Travel: living the high life in the Bahamas

The ‘glamorous’ Rosewood Baha Mar resort

(Image credit: rosewoodhotels.com)

published 24 January 2022

A tax haven with “icing-sugar beaches, glassy aquamarine waters and rainbow coral reefs”, the Bahamas is popular with “moneyed jet-setters seeking financial perks”. Johnny Depp, Beyoncé and Nicolas Cage are among the stars to have bought “castaway isles” here. The island is within reach of mere mortals too, said Alicia Miller in The Times. Getting to this “sun-drenched” archipelago just south of Florida is now easier than ever – Virgin has recently launched a twice-weekly direct route, and BA is upping its service to six flights a week. But on arrival, you will have to brace yourself for the prices – almost everything is imported, so it is one of the world’s most expensive places.

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The most “glamorous” new resort in the “glitzy” capital, Nassau, is the Rosewood Baha Mar, which opened in 2018 as part of the new Baha Mar complex, “a $4bn redoubt that rises theatrically from its island surroundings”. The hotel has the largest casino in the Caribbean, a vast art gallery and “celeb-chef” restaurants. But even if all that appeals, don’t spend your whole time there – head instead for one of the “Out Islands”, which are “sleepier, more raw and, arguably, even more exclusive”. The “chichi” boutique hotels of Harbour Island (such as The Landing) are popular with “the stylish set”. Or you might head for Kamalame Cay, a “smear of sand” with palm trees and “a perfect row of villas” just off the coast of Andros, the largest and wildest island.

The eponymous family-owned resort attracts “crowd-shy” celebrities such as Serena Williams, who spent her honeymoon here. The main activity on offer is bone fishing, and there is also good snorkelling (on the world’s third-largest fringing reef). But the resort’s chief selling point is the cay’s natural beauty – the “creamy, sparkling sands”, the dazzling sunsets, the views of other green islands beyond – and its sheer peace and seclusion.