Welcome to the 5-star Bahama Beach Club!
We pulled up to a construction zone. I glanced around second guessing myself that we were in the right place. Surely a resort with pipes and construction materials strewn across the parking lot couldn’t be open to guests, let alone be hosting a wedding…could it? The construction materials littering the parking area in front of our condo was only the beginning, unfortunately, of a big, hot mess.
I hate writing these kinds of posts. We’ve had our share of things go wrong when working with brands and, as is our preferred method of handling such situations, we would much rather sort out the issues with management than have to take it to the internet. Bahama Beach Club though, where we had a terrible experience at the resort that honestly should not have even been accepting guests in the state that they were in, continues to try and cover up all the things that went wrong during our stay for our friend Angie Away’s destination wedding. After continued deleted TripAdvisor reviews and deleted Facebook comments, I think the world should know just what you may be getting yourself in to should you decide to book a stay at Bahama Beach Club in Treasure Cay.
I absolutely adored The Bahamas and I’ve already written rave reviews of a number of tours I went on like swimming with the pigs, staying on a private island and wrangling sharks in the Exumas. This is in no way about The Bahamas; it’s one of my new favorite destinations and will be making an appearance on our annual Places to Go round-up at the beginning of the new year.
When my friend and fellow travel blogger, Angie Away, was getting married in The Bahamas it hardly took much arm twisting for me to book a ticket. I’d followed along earlier in the year as Angie traveled to Treasure Cay to scout it out as a potential wedding venue and I knew what a gorgeous stretch of beach she’d chosen to get married on. I even talked my mom in to joining me for the wedding, promising a relaxing beach holiday with all the lobster she could eat and lots of fun like kayaking and stand-up paddle boarding.
The screened-in porch is great so you can enjoy the patio day or night…and we had a lovely view of the construction happening on one of the two restaurants/Angie’s wedding reception venue
Aside from the construction materials littering the parking lot when we pulled up, the condo itself made us forget the construction materials outside. The condo was very nicely decorated and felt like we were staying in someone’s home. We especially liked the screened-in porch. I’d been in The Bahamas for a week already and had quite the collection of chigger and mosquito bites, so I could sit on the porch without getting more bites.
My bedroom in a three-bedroom condo
We were staying in a three-bedroom condo, which we were sharing with Kristin from Camels & Chocolate and her husband, Scott. And thank goodness Scott is quite the handyman, because we quickly discovered that the light in my mom’s room wasn’t working. After spending 20 minutes attempting to call all of the numbers to various departments at the resort, Scott just fixed the light himself. It required some re-wiring.
The next thing that didn’t work was the toilet in my bathroom. Again, we tried calling every number and when we couldn’t reach anyone, I had to make a jaunt up to the office. I was promised someone would come and fix it, which did happen sometime while we were out at the beach.
At least my bathroom was clean. My mom’s bathroom, however, had roaches camping out. They were in the bathtub when she went to take a bath. My mom also pointed out that her bathtub was filthy. And it stayed that way for our entire stay since staff were hard to get a hold of and cleaning mid-stay was an extra service not included in the condo’s rate per night.
The living room
The closet with the water heater, which was located in the living room, sounded like water was going to come gushing out and all over the condo at any minute. Luckily that never happened, but it was unsettling to hear our “aquarium” gurgling away every hour or so.
A fully equipped kitchen we could have cooked in
According to Bahama Beach Club’s website: “our two, three, four and five bedroom elegant beachfront condominiums are fully equipped and include spacious kitchens, cable TV, FREE & Unlimited in-room Long Distance calling to the USA & Canada, FREE high speed wireless internet, and optional laundry and daily housekeeping service.”
As promised, there was a full kitchen, refrigerator and freezer. We also utilized the free long distance calling to the USA; my mom was able to call my dad and I called in and recorded the travel talk radio show I do. The internet, however, never worked once in our condo. Had I just been on vacation, that wouldn’t have been a problem but I had deadlines and an ever growing inbox full of client emails I couldn’t respond to.
