Hideaways Exuma

“Lovely stay at the Hideaways!”

We stayed at Hideaways for spring break with two teens and mother in law. We loved the location of the resort, equidistant between the stunning beaches of Exuma Point and Tropic of Cancer, right next to Jolly Hall, and minutes to Georgetown and the water taxi. We had a two bedroom partial ocean v… more

We stayed at Hideaways for spring break with two teens and mother in law. We loved the location of the resort, equidistant between the stunning beaches of Exuma Point and Tropic of Cancer, right next to Jolly Hall, and minutes to Georgetown and the water taxi. We had a two bedroom partial ocean view bungalow, which was large, updated, well appointed, and had a nice porch to enjoy coffee in the AM. Mother in law had a one bedroom ocean front (#14) on the other side of the pool, where I would love to stay next time if we come just as a couple. The beach itself is pretty, though the winds and rough seas when we were there washed up a huge amount of trash. So much plastic! The pool was small, but adequate and well maintained. As others have noted, the lobby is a bit dated, but we did not spend time there except for a game of ping pong here and there. The restaurant was nice to have on property, though service was on serious island time, and the food was good. We had a system where the adults would go and get a seat for breakfast, order for the kids, and then text them 45 minutes later when the food was set to arrive. They also liked playing pool when waiting for dinner. I saw other families bringing in cards and games to pass the time, everyone seemed to adapt to the universal island time. Of note at Hideaways is the warmth and helpfulness of the staff. We were greeted warmly by Tevin, who was helpful throughout our stay. The water in the showers was tepid at best, and he had the problem fixed in hours after I spoke to him. The shuttle to Georgetown is nice to have given limited parking in town, though I would strongly recommend renting a 4 wheel drive car to see all the amazing beaches on the island. If we come again, I would stay in one of the ocean front rooms, some of which belong to Hideaways and some are privately owned and rented.

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“Most beautiful water I’ve ever seen”

Great location to get the lay of the land but there are many rental options

“Great Place to stay”

We had a great time staying at the Hideaway. The room was lovely and so was the receptionist. She was very helpful with helping us organise transfers and shuttles and make the most out short time here before we had to leave the island. I called the number where I had spoke to who I think the name w… more

We had a great time staying at the Hideaway. The room was lovely and so was the receptionist. She was very helpful with helping us organise transfers and shuttles and make the most out short time here before we had to leave the island. I called the number where I had spoke to who I think the name was Cindy, I had called to let them know we were running late for our shuttle to were she proceeded to laugh at me for asking to rebook/change the time to get back to the hotel and said to just get a taxi. I felt it was quite dismissive especially after the great level of service we had received prior to this. We are both 20 years old from the UK and have no idea how to get a contact a taxi as we were in the middle of no where. We have had to ask a local bar in hopes they would be able to help us . The part is we only went on this day out because we had booked/arranged a transfer. This then obviously took much longer and are now off track for getting to our flight. Honestly so so disappointed with how our trip ended and was so long and confused.

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“Disappointed”

Exuma is absolutely BUT staying at Hideaways Resort at Palm Bay had some disappointments for us. We will never return. First, I will mention the positives. The water is stunning and the weather was perfect at 26C each of the 7 days that we were there. Hideaways is on the windward side of the island… more

Exuma is absolutely BUT staying at Hideaways Resort at Palm Bay had some disappointments for us. We will never return. First, I will mention the positives. The water is stunning and the weather was perfect at 26C each of the 7 days that we were there. Hideaways is on the windward side of the island, so there was always a warm breeze that kept you cool. The water at the beach in front of the resort is very shallow and not good for swimming. Even when you walk way out in the water, most adults are only up to their thighs. The resort staff only groomed a small portion of beach directly across from the restaurant. High tide brought garbage onto the beach everyday that included a lot of plastic materials presumably from boaters. It was very unpleasant walking through this if you like to walk the beach length, as we do. If you walk beachfront about 10 minutes past Hideaways, you eventually arrive at Jolly Hall Beach which is heaven on earth. It is less windy, has powdery sand and is sparsely populated. The water is deep, and you can have a great ocean swim here. We visited this beach everyday. The pool at Hideaways is clean & warm but it’s very small . However, there was never any competition for loungers at the pool or on the beach. Our ‘hillside studio’ accommodation booked through Air Canada vacations was a big misrepresentation of the ad and pictures online. Our room was in a triplex, 300 meters off the main resort property. We had to cross the Queens Hwy, walk through the resort parking lot and walk up a hilly slope to get to our room. The road was full of potholes and the walking surface was uneven. It was poorly lit at night and created risk for falling. There was construction of more duplexes going on across the street from our place with a large gravel pit behind them. None of this detail was mentioned on the website or brought to our attention at the time of booking. We asked to change rooms and pay for an upgrade but the resort was fully booked. We later discovered that Hideaways only owns a few of the cottages you see online. The rest are privately owned, and many are for rent on AirBNB. So… if you want to stay at Hideaways, make sure you book an Oceanside cottage. Our room was remote from the resort and we had no room phone to communicate with registration. The front registration closes at 9:00. All lights are turned off and the door is locked. Daily housekeeping was part of our package, but when it was not performed, we were told you had to arrange for housekeeping with 24 hours notice. There is only one restaurant on the resort called Splash. The food is good and portions are generous. Dinner service was pleasant and timely but the breakfast service ( included with our package) was sad. On our first day, the restaurant was closed without prior notice to guests. We were told by the server, that they were performing a kitchen clean for an upcoming inspection. The breakfast servers were generally unfriendly and kitchen seemed slow to produce the meal. It was however, always hot and plentiful with lots of menu options. Fortunately, a few steps from Hideaways is Augusta Bay Resort. We ate dinner there a few nights and it was awesome. They have a lovely dining room with attentive servers and big picture windows facing the ocean. Try their grilled Grouper… yum! They also have a beach pier bar & grill called Frankie Bananas. We enjoyed a yummy burger & BBQ chicken there. In our opinion don’t waste your time or $ going to Shirley’s at the fish fry. It was expensive and not as good as locals claim it is. Also, be prepared for the high cost of food, both in restaurants and at the grocery store. Often, restaurants would run out of things on the menu as supplies don’t always arrive when expected. The front desk team and complimentary shuttle team are gracious, lovely and eager to please. Kudos to them! Fortunately, we met some other fun loving Canucks at Hideaways and we enjoyed some great adventures with them. Take the water taxi to Coconut Palm beach club on Stocking Island. It’s fun for all ages. We tried the stop at Chat & Chill too, but it was too chill for us. Be prepared … the Bahamas is expensive! We travel to a sunny location every winter and feel there is better value and enjoyment elsewhere.

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