The Grand Hyatt Baha Mar is the destination of choice for our reader success story to Nassau. This is an extremely popular destination among points and miles users, and we haven’t booked it yet. Thanks, Amanda, for sharing it with us! I love that it was her FIRST redemption – showing everyone that even a beginner can succeed!

Amanda’s Redemption to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar and Flights

My family of 5 (2 adults and three kids aged 6, almost 5, and nearly 3) just returned from our very first point redemption trip, and it was amazing! We stayed at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar for 150,000 points (25k points per night).

Our flights were nonstop JFK > Nassau on JetBlue, costing 76,000 points round trip (that’s only 15,200 points per person). So, for a family of five, we spent an entire week at Baha Mar for only 226,000 points. The cash value would’ve been about $7k. 

The Room at the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar

We booked a 2-queen Fountain View Room and were upgraded at check-in to an Ocean View. The room didn’t have an “oceanfront” view, so the view was pretty small in the distance, but it still overlooked the fountains. We loved that because the fountains have a nightly show with music and lights that my kids enjoyed watching from the balcony.

Our flight landed at 9 a.m., and we were at the resort before 10 a.m. Thankfully, our room was ready for us. The room itself is pretty tiny but manageable. There is no couch, but the bathroom is decent-sized, including a separate tub and a walk-in shower. They did have two closets to unpack our belongings.

The beach was pristine. We wanted a swimmable beach with clear blue water, and it did not disappoint! Plenty of lounge chairs are on the beach, so you don’t need to get down early to reserve any. They also have free beach activities, like kayaking, paddle boarding, floats, etc., and we took full advantage of them.

You can also walk on a pier to see wildlife (the sea turtles were our favorite). You can pay for jet skis or parasailing. The weather in February was perfect. It was sunny daily, with a slight wind and a “real feel” between 80-84 degrees. It did not rain once. 

There are several different pools to choose from. Our favorite had cliff jumps and a swim-up aquarium. To reserve seats at the pool, you must head down before 9 a.m. We never did, so we never got seats there. 

The on-site water park is included in your stay, and it was hands down my kid’s favorite thing to do. There are plenty of slides and activities for kids of all ages and heights. They also have a wave pool, lazy river, and surfing area. The slides and the lazy river were definitely favorites for us. 

The Baha Bay Beach Club is a separate area where you can pay to reserve lounge chairs or cabanas. You can only use the infinity pools in this area if you pay for the seats. We did this one day and were happy we did. The cost is $125/chair, but you get a $100 credit to use at the restaurant/bar that’s located in the beach club. Children under 12 do not need a reserved chair, so we rented two chairs. After eating all day and having a few drinks, we still had $50 left on our credit somehow. This pool is definitely worth checking out.

There is an onsite sanctuary that my kids enjoyed. They have tropical birds, sharks, flamingos, sting rays, sea turtles, and Debra turtles. You can pay for specific interactions, and we decided to pay for the “feed the turtles” one. My kids loved this experience! They also have a free flamingo parade every morning at 9:30.

Food Options at the Baha Mar

The food we ate was phenomenal and better than any all-inclusive we’ve been to. We did the breakfast buffet every morning (children five and under eat free) and ate by the pools for lunch.

They have many dinner options, and several restaurants honor the “5 and under eat free” policy. Our most expensive dinner meal was $400, and our cheapest was $100. All food prices include tax and gratuity. We did bring $300 in cash and tipped extra.

We ate at Marcus (our favorite), Carna, Pizza Lab (once for sit down and once for takeout), The Swimming Pig, and Sugar Factory. We heard the Drift Bar has a $15 refillable cup you can buy and use for your entire stay. We didn’t do this, but we heard it was an option. IMPORTANT: Book your dinner reservations when they open 60 days before your stay. Reservations sell out quickly. 

Food Allergies: I rarely see reviews about it, and I think it’s crucial for those needing it. My youngest has an egg allergy, and we were disappointed in the food options available to her, along with the education of the staff on food allergies. There were many times when we felt uncomfortable. There were many times servers said “I think it’s okay”, “this food may work” etc, which is not what you want to hear. Because of this, I always scope out restaurants ahead of time, and I thought she’d at least be able to eat a grilled cheese. We were told that “all the bread on the island” contains eggs.

In the same sentence, we were told that standard American cheese is dairy, so it has egg. Egg and dairy are two completely different allergies, and the staff definitely confused the two. So my daughter ate fries all week, with the occasional chicken fingers (some chicken fingers had egg and some didn’t). So that was frustrating. Thankfully, we packed her many snacks from home. Marcus and Carna were the most knowledgeable on food allergies. Our server at Sugar Factory was wonderful, and I personally went into the kitchen and read the labels on all the desserts to find her something that worked.

Free professional photographers are located around the resort and park, taking pictures of you and your family if you want them to. You can buy the photos at the end of your stay. They cost $225 online, but in person, we paid only $125 and received about 75 photos. 

We booked the Swimming with the Pigs tour through Bahamas Water Toys and Sport and loved it! We had a private boat with only one other couple, and our guides were excellent. They also took us snorkeling and through Atlantis. Children under 5 were free. There is a Kids Club, and I’ve heard only great things about it, as well as on-site babysitters, though we didn’t utilize either.

Swimming with the pigs was a hit!

We spent $1400 on food, $225 on the beach club lounge rentals, $525 on the excursion, and $300 on extra cash tip money. 

Bottom Line

The Reader Success Story to Nassau was so interesting to us that we have considered going there, too. Let us know in the comments if you’ve been there and what you think too.