After 20 free trips, we finally got to travel to the Bahamas and the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar! Reviews of this mega resort were mostly great so we had high expectations for our first trip to Nassau!
While we love vacationing at all inclusives, there were no All Inclusive Resorts in the Bahamas that we can book with Hyatt points for free. So we stayed at the five star mega resort: Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
Everything I read was that it’s fantastic, but very expensive. Even getting our flights for free and our room for free, it was one of our most expensive trips since we started traveling in 2021.
Because we traveled on points, we had a nice 4 night trip to the Bahamas on a budget of less than $1,000. If we’d just paid cash, it would have cost over $7000.
Click here: Learn how easy it is to travel for (almost) free on points!
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Review: tl;dr
In one sentence, we found the Grand Hyatt to be expensive, huge, crowded and mostly enjoyable.
Opened in 2017, the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar is larger and newer than its well known neighbor: Atlantis Paradise Island. It shares an enormous campus with 2 other hotels and a 15 acre water park.
Pros of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
With a few exceptions, Baha Mar looks and feels like a high end, expensive resort. The buildings border on opulent and have a very Las Vegas feel inside.
If you need to host a huge meeting in paradise, the Grand Hyatt has 1800 rooms. In the center of the 2 massive Grand Hyatt towers, you’ll find the largest casino in the Caribbean. As with most big casinos, there are dozens of high end shops which are happy to help you empty your pocketbook.
Lots of Food and Drink Options
With 15 restaurants and another 38 bars and cafes, you’ll find a tremendous selection of food and drinks. Kids under 5 eat free at a few restaurants. For the most part, the service, staff, entertainment, food and drinks were above average.
Situated on gorgeous Cable Beach, the location is among the most beautiful in Nassau. If you’re not a beach person, there are 8 pools and each has a different vibe. But Baha Mar improved on the “normal” pools by adding a fantastic water park.
Opened in 2021, the Baha Bay Water Park is alot of fun. For families with little kids, the waterpark could be days of free entertainment. And for teens and adults, there’s a couple of good water slides, a wave pool, the best lazy river we’ve experienced, and a surf simulators. Resort guests have free, unlimited access and they sell day passes for $160 to the general public.
For an extra fee, you can also enjoy the Baha Bay Beach Club. It’s a massive improvement over the free (as in ‘included for hotel guests’) beach experience. Had it not been for a management fail, the Beach Club would have been one of our favorite memories of this trip.
If you’re an elite Globalist in the World of Hyatt loyalty program (or use a Hyatt Guest of Honor award), you’ll also get $50 per day in free drinks, free breakfast (at 1 of 3 restaurants) and late checkout at the Grand Hyatt. We used a Suite Upgrade Award and got a really nice room upgrade.
Cons of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
Baha Mar is huge and VERY EXPENSIVE.
Even though we knew that food and drink would be expensive, it was still shockingly expensive. A young family we met literally said: “We could have bought a car for what we spent on this trip!” when they and we were treated poorly at the Beach Club.
In addition to the cost of your room, adult guests should expect to spend AT LEAST $200 per day, per person on food & drink. If you really enjoy drinking and nice restaurants, you can easily spend $500 per person, per day.
If you don’t have unlimited funds, use some our tips to save money at Baha Mar.
Part of the unexpected cost is the mandatory 25% tax and tip which is added to every bill at Baha Mar.
While the grounds & building were very impressive and clean, the free beach area (which has tremendous natural beauty) was overcrowded and untidy.
Having mentioned Baha Bay Beach Club as a positive, I think it’s also a negative. Compared to our other 5 star resort experiences like Point Grace & the Andaz Maui, Baha Mar guests shouldn’t have to pay an extra $250/day to have a 5 star beach & pool day.
Best Restaurant & Food
After reading multiple reviews of Baha Mar restaurants, we splurged and had a very nice dinner at Marcus, the best restaurant at Baha Mar. We shared one entre and drank water so our expensive dinner was only $246.
Best Things to Do
If you can afford the extra $125 per person per day, pay for the upgraded experience of Baha Bay Beach Club. It’s supposed to come with a $100 credit for good (but expensive) food and drinks.
For no extra cost, spend time at the great Baha Bay Waterpark and at the best pool at Baha Mar: Dean’s Blue Hole Pool. That pool has cliff diving and underwater views into a huge aquarium with sharks!
Absolutely do the free flamingo parade at least once.
We really enjoyed the free dancing water show. It was good, free entertainment every night from 6pm – 10pm.
And it would be a shame if you don’t venture off property. At minimum, walk to the edge of the water park’s parking lot and visit Da Daquiri Shack & the small Baha Mar Straw Market.
If you’re just a little more adventurous, hop a Jitney (bus) and eat at the Nassau Fish Fry. That was one of our favorite memories from our trip.
If it fits your budget, take an excursion to see the Swimming Pigs on Exuma. Most visitors say this is just incredible and costs around $500 per person.
That’s the short version of my Grand Hyatt Baha Mar review. We had a good time, but didn’t think it was worth it to us compared to our other vacations. Below is my MUCH more detailed review. If you want to get another 124 Baha Mar tips, keep reading. Or click into the Table of Contents to jump to the part that interests you most.
Other Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Reviews
After reading many Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews, there were 2 common themes that stood out.
- It’s expensive. It’s not uncommon for 2 people to spend $10-15k for a week here.
- Many people love this resort and return many times.
On the internet, you’ll find many fans of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar whose reviews say things like:
- “just go and enjoy yourself and don’t worry about the cost!”
- “I didn’t go to be cheap”
- “This destination is not for the budget-conscious.”
- “We went knowing it was going to be expensive. And accepted it.”
- “It was one of the most expensive resorts I’ve ever been to.”
- “…if you can afford it, you’ll have a great time!”
- “It is pricey but I don’t travel like this all the time.”
It’s also interesting that the other thing fans talk about most is how to save money at Baha Mar.
Read our How To Save Money at Baha Mar Tips!
Zuzu & have what we call a COST to ENJOYMENT Ratio and those comments had us pretty concerned before our trip. High COST is fine if the ENJOYMENT is off the charts.
According to Facebook and these 4 Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews, lots of people think this is is the best vacation spot they’ve even experienced:
- Chic Everywhere – Jane ‘s review mirrors many of my own thoughts. She liked Baha Mar’s wildlife and grounds but not the beach chairs (I KNOW!) and how everything was an upsell.
- Stroller in the City – Brianne has a great focus on kid activities
- Everything Dee – great info but we disagree about the buffet
- The Blissful Blogger – brief review & comparison to other Nassau resorts
So we went on this trip with very high expectations to match the very high cost.
Booking & Reservation
Best Rates on the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
Prices at the Grand Hyatt fluctuate greatly based on season and room type. For example, you can get a standard room for around $300 per night or you can pay over $1000 per night during peak season.
For our 4 night stay, a standard room was $877/night. The suite that we received was priced at $1,179/night.
