Quick Weekend in the Bahamas

• Part 1: Intro and Comfort Suites Charlotte Airport
• Part 2: US Airways Flights Charlotte, NC to/from Freeport and Grand Lucayan Resort
• Part 3: Bahamas Taxi Scam

After a pleasant – and free! – stay at the Comfort Suites Charlotte Airport, we hopped on their complimentary shuttle to the airport.  Door-to-door, the shuttle took less than 10 minutes until we were dropped off at the US Airways departure area.  Check-in was relatively quick, and made our way to the US Airways Club lounge, located between the C and D concourses.

The lounge is relatively large, although it does get crowded late in the afternoon as Lufthansa also uses the lounge for passengers on their flight to Munich.  We relaxed for about 40 minutes before heading to gate E3 for our nonstop flight to the Bahamas.  I found (and still find) it a bit entertaining that we would be taking an international flight out of Charlotte’s E concourse, which is where all the regional jets park….flying to the thriving metropolises (metropoli?) of Newport News, VA, Salisbury, MD, and Scranton, PA.

Prior to boarding, an announcement was made for everyone to bring their passport up to the counter for verification (to prevent people from taking the flight and arriving without a passport or with an expired one).  This just took a minute, and by 11:25, boarding began.

The US Airways CRJ-700 seats a total of 67 passengers, and we were seated near the middle of the plane in 10D and 10F.  We pushed back and took off on time, excited to be headed off on our crazy cheap flights to the Bahamas (if you missed the post on how we booked this trip, it was only 9,000 miles per person roundtrip!).  Overall, the flight really didn’t feel any different than any other hour and 45 minute flight on a US Airways Express regional jet.  Standard beverage service (complimentary soft drinks) was offered, and the 2 flight attendants were pretty friendly, gladly offering refills on drinks.  About 90 minutes later, we were descending down over small islands surrounded by clear blue water:

Upon landing, we taxied over to the small Freeport airport, and descended from the plane via stairs since there are no jetbridges at the airport.

The airport was pretty dead (our flight was the only one arriving at that time), so we made it through Immigration, retrieved our bags, and cleared Customs in less than 15 minutes.  We made our way to ground transportation, where I knew we were in for an obnoxious welcome to the Bahamas.

Since this was my 5th visit to the Bahamas, I knew the rodeo.  They claim that taxis don’t use meters, and that there are Flat Rates to and from the airport.  Of course, this is far from the truth, but when specifically requesting a taxi with a meter, the sketchy taxi attendant will flail his arms at you, point to the posted sign with the flat rates, and literally walk away from you.  I’ll have more details shortly on this scam, but it always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when visiting the Bahamas.

I had been to Freeport a few times on a cruise ship, but it was always just a day stop at the island so I had never stayed there overnight.  The biggest and most well-known place to stay is the Grand Lucayan Resort, situated near the popular Port Lucaya, the tiny hub of shops and restaurants.  The Resort is large, but rates are extremely reasonable – it seems like most of the time, rates are $150 per night or less.  When we arrived at the Grand Lucayan Resort, I was very impressed with the very grand lobby.  It felt very clean, modern, and luxurious:

Unfortunately, check-in was pretty slow (there was only one clerk working at the desk, so it took about 15 minutes until it was our turn to check in, and there were only 2 other people in front of us).  I had read multiple reviews that commented on the slow check-in process, and I think this is something that the Grand Lucayan Resort should try to address.  Once we finally reached the counter, we were checked in and assigned room 722, a Deluxe King Room, Marina View.  I should note that there was also a “Standard King Room, Marina View” and I’m not exactly sure what the difference was, but it was only a few dollars more per night, so I opted for the Deluxe room.  Both room sizes and descriptions were the same, so my guess is that the Deluxe rooms are on higher floors than the Standard rooms.

The room itself felt overall very fresh and comfortable.  The bedding, furniture, tile, and carpet all seemed to be relatively new:

The bathroom was also in good condition, perhaps with the exception of the bathtub.  The sink and countertop seemed new and clean, but the bathtub was showing its age a bit.

Our room also had a moderate sized balcony.  The patio furniture was really just average, but the balcony was still nice with a nice view of the island:

The grounds and facilities at the Grand Lucayan Resort are excellent – very well kept and extremely spacious.  There are several pools, and TONS of lounge chairs.  I never saw the lounge chairs more than about 40% occupied, and I consider that to be a huge plus.  At many large, popular resorts, you have to be up at 7:00 am just to claim a chair.  I’m not sure exactly how full the hotel was while we were there, but it never felt overcrowded.  The pools were mostly well maintained, although some afternoons there were places where dirt, grass, etc collected along the edges near the filters, but it wasn’t too hard to avoid.  The main pool had an infinity edge along the beach, and the views from there were tough to beat:

The Grand Lucayan Resort also has several hammocks, shuffleboard, and plenty of green space to walk around:

Overall, the Mrs. Guru and I really enjoyed our stay at the Grand Lucayan Resort.  While there weren’t really many activities or things to do, we weren’t looking for an action-packed trip.  There were a couple watersport companies around, offering banana boat and parasailing rides, but it didn’t seem like too many people were partaking.  There were rarely more than 1 or 2 boats out on the water at the same time.  This didn’t matter a bit to us (and on the contrary, it was nice that we weren’t constantly being solicited).  The beach was pristine, with crystal blue water.

The Grand Lucayan Resort is an extremely solid choice to stay in Freeport.  Especially considering the reasonable prices, I would absolutely recommend it to anyone going to Freeport.  The food and drinks around the resort are pretty good (there was a Mediterranean Chicken Wrap that was delicious!) and the prices really aren’t bad for a resort ($13 for the chicken wrap, about $7 for drinks).

Although our stay was just for 2 nights, we had a great time.  I was impressed with almost every aspect of the Grand Lucayan Resort, especially in relation to the price.  Early Sunday afternoon, we requested for the hotel to call us a metered taxi, which they did (although a bit reluctantly).  After a 20 minute ride to the airport, check-in for the flight was quick, and with Freeport being such a small airport, we were through security and at the gate in about 20 minutes.  The flight was originally scheduled to be on a CRJ-700 like on the outbound, but apparently the original plane had experienced some mechanical issues in Charlotte, so a smaller 50-seat CRJ-200 plane was swapped in to fly us back home.

The smaller CRJ-200 really didn’t make much of a difference – the seats are the same as the CRJ-700; the difference is just a few extra rows of seats.  After another smooth, hour and 45 minute “international” flight, we were back on the ground in Charlotte.  The trip was a much needed – and much enjoyed – quick getaway.  If…ok let’s be serious…when I find myself wanting another weekend getaway, the combination of flights to Freeport for only 9,000 miles per person and the Grand Lucayan Resort prices is a really tough deal to beat!

Stay tuned for the final installment of this trip report, with more details on the Bahamas Taxi Scam!