Review: Rosewood Baha Mar (Paradise for Families!)

The Bahamas is one of the most popular vacation destinations for East Coast travelers, but it’s generally quite a trek to get there for West Coast travelers. Hearing about the Rosewood Baha Mar made me curious about planning a trip to the Bahamas.

I had heard spectacular feedback about the greater Baha Mar complex, which cost nearly $4 billion to build, and now contributes more than 10% of the entire country’s GDP to the Bahamian economy. 

I had high expectations, and despite a few gaps here and there, this is a destination I will be recommending as an easy family vacation for the foreseeable future. Let’s get right into it!  

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How to Book Rosewood Baha Mar

Rosewood Baha Mar belongs to the Rosewood Hotels brand, one of the foremost luxury hotel brands in the world. Additionally, the Rosewood Elite VIP guest recognition program allows our clients to enjoy some of these fantastic amenities:

• Daily full American breakfast for up to 2 people per bedroom, served in your choice of Cafe Boulud, The Library, or Tingum on the Sand
• $125 hotel credit per stay
• Complimentary upgrade upon arrival, based on availability
• Complimentary wireless internet access

Rosewood Elite rates are identical in price to the best rate visible on the hotel’s website, so you’ll never pay more. 

If you’re planning a stay here, rates for the standard-level accommodations start at $1,000 per night before 37.5% total taxes and resort fees. During the high season, expect to pay $2,000+ per night before taxes and fees. 

Location and Getting There

Rosewood Baha Mar is located on Nassau Island, which is the main island in the Bahamas. One of the reasons why the Bahamas is so popular for East Coast travelers is that there are plenty of daily direct flights, and the Baha Mar complex is a short 15-minute drive from the airport. 

Check-In

When we arrived, we immediately noticed the enormous, sprawling complex. The Rosewood Baha Mar does a phenomenal job blending chic design with traditional Bahamian architectural elements. 

The lobby had soaring ceilings with an open-air feel.

During our check-in process, we were given a warm towel and a bracelet, which was used to access our room.

Rosewood Baha Mar Property Overview

The Rosewood Baha Mar is located in the massive Baha Mar complex — it is one of 3 hotels, with the others being the Grand Hyatt and the SLS. 

The Grand Hyatt is widely considered to be the more family-friendly and budget-conscious option, while the SLS is marketed towards couples and groups looking for an energetic, vibrant stay. Meanwhile, the Rosewood is certainly the most expensive option, but it is the most luxurious option available, commanding rates that are often double or triple those of the Grand Hyatt and SLS.

The property grounds are verdant and lush, filled with beautiful greenery. 

The entire Baha Mar complex is accessible on foot from the Rosewood, and most of the facilities and amenities are shared with all 3 hotels’ guests. 

The Baha Mar complex is 1,000 acres in size, and while the Rosewood has just over 200 rooms, suites, and villas, the Grand Hyatt has nearly 2,000 rooms and suites and the SLS has around 300 rooms and suites. 

Ocean View Studio Suite

We were originally booked in the Garden View King Bed room, but we were given a multiple category upgrade on account of our Rosewood Elite booking status to the gorgeous Ocean View King Studio. 

This is undoubtedly one of the most popular room types for the money, and it’s certainly the “best value” accommodation option when you take into account the price differences across the various categories.  

We were assigned room 933, and we couldn’t have been happier with the upgrade we were given. Here are the features that set this apart from the standard room:

• 728 square feet of space compared to 485 square feet of space
• Separate living area
• Kitchenette with a 2-burner stove, chef’s sink, minifridge, microwave, dishware, silverware, and other kitchen accessories
• Laundry machines
• Furnished balcony with gorgeous ocean views

Given that we were traveling with a toddler on an extended trip, we loved the benefit of having the kitchenette and laundry machines. 

I’ll let the pictures do the talking. 

The beautiful marble bathroom oozed Bahamian glamour!

The bath and body products were by Maison Caulieres.

Although our studio had ocean views, we also loved being able to peer into the property’s grounds, too.

Rooms vs. Studios vs. Suites vs. Grand Suites vs. Villas

While there are many different room types available, the views generally go as follows:

• Garden View
• Ocean View
• Premier Ocean View

With a standard room, you’ll always enjoy either 1 king bed or 2 queen beds, a sitting area, a marble bathroom with dual vanities, a separate shower and soaking tub, and a private balcony. The key differentiator between the studio suite and the standard room is the presence of a separate living area, a kitchenette, and laundry machines.