Redeeming Hyatt Points
To cover our trip in May, we used 77,000 Hyatt points instead of paying $4719 for our Grand Hyatt Suite on the end of the 16th floor. As a Hyatt Globalist, I used a Suite Upgrade Award to confirm this suite months before our trip.
Booking a Family on Points
While it was just the 2 of us, Baha Mar is very family friendly. In fact, we’ve read that families with 3 children have been able to book a room on points with no problems. Just select the maximum of 2 adults and 2 children in a room and then call the Grand Hyatt to let them know that you’ll have a third child in the room.
While this seems to be a long standing policy, it could change at any time so make sure you call and confirm for yourself.
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Points: Category 6
As a Hyatt Award Category 6 hotel, the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar is normally 25k points per night. If you travel on a peak night, you’ll need 29k points for a free night. We visited when the resort was a Category 5 so our points costs were a little lower than they are now.
How Much Were Our Hyatt Points Worth
Including our Globalist benefits, we got $5,299 of free value from Hyatt and used 77k points. That makes our Hyatt points worth a whopping 6.9 cents each for us, much better than our average value of 4 cents per Hyatt Point.
Learn how you can easily earn Hyatt Points and Travel for Free!
Location
Situated on Cable Beach in Nassau Bahama, the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar shares a massive campus with 2 other hotels.
For more of a party atmosphere, you can head over to SLS Hotel for the chic trendy party vibe. Or for super quiet luxury, the Rosewood Hotel is the most exclusive and high end part of Baha Mar.
The SLS & Rosewood pools are for their guests only, but you are free to dine at their bars & restaurants and just walk around their property.
Address
If you need to map the Grand Hyatt with GPS, here’s the address:
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar
1 Baha Mar Blvd, Nassau, The Bahamas
+1 242 788 1234
Other Hyatts in Bahamas
While there are no other Hyatt resorts in the Bahamas, there are 2 resorts nearby on Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean. We stayed at the relatively tiny Point Grace Resort and Spa on Providenciales Island and had a wonderful time.
Nearest Airport
The main Nassau airport is Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS or LPIA). It’s about a 30 minute drive by taxi. If it’s just 2 of you and you don’t mind an older vehicle, the taxi fare of $30-35 is the best way to get from the airport to Baha Mar.
If you’re flying to Baha Mar, you should definitely read our comprehensive Nassau Bahamas Airport review. In that, we step you though the Nassau Airport:
- Arrivals, Immigrations & Customs
- Baggage Claim
- Transportation to Baha Mar
- Departures
- Security & Customs
- Duty Free Shops
- Restaurants & Airport Lounge
Read our full Nassau Airport Review!
After a 30 minute ride from the airport and a 10 minute stop at a grocery store, Zuzu & I arrived at the main entrance to Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
Lobby and Check In
As we exited our car, one of the bellmen approached and started to direct us to the East Tower lobby. When I told him that we had top level Hyatt Globalist status, he pointed us to the West Tower check-in.
Registration
Stepping though the massive brass entry doors, we headed past the Jazz Bar and past the Concierge Desk. On the right was the West Tower front desk with a sign for a dedicated World of Hyatt line.
There was only one guest checking in on this Friday at 3pm. Since they were in the WoH Elite member line, we made our way past them to the first of several other registration clerks.
Zuzu and I were greeted by a friendly front desk staff. She chatted nicely with us as she got our wristbands that serve as room keys, even noting that she had visited our hometown of Nashville recently.
Wristbands, No Room Keys
Since the waterproof wristbands get us in our room and provided entry into the Baha Bay Waterpark, we wore them the entire time at the resort.
While checking in, I asked twice about Globalist perks.
We had heard that Globalists get free drinks and a free breakfast but I wanted confirmation and get details. Both times that I asked, she said ‘everything‘s in the packet’ with no further explanation.
That turned out to be incorrect and an inconvenience.
No Welcome Packet
When we got to our room in the West Tower, we opened the “packet.” It had nothing about Globalists or Globalist benefits in it.
Later that night, we trekked to the East Tower registration desk (our West tower desk closes at night). After waiting in line, we inquired if we were supposed to get something for being a Hyatt Globalist.
Yes, there was an envelope with my name printed on it. For some unknown reason, the young lady who checked us in earlier didn’t give it to us. Inside my Globalist envelope was a nice welcome note as well as four coupons for two free drinks each. That’s 2 free drinks for each day of our stay.
The Globalist free drink coupons are valid at only: Regatta, T2 Cigar Bar, Pool Bars & the Jazz Bar. Each drink is capped at $25 including 25% tax & service fee. That’s a free $200 if you maximize these coupons.
Also inside was a Globalist Welcome note. It let us know that Globalists could eat at the Regatta Breakfast Buffet for free. Since our visit, Globalists can also get free breakfast at Palms Cafe and Cafe Madeline.
Mini Fridge Rental
I also asked what was the charge for getting a mini refrigerator in our room. She told me a mini fridge is $50 for the duration of our stay but said she would send up a complementary refrigerator to make up for us not getting our welcome package at check-in. While I thought that was pretty fair, I’ve heard that all Globalists get a free refrigerator so maybe she embellished a bit.
Room
In addition to booking our room for free on Hyatt points, we also used a Suite Upgrade Award (SUA) which got us into a Grand Suite King room.
Room 1600 was at the very end of the 16th floor in the West Tower. We had plenty of space but it was a bit dated and more spartan than half of the resorts we’ve visited. Our favorite thing about this suite was that it actually had two separate balconies!
The first room had a balcony with a fantastic view of the dancing water fountain show that ran from 6 PM to 10 PM every night. Just sitting and watching the water show was one of the favorite things that we did on this trip.
Through the bedroom, our second balcony faced the beach and the waterpark.
Even though we normally love to sit on a balcony facing the beach, the balcony chairs were uncomfortable and we spent very little time on this balcony.
While a standard room starts at 382 sq ft, our free Suite upgrade gave us about twice the space at 694 square feet. Although it was not as nice as some rooms we’ve had at Hyatt resorts, our room was clean with an open air feel to it. Some of the furniture pieces were showing their age with scuff marks. There were minimal decorations but I think you’d only notice that if you’ve visited multiple high end properties for comparison.
Bed
As we’ve come to expect at most Hyatt properties, the king size bed was good. The bright white sheets and pillows were all comfortable and felt appropriate for a high end resort. When we called for extra pillows, they were delivered within an hour.
Bathroom
Between the front entry room and the beach facing bedroom, the bathroom was large, bright and functional with two sinks, electrical plugs and a water closet with a door for the toilet.
Shower
As is somewhat common in newer resorts, there’s a glass shower that looks over the bedroom. There are shutters that can be pulled to give you privacy in the shower. With the shutters open, you can see the beach from the shower.
The large shower had both a handheld showerhead and an overhead rainfall shower head.
