Let it shine
The sun shines for 300 days of the year in The Bahamas –and Nassau Paradise Island certainly lives up to its name
If the most beautiful, deserted, whitesand beaches in the world are your thing, or seafood so fresh you select it yourself, still swimming, in the restaurant (try Shuang Ba at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar), then Nassau Paradise Island will not disappoint.
The capital of The Bahamas has come a long way from its days as a haven for swashbuckling pirates and, at one time, less romantic wild pigs (Paradise Island used to be called ‘Hog Island’). These days, it’s all about luxury, culture, exquisite interiors and gastronomic delights. Sushi is a speciality here, at renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s restaurant at the Atlantis resort, while the more authentic Arawak Cay area, also known as ‘fish fry’, offers local delicacies such as conch, grouper and lobster—perfect washed down with a rum punch overlooking turquoise Caribbean waters. further liquid gold can be found in the historic cellar at Graycliff Restaurant, which houses 275,000 bottles from more than 400 vintners, including the much coveted 1865 Château Lafite.
There’s plenty of colonial architecture to explore, including Georgian Government House, plus three very handsome, Britishbuilt, 18th-century forts—charlotte (named for George III’S wife), fincastle and Montagu, not to mention the local art scene. And beyond the palm-fringed shoreline, the Bahamian coral reef, at between 5,000 and 10,000 years old, is an underwater wonderland for snorkellers and scuba-divers, with millions of multicoloured tropical fish, sea urchins and turtles.
Knockout resorts include the Atlantis, which features Dolphin Cay (a 14-acre sanctuary with an 11-acre lagoon), a 141-acre water park, 11 swimming pools, five miles of jawdropping beaches, an 18-hole golf course and a casino. There’s also über-luxury, family-friendly Baha Mar on Cable Beach, which boasts three stylish hotels, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, racquet club, an ESPA spa and kids’ explorers club.
With an average year-round temperature of 27˚ and direct flights from London Heathrow four times a week, a trip to Nassau Paradise Island, as a couple or for all the family, is a no brainer.
For further information book with British Airways (www.ba.com/bahamas)
Nassau Paradise Island is about luxury, culture, exquisite interiors and gastronomic delights