Trip Report, February 1421, 2004

Trip Report, 14-21 February 2004

Here goes folks, my annual trip report to GBI. One comment first. We had our usual great time in spite of some of the negatives you may see below.

Getting there: Flew out of Logan on USAirways into Charlotte and from there to GBI International Airport. We usually fly American to Miami and than on over on American Eagle. We never had a “good” trip when doing that. This USAirways trip was much shorter, much more comfortable, and got us to GBI hours ahead of our previous trips with American (with a few Delta and/or Continental flights thrown in over the last 20 years). Got through customs after a standing in line for a short time and were in our room at Our Lucaya within an hour of touching down. Going home was a different story. What a zoo!!! GBI has only ONE security gate for all passengers. I kind of suspected we'd have some trouble since we were leaving on a large jet, but never expected what we got. Five major flights scheduled to leave within a couple of hours of each other, and all those people standing in four different lines. One to get checked in and bags checked. The next, to get through security (carrying ALL luggage). This one was the longest wait by far. Next, in line for Bahamian Customs. Next, in line for U.S. Customs. Than to the baggage area where we were all told to deposit our luggage on the baggage conveyor belt by ourselves with no help from the Bahamian baggage handlers just sitting or standing there. We got to the airport 2 hours and 10 minutes before our flight. We had 15 minutes to flight time once we got through all that crap. There WAS some fairly extensive construction going on at one end of the airport. Our info was that they are trying to correct their inadequate security and baggage areas. I certainly hope so!

Cabs: With two suitcases and two golf bags fare was $23 to Our Lucaya both leaving and arriving at the airport. Same price as last year.

Our Lucaya:

Check-in/Check-out and Reservations:

The great news: I had a great deal of difficulty obtaining a golf package last summer. When I finally was successful the Our Lucaya Sales Office in Miami promised me an upgrade from the normal island view room included in the package to a prime ocean view room because of the trouble I went through. We checked in with no problems and headed to our room. Unbelievable. The prime ocean view room turned out to be one of the rooms on the 8th floor of Breaker's Cay on the end of the building toward the Manor House. This room had MORE than a balcony. It had a full patio. Four chairs with a patio table and two lounge chairs included. If you check the pictures I will be linking to this report later you'll see what I mean. Great big kudos to the Sales Office lady who helped us out.

The really bad news: Other people we see every year rent four rooms in the Harbor Club (or whatever they call it now) on the 9th/10th floors of Breaker's Cay. They've been doing that every year since the resort opened. For the second year in a row they got completed hosed up on their reservations. After two days out of the 7 they were there they were finally in the rooms they had booked in April, 2003. I do NOT know if the hotel compensated them in any way. This place really needs to put work into their reservation system. It's sucked since they opened.

Check-out: I went down to check our bill the night before we left. Good thing I did. There were over $550 in overcharges. They promised me they would be gone in the morning. Went down EARLY the next morning to beat the crowd and those charges were still there! The good news is they removed them immediately without a hassle. Here's the best advice I can give to anyone staying at Our Lucaya. Check your tab the evening before you leave!!!! It will save you a great deal of time hassling with them in the morning if they have your bill messed up. This and their reservation system really are sore spots they have not yet properly addressed. They usually will resolve things, but it's a real pain in the butt having to deal with it.

Golf:

We played the Our Lucaya Lucayan Golf and Country Club (LGCC) Course three times and the Our Lucaya Reef Course 3 times. Both were in the best condition I've ever seen them. We've been playing LGCC for 20 years so that's a strong statement. We were treated great by all staff and both pros, Max and Mitch. All greens fees include a golf cart and ranged from $65 to $120 depending on your status. More about prices later.

We heard good things about both the Ruby and Emerald Courses over at the Royal Oasis Golf Resort and Casino. Haven't played them since the Fazio Brothers design outfit renovated them in the last couple of years but have heard from almost everyone that has played them that they are now very good golf courses. All did also state they could NOT compare to LGCC, which is still considered the best golf course in the Bahamas and one of the best in the Caribbean. I agree with that assessment.

We heard of a great deal offered to tourists who are there for a week or two, or longer, and are not guests at the two resorts with golf courses (Our Lucaya and Royal Oasis). For $60 you can buy a discount card from the Bahamas Golf Federation and get significant discounts at ALL the golf courses on the island. That include the two resorts and the 9 hole Fortune Hills Golf Club. I KNOW the difference in price at Our Lucaya was from $110 for a non-guest at either of their courses down to $65. That means you more than make up the $60 for the card in two rounds of golf. I also heard the deal is even better at Royal Oasis although I did NOT get the actual prices. Think seriously about it if you are a golfer.

Casinos:

Isle of Capri at Our Lucaya: Opened 15 December 2003. This is a beautiful, although fairly small, casino with very caring and very friendly casino employees. Even those cleaning made sure to be very polite and friendly. Too bad my luck didn't match the décor and employee attitude. We got a good deal of our money back Friday night but couldn't even beat a nickel machine out of a few bucks the first several nights in there. There is one Caribbean Stud Poker table, one Three Handed Poker table, 2-3 roulette tables, probably 4-5 craps tables, 18-24 blackjack tables and 3-400 slot machines. There was also a video poker room that also contained a handful of blackjack and craps tables. They were Quarter and Dollar machines in there with multi game machines, all brand new and state of the art. There were also two rows of Dollar VP machines along the back wall of the casino near the rear entrance. The bar in the casino also had both Dollar and Quarter VP machines. There is not a single full pay VP game in the casino. Craps only allows short odds, and they differ depending on the target number rolled when coming out. That's always been typical of GBI casinos. Lousy craps odds. There are also a slew of nickel machines. Don't ask me what they were because I never did figure out how the hell I won anything. Something like 15 lines played and up to 18 coins per line. I just know that somehow Nancy and I both took $100 out of them Friday night.

Royal Oasis: We got tired of losing at Our Lucaya so on two different nights went on over to the casino at the Royal Oasis. We had pretty decent luck there on the quarter VP machines but they are older machines and exactly the same ones they had last year at this time. One good thing they have in this casino that was NOT evident at the Isle of Capri. They have a progressive quarter VP bank of machines and 3-4 other progressive slot banks of machines, some dollars some quarters. They also have a sports book (no horse racing though, that's still illegal in the Bahamas). The casino has been further renovated from last year and overall looked pretty good, and it's larger than the one at the Isle of Capri. The downer here was the employees. Not a friendly attitude in the whole damned joint. Guess those labor relations problems are really getting bad and I'm now beginning to change my opinion that it's always been a union problem. Why? 60 of the employees at the Isle of Capri were hired away from the Royal Oasis and they were as friendly as could be!

Comps: Didn't get into this at all at Royal Oasis other than to know between the two of us over two nights of play we earned enough in cash backs to get a decent dinner. We did NOT use them though because I'm on a personal crusade to never eat at the Royal Oasis again since they've instituted a zero cash policy in their restaurants (except the casino restaurant). That's just a personal position over a really dumb policy. It'll be interesting to see if it lasts. We had heard comps at Isle of Capri were not that good because they are independent operated from the hotel. Wrong! At the last minute on Saturday morning, just before leaving for the airport, Nancy decided to find out just what our play had been worth. To our surprise we got back $40 in cash and were directed to the Casino Host desk in the Video Poker Room. They DO share comps with the hotel. We got over $166 knocked off our hotel bill as comps from the casino. You can also use your points at any other Isle of Capri casino in the world, and they now have 18 of them in various places. Very impressive little casino.

Food:

Pisces, Pub at Port Lucaya and the International Sports Bar. We ate at all three during the week and both Pisces and the Pub were excellent for good prices. Pisces is only open for dinner and I suggest you call ahead for reservations if you can. We met Rosie, the owner, and she was very nice and a gracious lady. We weren't that impressed with the Sports Bar, but it appeared to be more of a take-out place than a sit down to eat restaurant.

Willy Broadleaf's, Prop Club and Churchill's Chop House at Our Lucaya: We ate a full buffet breakfast at Willy's every morning, but it didn't cost us anything as it is included in our golf package. However, the price is almost $38 for two people (that includes an automatic 15% gratuity) if you're paying. Excellent buffet though. Their evening buffets are also considered excellent, but expensive. They have a different international flavor every evening. Folks told us that the Friday and Saturday night seafood buffet is one of the best deals on the island, even though the cost is $42 each. All the lobster, crab, prime rib, steak and more you can eat. We didn't make it but wish we had. Heard nothing but good things about it. I took Nancy to Churchill's for dinner Sunday night as a late Valentine's Day present. We each had one drink, I had filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes, Nancy had prime rib with broccoli and a baked potato. One of the best filets I've ever had. Price, with a 20% tip (15% automatic and our additional 5% for outstanding service) - $155. Yeah, it's expensive, and that's why we only eat there once a week. Same meal a year ago ran us less than $100. Each side order was $8 (mashed, broccoli and baked). The good news is the sides are very generous portions and large enough to split between two people (which you are allowed to do). We had lunch one day at the Prop Club and were pleasantly surprised to received very quick service and good food, although again expensive (a cheeseburger is nearly $13). I had a hot dog, and that cost $9.00.

Last but not least, Billy Joe's is still there next to Reef Village and going strong. Great place to get reasonably priced food right on the beach adjacent to Our Lucaya.

Drinks: Long story short, we drank everywhere we went. Best deals are at Rumrunners in the Port Lucaya Marketplace and Marina. Two for one Kaliks during happy hour for $5. It costs $5.50 to buy ONE at Our Lucaya. We also hit other places described below during a lunch and barhopping trip with friends of ours Friday afternoon to help them celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary.

Coral Beach: Went there Saturday night with Les and Janice Treco, and met Cheri and Keith from Bahamas Vacation Guide at the Coral Beach Valentine's Day party. It was a great party, well attended and we had a great time with the crew. Les and Janice were their usual great selves, and meeting Cheri and Keith was an added bonus. I've known them via the internet for a few years now and it was good to finally meet them in person. One by one I'm meeting most of the internet regulars on GBI. :)) I have to admit, though, I didn't think some of those really old boogers were going to live through the night!!!

Banana Bay, Margarita Villa, Club Caribe, and Island Seas Resort: Friday we spent the entire afternoon with friends barhopping. We started with lunch and a couple of drinks at Banana Bay, which is located about 20-25 minutes out of Port Lucaya towards the East End. Great place to eat and right on the beach. Tropical drinks were far less expensive than in the resort areas of the island and the wait staff was very pleasant and attentive. We left there took a tour down what island residents refer to as Millionaires Row. All I can say is “WOW”. What beautiful homes (mansions really). If you're ever down that way make sure you take the tour along the road. Up the street from there we hit one of the more laid back places on the beach - Margarita Villa. This place is old, old, old, and the owners love it that way!!! The boss's daughter, Lauren, was bartending when we got there and showed us pictures of the building her Dad purchased and turned into the current bar/restaurant. The floor is pure sand. Not sand coated or sand covered, but pure sand. Later, Lauren's mother, Valerie Knowles, joined us for a drink. We heard some of the local stories and our friends, who have visited GBI as long as we have and stay two months every February/March, discussed mutual acquaintances with Lauren, Valerie, and some other patrons. I can't believe we've been going to GBI for 20 years and never hit the place. One word of warning for the fairer sex. There were some 200 pictures tacked to the wall next to the bar. The majority of them were very, very nice pictures of nubile young (and some older) women baring their boobs. I loved it, but neither I nor my buddy could persuade our other halves to share their treasures! OK, when we left we headed back toward Port Lucaya, passing Club Caribe, which is less than a city block down the road from Margarita Villa. We didn't go in but did note it wasn't much larger than Margarita Villa and nearly as old looking. Both places, by the way, are on the beach. Our last stop of the day was Island Seas. This place is beautiful. They are continuing to add more buildings to the property but everything on the beach side of the road was completed. New buildings were going up on the other side of the road and disrupted virtually nothing at the resort proper. Had a couple of drinks at Coco-Nuts bar and restaurant in the center of the resort. Took a stroll down to the beach and around the grounds and have nothing bad to say about anything we saw, nor about any of the resort staff we encountered. Highly recommended if you have a way of getting around the island from there, since it is a little isolated. They do run shuttles all day long to both Port Lucaya and the International Marketplace area next to the Royal Oasis. We took several pictures of all these places and have them linked on my web site home page.

Weather: In 24 years of visiting the Bahamas in February overall this was probably the coolest week we've experienced. While most days it was around 70 degrees there was little sun, and with the ever present gulf breezes it was very cool. Evenings we were wearing light sweaters AND light jackets. That's something we've almost never had to do. What was really unbelievable was that even in this type of weather the beach and pool areas of Our Lucaya were busy places. I've seen reports from people that were there the same time as us that stated the pools at Our Lucaya were NOT heated, including the Serpentine Pool at Breaker's Cay. I respectfully disagree. The Serpentine Pool could actually be called three separate pools, with crossings separating them in two places. The portion fronting and to the sides of Hammerheads, the beachfront bar and grill, were pretty cool and didn't appear to be heated. But the other two segments definitely were. Actually, the portion of the pool in front of the China Beach Restaurant was quite comfortable. My wife hit the ocean one afternoon and despite the cool temperatures said that once she was in the water, which was running around 71 degrees, it was very comfortable. The initial entrance was the chilly part. The good news for those on the way in while we were on the way out is when we left the resort around 11:15 Saturday morning the skies were clear and the temperature was already pushing 80 degrees, which is more like the weather we usually experience.

Well, I guess that's enough rambling. I will shortly post close to 100 pictures of this visit and link them on my web site home page at www.fortunecity.com/oasis/bahia/443/index.htm Please feel free to visit the site and take them in and peruse the other 400 or so pictures of GBI out there. WE HATED COMING HOME!!!!

One more goodbye for now to our friends Cheri, Keith, Pat and Nancy Collins, and Janice and Les Treco. Thanks for the good times and memories. And hello and goodbye to our friends at Our Lucaya - Max, Mitch, Michelean, Felix, Halson, and especially Olsen. Great to see them every year, and each of them goes back to our times at the Atlantik Beach Resort, where Breaker's Cay now resides.

Danny

P.S. The Redwood Inn, which has been white with blue trim all the years we can remember, is now two-toned yellow. Go figure!