Bathroom Amenities
In the shower, there were large pump bottles of shampoo, conditioner and body wash from Balmain Paris. It had a pleasant scent and was fine.
Electrical Outlets
On almost every wall, there were multiple options for charging your phone and other devices. Near the big screen TV, there was an outlet with 2 standard electrical plugs as well as a pair of USB A connections. There were no USC C plugs.
Several of the outlets were loose and struggled to hold our chargers. I know it’s a potential fire hazard but we just bent our plugs a little to stay in the outlets.
All the electrical sockets are US style 110 volts so all of your American plugs and chargers should work. There are no European 220 volt outlets.
Tablet
Next to our bed, there was a tablet with a Baha Mar map, activities, restaurant menus, activities and room service. We didn’t use it much but I can see how it could be useful for some guests.
Mini Bar
In the entry room, there’s a mini bar with snacks and beverages for purchase. Don’t try to place your own items in here. Not only is there is no extra space in the mini bar but you’ll be automatically charged if the for-sale items get moved around too much.
Mini Fridge
Although it’s not included, I strongly recommend that you rent a mini fridge at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. Although we got ours for free, it would have been well worth the $50 charge for our entire stay.
Balconies
Since we’re beach people, we normally enjoy alot of time sitting on our balcony and watching the ocean. It was an unexpected surprise that we got 2 balconies: 1 facing the beach and 1 facing the dancing water fountains on the other side of the resort.
It was another unexpected surprise that we much preferred the inland facing balcony over the ocean view balcony.
Ocean View from Our Room
From the ocean facing balcony, our view was mostly of the Baha Mar Waterpark with the Atlantic Ocean in the background.
Since we could barely see a beach, the view was a little disappointing. But the 2 chairs on the balcony were extremely uncomfortable and we didn’t sit on this balcony at all. That would have been really upsetting if not for the second balcony.
Dancing Water Fountain Balcony View
Facing inland, we had a birds eye view of the fantastic dancing water show and laser light show from our 16th floor balcony. Like I said, we really enjoyed this balcony and there was a comfortable couch that we sat on several nights.
After getting settled in our room on our day of arrival, we headed downstairs toward the beach to grab some food and explore.
This resort is massive. We wandered around for a couple hours, and felt like we had seen less than half of the property.
Restaurants at Baha Mar
Since Grand Hyatt Baha Mar shares the resort with 2 other hotels, it seemed to have an infinite number of places to eat and drink. In reality, there are 15 main Baha Mar restaurants and another 38 options for food and drinks.
Kids Eat Free
While it didn’t help us, families with small children get a small break on some food at Baha Mar. Kids 5 and under eat free at most of the nice Baha Mar restaurants. Unfortunately, most of the breakfast and lunch options do not honor this but some do have a family friendly kids menu.
Restaurant Hours
The main restaurants are all open until 10pm. A few stay open until 10:30 & 11pm. If you’ve got a really late night, you can eat at The Swimming Pig on the casino floor which is open until 4am.
On this 1st day at the resort, our previous meal had been a late breakfast in the Houston Airport lounges six hours prior. So we got a quick snack of chicken strips from one of the food trucks around the resort.
Food Trucks
There are 8 semi-permanent food trucks at Baha Bay. Most are open from 11am-6pm.
- Da’ Poke Bowl – Hawaiian on the Board walk
- DAQ’s – Frozen daiquiris on the Board walk
- El Jefe – Mexican on the beach near the Flamingos
- Scoops Ice Cream – yep, ice cream near the Pier
- Knosh’ – Pescatarian and Vegetarian Kosher on the beach
- Blue Mojito – Cocktails on the beach
- Takeaway – Snacks and drinks on the beach
- Street Bird – Chicken on the beach
At Streetbird, we paid $20.75 for three chicken strips and a basket of fries to share. It wasn’t good but we ate it anyway because we were so hungry. Think ‘below average fast food’ at 3x the price.
The chicken was thin and a little overcooked. The fries were fine but not memorable. Since we brought a free water from our room, we didn’t have to pay for a bottle of water here.
The 2 best things about the Streetbird food truck? It was our least expensive meal at Baha Mar and it was on the beach.
In the early evening, Cable Beach looked beautiful but we were surprised at how many beach chairs (all empty at this time) were crammed together on some parts of the beach.
At the far edge of property, there were almost no chairs. We later learned that this part of the beach was for the extra cost Baha Bay Beach Club.
We dipped our toes in the ocean and continued to explore the beautiful grounds of the hotel as the sun went down.
Pizza Lab
After dark, it was time to get some real food so we went to Pizza Lab, one of the least expensive restaurants at the resort. Although this was Friday night at 8PM and we had no reservation, it was only a 20 or 30 minute wait for a table for two. However, we were able to get two seats at the bar with no wait.
We ordered a 12 inch margarita pizza which was excellent. It was our 3rd favorite resort pizza, only behind wonderful pizzas we ate at the all inclusive Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana and Hyatt Ziva Cancun.
Zuzu got a mango mojito which was not good enough to finish. I just got water. Both drinks came with plastic straws.
Didn’t notice at the time but we weren’t charged for Zuzu’s drink. Maybe that was karma. Our bill for just the pizza was $36 after tax and tip. Since we didn’t get charged for her lousy mojito, Pizza Lab was the best value restaurant at Baha Mar to us.
Pizza Lab also has a counter setup for togo orders. If you don’t have a reservation and don’t have time to wait, you can quickly get pizza by the slice.
Besides Pizza Lab, Baha Mar has 14 other restaurants including:
- Cinko Asian Latino Grill
- Shuang Ba
- Cleo Mediterranean
- Fi’lia – get the fried seafood appetizer
- Katsuya
- Carna Steakhouse
- Sugar Factory
- Swimming Pig – get the calamari appetizer
- Costa Rosewood – get the lobster enchiladas
- Cafe Boulud
- Regatta Food Hall
- Stix Noodle Bar
- Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House
Restaurant Reservations Required
With so many guests at Baha Mar, it’s best to have reservations if you dine at any of the nicer restaurants, especially if you have a larger party.
In fact, there’s a very active Facebook group for the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar where some posters suggest making reservations 2 months before your trip.
That was overkill for us.
Since the only expensive restaurant we wanted to visit was Marcus, there were several decent reservation options when we booked 1 week before arrival.
If you’re flexible on which restaurants you goto on which night, and you don’t insist on dining at peak times, a small party will have several reservation options for having a nice dinner.
Stix Noodle Bar
Another place where you don’t need a reservation is Stix Noodle Bar.
Located in the Grand Hyatt East Tower, across from a Starbucks, Stix has the feel of a nice food court Asian restaurant.
With no wait, we were seated at one of several empty tables setup on the outside of the restaurant. But there was a problem.
When we were seated, the table was wet. After we ordered, we realized that condensation on a ceiling air conditioner vent was dripping directly onto our table. At the same time, another couple realized they also had condensation dripping into their food.
