Had some inquiries about our recent stay, so I am posting this reply I had to a PM:
Take this with a grain of salt, I don't know you, or what you are used to.
The food at the Breezes was good. I've been to several all inclusive resorts outside of the US, and it was probably about in the middle of the road as far as quality goes. When we travel, everything is different than what you probably eat at home. The quality of the beef was probably not as good as you get in the states, but on par with a local buffet.
Most of the people I talked to there liked the food, or at least thought it was acceptable. Several other guests were frequent cruisers and I heard it was on par with most of the standard cruise type foods, but below that of the premium cruise lines. (I've never been on a cruise, not my thing.)
I stayed at the RIU in Nassau Paradise Island, and the food there is slightly better but the cost is significantly more, If we go back all-inclusive I would use Breezes again.
Local food was always available and the fish and conch were good. The buffet style dining is open for several hours so of course everything was better when it was fresh. We always were able to find something we liked.
There is a buffet style meal available for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as 3 reservations required sit down service style restaurants that have a dress code (long pants, no t-shirts),and a poolside grill. Food is available pretty much at all times.
Breakfast has an omelet service and a waffle maker available. Then there are Buffet trays of eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast or pancakes (the staples) and about half a dozen other things. Bacon is pretty typical low grade stuff but standard for buffets I suppose. A bunch of pastries are available.
Lunch and dinner have a wide variety of standard fare and dinner has a rotating theme, Italian, Mexican, Asian and local food. Fresh fruit and salad are always available and there are several dessert choices.
The poolside grill serves hamburgers, conch fritters, hotdogs etc. Service was always good and the food was ok.
While we were there, they started renovating the main dining area, and service was moved to the Japanese restaurant so I never tried the Japanese place. I heard it was good. We ate at the reservation required Garden of Eden, and the Italian place, both were standard restaurants and they served 5 courses. The quality and service were very good. Significantly better than the buffet style. There is no extra charge for this, but a reservation is required. Reservations have to be made in a certain time window that didnt work for us (I think between 9 and 11 am, we were out diving then) but if you tell the folks at the front desk you will not be available to make a reservation, they will take care of you.
Alchohol is free flowing and good. Local beers are served Kalik and Sands, and hard stuff is name brand, Jose cuevo Baccardi etc. Bartenders are great. (Top tip: bring or buy a big cup to save trips to the bar, drinks are small but unlimited)
Soda machines are plentiful and filtered water is available. Bottled water is available only at the gift shop and for a charge. If you want to carry water with you bring your own bottle or pay up. The filtered water is fine. I drank about a million gallons and I am alive today.
We dove every morning, and relaxed by the pool all afternoon. Not a typical vacation for us, we usually are out exploring all day. Everything we needed was on property, we have been to Nassau before and didn't need to get out much. There all always taxis on property to take you where ever you want to go, and the local #10 bus runs on Bay Street just outside and will take you downtown for about a buck and a half.
The resort is under going renovations, don't let that scare you though. My room was in the older section and was ok, not 5 star, but clean and everything was pretty decent. Smells a little old (old building smell) but really not a problem. As mentioned before, they were renovating the main dining hall and I think it will be done in the next week or so. The grounds were well maintained and there is ALWAYS someone cleaning something.
There are plenty of pool and beach chairs available, and hammocks to relax on. There are kayaks, sailboats and a trapeeze available to play with. There is always something going on around the pool, bingo, dance contests, games whatever. Nighttime has a band and some bar games. There is a decent weight room, basketball court, pool tables etc.
Paradise Island is super expensive, a burger and fries is about 20 bucks. There are some things to see there like the aquarium at Atlantis (top tip: go in the evening, and it's free) and The Cloisters-Versaille gardens are pretty. But we chose not to go back over there on this trip.
Downtown Nassau is a typical cruise port strip with a million souvenir stores. But there is a lot to see even if you aren't into shopping in the downtown area.
We have been fortunate and been able to travel quite a bit. The people here are genuinely friendly and usually aren't really pushy like they are in other tourist areas. (we had a homeless guy ask us if we needed directions and had a nice conversation with him when we were in an area that probably gets no tourists, no shake down for cash or anything, just a nice guy that wanted to chat.) Last year we were all over the island and always felt safe.
Overall, we would go back. The price was fair, and we had a good time. If you have any other questions or something more specific you want to know, let me know.
