Nashvillebill

Ok,

So we're headed to Harbour Island for the week of April 9-16th. Right now we're probably gonna book Coral Sands but wanted to know if anyone has stayed there vs. Pink Sands or Dunmmore Beach Club. Also what are some of the MUST SEE places? And also what kind of cost is there for food and are there any restaurants that must not be missed?

Thanks for all your help!

Bill

Nashvillebill

Oh yes... one more thing. did anyone have cell phone service on the island? I have Cingular and our phones should work but I was currious to know if there is any.

Thanks again!

denice7

search on my name and you see my trip report from last May. We loved it.

Cell phone - Cingular did not work when we were there. go to www.briland.com. I think there is info on the carriers that work.

wantsomesun

I have heard that some carriers do work on island, but if yours does not work you can rent a phone for your stay, or purchase phone cards so you can call home. Not many of the resorts on island have phones in the rooms, the phone system on island is in serious need of updating, there were only a few for the entire island.

Pink Sands is the most upscale of the resorts you are looking at, but all of them are right on the beach. I really love Dunsmore the villas there are very pretty and there is a lovely gazebo on the hill overlooking the ocean.

There are several good restaurants on island, Harbour Lounge, The Landing, and all of the resorts have onsite restaurants. Pink Sands and Coral Sands also have beach restaurants. The conch burgers at Coral Sands are so good.

Also Tingum Village is a must for the BEST hamburgers, a nice spot for lunch.

The island is VERY laid back, and you will meet some of the warmest people. There is a bit of shopping, 2 dive outdfits, day trips to Eleuthera and Spanish Wells and off island snorkle trips to a deserted island for the day.

The entire island is only 3 miles long by half a mile wide, so you can walk everywhere, except to the Marina, which is on the south side of the island.

If you want to try some of the different resorts for dinner, it is best to make dinner reservations, and everyone dresses up a bit for dinner.

Romora Bay has an EXCELLENT restaurant so worth a trip over.

You might find these websites helpful
www.myharbourisland.com
www.rockhousebahamas.com
www.runawayhill.com
www.briland.com
www.coralsands.com
www.romorabay.com

Have a GREAT time and let me know if you have any other questions.

wantsomesun

Should also add the website for Dunmore is www.dunmorebeach.com

Nashvillebill

Thanks so much for all the info. I'm really getting psyched for our honeymoon! Do either of you recomend doing the meal plan at the different resorts? I know that Pink Sands and Dunmore beach both have meals included but Coral Sands (our #1 so far) only has a meal plan at an extra $60/pp.

Is it really about 150 bucks per meal if you're eating out? Also what are the usual drink prices? That's probably where most money will go to since the resorts don't include alcohol.

wantsomesun

$150 for a meal is pretty expensive even on Harbour Island. I wouldn't think you would have to spend that much every night for a good meal. Harbour Lounge, for example, I would think the entrees would be around $20 each.

Angela's and Tinum Village, and the Deli for lunch will run about $10 or a bit less pp, and there's also Miss Mae's Tea House, Arthur's Cafe and a few take away places and lunch will run $4-$6pp.

I usually go to the Pigly Wigly (market) and stock up on soda for my room. There are also 2 liquor stores on island, so you can get fixings for your beverages of choice. Beer at the resorts will run $4 and mixed drinks will run $6.

Tingum Village really is a MUST for the BEST hamburgers and Angela's for conch fritters and amazing conch salad.

You also might look into Runaway Hill, Romora Bay and Rock House for accomodations. My favorite is Runaway. They just built another villa on the hill there and the entire resort was completely redone. Miss Rica is still the chef and she is an amazing cook.

When you get to the dock on island, Reggie will be there to pick you up and take you to the hotel, where there will be a welcoming drink waiting for you on the bar.

Also wanted to mention a "picnic" might be fun, that's the two of you alone on a deserted island for a day with lunch, wine and whatever. The water taxis will take you there and arrange to pick you up at the end of the day, a really nice way to spend some time really alone.

