After much contemplation over which hotel to stay at on Harbour Island, we ended up booking this one. It was so difficult to choose as we had never been to Briland before. Now that I've been there, and seen all the hotels that you can find online, I'm very glad we chose Romora Bay!! Pink Sands and Coral Sands are both closer to the beach, but the price tags are so high and the view from your room wouldn't be as nice as what we had at Romora Bay. I had also looked at Valentine’s Resort. I’m glad we didn’t book there ... after we drove by I decided I didn’t like the location as much. It’s not nearly as private as Romora Bay and the views were not even comparable, since most of the hotel is one street back from the water. We booked on Expedia.ca and there were NO extra charges at the hotel on top of what we paid to Expedia.
We were in the midst of a 1 week stay in Nassau. We were visiting friends who recommended that we check out Harbour Island. We decided to take the ferry - the Bo Hengy II - and stay for one night during our vacation. Unless you have your own yacht, the ferry ride seems to be the only way to get there - it was $250 for the two of us. When we arrived at the ferry dock, we found a gentleman who rented us a golf cart - $90 for the two days we would be there. He gave us a key and told us to meet him back there the next day. In my opinion, having a golf cart on Harbour Island is essential.
We easily found our way to Romora Bay (don't forget that they drive on the opposite side of the road here!) and parked our golf cart. The place was very quiet and peaceful with a beautiful view of the harbour. We had a lot of difficulty figuring out where we were supposed to check in - there weren't any signs. Eventually we found it (around the corner, behind the pink chairs and striped couch) and as we were a few hours early, they held our luggage for us while we explored the island.
We drove around and found the Lone Tree and the beach and then drove back to Romora. The island is so small, and there are very few streets. All that driving probably took us 15 minutes. We were taken to our room - the Tangerine Room which had beautiful a view of the pool and the harbour. The room was great and they ONLY thing I could complain about if I had to, would be the bathroom. It clearly needed some updating and didn't fit with the rest of the resort/room which were all very nice! However, I do have to say that the shower was a really decent size, had good pressure and hot water. The rest of the room was great and I found the bed incredibly comfortable. Expect to hear roosters in the morning - it’s a part of island life here. There are roosters and chickens roaming everywhere. There was also a ton of selection on TV. We were happy that we were able to catch Lost that night!
There was a recent review on here which accused Romora Bay of doing a 'bait and switch' trick by posting photos on their website of a fake room. I'd like to point out that this comment is inaccurate. There are two photos on the website of their new showcase room which they have set up in the reception area. It appears that there are plans to renovate in the future. However, the rest of the photos (of the beds with the white and green bedspreads) are of the EXACT rooms that they have there now. I didn't believe that their website was misleading AT ALL.
During the afternoon we drove over to the nearest beach entrance. We picked up a map on the boat - but I think they have the same one at Romora which shows where the beach enterances are and there is one that's just down the road from Romora - about 2 minute drive away. The pink sand beach was BEAUTIFUL. The entrance to the beach is a bit hard to find as there aren't any signs. But if you see a sandy hill that appears to lead to the ocean - you've found the entrance. Romora Bay does have blue lounge chairs at that particular beach that you can use. They aren't marked, but they're sitting right there when you walk down the hill. The beach chairs were perfect, and truly appreciated. Be careful when swimming that there is some coral right off the edge of the water, which I bumped my knee on. Watch where you're going and you should be fine. I should also mention that the beach was nearly deserted....which was wonderful! Granted, it was March. But we went to the beach near Coral Sands and Pink Sands the next day and there was a TON of people.
We came back after and sat by the pool as the sun was coming down. It was gorgeous. There are lots of great places on the property to just sit and relax. There were many people on boats coming in to the bar for drinks and food and the bar was playing music.
That night we ate at the hotel - at the Sunset Bar and Grille. The food was fantastic and reasonably priced in my opinion. We split some conch fritters, I had the Junkanoo Chicken Curry for $22 and my husband had the Briland Burger for $17. The drinks were expensive! All mixed drinks are $10. We went to a store in town and bought some juice and pop for our room as it was cheaper than buying it at the hotel.
The next day we spend the morning by the pool and checked out at 11 am. We still had a few hours before our ferry came, so again, they allowed us to keep our luggage at reception while we spent some time at the beach. We also went to Arthur’s Bakery and had a turkey sandwich. It was hands down, the best sandwich I have ever had! We also bought some baked goods from there, all of which were outstanding!
I loved Harbour Island, and I was quite sad to leave. It is beautiful, peaceful, relaxing, charming and friendly. I’d definitely come back and I would not hesitate to book Romora Bay again, as I think it’s the best choice on the island.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
