We just got back yesterday from a five day stay at the DBR on Great Guana Cay. We were celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary along with our eight year old daughter and four year old son. We had read an article in the newspaper before we were married about Abaco so I searched online and found the DBR on Guana Cay. We were glad we did!
After 45 minutes in the air from Fort Lauderdale airport, we arrived on Abaco. Thanks to a little research, we stopped at Maxwells and got some additional food to that which we brought with us (snacks, frozen steaks and shrimp). After the ferry ride we were met at the dock by Lubin, the DBR driver and a very gracious fellow. Just a couple of minutes brought us to our lovely cottage Crab Claw. After a quick check in with Rebecca, who was always cheerful and helpful, we settled in. The cottage had complete privacy in front, with just a few steps up our own walkway over a dune to the beach. We rarely saw anyone on this beach our whole stay. It was quite beautiful. but not pristine: although it is not overwhelming, there is some small washed up trash on the beach. Through out the island there is noticeable trash strewn in the foliage along the roads, with a few abandoned rusting construction vehicles, but I did not find this surprising as I have seen this in lots of other "undeveloped" spots in the world. But back to the positive: the cottage was just perfect for the four of us, with three bedrooms (had to utilize all of them one night to separate fighting kids), one bedroom being up in a large loft with private bathroom and ocean view from the windows. The cottage was a true beach cottage, so those needing the amenities and luxury of a Ritz Carlton will be disappointed. Full kitchen, comfortable beds and furniture, well stocked dvd's (no satellite or cable), great light, and complete privacy fully met and exceeded our expectations. A thirty second walk over a wooden boardwalk took us to the clean refreshing pool. Here's my other impressions of the island:
Dive Guana: Troy and Maria (both very gracious) had their two lovely daughters Kat and Bella give our daughter Anna a private snorkel lesson with plenty of fish to see in the shallows by their dock. We wished we would have been around on Wednesday for their island boat tour. Anna also caught a fish on her first cast when we fished off of the Dive Guana dock one evening.
Golf Cart Rental: Dive Guana had none left so Troy drove me over to get one from Edna who also owns the Guana Drug Store. An amazingly pleasant lady who along with her husband were very laid back with their rental terms. Do business with these people and you will not be disappointed. And we loved having a golf cart for island exploring. Tooling around (and even driving while sitting on Daddy's lap) was pure fun for our kids.
Nippers: Oh the famous Nippers. We only had fries (good) and conch fritters (outstanding) on our two visits, but stayed for hours as the kids loved the pool and the beach. We were there on a Friday (pretty empty) and on Easter Sunday (crowded but in a fun interesting way). Reading about this place beforehand I didn't think it would be a great place for us to visit, but I was very wrong.
Guana Harbour Grocery: Although expensive, it wasn't unreasonable for being on an island where everything comes in by boat. It really had all of the essentials and more, plus the man working there was also very friendly (do you see a recurring theme here about the locals?).
Art Cafe: We were looking forward to baked goods for breakfast, but were disappointed to find out that it closed the day before we got there (Bella told us that they couldn't pay the mortgage).
Island Favorites (or Flavors?): Just opened hut on a pier in the middle of town. Very reasonable prices for super delicious grilled burgers, hot dogs, wings, and the best conch salad I have ever had. We kicked ourselves for not stopping here until the end of our trip as we would have had at least one meal a day here. The owner/"chef" is also the freight boat captain, and he gladly chatted with us for ten minutes answering questions about the island and himself. Once again, another gracious local.
Pirates Cove: Delicious piece of grilled grouper and very nice owners. Reasonably priced ice cream and cake for the kids. True local Guana flavor at this place.
Grabbers: Although we never ate here, we did use their beach to view the sunset.
Henry Sands, fishing charters: We tried twice to go out with Henry, but he was a good enough fellow to advice us not to go out as the water was very choppy and we are prone to sea sickness, plus it would not be the best fishing due to the chop. From meeting him I know that this is the captain we want to use on our return trip.
Orchid Bay Marina: We checked it out early in the trip and it looks like a lovely area/development. The woman who was working the counter on Saturday (sorry, didn't get your name) was so very helpful and cheerful. She made calls on cell, radio, and phone trying to locate Henry for me one afternoon.
Orchid Bay Marina restaurant: We went there for dinner on our last night. We were hoping for lobster but none had come in. The host/server was outstanding and a true professional, and the busboy was right on time with keeping our table clean. Kudos to you guys. But the food was very disappointing. We ordered the kids pasta for my daughter, and asked for just butter. What arrived was a mere handful of spaghetti swimming in water laced with butter. I asked our server to drain the water and complained about the portion size. He came back with drained pasta but with the same measly amount. My salad was a nice crisp mix. My wife ordered the Penne Chicken Alfredo. Although she said it was acceptable, it was served on spaghetti instead of Penne. No big deal but we should have been told this beforehand. I ordered one of the fresh fishes of the day, tuna. On the menu it offered it grilled, blackened or fried. I requested grilled rare, and the tuna was perfectly cooked. But it was marinated in soy sauce which overwhelmed the taste of the fish. Once again a well run kitchen would have made sure that the customer was told that it would be prepared this way. The dining room was very attractive and we enjoyed the view from the large veranda. We found out afterwards that this was the first night that the restaurant was opened for the season, but that is no excuse for what is supposedly upscale dining. These are easily correctable errors so I hope they take note.
Gotta Love Guana Boutique: My daughter found a lovely dress and flip flops here, both surprisingly very reasonably priced. Although the size of a bedroom, they've done a great job of stocking with attractive items.
Milo: fruits, vegetables, seafood stand and an interesting character. My son loved waving and saying hi to Milo every time we passed by.

