How to Find Cheap Hotels in Paradise Island, Bahamas

The beautiful resort region of Paradise Island, Bahamas is practically run by tourism. Its stunning locale has been featured in films such as “Casino Royale” and its casino/resort, Atlantis, is world-renowned. It's no wonder this captivating island opted for a name change from the original “Hog Island!”

How to Find Cheap Hotels in Paradise Island, Bahamas

Call the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism for more information about cheap accommodations in Paradise Island at (800) BAHAMAS, or visit the Ministry's Web site (see Resources below).
Stay at one of Paradise Island's mega-resorts. Unfortunately, the budget traveler will have a tough time finding a cheap rate, but booking early and inquiring about special rates may pay off.
Educate yourself about yoga at the Sivananda Ashram yoga retreat. The retreat's cottages are much more affordable than the resorts surrounding them. Multiple yoga courses are available on site.
Rent a villa. There are a few companies in Paradise Island renting beachfront villas. If you're traveling to the Bahamas with a group, this may be a good economical option.
Consider staying outside of Paradise Island's main resort cluster. Nassau is just across the bridge and offers much more affordable accommodations by comparison. Along with resorts that scatter across Paradise Island and its surrounding regions, Nassau also offers rental cottages and lower-priced hotels.
Know Your Destination
Determine when you intend to make your trek to the Bahamas. On Paradise Island, peak tourist season runs December through February. The Spring Break crowd fills the hotels February through April. As a result, the best time to find cheap accommodations is May through November.
Discover Paradise Island Points of Interest
Experience the famous Atlantis Resort without staying there. Walk through the resort and take advantage of its water park and casino.
Explore "The Retreat” National Park. The selection of exotic palms is one of the largest in the world.
Dance with dolphins at Dolphin Encounters, located at the Paradise Island ferry terminal.

How to Visit Port Lucaya, Bahamas

The Port Lucaya and Our Lucaya area of the Grand Bahamas Island is considered a premiere vacation destination. Within 100 miles off the Florida coast, Port Lucaya is home to many yachts and sailboats, while Our Lucaya, a Westin and Sheraton Resort, offers the full casino experience as well as a selection of four-star restaurants. Positioned between the resort and the port is the Lucaya Marketplace, an eclectic assortment of jewelry stores, boutiques, and souvenir shops. On certain days, the outer perimeter of the marketplace becomes a local bazaar where Bahamians show their wares

Fly into Freeport from Miami or Atlanta. Both cities offer direct flights and are the closest American airports to the island. Charlotte and Newark, however, are also direct flight cities. Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas, hosts direct flights from several points in Europe.

Reserve a room in the Our Lucaya Resort or any resort near the Port Lucaya area. If the purpose is an entire visit at Port Lucaya, hotels in Freeport, though cheaper, are simply too distant, and the taxi charges will surmount. Many who own homes and condos rent them out during the summer season. A legitimate online travel broker may be of help.

Check with the concierge at the hotel's front desk for area attractions and activities. Snorkeling and parasailing are quite popular.

Gamble at the Out Lucayan Casino, which is generally quieter during the summer months.

Purchase expensive jewelry and cigars at the Our Lucayan shops.

Dine on upscale fare at any of the resorts restaurants. There are plenty options for beach dining. There are restaurants of a more international fare and less expensive ones available over at the marketplace. Pub grub, seafood, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican are represented, and some offer great views of the yachts in the harbor.

Check out the evening entertainment at the bandstand area in the marketplace. International and local bands perform for enthusiastic crowds. Magicians, limbo artists or a disc jockey perform during the band’s break.

Prepare to be inundated with the sound of the Bahamas: Junkanoo music, a mix of African, reggae, and marching band that is infectious when performed.

Support the local bazaar or flea market that sets up daily around the perimeter of the marketplace. Local ware such as beads and basketry are on display.

A Look at Bahamas Vacation Resorts

Bahamas vacation resorts are great places to look into if you are interested in finding many activities all in one spot. In addition to providing its guests with a place to sleep, resorts often feature such amenities as golf courses, tennis courts, restaurants, clubs, water activities, boat and other rentals, shopping, and more. In a resort, a traveler can find all of the resources for great activities day and night that they might go looking for in a city.Consider the Sandals resort. Designed for couples only, it offers eight restaurants and even a candlelit dinner for two.
The Sandals offers a variety of water sports. Guests can try windsurfing, water skiing, sailing, and scuba diving from boats that leave their resort directly.. For those vacationers who prefer to stay on land, the resort features world-class golf courses, fitness centers, exercise classes, tennis courts, beach volleyball, basketball courts, and table tennis.
After a day out on the water, or out on the beach or the golf course, the resort likes to pamper its guests. Select suites offer the services of a personal butler to assist guests in unpacking and packing their clothes, drawing a scented bath with rose petals, and more. After dark, the night life is just getting started. Guests can enjoy nine bars and entertainment that includes live performances by acrobatic dancers and fire-eaters.An enormous variety of activities such as these can be found at most resorts, including Our Lucaya Beach and Golf Resort, the Abaco Beach Resort, and the Tiamo Resort. Of course, many resorts also sport casinos for those guests who would like to try their luck. Bahamas vacation resorts are the perfect place for travelers who want to experience everything the Bahamas has to offer, from one convenient and luxurious location.
Bahamas Vacations Info provides detailed information on Bahamas vacation packages, rentals, family vacations, resorts, villas, ranging from cheap vacations to upscale retreats. Bahamas Vacations Info is the sister site of Lake Havasu Web.

