There used to be days when we would have to get paper airline tickets fedexed by a travel agent and trips needed to be planned months in advance. Nowadays, we can often even cancel our flights hours before a trip. We can book whole itineraries in minutes. And while this is not totally how our Bahamas trip unfolded it was booked very last minute and we didn’t make a lot of plans. I learned that there was a nonstop flight to the Bahamas from Seattle about a month before our midwinter break when I went to an event with Nassau Paradise Island tourism. We ended up being hosted at the Bristish Colonial in downtown Nassau for part of our stay in the Bahamas. This over 100-year-old hotel just reopened in December 2023 after a big renovation and it’s a truly gorgeous place. We really enjoyed its location and beach and I think I might have overlooked it if we didn’t have a stay organized for us here because there weren’t a lot of reviews when we went.
Does it feel safe to visit the Bahamas?
We received many messages from family and friends before our trip because about a week before we left there was a level 2 warning for the Bahamas. I think it’s really important to be aware of warnings and take these kinds of things into consideration when we travel and know that things can change very quickly. So yes, we exercised extra caution and thought about where we went to and what we did. But we also live in the USA where that’s kind of our way of life lately when my kids go to school or take the bus by themselves or go to big events. We didn’t do a lot of walking at night but found a couple restaurants nearby for dinner-we could even make reservations for Oku Sushi right across the street and had a delicious meal. Nowadays it’s really important to check things like warnings and weather and your passport (both the requirements for the country or expiration) before you travel to places and make informed travel decisions. I’m really glad we visited Nassau, it’s a beautiful place and I hope to revisit again someday.
And now all about our stay at the British Colonial in Nassau
The lobby is the first thing we noticed when we walked into the British Colonial (here’s a video too!) and it is spectacular-the whole lobby is vast with a high painted ceiling, a formidable staircase (where we saw many people pose for pictures) and plush velvety chairs. There was a little mixup when we arrived and the hotel did not realize my teenagers were with us so I was originally supposed to have an ocean facing room and our room ended up facing the city because it was a really busy holiday weekend. I do think an ocean facing room would be quieter than the street facing room, but we found our stay really comfortable and there were public spaces on each floor where you could stand outside on a balcony that overlooked the ocean.
We were in a room with two double beds. The room had tasteful decor and comfortable bedding. We also had a small balcony that was nice for a bit of fresh air. There was a fridge but no safe in the room. The room is a little small for four people. The bathroom is average sized and the shower does not have a curtain and the only mirrors in the room are in the bathroom. These are things to factor in if you choose this hotel with teenagers, but our days were quite filled with activity, we lounged on the beach and we were all pretty exhausted each night so we didn’t spend a lot of time lounging in our room and it worked pretty well for our trip. On the website it looks like there are a few larger rooms that might better accommodate families too.
The private beach at the British Colonial was one of biggest standout features of this hotel. There were some non-motorized water sports equipment that looked cool and we didn’t know if they were included or not but we also didn’t feel compelled enough to try them but we saw other people using them and having fun. We really just enjoyed swimming, sitting on the beach and being in the warm air and tropical scenery. We’ve had a bit of a cold, wet and dark winter in Seattle, all we really wanted to do was soak in warmth and light.
The location of the British Colonial is also pretty perfect. We could get to the beach in minutes from our room. We walked to the famous Queen’s Staircase and also to a Bahamas Rum Cake factory where we could see rum cake being made. We also walked to Fish Fry where we ate at Twin Brothers (because we have twins) and tried some local specialties like conch, peas and rice and plantains.
A buffet breakfast for two was also included with a promotional rate when we were at the hotel. We tried the buffet breakfast and ate outside on the patio (you could also eat inside too). The breakfast had so many choices and it was so nice to be able to eat outside in the fresh air.
And how we got around Nassau
We were really thankful that Nassau Paradise Island Tourism provided us with transportation between our hotels and the airport with Leisure Travel Tours. They picked us up promptly at their scheduled times and their vehicles were clean and comfortable and the drivers all gave us ideas of restaurants and places to visit on our trip too. We usually take the bus or a taxi or walk so I have never booked transfers like this before and would not have thought to do this and I found them really helpful especially with our family of 4 and all of our luggage.
We enjoyed our stay at the British Colonial and I think it gave us a great feel for Nassau and really helped to make our trip better than if we had stayed all four nights in one spot. Our next stay was at the Coral at the Atlantis and here is my review.
(PS. for Seattleites-FYI we could also walk to a Starbucks from our hotel and found that you cannot use your Starbucks app or gift cards at this location or any other location we saw in the Bahamas.)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
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