It was a wonderful experience and family vacation. If you want quiet and solitude come to Guana Cay.

Travelled to Great Guana Cay from Eleuthera via Marsh Harbour -- the short trip involved several modes of transport but was easy and fun. Lubin, the driver from Dolphin Beach was at the dock to meet us, and quickly took us to the resort (it's walking distance but not with luggage). The grounds and building exteriors are all well kept and attractive; the pool is small but nice to dip in after a day at the beach. I had debated whether to stay in Buttonwood or Rory's -- and in the end still not sure whether my choice of Rory's was the better one. Rory's Cottage is tiny, one room that includes chair, bed, kitchette, but does have the advantage of a dunes-level porch which we sat on every afternoon reading and playing games. Buttonwood is 2 level and bigger, but the deck is on the second floor. The cottage has everything you need to be comfortable - the swinging bed takes some getting used to and I think my husband would have preferred a "floor mounted" one. There's no glamour here -- it's like having your own little surf shack - but if you like quiet, the roar of the surf and virtually no other human beings, it's great. A couple of small things that needed attention -- TV (which we did watch movies on in the evening) ran only in black and white, and the toaster knob had to be held down to operate. These were minor things and did not affect our enjoyment. We were there for 6 nights; I'd suggest that they offer bed linen and towel change after 3 days or so - with all that sand, it can get gritty. However, they were happy to swap out towels and sheets so I could do it myself. Local grocery is basic but prices were not much higher than at home (Canada). We brought some basics like peanut butter, coffee, and crackers which were nice to have, but we got what we needed in the Island store. Dive Guana rents boats -- weather was a bit rough for snorkelling, but it's worth the rental to go to some of the other local Cays. Great spot if you like to live simply.

We have recently stayed here for the third time and love this place more each and every time. Becky the Manager does everything possible to make the experience perfect. We have been to several islands throughout the Bahamas and Caribean and the beachs on GGC are by far the most beautiful and deserted we have every seen. If you are looking to escape civilization and feel right at home there is no better place to go!

We stayed at the DBR a little over a year ago. We were very disappointed. We stayed at the resort for two weeks over Christmas and New Years. Our cottage was only cleaned once and we were only given a change of towels and sheets once during the two weeks we were there. We were the only ones staying at the resort for most of our stay. (Not complaining.) I have to say that the resort itself was very clean. What we didn't like was the trash we found all over the island. The beach was covered with seaweed, shoes, bottles, cans, clothes, plastic, and anything else that was thrown off of boats. It was disappointing to walk along the beach and have to walk through trash. We didn't travel for almost 12 hours to experience something like this. Also, as we were riding our golf cart throughout the island, there was a lot of garbage and broken down cars along the road. You would think that the locals would take more pride in keeping their beaches and roads free of debris. We were also surprised to find that MOST of the island was closed to visitors due to private homes and condos. Also, when we were there, there were only three places to eat (one of them was only open a few days while we were there) - although it was advertised that more restaurants would be open. I had hoped to do some shelling or look for sea glass on our stay but not a shell or piece of glass could be found. We paid a great deal of money for our stay at this resort. I would NOT recommend this place!!