We were both reseated in the main Stix area and the other couple got fresh food. There was no issue after that.
I can’t imagine that this had never happened before. All six of these outside tables were wet when we arrived. Seems like a 5 star resort should know that guests don’t like anything dripping on them and their food.
Although we had to move tables, the food was good. Pot stickers were delicious and the chicken fried rice was above average. Our total bill for those two items, no drinks, was $58.
One final note about Stix for Celiacs.
If you have celiac disease, I think I’d avoid Stix Noodle Bar. According to another guest, Stix can prepare Gluten Free but she asked both the chef and the manager about cross contamination. They suggested that she not eat there.
I realize this is second hand info about Stix so do your own research before making a decision.
Regatta Buffet
Another way that we saved money at Baha Mar was by getting free breakfast.
As I mentioned earlier, Hyatt Globalists get free breakfast at the Regatta Breakfast Buffet. That saved us $95 each day.
Regatta Buffet is open from 6am-noon Monday through Saturday and from 6-11am on Sunday.
I’ve got to say, we just weren’t impressed. Overall, I’d rate the breakfast buffet at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar in the bottom third of resort buffets that we’ve experienced.
While there was a wide variety of dishes, and the popsicle selection was impressive, the food quality and service was nowhere near what I expect at an expensive five-star resort.
Baha Mar Buffet vs All Inclusive Resort Buffets
There’s a widely held belief that resorts like Baha Mar always have better food than All Inclusive Resorts. That’s categorically false.
Just 6 weeks before this Nassau trip, Zuzu and I had vacationed at two All Inclusive Resorts and their wonderful buffets were fresh on our minds.
Check out our favorite All Inclusive Resorts!
While the food can obviously vary by individual resort, the buffets at Secrets Maroma Beach and Secrets Moxche were tremendously better than Regatta Buffet. The food, atmosphere, and service at Regatta were not in the same ballpark with those 2 All Inclusive Resorts.
Problems at Regatta Buffet
Happy to say that we never had much wait to get a table at Regatta. Sad to say, on each of our four days, it was at least 5 minutes after seating before a server came by to get our drink order.
One morning after waiting at least five minutes for a drink, I tried to help myself to some orange juice and apple juice. I got chastised by a server who eventually let me get two drinks.
Two other specific complaints about Regatta Buffet.
First, the buffet was just noisy compared to most of the other resort buffets that we’ve been to previously. Instead of a relaxing atmosphere, it had an overcrowded and slightly stressful vibe to it.
I probably wouldn’t have noticed if I was with a large, noisy group of friends or if I’d had several kids in tow. And I want to be clear, this was NOT just too many kids being kids.
Finally, about a third of the tables had table tops that were sticky.
The first time we got a table like that, after waiting for a server to acknowledge us, we asked for it to be wiped down again. We quickly realized that it was the finish on the table top. Every single glass left a white ring on the table top. Regatta Buffet just needs to replace these old tables.
Regatta Buffet reminded us more of a $9.99 all you can eat buffet than a 5 star resort.
Update: Globalists at Baha Mar can now get free breakfast credit at Cafe Madeline & Palms Cafe. That’s GREAT! Let me know in the comments if you’ve experienced this.
Best Restaurants at Baha Mar
From reading other Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews and 1000+ opinions on Facebook, we settled on Marcus as the likely best restaurant at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
The four most often mentioned as best restaurants at Baha Mar were:
- Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House
- Cleo Mediterranean
- Carna Steakhouse
- Costa Rosewood
What stood out about Marcus was that it was much more consistently in everyone’s top 2 or 3 favorite Baha Mar dining options.
Marcus at Baha Mar Fish + Chop House
So on our 3rd night, we got dressed up for a 9pm reservation at Marcus Fish + Chop House. Since we can’t afford to spend an extra $200-300 for dinner every night, this was the only fancy restaurant that we tried at Baha Mar.
After a short wait outside, we entered through Marcus’s bar area towards our table.
5 Star Atmosphere
With a warm beach house feel to it, Marcus is definitely high end. As opposed to the upscale food court ambiance at Stix Noodle Bar, Marcus made us feel instantly at ease.
This is what we had been expecting from a 5 star resort.
There’s a choice between indoor or outdoor seating but we booked too late to sit outside. If you book at least a month ahead, I recommend that you book an outdoor table to fully appreciate the breathtaking beach scenery.
Just be warned, you might want to take bug spray if you sit outside near the bushes.
5 Star Service
Service at Marcus was great. Our server Fredricka was friendly and attentive all through dinner. She asked about allergies and made recommendations.
Let me emphasize, EVRYTHING is expensive at Marcus. It would be challenging for a couple to have dinner for under $100 here. Plenty of people on the web report spending $200-400 per person for dinner at Marcus.
Food was Almost 5 Star
We shared the very good Catch of the Day plus 1 side item and a bread. We both drank only water. Our bill was about $246. It would be super easy to spend $500 for dinner for 2 here.
OTOH, if you want to save money, the entrees are plenty big enough to share. In hindsight, I think we should have shared one of the $70 entrees instead of the $180 catch of the day.
Since our $246 dinner at Marcus was fully 1/4 of our entire $966 trip cost, I’m happy to say it was a very good experience. All the food was good and the service and atmosphere were great. Dinner at Marcus was one of the highlights of the Baha Mar resort for us.
Starbucks
Baha Mar has 2 Starbucks. The East Starbucks is just off the casino floor across form Stix Noodle Bar. It’s at the top of the escalator that would take you down to Pizza Lab and the Regatta Buffet. The West Starbucks is near the Baha Mar shops in the West Tower.
You can pay for your Starbucks coffee with cash, credit card or by room charge. These 2 locations do not use the Starbucks app.
Every time we passed Starbucks in the Grand Hyatt, there was a long line. At peak times, expect to wait 30 minutes or more.
Bars & Nightclub
In addition to bars inside most of the restaurants, Baha Mar resort has about another 20 options for getting a drink. About half are inside and about half are outside.
Beach & Pool Bars
Most of the pools have a convenient bar where you can get drinks. In a few cases, you can also get some food from the pool bar as well.
- Out Island Bar
- Daqs
- Elixir
- H2O Swim Up Bar
- Blue Mojito
- Bungalow Bar & Grill
- Marcus Up Top
- Skybar
- Privilege SLS Pool & Dayclub
Most of the beach and pool bars close at 6pm.
Hotel & Casino Bars
Of all the indoor bars at Baha Mar, we enjoyed the Jazz Bar the most. It wasn’t very large but the different performers we saw were all fantastic.
- Jazz Bar – our favorite
- Bar Noir
- The Lynden
- Manor Bar
- Monkey Bar
- Reflections
- The Book
- T2 Cigar Bar
- Bond Nightclub
Beach & Pools
Zuzu & I are beach people so we were really looking forward to one of the best beaches in the Bahamas. In several Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews, people also raved about the many pools and the water park at Baha Mar so we had high expectations there as well.
