Luxury Resorts in the Bahamas: Baha Mar, Atlantis, Club Med Columbus Isle and What Each Offers

Late in the afternoon on Cable Beach, the cabanas along the pools fill with people holding cold drinks, and the sound of a steel drum drifts over from one of the beach bars. Across the water on Paradise Island, boats glide into the marina beneath hotel towers lit in the dusk. The Bahamas has built some of its grandest vacations around large resorts, from Nassau to a quiet shore on San Salvador.

What are the luxury resorts in the Bahamas?

The best-known luxury resorts in the Bahamas are Baha Mar on Cable Beach, Atlantis on Paradise Island and Club Med Columbus Isle on San Salvador. Two of them are big, many-hotel complexes in the Nassau area, while the third is a more secluded getaway on a far-flung island. Each has its own personality, and choosing between them is mostly a matter of how much you want going on around you.

Baha Mar: three hotels in one complex

Baha Mar sprawls across 1,000 acres on New Providence, and it opened in April 2017 after a long, ambitious redevelopment of Cable Beach. It gathers three hotels under one roof of amenities: a Grand Hyatt, SLS Baha Mar and the Rosewood. A total of 2,200 rooms are spread among them, and the complex also holds 284 private residences.

The three hotels share a great deal. Guests can use Baha Bay, a 15-acre water park next door, along with the casino, the golf course and the spa. Each hotel keeps its own mood, though. The Grand Hyatt is the big, lively one for families, friends or couples, SLS has a design-minded feel, and Rosewood is the most intimate of the three.

Atlantis: five hotels on Paradise Island

Atlantis Paradise Island is arranged in five distinct hotels: The Cove, The Royal, The Coral, The Reef and Harborside Resort. They range from the sensual, white-glove service of The Cove to The Royal, the tower that serves as the beacon of the resort, with adventures for thrill-seekers of any age. The Reef is made up of luxury residences for people who want the comforts of home.

The Coral and Harborside Resort sit near the marina, so you wake up to views of yachts and the ocean. Whichever hotel you choose, all guests are welcome to explore the experiences offered across the whole resort, which means a stay at the quieter end still opens the doors to everything else.

Club Med Columbus Isle: the quiet option

Club Med Columbus Isle sits on San Salvador Island, far from the bustle of Nassau. It suits couples and adults looking for a romantic or serene getaway, although it does have some family-friendly options. In July and August, teenagers can join Junior Club Med.

The setting is the draw here: a small island, a resort with a program built around the water and the beach, and an airport only five minutes away. If your idea of luxury is unhurried days rather than a long list of restaurants, this is the one to look at.

Where are they?

Baha Mar and Atlantis are both in the Nassau area on New Providence and Paradise Island, while Club Med Columbus Isle is on San Salvador Island. Nassau is a city on New Providence, and that is where most of the large-scale resort life of the Bahamas is concentrated. San Salvador is a separate island with a different pace entirely.

Cable Beach, Nassau

Baha Mar stands on Cable Beach, which the redevelopment aimed to revitalize and which is the most popular beachfront destination on New Providence. Many rooms at SLS Baha Mar look out over Cable Beach from generous balconies, and the Grand Hyatt also has many suites with spacious balconies. Rosewood Baha Mar is in Nassau too and shares the resort’s grounds and amenities.

Staying here means a resort that works almost like a small town, with restaurants, bars, lounges, a casino and a golf course all within the complex. It suits travelers who like to park themselves in one place and let the evenings unfold on the property.

Paradise Island

Atlantis occupies Paradise Island, with its five hotels clustered around the marina and the beach. The marina side gives you the yachts and the sea in one view, which is a different mood from the long beach frontage of Cable Beach.

With 21 restaurants and 19 bars and lounges on the property, Atlantis also works as a place where you rarely need to leave. Guests choose it for the sheer scale of what is on offer within one resort.

