The Island House

Style

Atlantic cool

Setting

Edenic archipelago

Welcome to the hotel of your island-luxe fantasies: set on a palm-studded private estate overlooking a marina, The Island House in Nassau is the Bahamas’ coolest hotspot. Lounge in the super spa, hit the in-house cinema, dine on first-rate fresh fish… or just laze by the pool and let the laid-back staff (clad in hipster check and double denim) hand you endless cocktails.

Facilities

Rooms

Thirty, including two suites.

Checkout

11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More Details

Rates don’t usually include breakfast (from $6).

Also

The hotel has a 48-seat cinema: it shows recent releases daily, and – as all good cinemas should – has its own bar. Book a sofa for the plushest viewing experience.

Hotel Closed

Restaurants Shima and Mogano typically close for a few weeks seasonally (often in September, though not at the same time); we recommend checking ahead of arrival if one will be closed during your stay.

Fitness Center

Free Internet Access

Laundry

Pool

On-Site Restaurant

Room Service

Spa

At the Hotel

Private beach, cinema, 24-hour gym, free fitness classes, yoga studio, squash court, free WiFi, on-site boutique, art gallery, café with wine market. In rooms: TV, free WiFi, air-conditioning, black-out curtains, hairdryer, Bamford bath products, minibar with wines, spirits, soft drinks and snacks (in suites only).

Our Favourite Rooms

For the best views of the sun setting over the marina, book an Ocean-View Room on the second floor; if you’re more of a wake-up-and-stumble-straight-to-the-pool type, go for a Poolside Cottage.

Poolside

You’ll find the large outdoor heated pool by the spa, flanked by classic white sunlougers.

Spa

The only Bamford spa in the Bahamas is right here: book ahead (there are three treatment rooms) and luxuriate with a massage or facial from the thoroughly lovely staff.

Also

On the fitness front, there’s more than the standard hotel gym here: sporty locals flock to the island’s only squash court, the anti-gravity yoga studio and the ballet barre classes. (The actual hotel gym itself is pretty impressive, too.)

Children

Welcome, though it’s more of a grown-up hideout.

Gallery

Food & Drink

Dress Code

Other local restaurants with food this good are generally on the stuffy side – dining at any of the Island House’s eateries is a far more relaxed affair. Come as you are (well, within reason… your robe and slippers would be pushing it, obviously).

Hotel Restaurant

Head to the hotel’s Mogano restaurant, where chef Giorgio Locatelli prepares Italian-inspired dishes with local ingredients, including squid ink tonnarelli, goat’s cheese ravioli sprinkled with black truffle, roasted cauliflower with homemade red pepper purée, and freshly caught chargrilled octopus. Find Asian fare at Shima, where you can dine on tabiko rolls, sashimi, tataki, and dumplings while admiring the cyan-cast shores of Lyford Cay Marina. For breakfast, Yellowbell serves buttermilk pancakes, french toast, and eggs any which way, during lunch an array of salads, poke bowls, burgers, and dumplings are on offer. If you’re looking for a quick takeaway meal, visit Island Pizza for a fresh wood-fired pizza on the patio.

Hotel Bar

Light bites and bespoke cocktails with names like Into the Mystic, Curious George and Say Less are available at Yellowbell until 11pm, Sunday to Thursday (1am, Friday and Saturday). Shima and Mogano also both offer an extensive wine list with dinner; Shima does a number of cocktails, too.

Last Orders

Breakfast at Yellowbell is 7am–11am (12pm on weekends); lunch is 11.30am–2.30pm, Monday to Friday. Brunch at Shima is on the weekends, 11am–3pm; dinner is from 5.30pm, daily at Shima, Wednesday to Monday at Mogano.

Room Service

Order snacks and small meals to your room during restaurant hours.

Planes

Touch down at Lynden Pindling International Airport (it’s just a three-hour flight from New York, and around half an hour from Miami). From there, the Island House is just 15 minutes away.

Automobiles

There’s free valet parking on-site.

Worth Getting Out of Bed For

Finally ready to tear yourself away from the pool, the cinema and the spa? It's time to get acquainted with your surroundings. You’ll get free access and a shuttle service to and from a nearby private beach, if you’re looking to switch up your poolside set-up. There's a sandy stretch reserved for the hotel's guests only and a beach bar, plus lunch can be delivered from one of the hotel's restaurants. Head out on a Bahamian art and cuisine expedition with Islandz Tours, perhaps, or explore the Exumas (and feed stingrays) on a private day trip with Power Boat Adventures. Not quite wild enough? Go diving with sharks or discover the wrecks surrounding New Providence with Stuart Cove.

Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt

This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .