Trip Report:  15-22 February 2003

Our report will deal primarily with Our Lucaya and the Royal Oasis Resort.  This trip we didn't get around quite as much as we sometimes do so most of what we learned concerned those resorts.  There are comments on the GBI Taxi Union, Port Lucaya Marketplace, Coral Beach and maybe one or two other places, but the bulk is on the two major resorts on the island.

Our Lucaya:

Taken over two weeks before we commenced our trip by the Starwood Group (who owns Sheraton and Westin hotels).  What a change since our last visit!  We must have talked to a dozen and a half employees.  To a man/woman they were happier than they've been since the resort opened in 1999.  Why?  Because the new management team is LISTENING, and ACTING on sound recommendations from employees.  They have also made several major and minor changes in the resort already, which I'll describe now.  All bedding has been removed and replaced with the Starwood signature “Heavenly Beds”.  These babies are huge, and you are awash in comfort, not to mention about a half dozen pillows on each bed (different sizes and types too).  Than there are the “Heavenly Showers” they have installed.  Twin shower heads that are adjustable in both location and water stream.  They were also in the process of replacing all the hair dryers in the rooms while we were there.  One thing they have not done I'd like to see is get rid of those pesky dry bars in the refrigerators.  You are still charged for the booze if you move a bottle or can and are also charged if you put your own bottles/cans in that refrig. and than remove them.  I hope management does something about that.  If you want a separate refrigerator you need to ask them to provide one.  

There used to be palm trees virtually blocking your entire view of the ocean from the ocean view rooms at Reef Village (now the Sheraton).  They are gone, but I think that was done before the new management took over.  Anyway, it certainly improves things for folks staying in those rooms.  The palms around the Sugar Mill Pool are still there but appear to be far enough away to not ruin the view.  The entire area next to the building is now grass or flowering plants.  Nice touch.  

We ate breakfast daily at Willy Broadleaf's.  This place is rapidly gaining a reputation for excellence, even though their meals are buffet style.  We loved it.  One of the subtle but nice touches the new management instituted was replacing the paper napkins present in containers on the tables with nice cloth napkins.  That happened in the middle of the week while we were there.  It's not much but I think people notice things like that.  Willy Broadleaf's dinner buffet's, a different international menu each evening, received great reports from everyone we talked to who ate there.  We didn't so can't say anything ourselves.   The Sunday Brunch that was an island trademark at the now closed Awarak Dining Room (more on that later) is now served at Willy Broadleaf's.  It's a great deal.  A complete breakfast for two, by the way, cost $32 (including a 15% tip).  We didn't eat anywhere else in the resort but took a look at Menus to report on prices.  Both Churchills Chop House and Portobellos had really high prices.  As examples a 10 ounce filet at Churchill's was going at over $37.00 (and that's before the tip is added in).  A cheeseburger on the lunch menu at Portobello's went for nearly $14.00 (again before tip is added in).  Too much for my wallet!!!  Guess I'll really have to start cautioning people about the price of food in these two restaurants.  By comparison, a filet at Luciano's, which I consider the best restaurant on the island, ran something like $24.00.  One other note about Our Lucaya's restaurants.  Their in-room literature now clearly states dress at Churchill's, Portobello's, Iries Caribbean Restaurant and China Beach is now smart casual, meaning men need slacks and a collared shirt.  Before this that only applied to Churchill's.  Pisces, Giovanni's and Zorba's, at the Port Lucaya Marketplace, still get great reports, but NEVER go to the Caribbean Café (next to Giovanni's).  We heard two horror stories about waits up to two hours and lousy food.  The Pub was okay but an average burger for the price.  

The Our Lucaya grounds are still immaculately maintained.  What a beautiful place, and it can only get better with happy employees and a responsive management team.  I hope it stays that way.  We were under the impression that only the head guy was replaced but learned later than almost the entire senior management team was replaced.  Ernistine Moxie, however, remains as the second in command and many lower level managers are still in place.  The golf courses were in great shape and I highly recommend them both.  We were on the golf package at $399 per night which included daily unlimited golf with a cart (18 holes goes for over $100 each if purchased separately), buffet breakfast at either Portobello's or Willy Broadleaf's), all taxes and service charges (normally 12% per room per night tax and $7.50 per person per night service charge), and an ocean view room at Breaker's Cay (now Westin, along with Lighthouse Point).  A surprising and pleasant surprise was the act performed by the young lady taking care of us at check-in.  We got in very late Saturday night and when we checked in they had us in an island view room at Lighthouse Point.  Now, Lighthouse is considered, at least by management at the resort, as an upscale hotel.  We don't agree, or at least didn't want to stay there.  Our reservations were for an island view at Breaker's Cay.  She immediately moved us to Breaker's Cay, but to the ocean view room not the island view.  Very nice.  Breaker's Cay now has automated entry and exit doors, something I think was done since new management took over, but not certain about that.  That's a big improvement over the manually operated doors that have been there.  There was also a security person present in the entrance each night we returned from the casino (around midnight).  That also was not in evidence on previous trips.  Perhaps the best thing that happened, however, occurred when we checked out.  We had a 5:30 pm flight home and check-out time at the resort is 11:00 am.  We were playing golf at 7:54 am and didn't want to have to chase around changing clothes etc. after golf.  I asked the front desk for a late check-out, something they had never even considered in four previous visits.  Not only did we get it, but we were allowed to choose the time.  We went for and got 1:00 pm.  They have also now instituted an express check-out service.  I checked our bill the night before we checked out and there was an overcharge of $177.00 from the Reef Golf Course, but they fixed it without question (another amazing change, getting them to take charges off a bill used to be like pulling teeth).  When we got up in the morning our bill had been slipped under the door in an express check-out envelope.  If you've checked out of this place before you KNOW that's a great deal!!!

