If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (including tax) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD300.30), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Say hello to Goldwynn Resort, a tropical tick-list of the Bahamas’ best bits: Pantone-blue waters, sugar-white shores and, breezy island style. Perched on the east end of coveted Cable beach, here you’ll find the Lululemon crowd rolling out their mats for morning yoga, families exploring the coast by snorkel and love-struck couples lapping up the sun from the lavish poolside cabanas. Find peace at the holistic spa, pleasure at the ‘MediterrAsian’-fusion restaurant and a wicked rum punch at the elevated lounge bar where the sweeping view of Caribbean blue is nothing short of magic.
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 4pm.
Prices
Double rooms from £288.57 ($360), including tax at 20 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional resort fee of $93.50 per room per night prior to arrival.
More details
Rates don’t include breakfast, but casual, á la carte and to-go options are available to purchase at the resort. There’s a nightly $85 (plus VAT) resort fee a room, which includes WiFi, non-motorized watersports and yoga classes.
At the hotel
Beach, spa with hair and nail salon, gym, laundry service (at a cost), and WiFi throughout. In rooms: Nespresso coffee machine, 55-inch smart TV with Chromecast, stainless-steel water bottles, filtered and ionized water, bathrobes and slippers, and Goldwynn bath products
Our favourite rooms
All rooms are similar in design with airy neutral tones, wood flooring and floor-to-ceiling windows that frame the natural beauty of Nassau. Studios are a great choice for comfort-seeking couples but for larger families (and those who can’t say no to a bath) the two-and-three bedroom suites come with plenty of space. Most come with double balconies, but the Edge Suites do one better with a wraparound terrace giving 180-degree views of the island and sea.
Poolside
The infinity pool is the beating heart of the resort, which crests out over the shore just feet below. The pool deck’s sunloungers make a fine spot to enjoy a post-splash libation with blue-on-blue views out across the ocean, but to elevate your horizontal happiness, opt for one of the private, butler-serviced cabanas.
Spa
Spread across three treatment rooms and with an outdoor relaxation cabana with splendid ocean views, the Rhizophora spa is an escape from the flurry of everyday life (although being in the Bahamas, everyday life is already quite relaxed). Their signature ‘coastal’ treatment is an aromatherapy-style massage performed outdoors amid the balmy Bahama breezes, but for something a little different opt for one of their ancient therapies that use age-old techniques like abhyanga (a warm oil massage), cupping and Ayurvedic marma (a stress-relieving point therapy). Next door, you’ll also find a fully-equipped fitness area with all the cardio and weight equipment.
Packing tips
Dig out your best bathing gear for lazy afternoons sipping, splashing and skipping between the infinity pool and the beach.
Also
Guests with mobility issues should opt for the ground-floor ADA-compliant Ocean Front Studios.
Pet‐friendly
Service dogs are welcome with proper certification from the Bahamas Department of Agriculture and are subject to a one-off charge of $300. See more pet-friendly hotels in Bahamas.
Children
Welcome. Extra beds are free for little ones and $60 (plus tax) a night for aged 12–17. Babysitting can be arranged with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice and board games and beach toys are available to borrow.
Sustainability efforts
As well as daily beach cleans, the resort uses energy-efficient technology, local suppliers and eco-friendly plastic alternatives.
Out on the terrace to see the waves crash at sundown.
Dress Code
Effortless elegance with a Caribbean pop of colour; pair cool-as-you-like cocktail dresses with a fresh face and statement rouge à lèvres.
Hotel restaurant
Though the more formal of the hotel’s two restaurants, OIA is anything but stuffy – floor-to-ceiling windows, rattan chairs and minimally-set light oak tables conspire to produce a calming, low-key atmosphere that lets the food speak for itself. Chef Bak’s menu of fusion flavours is inspired by Asia and the Mediterranean, and rooted in Japanese traditions of preparation and presentation. For casual poolside bites, Amara has you covered – an alfresco spot where you’ll find light, fresh fare and easy-to-eat-from-a-lounger tapas dishes.
Hotel bar
There are two bars at the hotel. Stylish Atria is a casual day-to-night spot with a 60-foot-tall installation by local artist Kishan Munroe at its centre. Here, you’ll find coffee, fresh-fruit smoothies, classic and signature cocktails and weekly live music. And, if music’s your thing, you may want to check-in at poolside restaurant Amara, where local DJs provide the soundtrack to weekend cocktail parties.The lounge of Bar Paul, meanwhile, makes a fine space for a sundowner with floor-to-ceiling windows that frame dusk’s candyfloss-pink skies. Inside, there are circular marble tables, low-slung dusky blue sofas and a library of beachy knick-knacks from model ships to giant shells, while outside on the terrace you can enjoy uninterrupted ocean views.
Last orders
Catch lunch at Amara between 11am to 5pm. Opening times vary at OIA and Bar Paul, but you can grab a rum punch at Atria any time from 7am to 11pm.
Room service
There’s a separate menu for in-room snacking, available from 7am till 2am.
