Five Days on the Grand Bahama Island

First the quick deals: We spent six days five nights at the Sheraton, in a fairly spacious double for approximately $200 a night.

The hotel is operated together with its sister resort, the Westin Our Lucaya, and the two effectively have their own private secluded beach area. Guests from either resort are free to use the facilities of the other, and in many ways outside of the room buildings, it's difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends.

In all likelihood, you'll fly into Freeport's "International" airport; the hotel has a guest desk outside of arrivals. It takes about twenty minutes by cab to get to the resort, and the cab fare for five of us was about $35.

The Sheraton itself is nice enough -its taken care of, but it definitely has a sort of "used" feeling. Not really in a bad way, but just in the sense that the hotel feels a little old. But since you're not really in the Bahamas to see the inside of the hotel, that's not really that big of a problem.

There are several pool areas, including an amazing Westing "endless" pool, but the best parts are the beaches. Hotel guests can easily get beach beds to lay out on. We went during the beginning of May, before the heavy summer travel, so things may be worse at other points in time, but during our stay we never felt crowded despite the hotel being somewhat busy. I should mention quickly the somewhat absurd towel card system. When you check-in, you get a towel card for each person registered. Every day, when you go outside, you need to turn the towel card in at the towel hut and get a wrist band and towel, so that you won't get hassled by the hotel staff as to whether you're a guest of the hotel (it seems that a lot of cruise visitors try to come and spend the day, and this is meant to prevent it). Lose the towel card, though, and that's an extra $25 at check-out.

A couple quick observations:

- We had problems with our telephone that the front desk really didn't seem interested in fixing. They kept wanting to make the call for us and connect rather than fix our problem. The TV signals were off, too.
- Resort fees! Be aware that there are mandatory resort and service fees. Our $125 base fare was $200 after taxes for a room with four people.
- There are several bars and restaurants on the complex; they aren't bad, but are a little overpriced.
- Mandatory 15% tipping. Deal with it.
- Calling to the US = expensive. Buy a calling card meant for the Bahamas.
- Casino on site.
- Outside of the marketplace across the street, there is very little to do near the resort.

Overall, we tremendously enjoyed ourselves and I would highly recommend it for a nice escape.

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is actually a review of a Domino's Pizza! While not really worth much of a mention normally, for guests of the Sheraton or Westin Grand Lucaya Resorts, it's very much worth a mention.

The Sheraton/Westin Our Lucaya Resort has its own group of restaurants and bars on property, they not only aren't open that late, but they are also, of course, on the more expensive side. If you're looking to save money, getting food elsewhere is a really good idea.

Across the street is the Port Lucaya Marketplace, which has a whole bunch of duty free shops, bars, and restaurants at reasonable prices. The Marketplace is literally across the small street, 60 seconds away, and it's also pretty much the only thing with-in walking distance. Basically, it's the place to go. The only problem is that come 10ish during the week, you're not going to find much open for food. This is where the Domino's Pizza shines!

This Domino's Pizza is located in the marketplace on the left side. They do delivery, but if you're staying at the resort, it makes much more sense to just walk over and get it. Delivery stops before they close, though, and so at some point you might have no choice but to pick it up. They're open until at least midnight everyday, a little later on the weekends. They really are your best bet for a late night snack or meal if you're staying at the Grand Lucaya Resort, especially if you're trying to save money.

This Domino's Pizza, of course, makes the same Domino's Pizza as the rest of the country, so there isn't much to add there. Personally, I'm a fan, especially of the cinnamon sticks. I do have to say, though, that the ladies who were working the Domino's Pizza the several times we went over there were extremely nice and pleasant and made the trip worth it. Believe it or not, I highly recommend the Domino's Pizza!

So if you are staying at the Sheraton and Westin Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya Resort, you're going to want to visit the marketplace. Located right across the street from the Sheraton (and thus a half block or so from the Westin), the Marketplace is a great source for a variety of great food and very reasonable prices. The marketplace contains a variety of small shops, duty free shops, bars, and restaurants.

The Our Lucaya resort has several little restaurants, but we didn't want to pay the high prices, so we ended up actually eating across the street at various restaurants in the Port Lucaya Marketplace. Specifically, we ate at:

Rum Runners - It's really a bar, but they of course make basic food, too. I think from my group of five, all of us either had some kind of burger or chicken tenders. It wasn't bad for bar food, although not great. Definitely cheap, though.

Zorbas - A Greek restaurant in the Bahamas, they offer a variety of Greek and Italian dishes. This restaurant has a very "mom and pop" "rural family" type feel to it.

There was also a great little Italian place that offered Pasta and a glass of wine for $10 if you came during the early bird hours of 5-6pm. I can't remember the name, but the marketplace isn't that big, and so it wouldn't be hard to find. This was a somewhat classier restaurant.

Subway, Domino's - Yup, the marketplace has both of these. Who goes to the Bahamas and gets Subway? Someone trying to save money during a meal, that's who.

Other things worth note:

Several great bars, including Rum Runners and the Corner Bar. With my group, we spent most of our time at Rum Runners, as it seemed to have a pretty cool crowd.

Duty Free Liquor - Cheap alcohol. Enough said.

The Marketplace also has some kind of live entertainment every night, although we never seemed to come at the right time in order to fully appreciate it.

The marketplace, I cannot stress enough, is infinitely convenient if you're staying at the Westin or Sheraton.

Anyway, you can read more about the marketplace on their website at www.portlucayamarketplace.com.

Definitely a fun place - check it out!

Some brief information on traveling into the Grand Bahama Island, largely specific to US citizens visiting.

- The airport you'll by flying into for Freeport or the Grand Bahama Island is the Grand Bahama International Airport, which has a airport code of FPO.
- They speak English in the Bahamas, so don't worry there.
- A lot of the flights into Freeport, if not all of them, are on regional jets. On my trip, we flew in on American Eagle from Miami on a prop plan.
- This is not some Chicago O'Hare of JFK; there are no gateways. When your plane lands, it will taxi very close to the terminal, which isn't that big. You'll walk down your plane's stairs, and then walk over to the ramp to walk into the terminal. It's a very simple affair.

Customs Entering Freeport:
- The airline will likely present you a card before boarding that you can fill out. You'll need to give this to the agent when entering the Bahamas.
- They'll give you part of the form back with an entry stamp. Don't lose this form, as they'll want it when you leave.
- There really isn't anything in the way of bag searches. Simple and to the point.

- Once you clear customs and immigration, you walk out two double doors and are confronted with a stand for the Our Lucaya resort, some rental centers, and a taxi stand. It' all pretty simple.

Returning to the US:
- Freeport is actually one of the few places in the world with a US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance facility. Basically, you clear customs and "re-enter" the United States in Freeport, and so when you arrive in Miami (or wherever), you're able to go straight to the terminal rather than go through that customs zoo.
- This can be done because Freeport has a "terminal" dedicated just to US-bound flights.
- Because you clear customs in the Bahamas, it's important to remember that even though it's a small airport, you need to give yourself time to do customs. The absolute cut-off for my American Eagle flight was 50 minutes before departure.

- Finally, just a comment on American Airlines / American Eagle in The Bahamas - no one would pick up the phone. It was terribly frustrating, especially since I couldn't get through to the US desk.

Anyway, hopefully this information can be useful to those who might be wondering how the process of entering and exiting Freeport will work.