Jeff
Take this with a grain of salt, I don't know you, or what you are used to.
The food at the Breezes was good. I've been to several all inclusive resorts outside of the US, and it was probably about in the middle of the road as far as quality goes. When we travel, everything is different than what you probably eat at home. The quality of the beef was probably not as good as you get in the states, but on par with a local buffet.
Most of the people I talked to there liked the food, or at least thought it was acceptable. Several other guests were frequent cruisers and I heard it was on par with most of the standard cruise type foods, but below that of the premium cruise lines. (I've never been on a cruise, not my thing.)
I stayed at the RIU in Nassau Paradise Island, and the food there is slightly better but the cost is significantly more, If we go back all-inclusive I would use Breezes again.
Local food was always available and the fish and conch were good. The buffet style dining is open for several hours so of course everything was better when it was fresh. We always were able to find something we liked.
There is a buffet style meal available for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as 3 reservations required sit down service style restaurants that have a dress code (long pants, no t-shirts),and a poolside grill. Food is available pretty much at all times.
Breakfast has an omelet service and a waffle maker available. Then there are Buffet trays of eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast or pancakes (the staples) and about half a dozen other things. Bacon is pretty typical low grade stuff but standard for buffets I suppose. A bunch of pastries are available.
Lunch and dinner have a wide variety of standard fare and dinner has a rotating theme, Italian, Mexican, Asian and local food. Fresh fruit and salad are always available and there are several dessert choices.
The poolside grill serves hamburgers, conch fritters, hotdogs etc. Service was always good and the food was ok.
While we were there, they started renovating the main dining area, and service was moved to the Japanese restaurant so I never tried the Japanese place. I heard it was good. We ate at the reservation required Garden of Eden, and the Italian place, both were standard restaurants and they served 5 courses. The quality and service were very good. Significantly better than the buffet style. There is no extra charge for this, but a reservation is required. Reservations have to be made in a certain time window that didnt work for us (I think between 9 and 11 am, we were out diving then) but if you tell the folks at the front desk you will not be available to make a reservation, they will take care of you.
Alchohol is free flowing and good. Local beers are served Kalik and Sands, and hard stuff is name brand, Jose cuevo Baccardi etc. Bartenders are great. (Top tip: bring or buy a big cup to save trips to the bar, drinks are small but unlimited)
Soda machines are plentiful and filtered water is available. Bottled water is available only at the gift shop and for a charge. If you want to carry water with you bring your own bottle or pay up. The filtered water is fine. I drank about a million gallons and I am alive today.
We dove every morning, and relaxed by the pool all afternoon. Not a typical vacation for us, we usually are out exploring all day. Everything we needed was on property, we have been to Nassau before and didn't need to get out much. There all always taxis on property to take you where ever you want to go, and the local #10 bus runs on Bay Street just outside and will take you downtown for about a buck and a half.
The resort is under going renovations, don't let that scare you though. My room was in the older section and was ok, not 5 star, but clean and everything was pretty decent. Smells a little old (old building smell) but really not a problem. As mentioned before, they were renovating the main dining hall and I think it will be done in the next week or so. The grounds were well maintained and there is ALWAYS someone cleaning something.
There are plenty of pool and beach chairs available, and hammocks to relax on. There are kayaks, sailboats and a trapeeze available to play with. There is always something going on around the pool, bingo, dance contests, games whatever. Nighttime has a band and some bar games. There is a decent weight room, basketball court, pool tables etc.
Paradise Island is super expensive, a burger and fries is about 20 bucks. There are some things to see there like the aquarium at Atlantis (top tip: go in the evening, and it's free) and The Cloisters-Versaille gardens are pretty. But we chose not to go back over there on this trip.
Downtown Nassau is a typical cruise port strip with a million souvenir stores. But there is a lot to see even if you aren't into shopping in the downtown area.
We have been fortunate and been able to travel quite a bit. The people here are genuinely friendly and usually aren't really pushy like they are in other tourist areas. (we had a homeless guy ask us if we needed directions and had a nice conversation with him when we were in an area that probably gets no tourists, no shake down for cash or anything, just a nice guy that wanted to chat.) Last year we were all over the island and always felt safe.
Overall, we would go back. The price was fair, and we had a good time. If you have any other questions or something more specific you want to know, let me know.
Jeff