Between the Royal Blue Golf Club and the east end of Cable Beach, you’ll find Goldwynn Resort occupying a quiet, pristine strip of Nassau’s northern shore.
Planes
Lynden Pindling International Airport is just a 15-minute drive away with flights arriving from all over the US and Canada. The hotel can arrange a private transfer, or take a cab from outside the airport.
Automobiles
A car comes in handy when exploring the wider island. Parking is included for registered guests and there are free-to-use electric vehicle charging points.
Worth getting out of bed for
Finally ready to tear yourself away from the pool and the spa? Make sugar-white Cable Beach your first stop (it's on your doorstep after all). Grab a lounger and spend the day tracking the light as it shifts across the sand; or get active – the hotel can arrange all kinds of beach-bound pursuits, from paddleboarding and snorkelling to kayaking and beach yoga. Next, get to know your surroundings with a Bahamian art and food tour, or rent a bike and do it yourself. The National Art Gallery in the Bahamas is housed in a historic stately home and offers a unique look at Bahamian history and culture through the art of its people. It’s also home to its own Art Park, a native forest filled with sculptures and indigenous flora. Downtown, you’ll find picturesque, pastel-hued architecture, colourful murals and historic monuments. Don’t miss Nassau straw market, where you can catch local artisans hard at work, or Queens Staircase, a 31-metre flight of limestone steps leading to Fort Fincastle and its sweeping views. The fort was built in 1793 to protect against pirates, which you can learn more about at the Pirates of Nassau Museum – kids will love the replica pirate ship and Jack Sparrow-esque hosts. Blue Lagoon Island offers close up encounters with dolphins and sea lions, while those in search of wilder encounters should head to Coral Harbour to spend the day among sharks and shipwrecks with dive instructor Stuart Cove. And, if you’re around during the festive season, make a Boxing Day beeline to Bay Street for the colourful seasonal parade of Junkanoo.
Local restaurants
There’s no shortage of great food in Nassau, renowned for its Arawak Cay Fish Fry Strip, where rows of colourful beach shacks, and hand-painted bars dish out tropical conch salads and heaped plates of rice and peas. But it’s also home to a host of top-tier dining spots equally worthy of a visit. Café Matisse is one of them, a pink palazzo of pasta and pizza. This Italian spot serves classic boot-hailing fare (carpaccio, risotto, parmigiana: you name it) alongside a rotating list of Caribbean-inspired specials. For something classically Bahamian however, you can’t do much better than Bahamian Cookin’, an unpretentious downtown restaurant owned by three generations of local women who have been fine-tuning their recipes for decades.
Local cafés
If the fish fry’s not for you, Le Petit Gourmet caféjust might be. At this vegetarian spot, you can start the day with gooey cookies, French toast topped with cinnamon panko and indulgently buttery croissants. Otherwise, check-out Louis & Steen’s, where the vibrant spirit of the Big Easy can be found in single-origin pours and Cajun-Creole inspired lunches.
Local bars
While Nassau is a popular spring-break spot, you’d never know it at the art deco-style Jazz Bar of the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar which summons the glamour of the roaring twenties with a white, grand piano, bow-tied bartenders and honey-voiced crooners. Channel your inner Zelda Fitzgerald with a classic martini. It’s a little more rustic at Bahama Barrels – inside, at least. Outside, its Heritage Village façade is painted lime green and a terrace is peppered with rainbow-coloured seating. It’s also home to the Bahamas’ first ever winery – well, kind of – for instead of making its own wines the traditional way, Barrels blends different international wines to make original new tipples. Hey, don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this shoreside hotel on Cable Beach and unpacked their sand-dusted flip-flops and trusty sun hats, a full account of their picture-perfect Bahamas break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Goldwynn Resort in Nassau…
With crystal-clear waters, year-round sunshine, vibrant culture and an infinite supply of rum, there are many reasons to love this tropical archipelago, and now, there’s one more. Hugging the shoreline of Cable beach, Goldwynn Resort is a Bahamian newcomer that specialises in knee-weakening views and soft beachy hues. This is demonstrated best in its rooms and suites, many of which gaze directly out to sea, each with a terrace, floor-to-ceiling windows, and plenty of natural wood and colourful textiles. The resort's OIA restaurant follows suit with its airy dining space, peppered with light oak tables and potted plants, where chef Bak’s ‘MediterrAsian’ fare is prepared and presented according to Japanese tradition. Lighter bites can be found in Amara, an alfresco poolside spot dishing out light, while all-day bar Atria specialises in post-splash tipples. The coconut-shaped infinity pool is almost directly on the beach, so you can spend your time hopping between them when you’re not snoozing on a sun-baked lounger, that is. Plus, you can do it all while feeling (and looking) your best – the hotel’s spa caters to everything from traditional massages to ancient rituals, mani-pedis and big, bouncy blow-outs. American astronaut Scott Kelly famously commented that the Bahamas was the most beautiful place that could be seen from space; turns out, it’s pretty spectacular from the ground too.