Going from the studio suites to the one bedroom suites, you’ll find a full chef’s kitchen, an additional powder room, a living room separated by a door, 2 balconies, and a walk-in closet. 

Most of the 2-bedroom suites are situated as one bedroom suites connecting to a standard room.

The 3-bedroom suites have much larger areas for entertaining and dining. 

Lastly, the villas are completely separate structures and are not located in the main building. They are residences built on the beach’s shoreline with private plunge pools, options for up to 6 bedrooms, massive furnished decks, and easy access to the resort’s pools.

Fitness Center

One of the recurring themes of the Rosewood Baha Mar was that there were more intimate facilities that only Rosewood guests could use. For example, the Rosewood fitness center was smaller, but it was never crowded. 

Meanwhile, the ESPA fitness center is Baha Mar’s main fitness center. The ESPA fitness center was located at the ESPA, and it had more equipment, but it was consistently a lot more crowded.

Rosewood Baha Mar Fitness Center

We found the Rosewood Baha Mar fitness center to be perfectly suitable for our trip, but with the added benefit of peace and quiet. It was appointed with state-of-the-art Technogym equipment. 

ESPA Fitness Center

The ESPA Fitness Center is located in the ESPA area, which is nestled within the Grand Hyatt. This was the resort’s main gym facility, as it was appointed with a lot more equipment, weights, and machines. We did not make use of these facilities as much, given the Rosewood had a much less crowded solution.

Spa

The Rosewood has its own spa that we would thoroughly recommend over the Baha Mar’s ESPA. We had treatments at both, and we experienced service that was miles better at Sense than ESPA. 

Sense, A Rosewood Spa

ESPA

Beach

One incredible benefit that the Baha Mar has over other properties is its envious location directly on Cable Beach. As you walk away from the main Rosewood building and towards the beach, you’ll encounter a boardwalk along the white sand beach connecting you to the other hotels and facilities. 

The Rosewood Baha Mar is designed to be the most exclusive area, and so there are security guards monitoring access. Grand Hyatt and SLS guests are not allowed access into the Rosewood beach and pool areas. 

The beach is incredible here, and there were tons of seating options available to guests.

Watersports are also available, but we didn’t see any guests utilizing this.

The beach boardwalk connects to a number of different eateries and shops in the Baha Mar complex. There were just a few of them:

• Scoops for ice cream
• Island Essentials for clothing and equipment
• Daqs for daiquiris
• Da’Poke Bowl for poke 

Pools

The Rosewood had 2 main pools:

• Cabana pool – consists of 3 levels of pools 
• Lagoon pool – winding pool perfect for active play, floaties, and more

Pool service was available, as well.

These sunloungers were some of the most comfortable padded ones we have ever enjoyed.

The lagoon pool had a few different zero-entry points, making it easy for toddlers and small children to play.

Most of the action was at the lagoon pool.

The property also laid out a series of lawn games, which was a nice touch. 

Casino

Baha Mar is home to the largest casino in the Caribbean, and I was blown away by the offerings here. It felt like the Wynn was literally transported to the Bahamas. Even the typeface and font of the signs here looked like the same as the Wynn!

We also toured the VIP gaming room, which was nestled near The Reserve at Grand Hyatt, which was located in a separate wing of the building.

Kids Clubs

The Rosewood maintains its own kids club, also known as the Rosewood Explorers Club. We recommend this facility over the Baha Mar Explorers Club due to the better service we experienced.

It’s critical to note that the Baha Mar Explorers Club functions strictly as a drop-off service for children aged 3 to 12. It is not allowed for adults to accompany their younger children for supervised play. The Rosewood Explorers Club had no such rule — you could drop your child off or you could accompany your younger child for supervised play.

As a parent to a toddler, I was disappointed by the policy at the Baha Mar Explorers Club. However, I was delighted by the baby/toddler-friendly policies at the Rosewood Explorers Club. 

Rosewood Explorers Club

Daily activities at Rosewood Explorers were posted on a chalkboard outside.

Baha Mar Explorers Club

The Baha Mar Explorers Club was located in a small corner near the back of the property, so it was difficult to find. 

Although this was strictly a dropoff service that was did not use, we snapped a picture of the interior. 