Before this trip to Baha Mar, our stays at Impression Moxche by Secrets and at the Andaz Maui in Hawaii had been the ultimate combination of a 5 star resort with a beautiful beach and amazing pools.
Would the beach & pools at Baha Mar stack up against the amazing Andaz Maui pools and beach?
Dean’s Blue Hole Pool
There are 9 pools at Baha Mar. Each has a different vibe but our favorite was Dean’s Blue Hole.
Just off the beach and close to the waterpark, the 2 main features of Dean’s Blue Hole pool are the cliff diving spots and The Grotto: a cave like area of the pool with huge windows into the adjoining aquarium. This pool is very family friendly but we never felt like the kids were taking away from our enjoyment.
Cable Beach at Baha Mar
On our second day at Baha Mar, we slept late, had our free breakfast at Regatta and made our way to the beach around noon.
When we got to Cable Beach, it wasn’t as beautiful as it looked the previous evening.
Overcrowded and Trashy
Yes, there are free chairs and umbrellas, but we’ve never seen such a crowded beach at a resort. Also, we were surprised at the trash. No one seemed to be picking up trash throughout the day.
Maybe they were understaffed & overworked but there seemed to be quite a few beach staff in dark blue shirts.
Beach Staff
When we arrived at the beach, we found a pair of beach staff who got 2 towels & chairs for us. I tipped them and asked them to clean off the table next to our chair. No response. I asked for an extra towel so I could wipe off the table. They just walked away.
Our umbrella blew over a few minutes later. Again, I tipped the staff as they fixed it and repeated my request for an extra towel. They just walked away again.
Another surprise for us was that the overcrowded beach chairs were not padded. About half of the beach resorts that we’ve been to have padded beach chairs for guests. At Baha Mar, you only get padded chairs if you pay extra.
Food & Drinks at Cable Beach
Since most of the food trucks were at the edge of the beach, there were plenty of food and drink options a short walk away. Closest to our seats was the Beach Hut with beer & Truly for $11.25 and mixed drinks for $20 (after tax & fees).
There were a few vendors walking the beach but not as many as we’ve seen at some resorts in Jamaica, Cancun & Punta Cana.
Soft White Sand and Mostly Clear Water
Both the sand and the water were pretty good. Cable Beach’s soft white sand was comfortable to walk on. There was a moderate slope as you waded into the perfect temperature water.
We didn’t need our water shoes at Cable Beach as there were very few rocks & shells under the water.
With virtually no waves, we waded & swam out to one of the six large yellow floating rafts that were anchored about 40 feet from the shore. While the floats could have used a good cleaning, it was really pleasant to hang onto them in water that was about 6 or 7 feet deep.
Free Water Rentals
At the Baha Mar water activities stand, you can get free:
- Kayaks (single & double)
- Personal Floats
- Water Hammocks
Unlike some of the other resorts we’ve visited, there were no free Hobie Cat catamarans and sailboats. There were vendors on the beach offering jet ski rentals but we didn’t pay for that.
Cable Beach Pier
With docks for excursion boats on the far side, a large wooden pier acts as a boundary on the western edge of the free beach.
At the end of the pier, we found small seating areas on both sides which seemed to always have a place to sit and relax.
While we never saw turtles at the end of the pier, a few seagulls said hello to us.
And even though my photography didn’t come out great, the pier made for a very romantic setting in the evening.
On the other side of the Pier past the free beach, there was more of Cable Beach that was reserved for guests who paid extra for the Baha Bay Beach Club.
Saving Chairs at Pools & Beach
Despite having lots of pools and a decent size beach, most good chairs get saved pretty early. Starting at around 8am, you’ll see lots of saved chairs with random shoes, hats & books even though the hotel towel booths don’t open until 9am.
If you want a specific chair at a pool, you need to save it around 7:30 or 8am. Among the most sought after chairs were across from the swim up bar. The get both sun and shade and they seemed to be saved earlier.
If you’re late risers like us, best option is to ask a pool attendant. We had better luck with them than the unhelpful beach staff.
Baha Bay
On our last full day at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, we decided to blow our budget on an upgraded pool day (and that $250 dinner at Marcus).
Baha Bay is a new water park on property which is free for all Baha Mar resort guests. But there’s also a private area called Baha Bay Beach Club.
When we were researching and reading Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews, it was astounding how many reviews said paying extra for the Beach Club was the best thing they did.
I mean, this is already a super expensive resort. Why would we need to pay extra to have a great beach & pool experience?
We’re budget travelers but we let the online peer pressure & FOMO convince us to spend an extra $250 on Baha Bay Beach Club. If it weren’t for two major management fails, I would agree that the extra cost is worth it, compared to the lesser experience at the free beach and pools.
Let me tell you about the waterpark first & I’ll save the Baha Bay Beach Club story for last.
Baha Bay Waterpark
Free for all Grand Hyatt Baha Mar guests, the impressive Baha Bay Waterpark opened new in 2022 on 15 acres of beachfront property. Before you jump to conclusions, this water park is not just for kids.
Sure there are a ton of kid friendly slides and pools, but there’s plenty for adults to enjoy as well. For example, Zuzu & I thought the lazy river was the best we’ve ever been on.
Not only was it long, most of it was not lazy. There’s a fair amount of current to keep it interesting and near the 3/4 mark, there’s an area that shoots a big wave out every 90 seconds. The waves kind of rock you to the finish line of the lazy river. It was alot of fun.
If you have little kids in your group, they may find Baha Bay Water Park to be their favorite thing to do at Baha Mar. For teens and adults, it’s not quite as good as the Atlantis water park but there’s still alot to enjoy.
The Baha Bay Water Park is open from 10am til 6pm daily.
Baha Bay Waterpark Features
Here are the highlights:
- 500,000 Gallon Wave Pool
- 26,000 Sq Ft Beachfront Lounge Area
- 7,400 Sq Ft Infinity Pools – extra cost
- 24 Total Slides
- 8 Thrill Slides
- 2 Uphill Water Coasters
- FlowCurl™ Surf Simulator
- 1,400 Foot Action River
- Tipping Bucket & Water Battle Zone
- Kids’ Island for Younger Guests
- 30 Private VIP Cabanas – extra cost
- 9 Elevated Food & Beverage Options
- 6 Retail Outlets
- Secluded Casino Gaming Pavilion
- 8,500 Sq Ft Private Beachfront Event Space – extra cost
While most of this is free for all Baha Mar hotel guests, some of these are inside the extra cost Baha Bay Beach Club (like the Infinity Pools) which we had heard so much about.
Zuzu & I had a blast in the waterpark. The lazy river was great, the wave pool and slides were alot of fun. Although we didn’t try the Surf Simulator, it was pretty entertaining watching kids and more adventurous adults give it a try.