Bahamas gets $1.6 bn resort boost

Baha Mar Resorts is joining Harrah's Entertainment and Starwood to create the Caribbean's largest destination resort.
Baha Mar will establish a new blueprint for resort development, representing the largest, single hospitality investment in the region, and creating a unique resort metropolis in terms of its setting, design, operation, and services.
A letter of intent has been signed whereby the three partners will make "cross-property" investments in Baha Mar -- a 1,000-acre, mixed-use, one-of-a-kind project to be located in Nassau, Bahamas -- subject to completion of definitive agreements. The venture represents a unique structure for the hospitality and gaming industries and calls for a total investment of $1.6 billion for the initial phase. The joint venture investment structure consists of 56 2/3 percent Baha Mar Resorts Ltd., 33 1/3 percent Harrah's and 10 percent Starwood.
"The three partners in this ambitious venture share a determination to see that international guests are pleasantly overwhelmed by their experience at Baha Mar," said Gary Loveman, chairman, chief executive officer and president of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.
"We believe this integrated resort represents an auspicious international debut for the Caesars brand, and offers some insight into the sort of high-profile gaming-entertainment projects we plan to pursue in promising global markets in coming years."
"This is an opportunity that does not come along very often and we are thrilled to join in this venture and offer guests to the resort a full array of Starwood's leading brands," said Steve Heyer, Chief Executive Officer for Starwood. "This one-of-a kind project dramatically accelerates the expansion of our brands in the Caribbean."
"We are tremendously excited to be able to bring the most prestigious and successful companies in lodging, gaming and leisure and their respective brands to the best location in the Caribbean - Nassau, Bahamas," said Sarkis Izmirlian, chairman and chief executive officer of Baha Mar Resorts Ltd.
"Harrah's and Starwood will bring their powerful, industry-leading loyalty programs - Total Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest -- and together, we will create a destination resort that will dramatically enhance the tourism landscape in this hemisphere."
Resort Features
With Caribbean-inspired design elements that fuse the area's Colonial, European and African influences with the region's lush natural landscapes and waterscapes, Baha Mar is expected to captivate guests from the moment they arrive on property and are led to the resort's open-air porte-cochere by an expansive water boulevard and 55-foot-high circular waterfall.
Baha Mar Resorts is also planning a free-standing luxury spa facility -- the largest in the Caribbean; an eco-water park attraction with show lake for live performances and events; 175,000 square feet of meeting space; and a 20-acre beach and pool experience with 3,000 feet of continuous beachfront. Baha Mar plans also will include a 50,000 square foot village with upscale retail, chef-branded restaurants, and entertainment venues. An extensive renovation to the current 550-room Wyndham Nassau Resort is also planned, bringing the number of hotels on the property to six. A variety of residential units will also be included in the initial phase. All together, the resort will offer a total of 3,550 guest rooms, making it the largest in the Caribbean.
Harrah's Entertainment, the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment, will operate a new 1,000-room Caesars Resort Hotel and 95,000-square foot casino. This development -- the largest in the Caribbean -- will be the first Caesars project announced since Caesars Entertainment was acquired by Harrah's in June 2005.
Baha Mar will feature the first and only collection of four Starwood brands at a single resort. This will consist of a 300-room W at Baha Mar, including 100 condo units; a 300-room St. Regis at Baha Mar, including 100 condo units, a 700-room Westin at Baha Mar; and a 700-room Sheraton at Baha Mar all of which will be managed by Starwood. In addition to the hotels, Starwood's Bliss and Remede branded luxury spas are also planned at the W and St. Regis, respectively.
Together, Baha Mar Resorts and its partners will build, manage and own the mixed-use destination resort's hotels and casino. Harrah's and Starwood will operate their respective branded properties, while Baha Mar Resorts will operate cross-property services to assure a seamless guest experience.
Construction will begin in 2007, with the opening set for 2010. Future phases of Baha Mar will include additional hotels, a variety of residential offerings, and a second 18-hole golf course. An agreement with Nicklaus Design to develop an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course as part of Phase 1 was previously announced. The Baha Mar Nicklaus Signature Course would be the only championship-quality course in Nassau.
Baha Mar Resorts will serve as the developer for the resort, with Los Angeles-based MHA Studio, Inc. established as the project's design architect. Mike Hong, founding principal of MHA Studio and Design Principal for the Baha Mar project has designed such pioneering projects as the world-renowned Bellagio resort in Las Vegas; Wynn Las Vegas; and the Gateway in Salt Lake City, a 3.2-million-square-foot retail-business district built for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
Baha Mar represents a quantum leap forward in the continued success of The Bahamas, ushering in a new era for Nassau's Cable Beach area of New Providence Island. The Islands of The Bahamas are experiencing tremendous popularity and a surge in visitors, cruise passengers and air travelers, with more than one-third of the U.S. tourist market enjoying direct access to Nassau.
"The partnership marks a significant occasion for The Islands Of The Bahamas," stated Obie Wilchcombe, Bahamas Minister of Tourism.
"The planned revitalization of the Cable Beach area and development of Baha Mar will only further establish The Bahamas as the premier island destination for vacationers and business travelers alike."