We heard from several people, both at the resort and other places on the island, that the casino is supposed to open by 01 April.  Unfortunately, toward the end of our trip we heard from resort employees that it would open in May or July.  Same old same old with that damned casino.  Time will tell but I will say this.  Something is happening.  Slot stands are already in place.  Pit Boss desks are already in place.  Bars are already built.  Furniture (seats, etc.) are already in place.  If I had to hazard a guess I would say the only thing they are waiting on now is the arrival of the actual gambling equipment.  I know all this because the place was easily visible from the outside, something that NEVER happened with the old management.   Let's hope it opens in March.  

The one disappointment was what was reported to us as the permanent closing of the Awarak Dining Room at the Lucaya Gold and Country Club.  Everyone we talked to said it was gone for good.  The roof of the building is evidently in very bad shape.  The pro shop and 19th hole snack bar downstairs are still there and will remain.  Even though these same people said they expect the roof to be fixed there is evidently no plan to reopen the Awarak.  What will probably go upstairs if and when the repairs are done is a bar and sandwich place to enlarge and replace the downstairs 19th hole.  Very sad for us because we loved to have a couple of drinks and enjoy lunch in the Awarak and it was one of the best restaurants on the island.  

The Sheraton and Westin Resort at Our Lucaya remains hands down the best resort on the island.

Royal Oasis:  

Labor unrest here.  We saw it on the treatment we received from many of the employees I the casino.  We also received great treatment from SOME of the employees in the casino but they were in the minority.  Other places we went in the resort were very nice and we were well received and well treated, so I suspect the unrest is really centered with the union representing the casino employees.  The new beach pool is absolutely great.  Beautifully laid out and hidden from most of the public's view by lush landscaping.  Each night we saw what I can only describe as a type of jam session taking place on the beach nearest the golf course pro shop that was very well attended.  We checked out the John B lounge and couple of times and both times there was no live band, only a DJ.  It was NOT late, so maybe around 9:30 or 10:00 a band came on.  We ate at in the Rib Room.  I had Bahamian Lobster and Nancy had Prime Rib.  It was outstanding.  Price wasn't an issue because the casino comped us (more later).  We also had a late lunch at the restaurant in the Crowne Plaza lobby (for some reason the name does not come to mind).  Good service and good food, but not upscale.  Still, I recommend it for lunch or a casual dinner.  
The casino is no great shakes.  I already commented on the employee issue (and I must also state I ALWAYS thought many of the employees in that casino were grouches).  Many of the supposed new machines installed during the multi-million dollar renovations at the resort are NOT new.  Some are, but at least half the slots and almost all the video poker machines were the same ones there last year before they finished renovations.  There is a bank of progressive quarter video poker machines that we saw hit with Royal Flushes four times during the week.  We also saw at least three other $1,000 payouts on other quarter machines during the week.  Too bad one of them wasn't us.  Table games were tough unless you were willing to lay out a lot of money.  We never saw a craps table with a five dollar minimum and only saw a ten dollar minimum on two nights.  Most of the time the smallest minimum was $15 and this is on craps games that allow ONLY a double odds bet on the Pass line.  Craps players know how crappy that is.  The one really good thing we discovered was the comps.  Just about all the slots now have bill slots that work and slots for automatic calculation of points for players cards.  Nancy went over to see what we could use our points for early in the week and were told nothing, because they hadn't fully set up their point system yet, although eventually they would be good for purchasing goods in resort stores and for room charges.  The NICE surprise was that they comped us for dinners/lunches based on points earned, and they were really LIBERAL in what they were granting.  We basically played nothing but quarter machines all week and were comped for $120 worth of food at the Rib Room (we used every dime the night we ate there), and $50 for lunch at the Plaza Lobby restaurant.  I STILL had over $150 worth of comps left when we had to head for home Saturday.  They did all this and STILL left ALL points active on our player's cards.  That one thing left me feeling that I'd return, despite the sourpusses and old machines.  The gentleman who was managing the comp desk when we were there was very pleasant and eager to please.  They did ask us if we were staying at the resort, which we obviously were not.  However, that question made me think they would have comped at least some of the room price if we had been.  Don't know that for sure though.  

