If you're looking for spectacular beaches, beautiful accomodations, friendly people and a safe environment, Great Exuma and the Grand Isle is the place for you. If you want night life, entertainment and fancy restaurants - try another island. My 13-year old daughter and I just returned from the Grand Isle and have nothing but rave reviews for the entire experience. The photos they show on the resort's Web site don't do it justice. It's much prettier than it looks!
The resort:
The pool is gorgeous. The grounds are well kept and luscious. There is one restaurant and bar on site. It's very pretty - and overlooks the pool and Emerald Bay. The staff is extremely friendly, but the menu is pretty limited. Food's good, just not a lot of choices if you plan to eat there every day. Also fairly costly, but that is the case throughout the entire island. The spa isn't right on site, but very nearby. And since you have your own golf cart, it should be easy to get to. You can even use the golf cart to go to the grocery store!
The rooms:
We had an 'ocean view' room, which meant we were overlooking the marina. I did not expect to be able to walk out to the beach from my room, so I was not disappointed. We enjoyed watching the boats in the harbor. The accomodations themselves are excellent. Granite kitchen, sub zero refrigerator, washer and dryer, spa tub, separate shower, etc. I believe all the units have either a patio and/or a balcony with a table and chairs to enjoy the beautiful weather. Very luxurious feel to the villa/rooms!
The beaches:
Spectacular!!! We spent time on the Emerald Bay beach (near the resort) as well as rented a car a few days to tour the island. The most 'crowded' beach was the one at our resort... and that simply meant you actually saw other people there. At most we saw maybe 25 people on the 2 mile stretch of beautiful white sand. At the other beaches that we visited, we were the only ones there. Amazing!! We thought it was well worth it to rent a car and drive to the Tropic of Cancer beach on Little Exuma island. You can visit Santana's for lunch or dinner... great food and a very friendly owner! But don't expect luxury - it's very simple and very good!
Other adventures:
Unfortunately my daughter was too sunburned the day we were supposed to take a snorkeling trip, so we weren't able to do that. But we did plenty of that on our own at the beaches we visited. But we did take the time to take the water taxi over to Stocking Island. Well worth the trip!! The boat drops you off at the island where there is nothing other than 'Chat-n-Chill.' Nothing to do there other than swim, chat and chill. Good food and drinks at Chat & Chill and we got to swim with the stingrays in the waters right there. Amazing!! There's also beach volleyball. Not sure what others were expecting, but we LOVED it!!
Summary:
This is a true island paradise. You are on an island, so the grocery stores may not have what you're expecting, things are closed on Sunday, etc. but if you're ready for that - you'll love it. If you're looking to be entertained by something other than nature, this is probably not the right place for you.

We arrived and had reservations for an Ocean View room. When we got in our room we were wondering why it was considered "ocean view". We didn't unpack anything and waited to hear from the front desk about moving to a different room. It was then that we discovered the difference between Ocean View and Ocean FRONT. We paid to upgrade to Ocean Front because that's the kind of room we wanted. I'm sure they get many complaints from guests that are disappointed in the Ocean View and would be wise to eliminate this problem by calling it something else.
Our Ocean Front room was really more of a condo than a room. There were 2 levels, 2 bedrooms, full kitchen, dining room, 3 bathrooms and a laundry room. Plus, our kids were SO excited that we had our own golf cart for the week! We were close enough to walk to the pool, bar and restaurant, but the golf cart came in handy when going to the local market for food. We also enjoyed driving down by the marina and around the golf course. Breathtaking views!
We received wonderful service from everyone from the office, bar, restaurant, pool shack and spa. The beach is very secluded and we didn't have any problems getting 4 chairs together for our family. This is a wonderful resort and the only complaint would be the limited menu at the restaurant. After 2 meals, we were ready for something different.
We rented a car because I read reviews and heard that taxis would really add up after a week. It was very interesting to drive on the left side of the road with the wheel on the right side of the car! (a learning experience for this American!) The roads aren't the best and are very windy so it can be nerve racking, especially at night since the roads aren't lit!
Restaurants we tried were:
February Point- Excellent food! Very hard to find because there aren't any signs. It would be more enjoyable during the day when you can see the water.
Chat n Chill- The food isn't worth the trip because you can get a conch salad anywhere and there wasn't anything to do. If you walk around the bay behind Chat n Chill and through a small channel of water you can eventually get to the Atlantic Ocean side of Stocking Island. The tide was too high and our kids weren't feeling adventurous so we couldn't do it, but maybe the boat ride over to Chat n Chill would have been worth it if we were able to get to the other side of the island.
Augusta Bay- The title of my online review will sum it up: "Rude staff, mediocre food and tacky atmosphere". There's a reason why you won't see any interior pictures of the hotel or restaurant on their website.

We went to the Straw Market one day which there wasn't much to see, but there is a beautiful shop nearby called Tropical Accents & Gifts. The unusual shells are worth the trip alone! No one else had the selection of shells that they did, and the prices were reasonable.
The highlight of our trip was an all day boat trip with Patterson of 4 C's. He is the best in the business! We paid for a personal tour since we don't snorkel and he did a great job of filling the time with other things. We saw Iguana Island, the swimming pigs, the nurse sharks, etc. He also took us fishing! He jumped in the water to catch our bait and we fished without rods. Just a line, a hook and some bait and the results were AMAZING! It really was an experience of a lifetime!
Although this resort is very beautiful with wonderful service, I don't think we'll go back any time soon. It needs to develop a little more so you have options of things to do and restaurants to eat at. Another drawback: Almost all places (including restaurants and grocery stores) are closed on Sunday and a lot are on Monday also so plan ahead of time! Those are the days you'll have to eat at the resort!

This place is quite extraordinary. When I arrived I was surprised by the sheer size and quality of my appartment. Everything is very clean and neat, and the ocean view is gorgeous. It has a balcony and a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom (even including washing mashine and dryer).
The food and drinks in the restaurant were good, too.
Although the place has a nice pool as well, I recommed visiting the beach which is just in front of the premisis. I was clean and tidy when I was there.
The whole staff was very friendly, helpful and caring. They helped me planning my stay, booked a rental car and assisted when I needed a health certificate for scuba diving.
Thank you for a wonderful week!

The accommodations are upscale. The villas have full kitchens, plasma screen TVs, Master king Suites, with Jacuzzi, Bosch washer and dryer. The view from the balcony of the marina and golf course are breathtaking. The resort is very quiet. The island is also quiet for that matter. It is a quiet retreat.