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Bahamas Hotel Reviews

Semi-Live Report on Compass Point in the Bahamas

Where: West Bay Street, Gambier, Nassau, New Providence Island, Bahamas

March 22, 2007 at 12:17 PM | 1 Comment

Compass Point Beach Resort in the Bahamas is the antithesis of the vacation factories that make up most of the mass tourism infrastructure around Nassau. With just 18 cabanas and cottages spread around the grounds, it's more like something you would see on a laid-back, unknown island. Painted in bright festival colors, it's a picturesque place where people take their time and converse instead of rushing through buffet meals and shouting over jet-skis.

Part of Chris Blackwell's Island Outpost group, it reopened this past December after a top-to-bottom upgrade where the resort was closed during construction. Each hut or cottage has a deck or porch and despite the rustic look, inside these are some of the best-equipped rooms on the island. We're talking flat-screen TVs with DVD surround sound, kitchenettes, wi-fi (included) and air-conditioning that you can really control. Some are set up as suites, one with two bedrooms. The small beach directly in front of the resort disappears at high tide, but a walkway leads to the larger Love Beach and a dock extends out into the water. Meanwhile there's an attractive pool with cushioned wood lounge chairs and a hot tub for four.

Locals say the restaurant here is the best around, but they mostly keep it to themselves. The restaurant is not advertised in the tourist rags, so most of the dinner guests are those staying at the resort and people who live nearby. We can say from experience that the conch fritters, seafood pot pie, and "guava duff" dessert are heavenly.

Neighboring Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas are legendary and the client list is like a who's who of music history old and new: Rolling Stones, U2, B-52s, Diddy, Bob Marley, James Brown, Al Green, Lenny Kravitz, Snoop Dogg, Missy Elliott, and on and on. And it's where AC/DC's Black in Black was recorded. So you never know who will be hanging at the bar. Last week it was Widespread Panic. Shakira and her crew were in the house New Year's Eve. Plus Sean Connery has a house nearby, so if the timing's right you might hear his booming voice in the bar.

Check back in tomorrow, when we'll have a short video tour of the grounds.