Best Western Castaways Resort & Suites, Freeport

...chose to stay at the Best Western Castaways Resort in Freeport on Grand Bahama island because of the big brand name and the price - for the equivalent of a Liverpool Travelodge I could
stay at an upscale hotel in paradise.

The hotel is exterior corridor, but more secure than some because to
get to those corridors you have to pass through the lobby and swipe through a
door. The rooms are spread over 4 floors with ...
...rain my entire stay, despite frequent thunderstorm warnings. What could be better?

Find out more about the hotel at their website: www.castaways-resort.com/

Best Western Castaways Resort, East Mall, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
Phone 242-352-6682
Fax 242-352-5087
  ... more

"Hello Zoë", said the receptionist, and I started, feeling as though I was in a Psycho style horror film. Guest arrives at hotel. Guest is greeted by an eerie, deserted building. Guest gets the impression the staff have been waiting just for them to arrive, as indicated by their greeting "We've been expecting you". Guest is trapped. Life passes before guest's eyes. Guest's
fate becomes apparent.... Except I was in a nice, civilized place. It was not the middle of the night. Cars were passing on the street outside, and the sun was pouring in through the huge windows on either side of the lobby. The name thing was spooky but, as I soon found out, it was only because I was their only arrival that day, not because they'd been cyber stalking me for months just waiting for me to show my face. I spent a few days in the Bahamas recently because it's one of the cheap-flight routes out of my local airport and, um, I felt like it. I chose to stay at the Best Western Castaways Resort in Freeport on Grand Bahama island because of the big brand name and the price - for the equivalent of a Liverpool Travelodge I could
stay at an upscale hotel in paradise.

The hotel is exterior corridor, but more secure than some because to
get to those corridors you have to pass through the lobby and swipe through a
door. The rooms are spread over 4 floors with the best being on the ground
floor - these are mainly suites with fridges, sofas and private terraces. I was
in a regular room on the 3rd floor, and had a mini balcony which was barely
deep enough to step out onto, but useful for when you wanted to sit in the
sun while in bed (open the sliding doors and you could do just that). Half
the rooms are smoking, but my floor and the one above were not, and as such
require guests of these rooms to sign a disclaimer on checking in, saying
they (and any guests) will not smoke while in them, and will pay cleaning
costs of several hundred dollars if they break this rule. All rooms are ensuite with full bathrooms and medium toiletries - shampoo and lotion to go with the hand and body soaps. My only gripe with this area was the temperature of the shower which took up to 10 minutes to heat up to warm, but then got to scolding within seconds and took another 5 or so minutes to cool back down to reasonable.

The rooms themselves are of a good size, and come with two double or one
king sized bed. Added features beyond what you might expect were a coffee
maker (not always coming as standard in US / Caribbean hotels) and a radio
alarm clock. There was also ample closet and drawer space, 2 telephones
(one bedside, one on the desk across the room) and a single comfy chair. The
furnishings all had a local look to them - lots of woven wicker and pale colored wood - but seemed to be of the highest quality. The carpets were equally funky - thick woolen affairs rather than those horrible threadbare things you can get in some places. The rooms were cleaned daily, and were serviced by the type of maids who also seem to feel obliged to tidy up your things for you while you're in there. They also switch off the air con, but if you leave your curtains closed the room doesn't get too hot (and you can of course switch the cooling back on as soon as you return to your room).

Accommodation is provided on a room only basis. Room service is not available, but an onsite (though independently owned) restaurant provides breakfast and dinner, and will make up take out orders if you call them through in advance. They serve American and Bahamian cuisine - which from the in-room menu seemed to mean pancakes and cereal etc for breakfast, and lots of fish based dishes and burgers in the evening. the prices were quite high, and I didn't choose to eat there during my stay, not least because it seemed deserted a lot of the time, and when dining alone I'd rather not be the only person in a restaurant. The hotel came equipped with ice and vending machines on every other floor which were useful for in-room picnics: for dining out I would recommend Silviano's, the Italian place across the street. Branches of Subway, Pizza Hut and Burger King were all also barely 5 minutes walk away.

Being a hotel in a hot country, the hotel comes equipped with a large outdoor pool, a small playground and landscaped gardens. The pool was empty more often than not while I was there, meaning I could treat it as my own personal private watery get away every morning and most afternoons. It was well located because for most of the hours it was open - 8am until 10pm – it was partly if not totally in direct sunlight. On one morning maintenance men turned up around 8.45am and kicked me out of the pool so they could throw some trowel-fulls of chlorine in - why they couldn't do that before it opened, I don't know - but they seemed to learn their lesson and didn't do that again during my stay.

The hotel was virtually deserted during my stay - only 26 of the150 odd rooms were occupied - but those few guests I did run into seemed nice and friendly. None found it all that odd that I was vacationing alone (truth be told, many found it stranger that I had chosen to spend my summer in Baltimore), and a couple of families made and effort to come over and chat whenever I was lounging by the pool. The clientele was mixed, but seemed to be mainly couples and families with enough money to vacation in the Bahamas but not so much they could afford to throw it away at the beachfront Sheraton.

The location of the hotel is good if not perfect. The hotel is set back from one of the main roads that links the airport to the beach. It's about 10 minutes from the first, 15 from the other. Beach side accommodations can be twice the price, and so knowing they provided a free shuttle to the sandy shores almost a dozen times a day, I booked into this place instead. Next-door is the International Bazaar - a collections of shops and stalls and stands selling the tackiest touristy things imaginable. It's like the worst of Blackpool meets the worst of Salou, but it's quite fun to explore, and has the odd useful convenience store and a handful of restaurants, so it's not too bad a place to be next door to. Across the road is the RND plaza with a few more shops and, more importantly for me, a movie theater showing the latest US releases. While I was there they had 6 films on, each showing 3 times a day, which isn't bad for such a small place in such a small country. Downtown Freeport is about a 25 minute walk away, but can be reached easily on foot on by local bus, and is home to a large supermarket (Winn Dixie), a post office and more regular shops - clothing and music and bookshops etc.

The hotel is officially 2 star, but this is more to do with the facilities and room amenities (no mini bar, no room service) than the actual standard of accommodations. The hotel boasts a small pool bar (with lethal Bahama Mama's, but quite drinkable - and reasonably priced - sodas), a gift shop, a nightclub/show bar (which I never found...but never actually looked for) and a 24 hr reception desk. In addition, security staff are on duty around the clock (and check your rooms for damage etc before you are allowed to check out). To get to the pool or go up in the elevator you have to be a registered guest with a swipe card, which definitely went some way to making the complex feel secure. The shuttle busses to the beach ran daily, and were always on time. Check out time was noon, and check in was at 3pm although they happily gave me a key when I arrived about half an hour before that. I've stayed in more than half a dozen hotels since arriving in the US in June, but this was my definite favorite, the staff were friendly and efficient, the location was good if not perfect, and the price, at around $70 per night, would be tough to beat. Rack rates are more than double that, but Expedia and hotels.com helped me keep down the costs. Prices also rise in peak season (November - April) but if the threat of the odd little hurricane doesn't scare you, great savings are to be had by traveling during the summer months. I went for 5 days in August, had scorching weather and entire beaches to myself, plus less than 5 minutes of rain my entire stay, despite frequent thunderstorm warnings. What could be better?

Find out more about the hotel at their website: www.castaways-resort.com/

Best Western Castaways Resort, East Mall, Freeport, Grand Bahama Island, The Bahamas
Phone 242-352-6682
Fax 242-352-5087
 

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