Have a GREAT time and please let me know if you have any other questions.

Michaelpl

For what it's worth. My wife and I stayed at Pink Sands a couple of years ago for our anniversary. At the time I was very concerned about having to take all our dinners there. Having said that, I have to say they were all VERY good at that time. We had no regrets at all and were very happy we stayed there.

ccrosner

We spent four days at Coral Sands in November. Loved Harbour Island. Coral Sands is good value for the money....if you can swing a junior suite, it's worth the extra money.

I would not pay for meals at your hotel. We loved trying the other great restaurants on the island;however, you will definitely spend big bucks to eat at The Landing, Rock House and Coral Sands. We spent between $150 and $200 for dinner with appetizer, entree, bottle of wine and a drink each (good thing we could walk home). But it was worth it.

Runaway Hill looks terrific--it was closed when we were there but they gave us a private tour when they found us peering over the fence!

wantsomesun

I cant wait to go back to Runaway. Mark Messier of the Rangers (hocky team), bought the resort last year, so this is their second year season and I understand that MAJOR rennovations have occured and can't wait to be there this year. We're planning on going in June. The rooms have all been rennovated and a new villa has been built and an entire water treatment facility was installed for the resort.

The place should be spectacular, now and it was pretty spectacular before all the updates.

Nashvillebill

Wantsomesun, thank you again for all the info. I talked to Steve at Runnaway hill and their garden rooms are about on par with Coral Sands JR. Suites. Runnaway hill looks beautiful, SO many tough decisions to make! But the picnic is a great idea as well!

I'll probably go with out doing the meal plan only because it seems it could be cheaper in the long run. plus I want to check out all these other great restaurants!

What do you know about spanish wells? is there anything interesting there?

wantsomesun

I argee that you probably don't need the meal plan, but you might check that there is still a "dine around" program, that way you can check out all the restaurants and you don't have to carry money around at all, it's all put on your bill.

I'm glad you had a chance to talk to Steve, he is the Manager at Runaway and I can't wait to see all the improvements that have been made.

Miss Rica is still the chef and her cooking is amazing. She makes all her own bread everyday, and her french toast is legendary.

Spanish Wells is very much worth a trip over. You can take a water taxi over to Eleuthera or check and see if you can take a water taxi directly over to SW.

There is some AMAZING history there, all the settelers are of Dutch desent, and there is a dialect of Bahamian English there that is very specific and instantly recognized. I actually met a couple from Spanish Wells here in NYC, and it shocked us all that they were in New York, and that I RECOGNIZED their accent.

When you get to the Dock Reggie will be there to take you to Runaway and on the way ask him for a tour of the island, no one knows the island and the history better than Reggie. Please give him a hug for me.

Again, please let me know if you have any other questions.

pellsmith

Hi Nashvillebill: I have been twice to Harbour Island, once rented a house and once stayed Coral Sands. I do NOT recommend staying at Coral Sands. The "suites" in the Lucaya building were HOLIDAY INN big time. We moved to a cheaper and smaller (but far nicer) room in the main building. Nevertheless, very uncomfortable beds / pillows and minimal maid service. It was an incredible contrast from the really nice photography on the website. Maybe there's one room somewhere that looks like that. However the Coral Sands restaurants and bars and common areas are beautiful so do go there for a meal.

Also: Dunmore does not appeal to me due to included meals--a great part of the fun in HI is freedom to plan each night differently. Also, for the price of Dunmore you're using the exact same beach and facilities as you would have anywhere.

Next time we stay at a hotel there, (rather than a house) I think we'll try Romora Bay. Website is totally cheesy but we went for drinks a few times and really really were impressed by the views and the grounds and the pastel painted bar hanging out over the bay. We even saw a room which looked MUCH better than Coral Sands and maybe even less expensive. (So you can apply your $$ to expensive dinners at Rock House, Landing, Dunmore, Pink Sands). To us Romora Bay also looked more appealing than Runaway Hill which is very compact--a single building. Romora Bay is more spacious and sprawling which to us spells more privacy. And more excuses to walk outside! Bay Side I think is preferable to beach side since it's nice to be outside as much as possible and beach side gets pretty windy at night.