Wildlife

One of the best features of this property was the abundance of wildlife attractions available. Our baby loves animals, and so we found ourselves with no shortage of things to do here.

Tortoise Sanctuary

Our favorite activity was at the tortoise sanctuary, where we could feed a number of tortoises and learn about their backgrounds as rescue animals.

Flamingos

The Bahamas is famous for its flamingos, and the Grand Hyatt section had an enclosed area with plenty of flamingos. 

Aviary

One of our favorites was the aviary sanctuary, and we had the chance to feed different birds. 

Baha Mar Racquet Club

Baha Mar has the John McEnroe Tennis Center which has bocce ball, croquet, 6 pickleball courts, 2 clay courts, and 6 hard courts (most of which have lights).  

In addition, the vicinity has a fullcourt basketball court and a top-of-the-line pro shop.

Baha Mar Waterpark

One of the main attractions for families at Baha Mar is the signature waterpark. This facility alone spans 15 acres with areas for all different ages. This truly is a state-of-the-art luxury facility with tons of water coasters, lazy rivers, lagoon areas, surf simulators, dining options, and other attractions. 

Mini-Golf and Golf

Mini-golf is available next to the John McEnroe Tennis Center via a 2021-constructed 18-hole course. This professionally-inspired course also has a clubhouse where you can rent clubs and balls. 

In addition, there is a Jack Nicklaus signature Golf Course named Royal Blue. It’s an 18-hole championship facility with rentals, shops, and everything else you can imagine. 

Shopping Boutiques

Although we got just a glimpse of the shopping available at Baha Mar, the options include primarily luxury brands like:

• Bvlgari
• Breitling
• Cartier
• Chopard
• Montblanc
• Panerai
• Rolex
• Tiffany & Co
• Tory Burch
• Vineyard Vines

Game Zone

This facility is sure to delight children — the Game Zone, which is essentially a full arcade complex that is open until 11 p.m. daily!

Rosewood Restaurants

Although the entire Baha Mar complex is home to more than 45 dining options, most of them are associated with the Grand Hyatt. However, the Rosewood maintains its own collection of options, mostly on the upscale side. 

Cafe Boulud

We had breakfast at Cafe Boulud every day, and although we found the menu to be simple, the dishes were well-executed, and the setting was gorgeous.

Costa

Costa is the beautiful open-air Mexican restaurant at Rosewood Baha Mar. The restaurant is built as a series of open-air cabanas on top of an oversized koi pond. 

We visited this restaurant on the day we arrived, and we enjoyed a fun laidback dinner where our toddler stayed busy feeding the koi fish. 

The Library

The Library is the Rosewood’s second breakfast establishment serving up a la carte breakfast, afternoon tea, pastries, desserts, and wine. 

We did not enjoy any breakfasts here, although the space was perfect for quiet time in the evening.

Manor Bar

The Manor Bar is the destination cocktail bar next to the lobby, and it was packed at all hours of the day. The energy was off the charts here, and it’s truly one of the main watering holes in the late evening.

Tingum on the Sand

Tingum on the Sand is the beachfront casual eatery, and you can also enjoy daily breakfast there. We didn’t know that you could have breakfast there until the end of our stay, unfortunately.

Baha Mar Restaurants

We had the chance to try a number of other restaurants in the Baha Mar complex, and we’ll spend this next section outlining our thoughts. 

Although I generally believe that making advance reservations at restaurants is a best practice, I would actually advise against doing so for most eateries here due to the incredibly punitive cancellation policy. 

If you do not cancel your restaurant reservation at least 24 hours prior to your reservation time, you will be hit with an insane no-show fee of $100 per adult and $50 per child. 

After we were hit with the first cancellation penalty, we decided to cancel literally all of our dining reservations thereafter because of the uncertainty surrounding our toddler’s nap schedule on top of the 3-hour time zone difference having traveled from California to the Bahamas.

It ended up working out just fine because we didn’t have any issues getting into the restaurants we wanted to try most. 

Cafe Madeleine

Cafe Madeleine is the casual grab-and-go cafe located in the Grand Hyatt. It has a shopping boutique inside, as well as a section for pastries and desserts, plus fresh espresso. 

We are coffee snobs, and the espresso drinks here fell short of our expectations. As a result, we primarily visited Starbucks for the remainder of our stay.

