Nassau, Bahamas: the good and the not so good
A girlfriend and I decided to take a quick trip to the Bahamas for her birthday. We stayed for 4 days, 3 nights at the Melia Nassau Beach. Booked via AllInclusiveOutlet.com Total trip Cost: $1200 for 1 room 2 adults (all inclusive), plus airfare.
I’m going to break down this review from the following: Service, Food, Hotel Grounds/Room, and Experience
First I want to add that I am normally not a fan of the All Inclusive travel style. I love to engulf myself in local culture and cuisine and I feel that limiting yourself to a resort such as an all inclusive, although it may be convenient, doesn’t allow you to really experience what the country and its culture have to offer.
With that being said:
Hotel Grounds
and Room
The photos on the website showed new renovations and modern rooms, and having stayed at previous Melia Properties, we expected such. We checked in and got to our room and found an infestation of bugs (not sure what kind but they crawled and were all over the bathroom and even in the toilet paper roll which Is where I discovered it – thankfully before I used the bathroom myself). I called the desk and they said they’d send someone from housekeeping up, and I interjected and had to ask for a new room. They moved us to a new room within 30 minutes. We got settled in our new room and noticed first from walking out of the elevator that the hotel had not been renovated, a lot of maintenance work needed to be upkept in the halls- paint chipping, missing etc. In our room- very simple but with a balcony and considered a premium ocean view room. The room did not feel premium, it was very small, the beds were so hard and stiff, the TV didn’t have a complete list of functioning channels, the bath/shower had rusted bolts on the soap dish and the carpet in the room was coming undone at the seam from the entryway. The bed was so uncomfortable, however the pillows were very nice which aided but didn’t exactly help my nights sleep. The hot tub was a nice temperature once the sunset, but the area around was unkempt- cracked and uneven walkways and pools of standing water because the drains weren’t working well. This resort honestly felt like the neglected stepchild of all Melia properties.
Service
Front desk staff was helpful at check in, although we had to wait 3 hours for a room. We spent each day at the beach. Even though we paid for a premium room all inclusive package, we couldn’t get any food on the beach. (only the Level guests can get this apparently). The service/wait staff was friendly but totally inattentive. The server would only come around 1-2 times in an 8 hour span, and we usually would have to just get up and walk over the bar and get whatever we needed. Which, to me, defeats the purpose of being on the beach. On 3 occasions my server took an order and never brought me the drink and I had to track her down and she replied with “Oh, I must have given it to someone else.” At that point, I had to ask her to please bring me a replacement. It really got quite frustrating toward the end of our third day. At the Market buffet the waitress Sherilyn was very nice and attentive, which was refreshing. Upon checkout, I stepped in the Melia rewards line and was simply asked for my room number and if I wanted the charges on another card or the one on file. Not one question about my stay, or my experience, or even a thank you for staying with us. And let me point out there were only 3 other guests at checkout while I was there.
Food
we dined at the Market Buffet pretty much every meal except a trip into town to go to Fish Fry which I highly recommend for local cuisine. I know that with an All Inclusive you get traditional American Food, which is usually not what I want on an international trip. There was a small selection of Bahamian food with dinner and lunch, but I would have preferred much more. When we left the resort to go into Fish Fry in town, the hotel doorman told us to take a cab for $20 each way, and never bothered to tell us there is a bus that picks up out front of the hotel for $1.25/pp and leaves every hour or so. So we spent an additional $40 on a 7-minute cab ride into town. The cab ride was more expensive than the meal. I recommend Curly’s or Island House for dinner- the grilled lobster was great.
Experience
Each day at the beach there were several vendors selling services and items: hair braiding, bags, jewelry, excursions, motorsports, shells, cigars, etc. These vendors do not work for the hotel, however, they are on the hotel’s beach property. I understand everyone needs to make a living, however, the gentleman selling the Conch Sea Shells repeatedly sexually harassed me. On multiple occasions he would approach me and tell me how big my butt was (but with words I really don’t need to repeat), how I should cheat on my boyfriend and go home with him, telling me that he’s sure I must only mess with black men, asking me how a white girl gets such big hips and thighs and a round bottom (in other choice words), telling me that he would do things to me that would make me want to stay in the Bahamas, etc. I told him repeatedly to leave me alone that I was not interested and additionally, that I was not buying anything he was selling. I was angry and even after holding a firm ground felt completely disrespected and uncomfortable.
I will not be staying at the Melia Nassau Beach again, and likely not returning to the Bahamas. My experience was disturbing, and with the exception of the beautiful water and beach, I feel like we wasted $1200.