Treasure Cay was voted the best beach in The Bahamas by Caribbean Travel and Life magazine. Too bad Bahama Beach Club is the resort that occupies that beach…
With nothing I could do about work at the moment, my mom and I decided to enjoy the beach. It was indeed one of the prettiest beaches I’d seen in The Bahamas.
What? Don’t pools normally look like this when you stay at resorts?
The water was a bit rough with the winds The Bahamas had been experiencing and my mom is a bit afraid of the water to begin with. That was certainly no fault of Bahama Beach Club. But what was a problem is that she couldn’t enjoy the two pools.
Guests enjoying Bahama Beach Club’s pool
You see, one pool was literally still being plastered when we arrived. The night of Angie’s rehearsal dinner, Bahama Beach Club had finally begun filling the pool…with two garden hoses. Yeah, that pool was going to be open before we left. <insert smirking emoji here>.
Relaxing sounds of drilling and hammering. Who wants to hear waves crashing and birds chirping anyway?
The other pool was full of water and operational, but it certainly wasn’t relaxing as construction workers trampled back and forth, drilled, hammered the roof on to the pavilion, painted and strung electrical cords round the whole place. By the way, that was the very pavilion where Angie’s wedding reception was to take place.
I also couldn’t take my mom kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding, both of which she was looking forward to doing. Despite Bahama Beach Club promising these amenities, we were told that the kayaks and stand-up paddle boards were locked up and that the only person with the key was off island on holiday.
According to Bahama Beach Club’s website: You’ll love our two on-site restaurants; the fun swim-up Pool Bar & Grill and The Pavilion for elegant beachfront and candlelight dining and weddings. Room service is also available.
Around rolled dinnertime on our first night and this is when we found out that neither of the promised two on-site restaurants were actually open. Did I mention that Bahama Beach Club is an $85 each way taxi ride away from town? There would be no lobster tacos…or food of any kind…despite what their website promised.
Remember that wonderful and fully equipped kitchen? The restaurants being closed wouldn’t have been a problem had we had any food to actually cook in those kitchens. But since Bahama Beach Club decided to be dishonest and not inform guests before arriving, the grocery store was also an $85 each way taxi ride away.
Treasure Cay isn’t the most lively of places in the midst of tourist season. It’s a sleepy village where your cares are supposed to melt away. But this wasn’t tourist season and most of the couple (read less than 5) other restaurants were closed up for the season. I now was stressed out about how my mom and I were going to eat.
I had to make my mom, who was suffering of an ear problem that severely affected her balance, walk over one kilometer each way to the one restaurant that was open in the marina. There we had the most expensive pizza I’ve ever had in my life. And it wasn’t even very good.
Apparently putting some lobster and specks of shredded lettuce on a tortilla constitutes a taco
Finally on our last day at Bahama Beach Club, the Pool Bar opened. I got to taste those “wonderful” lobster tacos and other chef inspired creations I’d heard about by following their Facebook Page before our visit. I was served some dry lobster with a few pieces of shredded iceberg lettuce on tortillas with a side of salsa. It was the only bad meal I had in my two weeks in The Bahamas. By the way, that plate cost $18.95.
Thankfully, we were aware that there weren’t breakfast facilities nearby and came prepared with yogurt and fresh fruit we’d stopped and bought at the grocery store in Marsh Harbor before making the drive out to Bahama Beach Club. What was unfortunate was when I opened the silverware drawer and some sort of bug with a stinger went running across all of the silverware. *Shudder*
Happy to announce that the Pool Bar & Grill is open and eager to serve YOU! Hope to see you there!
Posted by Bahama Beach Club on Monday, November 30, 2015
But hey, over a month after our stay Bahama Beach Club finally announced on their Facebook Page that the Pool Bar & Grill is open for business as of November 30, 2015. I had commented on that post about my displeasure that they hadn’t informed us that both restaurants would be closed for the entirety of our stay and that the nearest dining options were an $85 taxi ride away as the result. But whoever manages the Facebook Page deleted my comment in an ongoing effort of them clearly trying to cover up what transpired, just like all of our TripAdvisor reviews have been removed.
