Don't go in December, that's for sure!
Written: Jan 28 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Quick flight and you can get pretty good deals to stay.
Cons: Pretty boring if the weather is not good.
The Bottom Line: If you go, make sure you get a deal and only go when the average daily rainfall is low.
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| juliabeynon's Full Review: Nassau |
My husband and I found that we had amassed a few hundred dollars in our change jar and we were both itching to get away for a bit, so we chose to go to the Bahamas. We stayed at the Radisson Cable Beach Resort.
The airport is terribly unorganized. We could not figure out which conveyor belt our luggage was supposed to come out on. I ran back and forth from belt to belt until I saw some pieces my fellow airline passengers had checked in circling around one. There wasn't a competent airport worker to be found. When going through customs, we were supposed to fill out a card that we were to keep for the duration of the trip and there were no cards available anywhere. It wasn't until my husband nearly caused an incident by walking past the customs agents to a man that was dressed in somewhat important looking clothing and requested a form that we got one. I don't know if the army of confused passengers behind me ever got one.
As soon as we arrived at the hotel, they started hitting us up for extra charges. There were porter fees, room cleaning fees and most irritating was the charge that we had to pay to upgrade our room. Apparently, "garden view" means you're looking at the parking lot, the bare roof of the lower floors or the employee entrance.
Ads for the Bahamas make it seem as though the weather is perfect year round. It was completely overcast and raining every day for us (4 days). And cold. I did not expect cold. I don't blame them for the weather, but there is not much to do when it is raining. The Radisson did not offer much entertainment in the daytime as some other resorts do when the weather prohibits people from laying on the beach or any other outdoor activities.
The food in the hotel left much to be desired. The restaurants felt a step up from cafeterias and were overpriced, particularly for the fact that the food also seemed a step up from a cafeteria. Of course this is my opinion, and I'm a bit of a foodie. So, we attempted to venture off into downtown Nassau to look for some grub.
We took the bus which only cost a dollar and the driver was nice and chatty. He explained to us that December was the worst time to come. Great.....thanks....
Downtown Nassau is pretty much like any cruise ship port, crowded and chaotic with expensive shops and restaurants. We found a Greek restaurant and the food was decent, but overpriced. Another evening we decided to go for some sushi (the hotel concierge was baffled at the request). We found a place in a little hotel, somewhere, I don't know where, the taxi driver brought us. By the way, taxis are pretty darn expensive! We took them twice and they cost us $20 each time for rides that took all of 15 minutes. Anyway, the sushi wasn't too hot either and again, overpriced. We were hoping to go to Dickie Mo's and it came highly recommended from the hotel staff. Unfortunately, they were not aware that it was closed. For the winter? Who knows? There was no sign stating anything and no sign of life in the place.
The staff at the Radisson ranged from polite and amusing to down right ornery. You never knew what you were going to get. The room was decent and clean and had everything you would need in a room. (Bed, bathroom, dresser, tv, radio alarm, dryer, safe, iron and board) Another thing that got on my nerves was that every staff member chastised us for not going all-inclusive. Money is money, right?
And speaking of money, don't change yours to the Bahamian Dollar. You don't need to. Also, try to go with small bills or use credit cards, because you may get change in their currency and good luck doing anything with it when your trip ends.
In all honesty, I would have rather been anywhere else at the time. I suppose it would have been better had the weather been good. (As long as I can laze on a beach and have a cocktail or two, who cares about anything else?) I would also imagine that it is probably good for a large group of friends or family to go to rather than a couple trying to "get away from it all."
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Sep - Nov
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Epinions.com ID:
juliabeynon
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Member: Julia
Location: New York, NY, USA
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 1 member
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