San Salvador

Club Med Columbus Isle lies on San Salvador Island, and San Salvador Airport is five minutes from the resort. Transfers are not automatically included in the package, but they can be arranged through private services or directly with the resort.

A local clinic for regular treatments is five minutes from the resort, and the hospital is in Nassau, an hour’s flight away. It is an island stay in the full sense, a long way from the resort hubs of New Providence.

Other islands

The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism lists hotels, mega resorts and fishing lodges across many islands, among them Grand Bahama, the Abacos, Eleuthera and Harbour Island, the Exumas, Bimini, Andros and Cat Island. Nassau and Paradise Island hold the big resort names, but the lodging picture stretches across the archipelago.

What do they offer?

These resorts offer pools and beaches, a long list of places to eat and drink, spas, golf, and activities for children and adults. What changes is the scale: Baha Mar and Atlantis are built around choice, while Club Med is built around an inclusive program.

Pools, cabanas and water parks

Guests at all three Baha Mar hotels get unlimited access to Baha Bay, a 15-acre water park beside the resort. Grand Hyatt has six tropical pools, each surrounded by private cabanas that can be reserved online. SLS has two dedicated pools and a beach club, also with cabanas that can be reserved online.

Rosewood has two resort pools exclusive to its own guests, which gives it a more private feel than its neighbors. For a day by the water, the choice runs from the lively pool scene at the Grand Hyatt to the calm of the Rosewood pools.

Dining and nightlife

All three Baha Mar hotels give access to over 45 restaurants, bars and lounges across the resort, so dinner can be a different cuisine every night of a week. Atlantis counts 21 restaurants and 19 bars and lounges, enough for a similar run of evenings.

The Baha Mar Casino is part of the amenities open to guests of all three hotels, for those who like to end an evening at the tables. The Grand Hyatt also hosts the Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival, with early Weekend Passes offered for the event.

Spas, golf and sport

Baha Mar guests have the ESPA full-service spa and The Sanctuary, and Rosewood guests also have Sense, A Rosewood Spa and Salon. The golf is a Jack Nicklaus Signature course, and the Racquet Club offers pickleball. Mini Blue, a miniature golf course, adds a lighter option.

At Club Med Columbus Isle, 26 activities are included in the stay, and guests can discover 30 more on demand. Waterskiing and wakeboarding school is available only in summer, and scuba diving costs extra.

Family activities and special service

Baha Mar’s Kid’s Explorers Club is open to guests of all three hotels, and Baha Bay gives children and adults a day of water slides next door. At Club Med, teenagers can join Junior Club Med in July and August.

For a higher level of service, The Reserve at Grand Hyatt Baha Mar offers top-of-the-line accommodations with dedicated concierge and butler services. At Rosewood, butler service comes with Villas and One Bedroom Suites and higher. Both resorts also have large event spaces for weddings and gatherings, including a 14,200-square-foot space at Rosewood and a 12,000-square-foot meeting space at SLS.

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.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30, so a stay in those months falls within it. The Bahamas Ministry of Tourism’s hotel search lets you filter by amenities such as a casino, golf, a spa or children’s activities, and by a nightly rate range, which helps narrow a choice among many properties. Rooms at Baha Mar come in many sizes, from standard rooms to villas, so it helps to look at what each hotel actually includes.

Sources

Baha Mar, Rosewood Baha Mar (https://www.bahamar.com/hotels/rosewood), checked October 10, 2026
Baha Mar, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar (https://www.bahamar.com/hotels/grand-hyatt), checked October 10, 2026
Baha Mar, SLS Baha Mar (https://www.bahamar.com/hotels/sls), checked October 10, 2026
Wikipedia, Baha Mar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baha_Mar), checked October 10, 2026
Atlantis Paradise Island, accommodations (https://www.atlantisbahamas.com/accommodations), checked October 10, 2026
Club Med Columbus Isle (official site) (https://www.clubmed.us/r/columbus-isle/y), checked October 10, 2026
Bahamas Ministry of Tourism, Hotels (https://www.bahamas.com/hotels), 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