Hopetown Harbor Lodge
 

Does anyone have feedback on this resort in the Abacos? How is the snorkeling from shore and from boat? How are the beaches, and the food? Is hoptetown nice? Are there good restraunts there? If given the choice would you stay on Long Island at Stella Maris or In Abaco at Hopetown Harbour village? Thanks for any advice.

We just spent a week at the Hopetown Harbor Lodge. It was wonderful. We stayed in the Butterfly house. Hopetown is the prettiest island I have seen. It is very small. Food is very expensive, bring whatever you can with you. It is fun to rent a golf cart. We rented one for a week but really only used it for 3 days as you are limited as to where you can go with it. Everything is clean and the food is good.

I have been to both and they are totally different- hard to compare. I will say, however, that if you have never been to the out islands that you should start with the Abacos. Long Island is not for everyone. It is pretty remote. If I had not been to the Abacos several times and Exuma I might have been very surprised at how out of the way LI was. I loved Stella but you would not want to be driving around at night when staying there so you would eat all your evening meals there. In Hopetown, although things are pretty simple, you do have some choices and can walk or take a cart easily to anywhere on the island. Like I said, I love both of them but I am very hesitant to recommend Long Island to people unless I know them and they fully understand where they are going. The thing that brings me back again and again to Abaco is being able to rent a boat and go on adventures every day on your own, safely and easily- great memories.
PS NO one would say they visit the Bahamas for great cuisine. You either love the simple island food or you don't.

I don't know why I didn't think to tell you this before but if you are even considering the Abacos there is a wonderful website that has tons of information about all the Abacos. Go to www.abacoindex.com and read all of Sandy Estabrook's advice, trip reports, tips, etc.- it will answer almost any question you can think of and is very entertaining. I love to read his trip reports even when I am NOT planning a trip. There are always great photos, too so it is very helpful and totally objective, one traveller to the next. Happy reading.
By the way, I never said before but I have stayed at the Hopetown Harbour Lodge- not fancy but I love it- great little pool and bar area with a beach view. Convenient and relaxing place from which to explore the islands.

I just want to reply that my husband and I would not mind the fact thst Long Island is remote. WE are about to book at Stella. If you have any pointers or must see sights for us we would appreciate it. Thanks so much for the info.

Hopetown is a cute little town. We enjoyed riding around in golf carts. We went to Tahiti beach (our favorite on elbow cay) twice and its on the other end of the island. We stayed at Hopetown harbour lodge and were not thrilled. The cottages looked cute but were not available when we booked our trip. Or room was on the top floor. The view was decent, however the room was really small. No closet except for a few hangers in the bathroom. The bathroom itself was tiny and Very dated. The water pressure was horrible and the water once shut off completely while I was showering. The beach was nice and they have a decent restaurant as well. There are a couple other casual restaurants within walking distance. The location is great and close to the ferry. Have not been to LI yet so cannot comment. We enjoyed our snorkelling trip to fowl cay. Lots of fish/coral.

Great- glad to hear you are headed to Stella Maris and I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.
Tips; first of all, you should buy a meal package because you will end up eating dinner there at night (which we thought was pretty good) unless you rent one of the houses and want to cook. We DID rent a house and although I LOVED SM I would not recommend this particular house to anyone (Edith's Harbour). It was in a beautiful location but had an odd floor plan, AC only in the bedroom, and a very outdated and weak kitchen. Some of the larger houses look much newer/more updated. What we originally THOUGHT about renting and probably should have was the 2/2 condo that came with a car included in the price. The hotel rooms looked fine, too, but I thought I wanted a kitchen like I always do and we used this one very little so that it was not worth the price. IMPORTANT:
BE SURE upon arrival to check the bulletin board (on the wall between reception and the bar) for the next day's outings (almost all are free for guests). We did not sign up for the "boat trip (snorkel/dive)" the first full day there and we should have. We found out later that it is offered only twice a week. We did go the other day it was offered and it was fun and a great value (only 3 other people on it) and we learned the "non SM" couple on it paid about $90 a person for the trip which was free for us but about the price that is to be expected if booked separately elsewhere. The "outings" are a GREAT value- take advantage of them!!!
We loved the kayak trip offered at SM also- we were the only couple so we had this vast gorgeous place by ourselves (impossible to get lost- they drop you off and pick you up) and took a picnic they prepared and our snorkel gear and snorkeled at the little cove at the base of the Columbus monument, climbed up to the top of the hill for the view and had a great time.
Take advantage of the free bicycles-we used them almost daily and there are some great beachcombing experiences within a 10 minute bike ride. Be SURE (the very best part probably) to get them to tell you how to get to the "rock pools" and snorkel there at low tide (important).It is hard to describe but it was the most memorable thing and we went back for a total of three trips there. For sure, go to Love Beach- they will direct you.
We rented a car for two days through the SM desk and they had it delivered and picked up- we forgot to specify so a right hand drive (European) car on a left hand drive road was interesting but we got the hang of it. We drove down to Clarence Town with side trips (see Her Majesty's Jail) - be sure to climb up in the church tower, eat lunch on the harbour, explore!! We also drove over to Cape Santa Maria one day for lunch and to see it then back to Columbus monument to look around and take some side streets. SM owns a beach at CSM and will take you there if you don't have a car so don't worry about that.
The one thing I probably would not do again was that we rented a scooter one day to look around but it was not really that helpful- the car or the bikes were just as good or better.
If you know how to sail a Sunfish or similar there are free ones at a nice little beach on the Caribbean side- we stopped there for a swim on the way back from Clarence Town and there was no one there and the boats were on the beach.
Be sure to get the people at SM to explain to you how to drive to Guana Island and take some crackers or french fries to feed the little curly tails (I hate lizards but it was fun and we snorkeled in the little area there and swam over to the island to explore- fun.
Ok-sorry so long. They have a great hand-drawn local map they will give you at SM of beaches and places to see, snorkel, etc.
If you would like to hear any more of my ramblings or have a couple of photos then email me at [email protected] and I will answer.
Have a great trip. LI is not for everyone but it is great if it is your kind of place- we loved it.
Ann
PS Take OFF!!!! Twilight no see-ums. Also, the beach pool is the best of the three. If they have "sweet potato soup" on the menu one night, don't miss it.

Thanks so much for all your help. WE really appreciate it. Did you do any dives or just snorkel? We are looking forward to our trip and will let you know how it went.