Carna

Carna is Italian butcher Dario Cecchini’s steakhouse. We did not have an opportunity to dine here, although this was an extraordinarily tempting place, complete with Instagram-worthy steaks, caviar, and seafood towers.

Cinko

Cinko is Baha Mar’s Asian Latino grill, and it’s actually one of the few Kosher certified restaurants in the country. It’s Kosher certified under Chabad of The Bahamas. 

Upon speaking to the management of Baha Mar, we discovered that this restaurant’s late 2021 opening has singlehandedly propelled this resort as one of the top destinations of choice for Jewish leisure travelers in the entire Western hemisphere. Impressive!

We did not have a chance to dine here.   

Cleo

Inspired by the maiden restaurant in Los Angeles, Danny Elmaleh’s Celo at Baha Mar is a purist representation of Mediterranean fine-dining. The food here was excellent, and the ambiance was fantastic.

Fi’lia

Fi’lia is the elevated Italian restaurant at Baha Mar, and even though the Google Reviews aren’t so flattering, we enjoyed some delicious food and drink here. The ambiance was likely but still very approachable, too.

Katsuya

Katsuya is one of the more popular restaurants here with its sleek design, masterful sushi, and lively energy (a signature of the sbe brand). However, we did not enjoy a meal here.

Marcus Fish + Chop House

Marcus Fish + Chop House is the oceanfront restaurant by Marcus Samuelsson. We enjoyed an alfresco lunch here, and while the setting was beautiful, we found the food to be average.

Pizza Lab

Pizza Lab is the casual pizzeria open late, and we enjoyed an evening supper here! There are desserts on display, plus grab-and-go pizza. However, we opted to order freshly made pizza.

Shuang Ba

Shuang Ba is widely accepted to be one of the top signature restaurants here. Reservations are a little competitive, but still not difficult to get if you’re planning a little further in advance. We did not have a chance to dine here, but the menu looked top-notch.

Starbucks

There are 2 Starbucks locations, one near the Grand Hyatt opposite to STIX and one next to the SLS hotel lobby. We appreciated this because we found the espresso at Cafe Madeleine was lackluster, which was a bit disappointing.

Nonetheless, neither of the 2 Starbucks locations were ever crowded, which was a massive improvement over its Las Vegas hotel outposts.

Stix

STIX was the food court-style noodle bar serving Asian classics. This casual eatery was consistently packed.

The Swimming Pig

The Swimming Pig is the modern Bahamian take on an English pub with draft beers and elevated fare. We enjoyed a lunch here, and we felt the food was solid. 

T² Cigar Lounge

T² Cigar Lounge is a sophisticated cigar bar and lounge serving small bites and genuine Cuban cigars with an open-air terrace to boot. Masterminded by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake (hence the T-squared moniker), it was packed every time I popped in.

Service

Although the Baha Mar complex had a dizzying number of dining options and endless activities for everyone, our expectations were too high for personalized service. Given the fact that the property had thousands of rooms and was consistently packed with vacationers, corporate travelers, and wedding guests, this was understandable in hindsight. 

We experienced a few strange service interactions, but most of these were concentrated in areas where the staff were Baha Mar employees, as opposed to Rosewood employees. 

My lesson learned here is that Baha Mar is a place where you cannot expect stellar service. But the Rosewood will get you as close to it as humanly possible in the Baha Mar complex. 

Wrapping Up

Overall, Baha Mar has some phenomenal on-site and unique amenities including a gigantic destination water park, lots of wildlife, a huge non-smoking casino, a gorgeous and well-maintained beach, a phenomenal racquet club by John McEnroe, and thoughtful kids amenities like an arcade, 2 kids clubs, and koi fish feedings. Not to mention there are literally nearly 50 dining options to try something new every day or perhaps every meal!

Our Rosewood Elite treatment was exceptional, too, having secured a multicategory upgrade from a garden view room to a studio suite with ocean views. 

Baha Mar is a magical place with something to do for everybody, but it’s not a place where you can expect the characteristic high-end service typical of a Rosewood or Four Seasons elsewhere. The service was not personalized or proactive. And yet, we are still dreaming of the next time we’ll be able to visit this property for a fun family vacation!

Make no mistake: Baha Mar is probably the best, easiest, family vacation in the Western hemisphere. And the Rosewood is the best luxury hotel for this.

Featured Image Credit: AuPACS