Made up of some 700 largely uninhabited islands, the Bahamas promises visitors good times in the tropics thanks to the azure water, beautiful beaches and conch — so much conch.
There’s also golf, fishing, warm weather year-round, swimming with pigs, top-notch scuba diving, lively Junkanoo processions and parties during the holidays with rum punches on repeat. Since Alaska Airlines and JetBlue introduced the first direct flights from the West Coast to Nassau’s Lynden Pindling International Airport (NAS) in late 2023, it has never been easier to get to this gateway to the Caribbean.
Related: Nassau cruise port: A guide to your day in the Bahamas
There’s a whole lot of variety in the all-inclusive department of this independent member of the British Commonwealth. All-inclusive resorts come in all shapes, sizes and price points, whether you prefer big-brand megaresorts like Sandals or Club Med, wallet-friendly chains like Wyndham or a bespoke collection of bungalows on a deserted isle.
This guide to the eight best Bahamas all-inclusive hotels should help you check into this Atlantic Ocean paradise without pause.
Sandals Royal Bahamian
Nassau, Bahamas
Best for: Couples who want an energetic food-filled getaway.
Why stay here: This adults-only Sandals outpost underwent a $55 million renovation in 2022 and introduced an innovative island dine-around program in 2023.
Best way to book: Book directly through Sandals for the best rates.
When someone asks about all-inclusive resorts in the Caribbean, Sandals is likely to be the first name to jump to mind. Sandals Royal Bahamian, which received a $55 million glow-up in 2022, is a great example of what the brand does right, especially when it comes to all-inclusive vacations void of children but stocked with gourmet delights and opportunities to unplug.
The Sandals compound unfurls across 15 acres of beachfront real estate less than 15 minutes from the Nassau airport.
The 404 rooms are spread across a new village of flip-flop chic standalone villas, each of which comes with a butler, a private plunge pool and outdoor tubs and two main buildings that encircle two huge pools, expansive sundecks and most of the public spaces including several of the 12 restaurants and bars. Rooms either have contemporary coastal or updated British colonial flair with statement beds, marble vanities and a stocked (and restocked daily) minibar. If the wallet allows, book a swim-up suite where guests walk through the slider and slip into a tub built for two or the zero-entry pool that hugs the West Bay.
Sandals features a comprehensive scuba diving program (beginners can even get PADI-certified here!), a wide selection of water sports and Barefoot Cay, its own island a mile away.
Daily Newsletter
Reward your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers for breaking news, in-depth guides and exclusive deals from TPG’s experts
The Royal Bahamian’s dining game is strong and goes far beyond the expected buffet (though they have that, too). Feast on French favorites in La Plume, a petal pink and minty green Instagram dream inspired by the feather of the national bird. There’s a nautically inspired chophouse with an accompanying piano bar, an English pub, made-to-order sushi and a teppanyaki-style show. Get comfort food at Calico Cafe or pizzas and Italian dishes at Tesoro. It was also one of the first Sandals locations to offer the Island Inclusive dine-around program. Certain room types and status levels get a $250 voucher and round-trip transportation to eat off-site at a host of island-owned partner restaurants, including one of the coolest bars in the Caribbean, Bon Vivants.
Enhance any stay with exciting extras like private candlelit dinners, off-property excursions and massages at the Red Lane Spa, which also offers treatments in Barefoot Cay’s Zen Garden.
Also, be sure to sign up for Sandals Select Rewards to achieve reward points and status levels, each of which has designated perks such as spa credits, waived fees and free private transfers. After spending 70 nights at any Sandals or Beaches properties, you’ll earn a free weeklong stay. Book your next Sandals vacation while still on the property to receive 12 percent off future reservations.
Rates at Sandals Royal Bahamian start at $312 per person per night.
Kamalame Cay Private Island Resort
Great Barrier Reef, Andros, The Bahamas
Best for: Well-heeled travelers who appreciate the convenience of all-inclusive resorts but don’t need a deal.
Why stay here: When special occasion travel is on the itinerary, splurge on this stunning 40-key, 97-acre private island property just off the world’s third-largest barrier reef with individually-appointed rooms, five restaurants and bars serviced by its own farm, an overwater spa and a dive center.