If you’re staying at Baha Mar and if you like water parks, your free unlimited access to Baha Bay could be a great added value. And if you’re a family traveling with children or several adults that will use the water park every day, unlimited enjoyment here might be enough to make up for the high prices of everything else at Baha Mar.
It wasn’t very busy when we were there but be aware that Baha Bay sells day passes for $160 to the general public.
Baha Bay Beach Club
With a prime location overlooking the best part of Cable Beach, the Baha Bay Beach Club charges extra to get reserved seating around 2 gorgeous infinity pools. The setting and pools are significantly nicer than any of the areas that are included in your Baha Mar reservation.
After researching our seat options, we were able to reserve the absolute best spot for the last day of our trip. We spent $250 to reserve 2 comfortable, padded beach chairs at a beautiful infinity pool overlooking the beach and the ocean.
While it sounded crazy to us, we should have reserved our Beach Club seats 3-6 months ahead.
Best Seats at Baha Bay Beach Club
There are 2 amazing infinity pools inside the beach club. One pool is larger with seating for about 300 people and one smaller with seats for about 35 people.
Since it’s less crowded, and the sight lines are better, the small infinity pool is more desirable. You want the front row and then you can decide if you want to have the pier in the background or a distant island. We liked the island view.
That meant there were literally 4-8 seats out of 250 that we really wanted.
There’s an entire subculture of people who visit Grand Hyatt Baha Mar regularly and rent these Beach Club seats every day of their trip. I just checked the reservation site and there are no good seats even 2 months out. They’re all sold out already!
Since we booked Beach Club chairs only 1 month before our arrival, we got lucky and were able to get a pair of the most desirable loungers for a single day of our trip. They were sold out on all the other days.
Reserved Seats
To see a seat map and reserve your Baha Bay Beach Club seats, visit https://bahabay.ipoolside.com/
There’s a map with each seat noted and you can zoom in to see the individual seat.
You can book day beds, cabanas, or even water beds. We chose the least expensive option and got a pair of chaise lounge chairs.
Chaise Lounge 227 & 228 were in the perfect location, a little secluded with the best view of any seats at the entire resort.
This was a huge step up from the overcrowded free beach where we spent Day 1.
While the 2 lounge chairs cost $250, we got a food & beverage credit of $200 to spend before they closed at 6pm. It was a good deal for the 1st half of the day.
We used our reserved spot as a base to ride the lazy river in the water park. Like I said, this was the best lazy river we’ve ever experienced.
Infinity Pool
The main reason we picked chairs 227 & 228 was the wonderful view across the smaller of 2 infinity pools, looking across Cable Beach and at a small island in the distance.
As opposed to the larger infinity pool in Baha Beach Club with over 120 chairs, this smaller pool was much more quiet with seats for only about 35 chairs.
We had a great server, Shanice, who brought food & drinks through the day. But everything started going downhill at 2pm.
Kicked Out for a Private Party
Shanice was embarrassed to tell us that we, along with 4 other people at our perfect spot, would be kicked out early for a private party. The staff intended to make us move to a much less desirable spot so they could set up for the party.
Here’s the thing about a 5 star resort. You shouldn’t get any stress put on your by the resort & staff. And we had all paid EXTRA to get this specific location.
One of the other guests cursed aloud & said “I could have bought a car with what I’m spending here!” While we didn’t spend near as much as they did, there’s no excuse for the resort springing this bad news on us.
When we and other guests complained, a manager finally showed up and gave us the option of staying while they moved everything around.
We stayed but the mood had changed from “relaxing in paradise” to “swimming in a work zone.”
No Notice about Kitchen Closing Early
The final insult at Baha Bay Beach Club was at 4:30pm when our server told us that the kitchen had already shut down. As far as we had been told, we were supposed to have until 6pm to use our food & beverage credit.
I feel like Baha Bay Beach Club stole $50 from us since we had only used $150 of our $200 credit.
As I said before, we ended this day with a really nice dinner at Marcus. After the ups and downs at Baha Bay Beach Club, it was nice to end the day on a high, even if we did blow our Nassau budget on this one dinner!
Things to Do at Baha Mar
If you’ve got a big budget, there are plenty of things to do at Baha Mar. While we didn’t want to spend the extra money, here are some of the most popular things to do at the Grand Hyatt.
Casino
As the centerpiece of the entire resort, the casino at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar is massive. It reminds me of the Wynn in Las Vegas with its red accents and new machines everywhere.
It spans 100,000 square feet and is the largest casino in the Caribbean. They offer a range of gaming options, including slot machines and table games, all accompanied by ocean views from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The casino operates 24/7 for slot enthusiasts, and the tables are open from 10 AM until 4 AM.
While we didn’t partake, it’s definitely worth considering if you’re in the mood for some casino fun during your stay. If you do, make sure that you check in with Club Blu, the Players Club for comps.
Golf Course
If you want to golf, the Jack Nicklaus designed Royal Blue 18 hole golf course at Baha Mar Golf Course is excellent.
According to one golfer, Derek Jeter just had his annual invitational there shortly before our trip. He had played it twice and said it was in fantastic shape but has a lot of bunkers to avoid. It was one of the nicest courses he had played with very friendly staff. Greens fees are around $300 and the course is open from 7am until 7pm.
Spa
With the high prices they charge, no wonder the best views of the property are from the spa at Baha Mar. Reviews of EPSA are great and the views are spectacular.
Tennis & Pickleball
At the Baha Mar Racquet Club, there are several tennis courts and pickleball courts. The Racquet Club has grass courts, clay and hard courts. Rent a court for $33 per hour. They also offer tennis and pickleball lessons. Hours are 8am to 7pm daily.
Things to Do with Kids
A vacation at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar isn’t just a paradise for adults, it can be a wonderful experience for kids also! When we visited Baha Mar, there were alot of families with children. It’s definitely a family friendly resort.
While some of the things we’ve already mentioned would be very kid friendly (like the awesome Baha Bay water park, Tennis and Pickleball, the Grotto at Dean’s Blue Hole Pool) here are some specific things to do with kids at Baha Mar that will keep your little ones entertained and help you parents enjoy your stay!
Mini Golf
In 2021, Baha Mar opened Mini Blue, an 18-hole miniature golf course which looks great!
If you’re vising Baha Mar with family, teens, or just a group looking for some competitive fun, $30 covers the miniature greens fees at Mini Blue.
Located near the Racquet Club’s sports court, the Baha Mar miniature golf course is open every day until 10pm. Kids under 12 require adult supervision.
We didn’t play but I’ve heard some complaints that it can get crowded and slow at peak times.
Flamingo Parade on Our Last Day
One of the standout free things to do with kids (or adults!) at the Baha Mar is the Flamingo Parade. Since they hold the parade every day at 9:30am & 3:30pm, you could take part in the parade multiple times if your kids enjoy the free entertainment.
To see the Flamingo Parade, we shuffled our normal vacation schedule and got up at the crack of 8am.
