Pre-baby trip to Grand Bahama Island

This is a golf/spa resort of the Westin that shares grounds, beach, and other amenities with the Sheraton Our Lucaya next door, also a Starwood hotel. The beach and grounds were very clean and manicured. There were a variety of pools, from family-oriented with a spiral slide to a specially designated lap pool to several infinity pools. The pools are right next to the beach and provide an excellent view of the beautiful blue Caribbean.

The grounds are easily walkable. Walking to the spa/workout facilities from our room provided a beautiful way to start a workout.

My husband and I ate at Willy Broadleaf's on the Westin side for breakfast every morning during our 4-night stay. Being Starwood Preferred Guest platinum members, this happened to be a gratis amenity, so we took advantage of it. The buffet provided nearly anything you could want for breakfast, and it was all quite good given the sheer amount produced each morning and always fresh. We did not try the other restaurants on the grounds but ate across the street in the marketplace.

We experienced a little mix-up with billing upon check-out, but it was resolved fairly easily and quickly. The staff were warm and friendly, which can be said of most of the people we met on the island. Our visit overall was pleasant and just the right length of time. We didn't rent a car to "explore" the rest of the island, though from the looks of flying over it and reading extensively about other beaches, nature preserves, etc., outside our resort area, I think these things could be done/seen in a couple days. Our stay was also pretty quiet given that we went in the off/hurricane season. Filming of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels was taking place on Grand Bahama while we were there, and we ended up chatting with various crew members and saw Geoffrey Rush eating breakfast at Willy Broadleaf's. It was not a big deal, but it makes for good holiday/office party conversation when you're sick of standard small talk.

If you're going to Grand Bahama and want a beach and overpriced shopping nearby, the reliably clean and more upscale Westin chain with its ubiquitous Heavenly Beds delivers.

The water is that beautiful Caribbean blue here, but the snorkeling during our stay in early October did not match. We saw very few fish. Granted, I was pregnant at the time and didn't venture very far out on the reefs, but compared to Hawaii, where my husband and I have snorkeled extensively and the marine life is teeming right off the shore, this could just not compare. My husband, not being pregnant or otherwise self-restricted, snorkeled most of the reefs in front of the hotel, going a decent ways off-shore, but saw little more life than I did.

We did notice a fair amount of refuse in the water once we started looking--doubtless this contributes somewhat to an under-abundance of marine life. I did not want to see a shark of any kind, and I unsuprisingly did not. I'm used to the idea of potential predators like grizzly bears, having grown up in Alaska--you just mind your own business and give them plenty of berth to be their beautiful selves--but the idea of my pregnant belly faintly resembling a seal or the like was a bit unnerving.

Given my pregnant state and mood and my desire to have my baby turn vertex, I found just floating in the calm, warm ocean water very relaxing. For me that made up for the lack of good snorkeling. Also, this could be a good beginner's snorkel given the very calm water and little life to be seen--I've noticed that some people tend to freak out on a first snorkel when there are lots of fish swarming around them.