The grounds of the resort are really great now.  They have been completely made over and landscaping is beautiful.  The old minarets in front of the casino are gone, but replaced by bell towers that actually have working bells in them.  They chime on the half hour and hour.  Nice touch there.  

We encountered one incident outside the casino late one night.  A man with a walker was really raising hell with the doorman for not getting him a ride home to the Crown Plaza (adjacent to the casino but a healthy walk to the lobby and elevators).  Evidently he couldn't walk and had been waiting a long time for someone to show up with a resort shuttle to get him to the hotel.  While we were waiting for the Our Lucaya free casino shuttle, a resort van DID drive by, but despite screams from the doorman he went right on by like he was the only person on the face of the earth.  Piss poor attitude.  He finally got a ride about 10 minutes later but was he pissed (he may also have been loaded and a loser that night but I don't know that).  They have discontinued the limo-type golf cart shuttle between the two hotels and the casino but now have a small bus that performs the same function.  Don't know where that guy was when all the above happened.  

We heard great things about the renovated golf courses (Ruby and Emerald) but also heard they still can't compare to the LGCC.  Prices are supposedly pushing $100 during high season.  

Despite some of what I said above I still recommend this resort behind only Our Lucaya if you don't mind not being directly on the beach.  

Bahamas Taxi Union:  

What a disgrace.  These guys suck.  Many who have been on the internet know about the Holland America incident on New Providence when two taxis were rolled in front of the tour busses trying to take cruise passengers to their scheduled destinations.  In that one Holland America reboarded their passengers and headed straight out to sea, vowing to never return.  That's 3,000 tourist a WEEK folks.  Than there was the widely reported incident at the Royal Oasis where a couple of taxi union officers stood in front of tour busses trying to take passengers to the airport to catch their flight home.  Those folks made it but the taxi guys embarrassed the entire country by those actions, at least as far as I'm concerned.  Nancy experienced some of this first hand, sadly.  I was already at the casino and she was boarding the casino shuttle at Our Lucaya to join me.  She and 5-6 other guests were on the shuttle bus waiting to leave when a taxi union guy jumped on the bus and told the driver in a load voice to never return to Our Lucaya, effective immediately, because he had no paperwork and no itinerary to present to him.  Now, this shuttle has be running from Our Lucaya to the Royal Oasis Casino for over three years, probably four, and we know the bus driver.  Nicest guy you could meet.  He was shocked.  Nancy said he called into his office and after several different connections was told by his bosses to just make his normal run.  Evidently the evening progressed without further incident.  The point of this is that this type of behavior, RIGHT, WRONG, or INDIFFERENT, in front of tourists, is disgraceful and self-serving.  I simply fail to understand how the government and people of the Bahamas can put up with this pure bullshit when so much of their economy is dependent on tourism.  

Coral Beach:

All hail Janice Treco!!!!!   She's working at Coral Beach and doing a bang-up job!  We wondered down there Wednesday and the place was going great.  Evidently there is a spanking brand new, and younger, condo committee that hired Janice and is helping her build the place up better than it ever has been.  They have renamed the pool/beach bar Blackbeard's Landing and have a happy hour, open to the public I believe, from something like 4-6 every night with 2 for 1 drinks.  Besides that we had not seen as many folks at the pool and on the beach in the many times we've been down that way to visit friends during past trips.  Someone is doing something right at this place.

The Port Lucaya Marketplace is still hopping during the evenings and was pretty busy during the day as well.  All in all the Lucaya area is where to stay as far as I'm concerned.

On our plane flight home we ran into a young lady sitting across the aisle from us who said she had just been married on Taino Beach and had LOVED it.  She and her group of about 24 people stayed at the Ritz Resort (or Taino I'm not sure which).  I asked if she'd been married by Rev. Woodside and she said yes.  I than asked if she knew Janice Treco and she said yes.  She than said are you “Danny” from the message boards and I said yes, but not that jerk Danny D.   She was Sue C., who had asked many questions and received much information from the internet message boards.  I wish her and her new hubby all the best.  

Finally, here's where you can find over 50 new pictures from our trip:  http://dannysplace.fusioncentral.com/html/february_2003_grand_bahama.html

I probably forgot some things I intended on putting in this report but you're probably tired of reading anyway (if you got this far).  I hope it helps some people and they have a great time in a great place to visit.

Danny (and Nancy) Schuster

Oh yeah, we met Dianne Patterson at Rumrunners!!!!  Not her car though, and that really disappointed me.  :-))

me