Best Hotel Beaches in the Bahamas

Given it's placid, warm waters (the beach is protected by a cove) and relative privacy (there's far more isolated space here than you'd find on just about any other beach on Grand Bahama), the beach in front of Old Bahama Bay is the best on Grand Bahama.

Unlike most beaches in the Bahamas, the resort's beachfront is private and well attended, with soft, white sand and water so clear you can spy schools of fish swimming at your ankles. Plus, beachgoers enjoy perks that include a rack for flip-flops, shelves filled with reading material and sunscreen, and complimentary bottles of water.

The Radisson's picturesque beachfront spans 7.5 acres of clean, sugary sand -- one of the largest stretches in Grand Bahama. Since the beach is so popular -- it attracts hundreds of cruise ship passengers, along with the resort's guests -- water-sports vendors (not affiliated with the hotel) line the shore and offer kayaks, snorkeling gear, Jet Skis, banana boats, parasailing, and more.

With its wide swath of sand and its gentle turquoise waves, Cable Beach is often considered by locals to be the finest beach in Nassau.

Atlantis features not one, but three distinct beaches. Atlantis Beach is the renamed tail end of Cabbage Beach, one of the nicest stretches of sand in the Nassau area (shared with Riu Paradise Island), but because it can be crowded with thousands of cruise ship passengers and hotel guests, there's also tranquil Cove Beach (exclusive to guests of the Cove resort-within-a-resort) and Paradise Beach, a fine place for romantic walks to the lighthouse.