We took our two boys (ages 3.5 and 1.5) to Baha Mar and had the BEST time! Are we exhausted? Yup. Who wouldn’t be after spending 5 days chasing 2 toddlers around in the sun, but omg— we truly had a BLAST. The resort is brand new and has activities for all ages— especially littles!
I have a more in-depth review of our first visit to Baha Mar back in 2022 when we were just a family of 3 and took our then 1.5 year old. If you’re interested in reading it CLICK HERE.
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Rosewood Baha Mar Resort Review
Getting to the Bahamas from Nashville was relatively simple. There aren’t any direct flights, so we first flew to Miami where we boarded a second flight bound for Nassau. The boys did really well on the flights! Nate is at the point where he’s no longer napping and completely content just watching shows on a tablet. Julian was a little trickier. He still takes an afternoon nap so by the second flight he was getting iffy, but thankfully he ended up snoozing for about 45 minutes on me. PS this post has all of my toddler travel trips + must-have products.
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Baha Mar is conveniently located just a 10 minute cab ride from the Nassau airport. We had our travel agent Beth set up private car transfers to/from the airport for us, which included car seats for the boys! (Is there anything worse than having to lug car seats on a trip??)
There are three hotels to choose from at Baha Mar: a Grand Hyatt (where we stayed on our last trip), SLS and Rosewood. This time we opted for 2-garden-level connecting rooms at the Rosewood, which worked perfectly for our family. The boys had their own space to nap and go to bed early, while Nick and I could still be awake in our room. We loved the intimate, tranquil vibe of the property and the quick walk to the multiple private pools and beach that are exclusive to just Rosewood guests. The Rosewood also has a private entrance and lobby separate from the other two hotels, which means no waiting and a seamless check-in process.
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TIP! Use a travel agent to book your stay. Not only do they take the work off your plate when it comes to booking and making reservations, but they often are able to get you upgrades and save you $$$. Through our agent Beth, we were automatically given Rosewood Elite status on our booking. This included a few extra amenities with our booking like complimentary breakfast every morning (HUGE considering food is all a la carte at Baha Mar) and a $125 resort credit.
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Grand Hyatt vs Rosewood
I got a lot of questions on Instagram asking if I could compare the Grand Hyatt to the Rosewood and which property I preferred more. In my opinion, the biggest difference between the hotels is the size. I vividly remember the walk from our room in the Grand Hyatt down to the pools/beach was a 10+ minute trek involving multiple elevators and ramps. At the Rosewood, you can get the pools from your room in less than two minutes– thus why we opted for garden-level rooms.
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The vibe of each hotel is very different and I think it just depends on your preference. The Rosewood felt more intimate and elegant (reminded me of a Four Seasons) and the service was on par with other 5-star hotels we’v visited. You also get access to a private beach and pool area that guests of the other two hotels are unable to access. The Grand Hyatt is significantly bigger and busier and the vibe is very swanky and upbeat. It reminded me of The Atlantis. The casino is in the center of the hotel right off the lobby, so to get anywhere you have to walk through it. Not necessarily a bad thing, but just not something I wanted to do with two toddlers every time we left our room.
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When we stayed at the Grand Hyatt in February 2022 it was moderately busy. We didn’t have any trouble getting a good spot at the pool or dinner reservations at the times we wanted. This time I observed significantly crowds– I’m assuming due to summer and families traveling with school-aged kids. We ended up only using the pools at the Rosewood because the Grand Hyatt pools were just sooooo busy. I’m talking every lounger taken and long lines for the poolside bars/eateries. I think Baha Mar has gotten really popular in the last two years so I’d keep that in mind when planning your visit. If we come back we’ll definitely try and do so pre-June before school is out.
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And then obviously there’s a big difference in pricing. Room rates at the Grand Hyatt run between $500-$800 per night, whereas at the Rosewood at base-level room is $1,000+. Our nightly rate for each of our rooms at the Rosewood was $1,050. We took advantage of the stay 3 nights, get your 4th night free promo, which made us feel a lot better about what we were paying.
So to conclude! I would recommend both properties, but if your budget allows I’d opt for the Rosewood because of the extra amenities and higher level of service.
Activities & Entertainment
What’s great about Baha Mar is that no matter your hotel— you get access to the amazing Baha Bay waterpark. We spent a few hours there everyday! There’s a huge toddler splash and slide area, a water playscape with slides and activities for big(er) kids that my 3.5 year old LOVED + a lazy river. My hubs and I also indulged in a few of the big slides!
Other family activities we enjoyed: feeding birds in the aviary, watching the daily flamingo parade, the swim up aquarium and cliff jumping at Blue Hole pool, playing arcade games after dinner in the Game Zone and dancing to the nightly fountain show display.
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TIP! Bring a stroller. Baha Mar is huge and you’re going to be doing a lot of walking. We recommend this double stroller! It’s lightweight, easy to maneuver and can fit through a standard doorway. We wouldn’t have survived our trip without it! I’d also suggest snagging this stroller travel bag to prevent damage on your flights.
Food & Restaurants
Food at Baha Mar is all a la carte and very pricey, BUT kids under 5 eat free, so that helped a bit. Everything morning we had breakfast at Cafe Boulud in the Rosewood. We also had lovely dinners at Katsuya, Marcus by the Beach, Costa and Pizza Lab. Just make sure you make reservations in advance for dinner—we had our travel agent do this for us a few weeks before our trip— as time slots do fill up. For lunch we kept it simple and ordered off the pool menu at the Rosewood or grabbed something from one of the casual food spots in the waterpark. Nick and I also loved grabbing cocktails at Manor Bar in the Rosewood.
TIP! if you’re traveling with toddlers: PACK YOUR OWN SNACKS. Like I said, the food is very pricey and small bite options are limited. There are a few convenience-style shops located throughout the resort, but you’re going to pay an arm and a leg. We had to buy more diapers and the upcharging was nearly 300% compared to what we would’ve paid at home. I personally packed 3 gallon-sized ziplock bags of the boys favorite snacks, which lasted us for both flights + four days at the resort.
Kids Club + Childcare Options
I believe all of the Baha Mar hotels have some type of kids club with activities and childcare. At the Rosewood, the kids club was for ages 4+ so weren’t able to utilize on this trip, but definitely would be open to doing so in the future. The concierge was also able to connect us with a babysitting service that we used to book a sitter for the boys one night while we went out to grab drinks.
