The reason we chose this hotel is that it is on the West End of GBI, far away from the hustle and bustle of Freeport. It was a very relaxed environment with good service and a great location. The room was wonderfully roomy and had its own back porch, complete with ceiling fan. The bathroom is total luxury with a twin sinks, whirlpool tub, separate walk-in shower and separate commode room. The big screen TV was a pleasant surprise. There is also a full-size washer/dryer.

The staff was very helpful, even arranging a rental car on short notice for us. True, it was 10 years old, beat up, and we rented it from a bar down the road, but it got us around the island ok. Next time, we'll arrange for the rental car in advance...

There are 3 places to eat there. First, there is the Straw Bar, a shack out by the beach, which has daytime hours only. We would have liked to see the hours extended just a bit, maybe to 6 or 7 from 5 pm. The conch fritters were excellent and even beat those from Bishops on the East End of the island. There is also Aqua the high-end restaurant and Bonefish Folley's, neither of which we ate at. The room had a full kitchen, complete with full size fridge/freezer, cooktop and microwave, so we ate leftovers from the restaurants in Freeport that we ate at. There is also a very nice shop there that sells food, clothing and trinkets.

We were extremely disappointed that Freeport canceled Junkanoo because of rain, but the resort did have a small celebration, complete with a brief fireworks show.

The only problems we had were noisy neighbors upstairs, who must have been playing hockey or something, and one night where we came back late and discovered we didn't get any wash towels and couldn't convince the front desk rep to open up housekeeping and get some for us.. So OBB doesn't get the A+, just the A.

Hotel needs a major facelift and management shakeup. The Hotel is at the west end of the island and about 40 minutes from Freeport ad thus you rely on their (3) restaurants. One is on the beach and open for lunch only with a limited menu and poor service. The 2nd is a casual one with an equally limited menu and extremely slow service. The 3rd is billed as their gourmet restaurant, which has a better menu but non-existent service. Expect to wait an average of 45 minutes to one hour for any food to arrive at ay of the restaurants.
The beach is small and swimming is limited by the fact that the water depth is 2 - 3 feet for hundreds of yards from shore.
The rooms are of good size but are fairly basic in comparison to the rates that are charged. They claim to have snorkeling on premisis however expect to pay $40/hour/person for the boat that needs to take you to the location. The only other snorkeling is at Paradise Beach which is a 15 minute drive.
Overall, very disappointing.

I have visited Old Bahama Bay twice this year and look forward to my next visit. I was there in late March and again in late October - four days each stay. Both time, the staff was helpful but unobtrusive. I got exactly the degree of assitance I sought out, and everyone was always pleasant.

ROOMS - The first time I stayed in an oceanview, and the second time in an oceanfront room. Each room was clean and well appointed. The king beds were extremely comfortable and the furnishings are comfortable and on the newer side, so in very good condition. Both of the rooms I stayed in had washer dryers which allowed me to do both of my trips with carry on luggage only. The bathrooms were very nice and had great water pressure and plenty of hot water. Lots of bath towels, plus an extra two beach towels per room. You can also get towels at the beach hut.

I would pick the oceanfront room again, just because I liked the lanai/terrace better than the oceanview balcony. The photos on the OBB website are accurate - the buildings are adorable and the rooms very nice.

ACTIVITIES - The beach cruiser bikes are in good condition and riding was safe in the area. The kayaks were great and I loved kayaking up and down the beachfront. Snorkel excursions to nearby shallow reefs were excellent - good variety of marine life, corals, sponges and other underwater wonders. The visibility is excellent. Snorkeling off the beach was not ideal, mostly because the water is so shallow over the sea grass areas. I recommend aqua shoes because there are some little urchins living in the seagrass areas and you do NOT want to step on one of those fellas (like I did my first trip! live and learn!).

NIGHTLIFE AND DINING - OBB is at the Western most tip of the island, and is wonderfully private and reomte. This is great if, like me, you are trying to get away from it all. To say it's not a late night party place is understaement to the extreme, but that has its own appeal. I used room service and Bonefish Folleys, but never made it to the lovely looking Aqua. Eating is not a rush - it is not fast food, but it is freash and very good.

PROPERTY - The landscaping was beautiful and well manicured. In fact, the Monday morning I was there I was sure the landscapers working on the property outnumber guests two to one!

RESORT STORE - I found the resort store very well stocked with a wide variety of necessities from gifts, clothes, hats, to water, soda, snacks lots of different kinds of sunscreen to choose from, which was nice.

I went both times by myself for quick recharge get-aways. It is safe and secure and it is my place of choice for such a trip.

Was the place perfect? No. The construction areas adjacent to the newest building is understandably dusty and on some days a bit noisy due to activity. But there is plenty of beach available so you can easily move to a more placid area. Sand gnats are an issue ONLY on days when then is no breeze, which is not terribly common, and at dusk. Use the OFF provided in the room and you'll be A-OK. To their credit, they are using enviro-friendly mosquito and sand gnat treatments. For that, a few little nibbles was not a big deal for me.

I really hope that if the new behemoth of a resort Ginn Sur Mer doesn't swlaoow OBB, which Ginn has purchased and is currently operating. I hope they leave it as Old Bahama Bay rather than folding it in the new high rise. The peace and quiet and mellow feel of the resort is so nice.

My husband and I honeymooned at Old Bahama Bay. We had a wonderful time! We were attracted to the hotel because of its seclusion and small size. We weren't looking for a large crowded hotel in the middle of the night life. Old Bahama Bay was exactly what we wanted! Our room was absolutely beautiful. Everything was top of the line and we had a beautiful view of the beach. The hotel offered free DVDs to check out, and we took advantage of this a few nights. Aqua was amazing for dinner, and we went there every night. Advice: Some of the meals and desserts (the ones on the menu...not on display) are prepared table side; order these, it's well worth it!!! We got an all inclusive package, which was wonderful since we could eat whatever we wanted without having to worry about how much it cost. In fact, the more expensive it was the better since it had already been paid for! Every day we went out on the hobie cat and went snorkeling. The water was beautiful and the weather was perfect everyday. We saw some bad reviews about the bugs, but we only had a problem one night. Other than that, it was fine. Definitely not worth missing out on Old Bahama Bay for.
Before we went we had read some bad reviews about the place and we were concerned before we went that it wouldn't be what we wanted. I have to say though, the people who left bad reviews just seem to be very picky people. Yes, the ride to the resort isn't very scenic...but that's what you get when you go to a secluded part of the island. There are a lot of people there who come in on their yachts. All of the people who we met though were very nice, and loved OBB as much as we did. Service is slow at the bar next to the beach, but who cares?!?! We certainly didn't have anywhere else to be! All of the staff were very very friendly to us. We highly recommend OBB to anyone looking to get away and relax.