Best way to book: Book directly through the hotel’s website.
Looking to bliss out in the Bahamas and don’t need a bargain? Want something stylish but not stuck-up? Kamalame Cay, a family-owned 96-acre private island resort that’s just a 15-minute flight from Nassau, is probably your best bet, whether traveling solo or with a partner or family.
But don’t just take our word for it. This haute hideaway gets a thumbs-up from Penelope Cruz, Serena Williams (who honeymooned here), Nicole Kidman and Oprah, who all know a thing or two about the good life.
The resort features 35 cottages, bungalows and villas situated steps from the water. Though the family has recently introduced health and wellness experiences with help from industry leaders Silver Linings Wellbeing and an artist-in-residence gig, their true calling is in the culinary department. You can choose to pay for just the room, but we wouldn’t recommend it as you’ll want the all-you-can-eat freedom to inhale the Asian- and Caribbean-influenced delicacies. There are two tiers of meal plans: The Standard Guest of House package covers a continental breakfast basket featuring house-made pastries and bread delivered to your place each morning, all meals at any of the on-property restaurants and pop-ups, snacks, water, soda and juice. The premium option also covers beer, wine and spirits.
The Great House handles all three meals of the day, though dinner is a classier candlelit affair with creations like conch ginger wontons, grilled snapper and veggie curry. Sugarcane draws ideas from the countries along the sugarcane trade route, including Haiti, Singapore and Indonesia.
As it’s not a true all-inclusive, you’ll be charged for many of the activities like fishing, guided free diving and holistic body and beauty therapies in the Caribbean’s only overwater bungalow spa, should you decide to partake.
Rates at Kamalame Cay start at $515 per night. Meal plans incur an extra nightly fee: $200 per adult and $100 per child (ages 3-15) for the standard option and $300 per adult and $100 per child for the premium one.
Small Hope Bay Lodge
Small Hope, Bahamas
Best for: Divers, birders and fishers seeking an authentic sustainable stay.
Why stay here: Historic hand-built cabins, a lush and beachy setting, a communal atmosphere and outdoorsy activities on quiet Andros provide the antidote to Paradise Island’s bustling flashy high-rises.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Established on the still sparsely populated, unhurried and unspoiled Andros more than 60 years ago, Small Hope Bay Lodge is a place where time has seemingly stood still, guests are treated like family and visitors can indulge in the shore’s simple pleasures like scuba-diving, listening to lapping waves and devouring conch fritters by the fistful without leaving too much trace on the environment.
Small Hope Bay Lodge is rustic, quiet and comprised of only 22 hand-built, TV-less pine cabins. Guests also have access to a restaurant, a library, a hot tub, a game room, a dock and a dive center. Cabins are barebones but filled with natural light, handmade furniture, local artwork and Androsian batik fabrics. If you want air conditioning, you’ll have to pay a nightly surcharge. Wi-Fi is only available in the lounge and outside the bar, and it is turned off during the cocktail hour and dinner nightly to encourage socializing.
Your reservation includes all meals, alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, an introduction to scuba/snorkel lessons and use of on-site facilities and equipment like kayaks, paddleboards and bikes. Complimentary babysitting for children between the ages of 2 and 7 is offered during dinner. Fishing excursions, guided nature tours and dive trips are not included in the nightly rate.
Nightly rates at Small Hope Bay Lodge start at $325 for adults and $135 for children ages 2 to 12. Kids under 2 are free. During the high seasons (Feb. 16 to May 17 and Dec. 16 to Jan. 5), there is a surcharge of $110 for single guests.
Lighthouse Pointe at Grand Lucayan
Freeport, Bahamas
Best for: Travelers who will appreciate the on-site 6,909-yard, 18-hole golf course and the seven-and-a-half-acre beach.
Why stay here: Reopened in 2021, this 196-room “resort within a resort” on Grand Bahama Island lures golfers with unlimited play, as well as their loved ones looking to enjoy two swimming pools, non-motorized water sports, a full-service spa, four restaurants, Sunday brunch and Friday night karaoke.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Grand Lucayan Resort offers both European hotel-only and all-inclusive plans for stays at its perch at a 7.5-acre ivory beach lapped by the Atlantic Ocean on Grand Bahama Island. This particular paradise is best for guests who are at their happiest with a 6 iron in their hands, because unlimited golf comes with each reservation.