Nashvillebill

Thank you guys so much again for all the info. It has been so helpful in all my research. I've gone ahead and booked a room at the Coral Sands. it was the best place we could afford. NOw my question is about getting there. Being from nashville flights are gonna be on the expensive side but I'm currious to know how reliable the fast ferry is from nassau. mainly my fiance is very very uncomfortable on small prop plains like the one that goes from Ft. Lauderdale or miami. Wantsomesun do you have any suggestions regarding other alternatives?

wantsomesun

My best suggestion is to fly into Nassau and either take the Fast Ferry or Bahamas Air to N. Eleuthera Airport. Harbour Island is just off N. Eleuthera, and a short cab and water taxi ride away.

The Bahamas Air flight is only 15 minutes and it's a fairly large plane seating 50 passengers. It's a high wing propjet.

The fast ferry is VERY reliable and ontime. You might check their website for sailings www.bahamasfastferries.com

You guys are gonna' have a GREAT time. And just about everyone on island knows me, lol.

ccrosner

Nashville Bill,

Sounds like you have a nice plan. I think you will be happy at Coral Sands now that you realize that it's not the Ritz Carlton but is quite nice and a great beach. The common areas are really lovely. I respectfully disagree with Pellsmith on the Holiday Inn comment. I'll agree that the website makes the rooms look larger than they are and that the bathrooms need some updating. But we found the beds and bedding very comfortable.

You will have a great trip!

mct921

Hi,
My husband and I spent our honeymoon in May on Harbour island. we absolutely LOVED it!
I highly recommend the Coral Sands...beautiful and secluded, gorgeous decor...and the staff is encredible(say hi to cleveland, reggie and Franklin)...We even went out with some of them to the Vic-Hum. We stayed in a junior suite with a beautiful view of the beach. We did not choose the meal plan and I don't really think you need it. We went to the bakery(Arthur's) in town almost every morning and usually lunch at the CS. Dinner we mostly ventured out, but a few nights at the CS for excellent dinner(don't miss out on the conch chowder!)and the dining area is beautiful and romantic .
A few things you shouldn't miss:
-rent a golf cart (we used Johnsons) and drive around the island...it is very small so you find your way quickly. We also took ours "off-roading" down a back road that leads to all the mansions- including Elle McPhearson)
-sunset on the harbour
-Valentine's dive/snorkeling
and THE YACHT CLUB AT VALENTINE's has an outdoor bar where music is played nightly.... also take a walk out on the pier to see the yacht's docked there.
- for an authentic meal, and where the locals eat- go to Angela's Starfish... probably the best food we had on the island. This place is rustic, but cute with tables outdoors.

Hope this helps!
Molly

mct921

oops- I forgot to mention that we also used the fast ferry. We flew from the island we were married on to Nassau(stayed the night at the very sketchy British colonial-which is a Hilton...they should take some of Paris' money to fix up that scary place! But we stayed there since we needed the room for only 12 hours)
-BUT, if you happen to stay the night on Nassau(the ferry leaves very early and you have to get there early to check in)I HIGHLY RECCOMEND FISH FRY...if you ask any cab driver they will take you. It is a bunch of restraunts/stalls that serve food... lots of islanders...not to be missed!

wantsomesun

How long ago were you on Harbour Island, because there was a MAJOR fire at Valentine's and The Reach was completely burned to the ground as was the larger building, and alot of the docks. I know that alot of rebuilding has been going on and Valentine's is planning a major expansion including condos (the first on island).

I am heading down in June for a MUCH needed break and can't wait.

Nashvillebill

well in two months we'll be on our way. I just booked our flights and now if we can just get through this whole wedding thing we'll be on our way!

I'm currious to know if the Airport in Eleuthera is able to deal with E-tickets? I'm sure they are since Continental uses them. but I just don't want to get stuck trying to get home!