Marie

Does anyone have any info. on Our Lucaya? We are bringing a few families with alot of kids for Thanksgiving break. Would love to hear what you think about beaches, weather food, accommodations and what for the kids ages 5 thru 15. Any fishing? Thank you

Carrie

Hi Marie,<BR><BR>Feel free to email me directly and I can send you lots of info. on Our Lucaya, fun things to do on the island, general tidbits, etc.<BR><BR>The Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort is a nice place to stay. It should be noted that even though Our Lucaya has so many rooms, hotel occupancy is never really full and it is never crowded. I would recommend a stay at Our Lucaya since it is probably the nicest hotel property on the island.<BR><BR>You could say that Our Lucaya is a typical American style resort complex...nice and modern. The cost of food, drinks, etc, is expensive at the hotel complex itself.<BR><BR>As a guest of Our Lucaya, you are free to roam from section to section and to use any of the pools in all the sections of the property!! <BR><BR>Our Lucaya is NOT like a Ritz Carleton Hotel or Hyatt Regency and NOT as luxurious as the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island so don't expect it to be like that.<BR><BR>Our Lucaya does have a style! It is simple, not pretentious or gaudy. In my opinion, it is probably the NICEST property on Grand Bahama Island and ideally located! The staff is friendly. The Our Lucaya facilities are clean. The impressive grounds and the green manicured lawns with blooming hibiscus and bougainvillea are kept immaculate and wonderfully designed, a peaceful, tranquil beauty. <BR><BR>It's NOT perfect. Service is sometimes slow at check-in and even at the restaurants and poolside bars. <BR><BR>All in all, a vacation here is recommended to all! <BR><BR>One complaint I hear about is that those with young families are NOT catered to in the evening; that after your evening meal there is just nowhere to go and nothing to do and no organized entertainment at the resort itself. So do NOT expect a Disneyland type of resort. Port Lucaya Marketplace is just across from the property and has some free entertainment in the evenings in the main square and children have a good time dancing and running around the square.<BR><BR>A taxi from Grand Bahama Int'l Airport will cost about $19 for two people and about $3 for each additional head. Please note you will be charged extra if you have luggage and golf clubs(about $1 for each piece of luggage and about $2 for each golf bag).<BR><BR>Our Lucaya is comprised of three separate sections, three distinct hotel sections.<BR> <BR>1) Reef Village, - formerly known as the Grand Bahama Beach Hotel, Radisson and Holiday Inn (open since April 1999) - 550 rooms and suites. This section has the Sugar Mill Pool and waterslide. This is the older section of the three. Rooms are nice but slightly smaller at the Reef Village section than in the other two sections (even the bathrooms are slightly smaller). Of the 3 sections, this is the cheaper section to stay in. ***AT PRESENT, THE REEF VILLAGE SECTION HAS BEEN CLOSED SINCE SEPTEMBER 2002 (TEMPORARILY FOR RENOVATIONS) <BR><BR>2) Breakers Cay (open since December 2000) - 10 story building with 579 rooms and suites (which include 81 Harbour Club rooms on the upper two floors that share a concierge room that has food & beverages two times a day). This section has the Serpentine pool.<BR><BR>3) Lighthouse Point (open since December 2000) - 221 rooms and suites. This section has the Infinity crescent shaped pool and the Lap pool. This is probably the most secluded and quietest of the 3 sections. The exclusive Lanai suites are in this section. Lighthouse Pointe section is the furthest section over. It is closer to the Breakers Cay section than the Reef Village section.<BR><BR>The new casino will NOT be open when you go. No one knows when it will open....projected dates keep getting cancelled. The latest rumor is that it will NOT open this year.<BR><BR>best regards,<BR><BR>Carrie<BR>[email protected]<BR>

Carrie

Hi Marie,<BR><BR>A further note to my posting above...Our Lucaya has a great location because it's right on the beach.<BR><BR>Regarding weather sites, beaches on the island, fishing, I can send you information on that too.<BR><BR>For reef fishing, I would recommend the LilB fishing charter, and for deep sea fishing I would recommend Reef Tours. I can send you more info. on this and other fun things to do as a family by email.<BR><BR>The good thing about staying at Our Lucaya is that you don't really need a car rental since everything is at hand -the beach is there and Port Lucaya Marketplace is just across the street.<BR><BR>And if you do any tours/excursions, most offer FREE transportation.<BR><BR>The Dolphin encounter and most sail, snorkel and fishing packages leave right from Port Lucaya marina.<BR><BR>I assume you are going for the American Thanksgiving which i think is in November. The weather should still be nice then. I am Canadian and my Thanksgiving is in October...earlier than you Americans.<BR><BR>best regards<BR><BR>Carrie<BR>[email protected]

Lindsay

Hi Marie. I was at Our Lucaya for a wedding this past February. Carrie seems right on the money with all of her comments. I hope you have a great time and feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may have. Also, if you eat at Irie's in the complex (near the Reef Village), be sure to try the goat and also the guava cheesecake! Have fun and get some sun for me.

jess

HI. MY husband and I took our 5 year old to Lucaya this summer. We had a ball. Our son is asking when we can go back. He loved the water slide. Camp Lucaya was great he didn't want to leave, so we had a few drinks and came back later to get him.<BR>For food I suggest to go across the street, same food and a lot cheaper.

pam

Hi, this is a question to Carrie in response to her comment that the Reef Village is closed for renovations. Is it still under renovations? It is coming up in Expedia as available so I was just wondering. Is late October a good time to go there?

Carrie

Hi Pam,<BR><BR>Yes I believe the Reef Village section is still closed. I would expect that if you have reservations for the Reef Village section, that they will upgrade you to the Breakers Cay section.<BR><BR>best regards<BR><BR>Carrie<BR>[email protected]

GatorJoe

I took my family there last summer for a week.

I've got two kids (then 8 and 10) - they enjoyed the pools a lot and one of the pools has a lighthouse with a slide. This was popular with the children.

The beach was nearby and there were *some* watersports that you could purchase.

The food at the resort, imho, was a tad pricey. After a day or two, we started eating across the street where some shops and restarants are (Subway, for example) and wound up being much more cost effective.

The kids enjoyed it. I thought it was ... nice. Meaning that I'm sure that there are better ones out there, but I'm sure the base cost will be higher.

Joe