Lighthouse Pointe is an all-inclusive resort within a resort that strives to strike a balance between laidback luxury, affordability, modern convenience and nods to Bahamian culture. It features king and double-double rooms dressed in tranquil blues and creams. Private furnished balconies have garden, marina or ocean views. Suites are double the size and have a separate living area with a sleeper sofa.
While plenty of indoor health and wellness activities are complimentary, access to the resort spa’s 11 treatment rooms, wood saunas, steam rooms, Vichy showers or hydrotherapy tub incurs an extra fee.
Four restaurants are exclusive to all-inclusive guests, including a sports bar, a grill serving Caribbean fare, a pizzeria and a coffee shop. Don’t sleep on weekly activities like Sunday brunch or Friday night karaoke.
Be sure to explore off-property, as the resort is within walking or biking distance of the Rand Nature Centre, great for trails and birdwatching, the Port Lucaya Marketplace and the Underwater Explorers Society (UNEXSO), which runs shark dives and cave dives in the submerged tunnels at Lucayan National Park.
Rates at Lighthouse Pointe at Grand Lucayan start at $349 per night.
Fowl Cay Resort
Fowl Cay, Bahamas
Best for: Adventure time replete with with villas and powerboats.
Why stay here: This private island escape in Exuma is compirsed of six villas, which sleep two to six guests and come with fully stocked kitchens, water sports equipment, fishing gear and a speedboat with unlimited fuel.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Tucked along the perimeter of a mostly wild private island off Exuma, a set of six charming villas give “castaway” new meaning as each home comes with a private powerboat, unlimited fuel and fishing gear. That’s just the beginning of the inclusions at Fowl Cay Resort that will leave families and friend groups wishing they could be marooned there for far longer than their PTO allows.
Villas range in size from one to three bedrooms, and many sit mere feet from the water. Some even have a small dock, dining verandas, barbecues or hammocks. Villa kitchens come fully stocked should guests want to whip up their own meals or snacks to take to a sandbar picnic.
When you aren’t enjoying grilled Caribbean snapper, vegetable curry or pineapple upside-down cake at the Hill House restaurant, there are myriad other ways to while away the day. Hill House also functions as a clubhouse with its pool table, darts, board games and exercise room. Channel your inner Serena Williams on the tennis court or swim a few laps in the freshwater pool. Tons of gear can be borrowed: stuff for snorkeling, two-person kayaks and Hobie Cat catamaran boats. Also, use the resort’s private powerboat to transport your squad to the iconic swimming pigs beach on Big Major Cay, which is within eyeshot of the resort. There are also boat-specific toys to take out, like wakeboards, giant tubes and water skis.
Rates at Fowl Cay Resort start at $1,267 per person per night. During nonholiday dates, the minimum stay is five nights, and during holiday periods, it is seven nights.
Viva Wyndham Fortuna Beach
Freeport, Bahamas
Best for: Multi-generational family reunions and buddymoons.
Why stay here: Between non-stop activities like pickleball and trapeze school, a kids club, themed weeks and dinners, live entertainment, five restaurants and a nearby national park, there’s something at this 274-room affordable refuge to keep everyone in your group — no matter their age – from getting bored on Grand Bahama Island.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Just a short ferry or flight from Florida to Freeport, there’s never a dull moment at this 26-acre oceanside spread known for its theatrical shows, theme weeks, trapeze lessons and Viva Vibe parties (foam and white and silent, oh my!). Unless, of course, that isn’t what your heart desires; instead for you, there are daybeds dotting its 4,000-foot golden expanse of shoreline and massages at the spa.
Part of a growing portfolio of all-inclusive playgrounds in the Caribbean and Mexico, Viva Fortuna Beach by Wyndham is on the southern coast of Grand Bahama Island and has 274 rooms set inside brightly colored Victorian buildings. The design and decor are simple and contemporary, but all rooms have a balcony or terrace. Most look out onto the translucent waters.