I do have to say that by some absolute miracle, Bahama Beach Club managed to pull it together just in the nick of time for Angie’s wedding. The Pavilion was finished mere hours before her ceremony, leaving Angie to have to worry about decorating instead of getting pampered and ready as she should have been doing. But the dinner buffet, wedding cake and cupcakes were delicious, the bar plentiful (and much needed after the week we’d all endured) and the ceremony absolutely beautiful.
I know that these all are first world problems. Yes, I’m moaning over a resort not having food available or the pools filled. But what if you had paid $475 per night to stay at Bahama Beach Club? Would almost none of the amenities promised being available be acceptable to you had you paid that amount of money for a destination wedding and combined holiday? I’m betting you’d be just as appalled.
In full disclosure, I did not pay for my stay at Bahama Beach Club as I was to write a review in exchange for my 3-night stay there. But Angie did pay for a wedding and all of her other non-travel writer guests paid for their three and four bedroom condos with hard earned money and used their vacation time. There were also families from Germany and France on vacation who had also paid to holiday in a construction zone.
The whole thing is outrageous. Head on over to Angie Away for even more photos, screenshots of our deleted posts and TripAdvisor reviews and the ongoing saga.
If you are considering a destination wedding on Abaco, I can recommend Abaco Beach Resort. I had the pleasure of staying there for a few nights before moving to Bahama Beach Club and saw a wedding being set up. I’ll be writing all about that stay, which I can happily recommend, soon.
My 3-night stay was hosted by Bahama Beach Club. The FTC requires that we always disclose business relationships as well as provide our honest opinions. I cannot recommend Bahama Beach Club after what I experienced and transpired during and following my stay.
Michael says
I’d like to learn more about deleted reviews on TripAdvisor. Can places do that? It would certainly defeat the purpose of TripAdvisor.
Michael
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Angie has been in contact with TripAdvisor to find out why the reviews were removed. We really can’t understand it either. The reviews had been up for about a month and the owner had even replied. Now all of a sudden all of the negative reviews have been removed.
Leigh says
Yes! I’m wondering the same thing…what is the point if bad reviews are taken down, especially when they are coming from multiple sources, not just one super picky crabby guest???
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There were 10 or so negative reviews from paying guests. I really can’t understand why those reviews were suddenly removed. I can only hope that TripAdvisor has placed them in a pending status while the whole situation is reviewed.
Kristin says
This whole situation still just makes me sick. At least, a) Angie and Rick are married (yay!) and b) we all had a great time coming together over these mishaps for one awesome day nonetheless 😉
Jennifer Dombrowski says
There honestly couldn’t have been a better group of people to weather that situation. Everyone had such positive attitudes and really made the best of it.
Angie Away says
The only thing that made it bearable was having the best, most flexible, go-with-the-flow wedding guests you could ever ask for. I’m so glad you guys were there to celebrate (and now tell the story afterward!)
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Angie, we’ve now survived a stalker, an apartment with no hot water for 7 days in winter in London and what I’m still waiting for someone to pop out and say was one of those blooper reality shows for your wedding.
And I can’t wait to travel with you again. I think that says just what kind of person you are! Love you lady!
Lance says
I’m appalled about this. Angie is such a sweet person I hate this happened to her. It has nothing to do with “first-world problems.” This is about a business not treating its customers honestly and fairly. Makes me happy my wife and I were too young and poor to have anything other than a basic church wedding 16 years ago. I can’t imagine how sick I’d be to pay for a destination wedding and see so much of the experience fall flat because the resort was dishonest.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
You’re right, Lance. Angie was a one woman ambassador for The Bahamas. From the day I met her four years ago, I can always remember she’d exclaim without hesitation that The Bahamas was her favorite place on Earth. And for months that I planned my island hopping trip around The Bahamas, she gave me excellent tips and advice. If it weren’t for Angie, I honestly wouldn’t have been making a trip to The Bahamas this year.
Angie absolutely does not deserve what happened, but I’m glad to see she’s standing up for herself and has a community (an army really) of travel and public relations people that will stand behind her. I know I certainly wouldn’t want any of my readers to go to The Bahamas and have a disappointing experience like this. This was the one big trip my mom took this year and I bring her to a construction zone where she can’t even enjoy some much needed relaxation. This resort should be ashamed.