The parade kicks off near the beach at Flamingo Cay. Of the dozen or so flamingos in Flamingo Cay, 1 adult and 3 young flamingos were brought out to the sidewalk by a pair of professional handlers.
Led by the four flamingos, we marched about 200 yards towards the Grand Hyatt. Our parade had about 50 people following the 4 flamingos.
The Sanctuary
To show off Baha Mar’s commitment to sustainability and Bahamian conservation, The Sanctuary holds many animals and has several options for interaction. Some of the options and prices include:
- Sanctuary self guided touch tank experience, $15 per person + VAT
- Sanctuary guided touch tank experience, $20 per person + VAT
- Feeding demonstration & touch tank experience, $30 per person + VAT
- Junior Marine biologist experience, $85 per person + VAT
- Visit our aviary, $12 per person + VAT
- Meet the flamingos, $85 per person + VAT
- Aldabra Tortoise party, $30 per person + VAT
- Meet the macaws, $45 per person + VAT
Both the Sanctuary and the Aviary are great things to do with kids at Baha Mar.
At the Sanctuary, you’ll learn about sea turtles, sting rays and nurse sharks! There’s also a touch tank where you can get up close with starfish and conch.
For $13, you can get a couple of popsicle sticks with birdfeed on them which can help attract the aviary birds.
Explorer’s Kids Club
If you’re bringing kids, the Explorer’s Kids Club at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar sounds like an awesome program for children aged three through 12 years old.
The Kid’s Club keep the young ones entertained with a variety of daily activities and hands-on learning experiences run by explorer counselors. Sounds like the best part is that they incorporate play, Bahamian culture, conservation, and the island’s rich biodiversity into the Kid’s Club program.
You can find the Explorer’s Kids Club on the fountain side of the Grand Hyatt West Tower, right next to the convention center. It’s a great place for children to have fun and learn while staying at the resort.
The Baha Mar Kid’s Club costs $130 for 7 hours.
Game Zone Arcade
Located next to the Sugar Factory, the Game Zone arcade features a Frozen Snowball Toss game, Power Roll, Ultimate Shot, Big Bass, and Piano Keys.
Unlike some mall arcades, you can actually win some decent prizes at the Baha Mar Game Zone. Every game costs $2.50 to play. The Game Zone Arcade is open every dayfrom 10am until 11pm.
Babysitting at Baha Mar
If you need babysitting services, they’ve got you covered too. Just give them 24 hours’ notice for ages one year and older.
While we were at Beach Club, a staff was keeping a baby & a toddler in and around the pool. We’re empty nesters but our 2 daughters were swim instructors and one is a full time nanny. Compared to most people, we paid more attention to (and would be more critical of) the babysitter in the pool. She was wonderful!
We spoke with the mother later (she’s the one who actually cursed out loud when they told us all to move from our perfect $250 spot). We shared how great the babysitter was. She said she was very happy with the babysitting service. Mom said it was $250 for a half day.
Baha Bay Buddies
I think this babysitter was actually called a Baha Buddy, specifically for Baha Bay Waterpark & Beach Club. While it’s second hand, one mom said this:
“Baha Buddies are certified life guards you hire to basically follow your kids all over the Waterpark and “helicopter parent” them and make sure they are safe!! I watched them all day and looks very beneficial. Like if your toddler is in the little baby toddler area they stand by them and make sure they don’t fall or get knocked over, they walk them up the little stairs, catch them at the bottom, have tons of energy and play with them. You can be 2 feet away lounging on a chair and watching but don’t have to get up every second and you can be right there. If the older kids want to run to a water slide they go with like the parent. It’s great if you need to go to the bathroom or just need a break! They work for and are vetted through Bahamar. They all have uniforms on.“
Baha Mar App
There’s a mobile app for Baha Mar that we found somewhat helpful.
The interactive map of Baha Mar wasn’t great but it was the easiest way to find and book restaurant reservations. You should download it before your trip to get familiar with it.
Dress Code
Similar to other beach resorts we’ve visited, the dress code at Baha Mar was mostly Resort Casual. However, we saw all manner of attire so it wasn’t set in stone.
At the fancy restaurants, we saw a guest in a tshirt and shorts, and we saw an entourage that was dressed to the nines. While we didn’t see anyone wearing ‘Pool Casual’ beachwear at dinner, pretty much everything else looked fine.
Learn how to de-code the resort dress code!
We didn’t see many wet swimming suits running through the hotel. Almost everyone followed the standard Resort Casual dress code at the Baha Mar.
Globalist Benefits
As top level Globalists in the Hyatt loyalty program, Hyatt specifies several extra benefits that we are supposed to receive. Here’s how the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Globalist benefits stack up compared to what they tell us to expect.
Elite Check-in
As we exited our car, I told a staff member that we were Globalists and he pointed us to the West Tower check-in. Inside, there is a dedicated World of Hyatt sign and WoH line at registration. We arrived on a Friday at 3pm and there was almost no wait in line.
Globalist Recognition
World of Hyatt Globalists are treated pretty well at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. Globalists get free breakfast at Cafe Madeline, Palms Cafe & Regatta Buffet (skip the buffet, it’s lousy) and one coupon for 2 free drinks for each night of your stay, i.e., 4 nights = 4 drink tickets = 8 drinks.
But geeze, did our front desk person make getting that info tough for us!
On check-in, this friendly staff gave the obligatory “Thank you for being a Globalist” but she didn’t mention any benefits.`
So I asked, “How does the free breakfast work?” and “Are there any other Globalist benefits?” Every time I asked about benefits, she didn’t provide an answer. She just repeated “Everything‘s in the packet.”
When we got to our room, we opened the “packet.” It had nothing about Globalists or Globalist benefits in it.
After dinner, our West Tower registration was closed so we made our way to the East Tower registration desk to ask about Globalist benefits. They quickly found an envelope with my name printed on it. Inside was a nice (boilerplate) welcome note, info about the free breakfast perk, and 4 coupons for 2 free drinks at a limited number of bars.
I’m disappointed that we didn’t get this at check-in and had to chase it down later. And it was just weird that the first staffer at check in (politely) refused to answer my questions about perks.
Room Upgrade
Most Globalists report getting some type of room upgrade. For example, a high floor or ocean view room is common. OTOH, getting a Globalist room upgrade at Baha Mar to a Suite is uncommon.
So we had our My Hyatt Concierge apply a Suite Upgrade Award (SUA) for our 4 night stay.
With the SUA, we received the Grand Hyatt’s West Tower Room 1600. It was a large room on the end of the 16th floor with 2 balconies. During our stay, the standard room we booked with points was $877/night. The upgraded Grand Suite King was $1180. So the SUA was worth $302 each night or a total value of $1208.
Late Checkout
After asking, we received a 1pm checkout to meet our 4pm flight from Nassau Airport. It seemed that a 4pm checkout would have been fine but we didn’t need it.
