At the very last minute, my wife and I decided to head down to Nassau tomorrow. We currently are booked to stay at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort on Paradise Island (unfortunately, we have a very tight budget.) My big concern is with the beach, or lack thereof, at this resort. My question is this: does anyone know how difficult/inconvenient it is to get to Cabbage Beach from the Holiday Inn? The Nassau Beach Hotel is also within our price range, would it be better to stay there and be right on Cable Beach? Our primary purpose is to have a hassle-free vacation on a nice beach. Thanks for any help you can give me on such short notice.

Cabbage Beach is about an 8 minute walk along Casino Drive, just past Atlantis. There is a public walkway next to the Sheraton to enter the beach. The beach is beautiful, but tends to be quite busy.
This time of year, the water can be a bit rough, and beach closings are eminent.
Nassau Beach Hotel is on Cable Beach. It's a moderate hotel, clean and comfortable. The beach is calm water, with a great view. Nothing flashy, and not very crowded.
Of course, no matter where you stay, you can jitney ($1) or ferry ($3) to either beach for just a few dollars and enjoy the comparisons.
Sunspree is an all-inclusive, so your spending is preset which is good thing when on a budget.
Both hotels are Moderate. Nothing fancy. Great for relaxing.

Thanks for the help. Your comments make it sound like it is pretty easy to get from the Holiday Inn area to Cable Beach. Is this correct? (I know the New Providence/Paradise Island area is relatively small, but I have read about the high cost of taxis.) Also, and this is a dumb question, but what is a jitney and where will it get me for $1. Thanks again for your response.

If you are staying on Paradise Island, you can take the ferryboat for $3 to downtown Nassau (they run from 9am to 6pm daily and cost $3pp.) The dock is just 1 block from the #10 jitney which will take you directly to the Cable Beach Hotels for just $1pp (exact change please). Just ask the drivers which jitney, and tell him where you want to get off. It's easy and a great way to see the area. #10 goes directly to Cable Beach. #10A goes the round about way. Each takes about 10 minutes or so.
There are no jitneys from Paradise Island to ANYWHERE, so you have to either cross the bridge or ferry to town to catch a ride. The jitney from the base of the bridge does NOT go to Cable Beach.

It rained this morning early but it turned out to be a beautiful day 80 degrees approx.Kind of cool at night though,the weather has been great all month.