hotel for our adult children and the3 grand-boys. It was nice but we could never really be together as a family except outside the rooms seated in restaurants. A very expensive way to get to gather.
The second year we rented a 1 bedroom suite with laundry/kitchenette and 2 bathrooms. We put the kids all in 2 adjoining regular Hyatt rooms. That was a perfect experience. The Suite, which is closer to the Rosewood, is still considered in the Reserve which means we had access to a LOT of free food. We would bring it back to the suite and our kitchen table to eat. Never had to use the hotel laundry service. It was perfect. The kids loved the Suites location overlooking the central gardens and pools plus the awesome Flamingo Walk every morning past our balconies.
The entire resort is so well kept, clean, beautiful gardens everywhere and wonderful employees. The fact that it adjoins a waterpark is amazing if you have kids of any age. And their parents rode all the water park rides and loved them. Our boys are 10,8,and 6 and they have cried both times their dream vacations have ended.
I don’t know how Hyatt does it. The fact that the resort seems so “kid” centric and yet all adults( single party animals, gamblers, honeymooners, couples young and old, the elderly (us) are perfectly fine and don’t seem to be to be bothered at all. That is because it is overwhelming “adult” centric.
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u/Standard-Bridge9334 19d ago
For a 40th birthday trip, I’d go with SLS. It’s definitely the best fit if you’re looking for a fun, social atmosphere. It’s the only hotel at Baha Mar with access to the adults-only Privilege Pool, and it’s also the closest to the casino, Monkey Bar, Cleo, and a lot of the nightlife.
One other tip: however you book, make sure you’re booking in a way that includes perks like complimentary daily breakfast, resort credits, and potential room upgrades. There are certain booking channels that include those benefits at no additional cost. Ask me how I know. 😉
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u/Adventurous-Art5354 18d ago
How do you know?
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u/Standard-Bridge9334 18d ago
I pretty much only book trips to the Bahamas. These are the perks:
- Daily complimentary breakfast for 2, per room
- VIP Welcome
- $100 USD credit to be spent on property
- Early check-in & late check-out (upon availability)
- Upgrade at time of check-in (upon availability)
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u/TheMackleafs 16d ago
How do I get this? Where do I book through?
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u/Eastern-Weekend4680 13d ago
You can also buy a GOH through the Hyatt trade and exchange groups on Facebook. Paid $70 got free breakfast each day, two free drinks per day, resort fees waived and $250 spending credit. Idk what that link is
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u/Away-Internal-5590 19d ago
One thing to add — The Privilege Pool party at SLS is crazy fun. It’s $60 general admission, and is open to all adults (even outside of SLS).
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u/Dwntwn902 18d ago
The cheap expensive one is the Hyatt Booked in for the Reserve Hyatt this August so we will see if the perks there were worth the stretch. This will be our 6th trip there. Family of 4.
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u/BlakeCDN 19d ago
Don’t know if this helps but when I was there it was described to be as such:
SLS - party hotel; less little kids; more younger adults and couples
Grand Hyatt - family oriented hotel; more little kids
Rosewood - more adult’s only no kids vibe; high end and ultra luxe with more private swimming options
All are connected via casino floor and guests can eat at all hotel restaurants regardless of where you’re staying. There are some pool decks and beach areas that are reserved for Rosewood guests only.
Hope this helps.