Resort Fees
Resort fees would have been $71.50 per day for us but these fees were waived as a Globalist perk. That saved us $286. And resort fees are waived for any WoH member who books award nights with Hyatt points.
Bottled Water
Every guest of the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar gets (seemingly) unlimited bottles of water for their room. They seem to restock to a maximum of 4 bottles if you don’t ask. However, we asked for extra bottles one day and received them with no trouble.
There are many reports of guests (not just Globalists) getting as many water bottles as they wanted.
Earning Hyatt Points
My Hyatt bill looks correct and shows that I was charged $379 for our 4 night stay at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
However, my Eligible Spend (Qualifying Spend) was $544. I received 5 points per $1 on the Eligible spend plus my 30% Globalist bonus for a total of 3536 points. Another 6k points came from a Hyatt Journeys 2 nights bonus. Finally, I used my WoH Card to get another 4x points.
In total, we spent $379 (with the Grand Hyatt) and received 11,052 Hyatt points which is worth $420 of free stays to me.
Keep in mind that some of the resort restaurants and services are NOT managed by Hyatt and you won’t receive points for spending at those.
btw, alot of people report that they get incorrect bills. While we didn’t have this issue, this complaint is so common that we checked our portfolio on the TV every day.
Faster Internet
We had a healthy 69MB download speed but I have no idea if that was a Premium Internet for Globalists or just the regular wifi speed. Not only was it a fast 69Mbps in our room, we had a strong 30Mbps wifi signal at the beach.
Club Access
While Globalists and anyone with a Club Access Award can get into a Hyatt Club, there is no open Club at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
Beware of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar reviews that say there’s a Grand Club Lounge here. They’re wrong.
Prior to Covid, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar had a very nice Grand Club Lounge. The lounge has been permanently closed since the pandemic. According to all reports, there is no plan to re-open the Hyatt Club at Baha Mar.
Free Breakfast
Globalists get free breakfast at Regatta Buffet. That saved Zuzu & me $95 each day ($380 total savings). The buffet was ok but I’m sure glad we didn’t have to pay for it. Food was a little better than an average Hyatt Place but service and furnishings were bad.
Update: As of 2024, Globalists at Baha Mar can now get free breakfast credit at Cafe Madeline & The Palms. 2 adults get a $100 credit. 2 adults & 2 children 11 & under get a $145 credit. Let me know in the comments if you’ve experienced this.
Regatta Buffet at Baha Mar ranks as one of our worst Hyatt breakfast options ever as opposed to our best Globalist breakfast at Andaz Maui.
Free Parking
We didn’t have a rental car but Globalists should get free parking at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar.
Free Drinks
As I mentioned earlier, the Globalist welcome envelope contained 4 tickets for 2 free drinks each. The drink coupons are valid at only: Regatta, T2 Cigar Bar, Pool Bars & the Jazz Bar. Each drink is limited to $25 including tax & mandatory service fee. Zuzu & I got about $80 of free drinks from this after giving away our unused last coupon.
You’ll get 1 free drink coupon for each day of your stay.
How Much Were Baha Mar Globalist Perks Worth?
In total, we received Globalist benefits of $746. If you include the SUA value and the points earned, being a Globalist at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar was worth $2374 to us.
Is Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Worth it?
After reading so many comments like “just go and enjoy yourself and don’t worry about the cost!” and “…if you can afford it, you’ll have a great time!” I can attest that you’ll enjoy Grand Hyatt Baha Mar more if you spend more money.
But for us, we didn’t think that Baha mar would be worth visiting again. Did the family who “could have bought a car with what we paid!” think it was worth it?
For their sake, I hope so since they spent 10 or 20 times our $966 budget.
Grand Hyatt Baha Mar Review: 3.5 of 5
Don’t get me wrong, we had a good time visiting Nassau & Baha Mar. We’ve just had many vacations that had a much higher COST to ENJOYMENT Ratio than our experience at Baha Mar.
At $250 per day, our daily COST for this trip was about 2 times higher than our average cost per day for vacations. And we’d rank this trip as “Below Average” to us on our ENJOYMENT scale compared to our previous 20 or so vacations.
The Bottom Line: Would We Visit Again?
From what many people say, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar is their favorite and they visit again and again. We just don’t see that. It’s nowhere near the top of our favorite vacations and there are so many other places that we want to visit.
Here are a few Hyatt Resorts that we enjoyed more than Grand Hyatt Baha Mar and our out of pocket costs were similar or lower. Just like at Baha Mar, our rooms were free on points at all of these.
- Point Grace Resort in Turks and Caicos, much better for a similar cost
- Andaz Maui, much better for a similar cost
- In fact, our 10 Day Luxury Trip to Hawaii was so much better for a similar cost
- Impression Moxché by Secrets, much better and much less expensive
- Hyatt Zilara Cap Cana, much better and much less expensive
I’m glad Zuzu & I had the opportunity to visit Grand Hyatt Baha Mar but we see no need to return.
Other Nassau and Island Reviews
If you’re considering a trip to Nassau, here are some of our other posts that might interest you.
FB
Thanks for this great review! I’ve got a question about booking Baha Mar with points. We have a pool of Chase points ready to use, and we’re weighing our options. Is it better to book the Grand Hyatt through Chase Travel portal or to convert these Chase points into Hyatt points. From what we understand, the transfer ratio is 1:1. Also, can we pool our points with family members?
Also wonder about benefits that might come with each booking option. Curious if there are any advantages such as complimentary room upgrades, waivers on resort fees, credits, free breakfast, or drink coupons that we get booking with Chase points vs Hyatt points. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Ross Jones
Great questions!
There are 4 big benefits of booking with Hyatt points vs booking via Chase portal with Chase points (assuming there’s award availability for your dates):
1) No resort fee when booking with points.
– btw, Globalists & Guest of Honor guests get resort fees waived on paid nights as well.
2) No taxes.
– If you book through the Chase portal (or any other OTA like booking.com) you pay taxes on the room. There are no taxes on your room if you book free nights with Hyatt points.
3) Points worth more.
– If you book through the Chase portal with Chase points, your Chase points will be worth either 1.25 or 1.5 cents per point. If you transfer Chase points to Hyatt points, they’ll probably be worth much more. For example, the standard room we booked would have been $3509 for our 4 night stay. That would have cost us 233,933 Chase points thru the portal. But transferred to Hyatt, we only used 77,000 Hyatt points.
4) Elite nights.
– By booking direct with Hyatt, we earned 4 elite night credits towards status with Hyatt.
Yes, you can combine Chase points with household members. Easiest to combine Chase points & then 1 person transfer to Hyatt. You can also transfer Hyatt points but it’s not as easy.
The other perks you asked about (besides no resort fee) aren’t related to points stays. They’re all based on WoH status. Breakfast & drink coupons are only for Globalists & Guest of Honor guests. Any member has the chance of a room upgrade but higher status gives better chances and possibly a better upgrade.