Oyster Blog

Bahamas Hotels

The Five Most Amazing Hotel Bathtubs

by Rachel on January 31, 2012

Here at Oyster we appreciate the art of a fine bath — and how it fits into a hotel room, too, considering it’s our No. 1 way to relax when we’re not at work. We scoured the 2,000+ hotels we cover to find the five most incredible tubs for you to dive into (no pun intended).

The Hotel: Grand Luxxe; Puerto Vallara, Mexico

The bathroom in a one-bedroom suite at the Grand Luxxe; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

The Tale Behind the Tub: Grand Luxxe is the most posh of a group of Mayan timeshare resorts located in the Puerto Vallarta area. The huge rooms and suites (complete with gigantic private terraces) are designed with some serious flair — including each of the bathrooms, natch. Check out the tub, above, in a 1-bedroom suite: The free-standing unit comes equipped with a little wooden stand for all your bath-time essentials, and should it get a little stuffy, open the folding French doors to take a peek into what’s going on in the other part of your suite.

CHECK OUT MORE OF OUR FAVORITE TUBS >>

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Newt, Mitt, Rick, and Ron: Where the 2012 GOP Candidates Should Go On Vacation

by Rachel on January 27, 2012

Credit: Albert Michael/startraksphoto.com

We carefully curated the perfect (and we mean perfect!) hotel for each aspiring Republican president-to-be, because after last night’s mess of a debate, we bet each of these men are in need of a serious vacation. (And, you know, since we’re a hotel review site, we couldn’t help but indulge.) Check out our ideal (and hilarious) pick for each candidate, then tell us: Where would you send the GOP candidates?

The Candidate: Newt Gingrich
The Hotel: Temptation Resort Spa Cancun, Riviera Maya, Mexico

Pool at the Temptation Resort Spa Cancun; Cancun, Mexico

The Deal: This is an adult-only, topless-optional property that caters to 21 and over, uninhibited guests. (Newt, we know you were born in 1943, so we won’t need to ID you first.) There is never a dull moment at this all-inclusive resort, which features themed swimming pools and nightly risqué live shows. Gingrich, who has been alluded to in two extra-marital affairs and has had 84 ethics charges filed against him, will find a range of entertainment while vacationing here, including provocative games and contests like sexy Temptation Idol karaoke. While the beach area is small and lackluster compared to other resorts (but who cares with all the sexing that’ll be going down?), the shaded sun beds are a nice place to relax and unwind.

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A package deal that ain’t no deal: The Sheraton Nassau’s “Companion Flies Free” promotion

by Kelsey on January 12, 2010

Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort in the Bahamas is offering a free roundtrip flight deal for guests who book a four-night stay.

Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort in the Bahamas is offering a free roundtrip flight deal for guests who book a four-night stay.

On the surface, the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort’s “Companion Flies Free” package announced yesterday sounds amazing: It offers a free roundtrip companion flight to the Bahamas for guests who book a four night stay, and 40 percent savings on room rates. But we at Oyster are always a little skeptical of hotel package deals, so we embarked on a fact finding mission to get the truth. Has the recession caused the Sheraton to resort to desperate measures to fill rooms, or is the deal too good to be true? Welcome back to Oyster’s Bundle Breakdowns, where we go through the painstaking process of (roughly) breaking down the costs of popular hotel bundle offerings to determine whether you’re getting a steal or getting robbed.

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Go inside Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas — without fighting the crowds

by admin on November 4, 2009

Dolphin Cay, Atlantis Paradise Island

Dolphin Cay, Atlantis Paradise Island

Surely you’ve heard of Atlantis, the over-the-top massive megaresort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The architecturally-stunning behemoth spans 171 acres and boasts (brace yourself) more than 4000 rooms, three beaches, 11 pools, a rock-climbing wall, a golf course overlooking the ocean, a tennis facility, a 3,800-square-foot gym, a pilates studio, a state-of-the-art spa, a massive water park featuring a slide with a 50-foot drop, the biggest casino in the Caribbean, a movie theater, a comedy club, three discos, a faux-archaeological dig, an aquarium, a model-car building studio, a dolphin habitat, luxury shopping boutiques, and a pottery studio… just to name a few of the highlights.

Sound exhausting? It is — especially since this is, at its core, a family resort, which means you can expect kids, crowds, seriously steep prices, and plenty of roaming nonguests on “Discover Atlantis” tours or using the pool facilities.

To put it bluntly, this is not a place to go for a relaxing vacation. If you’re looking for an upscale, quiet tropical escape, your best bet might be the nearby One-and-Only Ocean Club. But if an action-packed, Disneyland-esque family trip is in the cards (or you just want to see what all the fuss is about), check out our comprehensive coverage of Atlantis Paradise Island — complete with 300+ photos of the property.

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