Sandals Bahamas: Royal Bahamian, What’s Included and Where It Is

Somewhere between the second cocktail and the sunset, couples planning a Bahamas getaway start asking which Sandals they are actually looking at. The question comes up over a laptop on a gray weeknight, with a photo of a swim-up suite open in one tab. The answer is Sandals Royal Bahamian, an adults-only, all-inclusive resort on Cable Beach in Nassau, with a private island just offshore.

What Sandals resorts are in the Bahamas?

One Sandals is open in the Bahamas: Sandals Royal Bahamian, in Nassau on the island of New Providence. It is an all-inclusive, adults-only luxury resort designed for couples, and it is the name behind every mention of Sandals in the country today.

A second Sandals once stood on another island, and that history explains why some searches turn up two names. Both are covered here so you know which one you can actually book a stay at.

Sandals Royal Bahamian, Nassau

Royal Bahamian is the resort to picture when you think of Sandals in the Bahamas. It sits on Cable Beach along West Bay Street, on the western side of Nassau’s New Providence island. The property has been recently renovated, and it is built around couples: no children, no family programming, and a mood that leans toward quiet dinners, long pool afternoons and a slow walk along the sand.

What sets the layout apart is the private island offshore, reached by a short boat ride from the resort. Add the swim-up rooms, the villas with their own pools and a long list of restaurants and bars, and you have a resort designed to be a destination in itself rather than a base for day trips. Nassau’s own streets, markets and harbor are there when you want a change of scene.

Sandals Emerald Bay, Great Exuma (closed)

Sandals Emerald Bay on Great Exuma closed its doors on August 15, 2024, so it is not a place to stay right now. The property is going through a complete transformation into a Beaches Resort, the sister brand of Sandals that welcomes guests of all ages. After it reopens, the focus will be family vacations rather than couples alone.

Some of what drew people to Emerald Bay will carry over, namely the same dream beach and the golf course. The new version adds enhanced kids and teen clubs, a water playground and new dining options.

No reopening date has been announced, and the company has said it will communicate one later. Until then, couples who liked the idea of Exuma and Sandals together have an obvious alternative in Nassau: Royal Bahamian, recently renovated and the other Sandals with an offshore island.

What does Sandals include?

At Sandals Royal Bahamian, the price covers all food and drinks without limit, including alcoholic beverages and the minibar in your room, plus a range of water sports and scuba diving for certified divers. Spa treatments are the main thing you choose to add.

Food and drink

The dining side is where Royal Bahamian puts most of its weight. The resort has 10 specialty restaurants, and the cooking ranges from classic French to authentic Caribbean, so a week can move from a candlelit table with white tablecloths to something spicier and more relaxed without leaving the property. Fine dining is part of the all-inclusive rate rather than an extra.

Drinks follow the same logic. Unlimited cocktails and premium liquors are included, and you will find 8 bars, 3 of them swim-up, which means a drink can arrive while you stay in the water. The minibars in the rooms are stocked and included too. For anyone who dislikes carrying a wallet on vacation, that takes much of the arithmetic out of the day.

Guests who book a seven-night stay in certain Butler suites also receive a $250 credit to dine at select restaurants elsewhere in Nassau. It is a way to eat one evening outside the resort walls and still see the city’s own dining scene.

Water sports, diving and pools

A variety of water sports are included, along with free PADI scuba diving through the resort’s program for certified divers. If you hold a certification and want to spend part of your vacation underwater, that is a real saving and a good reason to pack your card.

On land, the resort offers 7 pools and 5 whirlpools. The pool area is the center of daily life, with swim-up bars and shaded spots for reading. Between the pools, the beach on Cable Beach and the boat ride to the private island, there is plenty to fill the day without a plan.

Spa, swim-up rooms and butlers

Treatments at the Red Lane Spa are optional and inspired by Caribbean tradition, so they sit outside the all-inclusive core and are there when you want a massage or an afternoon of quiet. Many couples fold one spa visit into the middle of the stay.

Swim-up rooms are available, and the highest level of them comes with Elite Butler service and private Rolls Royce airport transfers. Island Village Villas go further toward privacy, with tropical garden views, a private pool and butler service. These are the choices that turn a good stay into a very particular, very indulgent one.

Which Sandals resort is where?

Sandals Royal Bahamian is on Cable Beach in Nassau, at W Bay Street, on New Providence island, and it is the only Sandals open in the Bahamas. The one other Sandals, Emerald Bay, is on Great Exuma and is closed.

Cable Beach, Nassau

Royal Bahamian is approximately 10 minutes from Lynden Pindling International Airport, so you can go from arrival to a poolside drink without a long transfer. Cable Beach is Nassau’s resort stretch on the west side of New Providence, and the resort’s address is W Bay Street, Nassau.

Staying here puts you in Nassau itself, the Bahamian capital, rather than on a remote cay. That matters because Nassau has a city side as well as a beach side, with a harbor, straw markets, fried conch stands and old forts a short step from the resort area. A stay at Royal Bahamian can mix a few days of all-inclusive ease with an outing or two into town.

Barefoot Cay, the private island

Guests can take a short boat ride from the resort to its private island, Barefoot Cay. It has two beaches, a spa and a zen garden, which makes it a place for quiet time rather than activity. It is reserved for the resort’s guests.

A day on the island feels different from a day at the main resort. The mood is slower and the crowd is just fellow Sandals couples, so it suits anyone who wants a change of scenery without leaving the stay. The boat ride is part of the pleasure, a small crossing from Nassau’s coast to your own stretch of sand.

Great Exuma, for now a waiting game

Great Exuma, in the Exumas, is where the former Sandals Emerald Bay stands closed. The beach and golf course remain, and the property is being rebuilt as a family-friendly Beaches Resort. Since the reopening date has not been announced, Exuma cannot be part of a Sandals plan at the moment.

For couples who want an adults-only Sandals with an offshore island, Nassau is the answer. For families who might look at the future Beaches Resort on Exuma, the news to follow is its reopening announcement, with its kids and teen clubs and water playground.

Good to know before you go

The U.S. State Department rates the Bahamas Level 2, “Exercise increased caution”, and says most crime occurs in Nassau on New Providence and in Freeport on Grand Bahama.

Because food, drinks and many activities are included at Royal Bahamian, the money you carry mostly goes to the spa, to outings in Nassau and to souvenirs from the straw market. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a stay in those months falls inside it, and the resort’s location on Nassau means you plan around that window like any other Bahamas trip. Remember too that the resort is for couples only, which suits honeymoons and anniversaries, and that anyone hoping to dive should bring proof of their certification.

Sources

Sandals Resorts, Bahamas (https://www.sandals.com/bahamas/), checked October 10, 2026
Sandals Royal Bahamian (official site) (https://www.sandals.com/royal-bahamian/), checked October 10, 2026
Sandals Emerald Bay Exuma (official site) (https://www.sandals.com/emerald-bay/), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Sandals Nassau resort (https://www.bahamas.com/hotels/mega-sandals-nassau), checked October 10, 2026
U.S. Department of State, The Bahamas Travel Advisory, Level 2 (https://travel.state.gov/), checked October 10, 2026
NOAA National Hurricane Center, Climatology (https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/climo/), checked October 10, 2026