Radisson Grand Lucayan Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Bahamas

A tile map of the Lucayan Harbor

Grand Lucayan dates back to the 1960s and is in one of the most prominent tourist and cruise ship destinations in the Bahamas -- along Lucayan Beach and across the street from the busy Port Lucaya Marketplace and the Marina, which is home to lots of cruises, fishing charters, and the UNESCO dive and dolphin encounter center.

Grand Lucayan refers to the 748-room resort complex that includes the Radisson as well as the Reef Village resort. The Radisson's portion is divided among the large, Art Deco-style Breakers Cay building, the Lanai Suites, and the quiet all-suite Lighthouse Pointe complex. (Until recently it was the Sheraton and Westin Grand Bahama Island Our Lucaya Resort; following a 2007 management change it became the Radisson Grand Lucayan. The guest rooms, restaurants, and amenities are almost exactly the same -- only the names have changed.) With such a wide range of lodging options, couples, families with small children, conventioneers, and wedding parties can all find their niche here.

It can take 20 minutes to walk from the Reef Club on one end of the property all the way down to Lighthouse Pointe. It's a fairly pleasant walk along the landscaped, palm-shadded, and flower-lined network of paths between the buildings, though a bit of a schlep to get, say, from a room in the Breakers Cay building to the gym at Lighthouse Pointe, or from Lighthouse Pointe to Breakers Cay for the breakfast buffet at the Willy Broadleaf restaurant. If you're hauling a stroller or have mobility challenges, all the back-and-forth can be a problem.

Grand Lucayan is somewhat chaotic during the day, especially when the cruisers take to the beach. On the other hand, many guests complain about the lack of on-site evening entertainment. Most of the action is at the nearby casino and the bars within Port Lucaya Marketplace, across the street from the Radisson.

While service at Grand Lucayan doesn't match the level of attentiveness experienced at smaller resorts like The One & Only Ocean Club, staff is universally friendly, helpful and professional. Given the size of the resort complex, expectations should be adjusted accordingly.

• Concierge available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to help book excursions and make other special arrangements.
• Evening turndown service by request
• 24-hour room service
• Poolside drink service is not available, but the bar is easily accessed for food and drinks.

View on a Larger Map

Grand Lucayan is located in the liveliest part of Grand Bahama, Port Lucaya. Given the size and scale of the Grand Lucayan complex, and adding in the thousands of cruise ship passengers roaming the Isle of Capri Casino on the grounds, strolling the fairly bustling Port Lucaya Marketplace across the street, or setting off for a booze cruise or a dolphin encounter from the man-made marina and you have one of the most crowded tourist havens in the Caribbean.

• Across the street from Port Lucaya Marketplace -- a clean, lively, touristy, outdoor strip mall, replete with jewelry stores, ice cream shops, hair-braiding stands, and countless T-shirt stalls
• By night, even locals show up to its decent bars and restaurants at the Marketplace
• 15 minutes from the international airport in Freeport

Arguably the best beachstrip on Grand Bahama

Grand Lucayan has arguably the best beach of any hotel on Grand Bahama (though the island offers even better spots, like the remote Gold Beach).

• 7.5 acres of clean, sugary sand, even on the seafloor
• Ocean water can be quite cold.
• Clear water
• Huge numbers of cruise ship passengers purchase day passes from the resort to visit the beach.
• Beach chairs free for hotel guests
• Towels available from huts by the pool; require a towel card issued by the front desk.
• All water-sports cost extra and can be rented from vendors (not affiliated with the hotel) on the beach. Snorkeling gear ($10 and up), Jet Skis (about $35 an hour), kayaks, banana boats, parasailing, and more.

The Deluxe Ocean View Room

The hotel's rooms are spacious, clean, and bright, but vary greatly in style depending on which building you're booked into. The largest building, 540-room Breakers Cay, is the most centrally located and has the resort's nicest rooms, including the two-bedroom Prime Minister's suite on the top (10th) floor, replete with a stunning wraparound terrace and private office. The more remote Lightouse Pointe and Lanai Suites are quieter and more spacious -- better suited toward honeymooners, or families looking for extra space -- but their décor is surprisingly sparse.