Erin De Santiago says
Low season aka hurricane season here in Belize is when many resorts refurbish and redo their properties/rooms as well. However, either the hotel will close for a few weeks or they most certainly alert any guests coming in that period x through x will be filled with construction, no restaurants open, etc. I see tourists get frustrated here with a few restaurants being closed in September and/or October, but they have to realize too that the owners/staff deserve at least one week off, and businesses need to update, refurbish, etc., before high season starts.
That being said, I’ve NEVER seen anything in Belize like your situation in the Bahamas. That condo is 2 – 3x what you would pay for some condos here, so I’d be fuming too if that was the situation (not to mention the the cost of the taxi. We have grocery stores who deliver here on the island, and, I can’t speak for all resorts here, but I’d almost bet resorts would make arrangements to at least get guests into town once for a complimentary grocery run!
My question is how long in advance did Angie plan her wedding? I find it incredibly hard to believe they didn’t know the construction was scheduled — why was it not disclosed?????
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Angie selected the venue back in April and I was aware of the venue months ahead of time. I booked my plane ticket and knew all of her wedding details in July. The construction should absolutely have been disclosed, but it was like the resort hid it from everyone until they arrived and saw for themselves. The fact that much of what transpired could have been avoided if Bahama Beach Club had just been honest up front is the whole point.
Even two different families that had nothing to do with the wedding, one from France with their two children and one from Germany, had no idea and were pissed. The French family wandered in to the rehearsal dinner excited that the resort finally had food available onsite and were upset to learn the food was only for a private party. They were told they’d have to walk to the restaurant in the marina.
If Angie would have known, she could have had the opportunity to possible change to another venue. We could have bought groceries to cook in the fully equipped kitchens. We could have planned more off resort activities. We could of, we could of…but Bahama Beach Club didn’t give us those options by choosing to not disclose the construction. Abaco Beach Resort, where I stayed for 2 nights before moving to Bahama Beach Club, was beautiful and only a $15 taxi ride away from the airport. I also could walk to a variety of restaurants and the ferry to island hop easily from the resort. Not having the amenities to entertain guests at a resort with a location like Bahama Beach Club is a big problem.
I also have to ask myself that had the amenities been available as they should have been and the restaurants open, was Bahama Beach Club worth the $475 per night in my case or the $690 per night as Liz paid for her 4-bedroom? In comparison, I had an all-inclusive experience at Sandals Royal Bahamian and Sandals Emerald Bay (two other resorts I stayed at in The Bahamas) that included all alcohol, room service, 9 different onsite restaurants, the mini bar and a lot of more water sports than just kayaking and SUP. I can book Sandals for less than $700 per night.
Rachel says
PREACH!
Lance says
Oh my god. That’s horrible! And I can’t believe Trip Advisor deleted the reviews.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
We’re not sure what exactly happened to the reviews. There were many negative reviews posted by various wedding guests, who were all paying customers at Bahama Beach Club. So those reviews in no way violate TripAdvisor’s terms of conditions. Someone at TripAdvisor is looking in to it.
Angie Away says
Update: On Saturday there were 154 or 155 reviews of Bahama Beach Club on TripAdvisor; today, there are 146. Where are all the negative reviews going?!
Liz says
Great article! Just wanted to let you know I paid $690 per night for our \\\\\\\”condo in the construction zone\\\\\\\”. I have not gotten a refund, and my review on Tripadvisor was removed. It was nice to meet you and your sweet mom, maybe we can do it again (somewhere else ?)
Jennifer Dombrowski says
It was great to meet you too, Liz! At least this happened with a fun and laid back group of people and we did manage to have an amazing day with Brendal’s Dive Center. Paying $690 per night for what you got is just ridiculous. And this wasn’t even an all-inclusive resort. It was by far the most expensive of any of the 5 various hotels I stayed at over my two-week stay. It was also the most disappointing. You don’t always get what you pay for…
Lauren says
This resort should be completely ashamed. I’m so glad that you guys are speaking out against this! These kinds of things should just NOT ever happen, especially at someone’s wedding!