In terms of the all-inclusive packaging and on-property programming, Viva offers the most bang for your budget buck. It has all the standards covered like endless food and cocktails (both a la carte and buffet dining at four restaurants, a snack bar and two bars), nonmotorized water sports like windsurfing and paddleboarding, wedding packages and a kids club to let parents go off-duty. They also add extras like introductory dive classes and a chance to take a swing at trapeze.
There’s also a full entertainment calendar featuring live music, theatrical shows, dancing and namesake parties. Viva Fortuna Beach also organizes themed weeks centered around interests like diving, wellness or pickleball, which ensures you’ll make vacation friends who have the same hobbies.
Rates at Viva Fortuna Beach start at $128 per person per night, or 30,000 Wyndham Rewards points, based on double occupancy.
Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Best for: Bunking down in the beating heart of tourist activity.
Why stay here: Chill sans kiddos in contemporary harbor-front digs featuring five restaurants, a rum bar, nightly entertainment and volleyball matches in the pool.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas is an all-inclusive resort that sits harbor-front and center on the south side of the isle. Many of its picture windows stare out at some combination of the lagoonlike 330,000-gallon central pool, bobbing sailboats and a private nook of a beach. Its 243 units have a playful contemporary design, utilizing several hues of yellow and teal. All room types stock the basics like irons, safes, coffee makers, flat-screen televisions and hair dryers, but more premium accommodations add bonus bells and whistles such as robes and slippers, Keurig coffee machines, in-room beer and snacks, balconies and bathtubs.
Work up an appetite by joining the activities team for a round of foosball, pool volleyball, beach Olympics, corn hole or a nature walk. Then, once the cravings hit, whether your stomach calls for a big bowl of pasta, succulent surf-and-turf in an open-air gazebo or a heaping plate of jerk wings and quesadilla triangles, there’s bound to be something at one of the five dining outlets and two bars to satisfy your taste buds. Post-meal, catch live bands, dance shows and movie nights, or work off the calories in the 24-hour fitness center.
The resort spa is another worthwhile way to spend the day; although, it is not included in the all-inclusive rate. Choose to get pampered in one of five treatment rooms or indulge in a next-level massage by booking it in the Mermaid’s Lookout.
Rates at Warwick Paradise Island Bahamas start at $330 per night for two adults. Join Warwick Journeys to earn members-only rates and rewards like room upgrades and premium Wi-Fi.
Breezes Bahamas
Nassau, Bahamas
Best for: Budget travelers who value easy beach access and spotless rooms.
Why stay here: It only takes 15 minutes to drive from the airport to this all-inclusive oasis, set on pristine Cable Beach and featuring a new pickleball court and nightly entertainment.
Best way to book: Book directly through the resort for the best rates and packages.
Situated on the gentle shores of sugary Cable Beach and a quick 15 minutes by car from the Nassau airport, Breezes Bahamas is the best option for budget travelers who want to transition from stressful travel day to umbrella-drink-in-hand in record time.
The 391 guest rooms — which range from garden-view basics to one-bedroom oceanfront suites and a presidential with a dining room and stocked minifridge — are spread across two towers. Rooms are bright, clean and functional, and pool-view patio rooms boast new hammocks. But you’re here for more than the room: Enjoy the new pickleball court, three pools, five restaurants, four bars, the beach, fitness center, nightly live music or the disco.
The casual Banana Boat buffet restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while a la carte dinners are served up in the Asian-fusion Munasan, the Italian-inspired Martino’s and Eden, the resort’s French restaurant. The Reggae Cafe’s grill quickly churns out burgers, fries, conch fritters and other comfort snacks all day, every day.
The all-inclusive rate includes most dining, drinking and activities; although transportation to and from the resort, treatments at Blue Mahoe Seaside Spa and private toes-in-sand dinners are extra. Tipping isn’t allowed. Breezes operates its own loyalty program through which guests can earn exclusive members-only amenities, early check-in, room and package upgrades, free stuff and discounts. Be advised that the resort does sell select day passes to cruisers and guests of other hotels and allows teen guests (14 and older) with some stipulations. For example, guests must be 25 or older to eat in specialty restaurants.
Rates at Breezes Bahamas start at $250 per night for a single room and $325 a night per couple.
Related reading:
