Arrival: 2008 Small Hope Bay Lodge is the perfect place to stay if you wish your family had a rustic cottage right on the beach on a tropical island. It is family owned and operated and before you leave you will be on island time and part of the family. There is an eco-theme but everyone is pretty relaxed about it all. Rooms: The rooms are in small stone cottages right on the beach under palm trees, with island fabrics and simple decoration. Some are air-conditioned (costs extra) but except in summer you may not miss it. Baths are island style, simple but workable. Navy-style showers are encouraged, as water is conserved in the dry season, but you will not be pressured and you can shower as much as you want. Restaurants and Bars: All meals and drinks are included. There is an inside dining room where staff share tables with guests, and both an inside and a beach bar. The food is competently cooked, a choice of meat and local fish or seafood about every night, buffet style. One night a week is Bahamian night with native dishes. Beach/Pools/Grounds: The hotel is literally on the beach sand. There are two long, quiet, soft white sand beaches with shallow water to wade in and a hot tub, but no pool. (Who needs it with the warm ocean right there.) If you want to snorkel you can do it right under the dive boat dock. Or be lazy in the hammock at the end of the dock out over the blue water. Activities on and off the Resort/Hotel: The hotel emphasizes diving and has several very, very special dives each day on the Andros Barrier Reef. led by skilled and experience dive masters, some of the best in the business. You can dive "the Wall" or an ocean blue hole. If the sea is rough you may also go inland for another kind of blue hole dive. You can also get a massage on the beach, go cycling around the island, see island crafts or appreciate nature. Most entertainment is very unstructured, do-it-yourself. Other Comments:
This is a hotel for those who do not need to be entertained with action, lights, and noise. The ocean right at your door, wind in the palm trees and the sound of the surf on the reef are the only steady accompaniments. You will meet lots of divers, sophisticated world travelers and maybe a celebrity or two, but everyone is there for a quiet getaway.
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