• Standard guest rooms in Breakers Cay are a comfortable 400 square feet.
• Views from the standard room types range from the ocean to Port Lucaya's marina. Marina-view rooms can be a bit noisy duing the day.
• Wonderfully comfortable beds; crisp white linens
• Large desk
• Old, 27-inch Phillips tube TVs; cable includes HBO, Cinemax, and pay-per-view movies.
• Rooms come with a free plug-in Internet connection; occassionally, you can pick up a free Wi-Fi signal from the marina.
• Small, dark bathrooms in the standard room types; despite the two-head showers, frequent problems include low water pressure, water that doesn't get hot, shower ceilings covered in mildew and mold, and tubs that don't drain properly.
• Suites in Lighthouse Pointe start at 1,000 square feet and have full kitchens.

Spinning bikes at the fitness Center

• Tournement-quality tennis courts that include all four "grand slam" surfaces (clay, grass, and two variations of hard courts) (fees range from $25 for the hard courts to $100 for grass, plus $25 if you need lights; racket rentals cost $10).
• Senses Spa, located at the far end of the property in the Lighthouse Pointe building (about a 10-minute walk from Breaker's Cay), underwent a complete renovation in 2011. It offers a wide range of treatments. A hair and nail salon is located on the first floor and the dimly lit spa treatment rooms are on the 2nd floor.
• The gym, also located at the in Lighthouse Pointe, was included in the 2011 renovations to the spa. It features new cardio machines (treadmills, bikes, ellipticals and stairmasters), weight machines, a fitness classroom (with free aerobics and weights classes) and even a spinning studio (open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.).
• Weddings are particularly popular at the resort, both with local and international brides. The resort provides musical entertainment options and both indoor and outdoor reception venues. These, along with a convention center that can host up to 1,000 people in its main ballroom, are also popular for meetings and corporate events.

One of two serene infinity pools

Three pools stretch along Grand Lucayan's beachfront, and a kid-friendly zero-entry pool with a waterslide is a short walk away at Reef Village.

• Fairly shallow crescent pool outside Breakers Cay snakes from the China Beach restaurant around to Hammerhead's Bar. On the far side of the bar, it becomes an infinity pool that fronts the beach and guests can also swim up to the bar.
• Narrow lap pool and a large, serene infinity pool are located near the Lanai Suites. Waves bar is adjacent to the infinity pool, but is closed in the low season.
• The family pool, in front of the Reef Village, includes a two-story waterslide.

The 18-hole Lucayan Course, designed by Dick Wilson, opened in 1962 and has played host to the Bahama National Open tournament. The 18-hole, links-style Reef Course was designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr. and has hosted PGA Senior Tour events.

Campy Lucaya has great activities for kids

Grand Lucayan is the most family-friendly resort complex on Grand Bahama. It offers myriad activities, a convenient location, a great beach, four pools, and tons of dining options both on-site and across the street at the Lucaya Marketplace (where you can find cheap, familiar eats like Quiznos and Domino's).

• Connecting rooms available (but one room must be a suite)
• Cribs are free in Breakers Cay and Reef Village; rollaway beds are available for a fee.
• Camp Lucaya Kids' Club provides daily activities like arts and crafts, supervised swimming, and beach Olympics for kids ages three to 12.

Billy Joe's Restaurant, right on the beach

In the high season Grand Lucayan operates multiple buffets and beach grills, two Asian restaurants, an upscale Caribbean restaurant, a burger bar, and a steakhouse.

• The breakfast buffet includes an omelet station, Southern grits, and a wide variety of cereals and yogurt.
• Prop Club, a lower-priced burger and fried food spot, has a bar and pool tables.
• Upscale Caribbean restaurant, Irie's, is around the corner from Breakers Cay and across from the casino. Dishes include conch and crab fritters, and jerked lobster, but they tend to be overpriced for the quality.
• China Beach and China Grill offer a sushi bar and an a pretty standard Chinese buffet.
• Billy Joe's, a conch shack on the beach just past the Reef Village, is not affiliated with the resort but offers succulent fresh seafood (specializing in conch and lobster, of course), cold tropical drinks, and live music.
• Restaurants across the street at Lucaya Marketplace range from Domino's Pizza, to Quiznos, to a Greek Diner, to an upscale French restaurant; Overall, the quality and prices are much more reasonable here than they are at the resort.