Jennifer Dombrowski says
No, things like this should definitely not happen. I don’t normally like to publish a post like this, but the continued lies and deflecting of blame shows me this resort does not care about its guests. I think people should be informed before they book at Bahama Beach Club.
Vince says
I am from the Bahamas and on behalf of many Bahamian people we apologize that your stay was so horrific. I will see if I can get this post to be published in our local papers. They have to be held accountable .
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Thank you for your kind words, Vince! I know that the owner of Bahama Beach Club is not Bahamian. I really did have wonderful stays at all the other places I stayed: Sandy Toes Rose Island, Sandals Royal Bahamian, Sandals Emerald Bay and Abaco Beach Resort.
Wendy George says
My family and I were at the Bahama Beach club Thanksgiving week. Before we left I read the reviews about Angie’s. Wedding. So I emailed Cookie who manages several of the privately owned condos (one of which we we renting) at the BBC. I asked her if everything would be open the week we were going to be there. She told me everything was open, but when we got there the bar and grill was closed and did not open until the day we left. Lucky for us both pools and hot tubs were open and all the restaurants were open.
I was so upset about the bar and grill being closed (especially after being told it was open) I can’t even imagine how upsetting it would be to have everything under construction for a wedding. I personally think everyone should be fully refunded their money including airline fees..
P.s. The week we were there Carslon Tucker (from Fox News channel) was there with a bunch of his extended family and they did not seem pleased either that the bar and grill was closed. Big mistake BBC. I doubt they’ll be recommending it any time soon.
Best wishes to you all and so sorry about the wedding disaster. Never should have happened.
Wendy George
Jennifer Dombrowski says
Hi Wendy,
I’m so sorry that you and your family also had to deal with the bar and grill being closed. It really disturbs me that even after calling and confirming everything would be open, that the bar and grill was still closed. That just confirms that I did the right thing by sharing this experience. I really can’t fathom why Bahama Beach Club insists on hiding such things from their guests when just being honest in the first place could help guests prevent these bad experiences.
Thank you for your kind words and sharing your own experience here with us. I’m curious. Did you leave a TripAdvisor review about what happened during your stay?
Wendy george says
My husband and I are definitely planning on posting on Trip Advisor, but I am sure it will disappear immediately! ?
Melinda Crow says
The craziest part of all is that they did this to a group of travel writers. If they didn’t bother to keep you guys happy, they certainly won’t put out the effort for other guests. My vote is for Abaco Beach Resort–one of my favs for years.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
We just wrote about our fantastic stay at Abaco Beach Resort! Couldn’t agree with you more, Melinda, that Abaco Beach Resort is the way to go when staying on Abaco.
I really don’t think the owner of Bahama Beach Club cares about providing a good experience, no matter who you are. I can’t believe the emails and comments we’ve received from paying customers who also have encountered things being closed despite calling to verify they would be open and just poor treatment. It really makes you wonder about this place.
Dana says
that is just ridiculous. I hope your (and Angie’s) posts help spread the word and those folks go out of business. That’s super crazy that everyone who’s been there before loved and raved about this place, then to have this sort of experience—esp coming from far with other family members and having a wedding there? Absolutely heartbreaking…and just downright wrong. Well, I haven’t been to the Bahamas yet, however when I do go I know which place to avoid like the plague…. and I will let any of my friends/fellow travel buddies going there know about the Bahama Beach Club too, and make sure they don’t choose that place. You all didn’t deserve that treatment…just so awful. Thanks for sharing!
Nancy Seidl says
I’m sorry to hear that you had such an unfortunate experience. My brother, sister, myself, and our spouses visited the Bahamas Beach Club in April of 2011. We had a wonderful stay. The staff was great and our condo was beautiful. Hurricane Irma estimated the island and they rebuilt the resort. We’re planning a trip back to Abaco next year with several friends. It’s been quite a few years since this review so, I hope our experience will be enjoyable.
Jennifer Dombrowski says
I would advise to stay anywhere else. The resort is still owned by the same owner.