Xanadu Beach Resort & Marina - Bahamas

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No one loves this place more than I do. Visited: August 2006 Posted by candy This was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had. The island is really beautiful. I have never been to an island that had so much to do. They really do have a lot going on for the tourist. 1 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This was a wonderful, fantastic resort. Visited: August 2006 Posted by katey223 This place was awesome. We loved the beach and the easy access to the bars and nightclubs. I'm telling you - the beach was out of this world. Also, the rooms were big and nice, and all had big screen TVs in them, which was really cool. They also had tennis courts and a nice pool. Did I mention the place was awesome? 5 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu did not get any stars from me. Visited: July 2006 Posted by ellis_de I thought the property was a dump. There were leaks and mold, and the paint was peeling. Also, I thought the food and service were terrible. The hotel was in the middle of nowhere, and I believe the images on the web site painted a false picture. I would not send my foe to the Xanadu. 1 users found this review helpful. 7 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We loved it - it's a great place for night time fun. Visited: June 2006 Posted by brandy Xanadu was really nice. The people were friendly, and the hotel and location were superb. Our room was spacious, and had a beautiful view of the ocean. All the rooms had a kind of a theme with the flowers and wallpaper. It reminded me of some Vegas hotels. The hotel looked like it had been repainted, and the furniture looked good. We parasailed, and hit the jet skis every day. We also walked to the clubs and restaurants at night. It was a great place to stay on the island. 3 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We're ready for another great vacation here! Visited: March 2006 Posted by ragonvac This was our (my boyfriend and I) first trip to this island. We came during Spring Break. We cruised over, stayed four nights, then came home. The first day, there were a few problems with our room. However, the management addressed it immediately. There were no more rooms available, so they upgraded us to a suite (at no charge). It was remarkable! We plan to return, and next time we will spend the extra cash to get the suite! See you Spring Break 2008! 1 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is a solid value. Visited: February 2006 Posted by landcomm If you want to be surrounded by other hotels and crowds, don't come to Xanadu. If you want a quiet, comfortable, relaxing vacation on the beach, I highly recommend Xanadu! The property was a mess. There is no way of hiding that fact. Two major storms dumped a world of hurt on much of Grand Bahama. There was limited building material and help, but every day of the week the crews were working throughout this faded gem. During the week we were here, they made great progress! The rooms were huge. They were clean and well tended. The staff got to know guests by name; and with few exceptions, seemed to care what you think. The beach was great, the tours were great, and the local food (Simply Native) was great. I very much believe we'll go back again and again over the coming years. Overlook the flaws. This is a much nicer property than one of the large, crowded, overpriced hotels in the port. 4 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It was an okay hotel, but I would stay in Port Lucaya instead. Visited: August 2005 Posted by jumblies If you want a great beach and some quiet, this hotel is just right for you. If you are looking for some night life, shopping, etc., I suggest you stay in another hotel. I stayed here for a week, and was pleased, but think I would have been happier in Port Lucaya. I do not think this would be a good place to stay with kids because it would be hard to keep them entertained. The room was huge and generally pretty clean. When they say you cannot check in until a certain time - they are not kidding. A cab to the International Bazaar was like $8. All and all, it was not the horrible hotel some of the other posters painted. (Keep in mind the hotels they were happier at were about twice as expensive.) They were undergoing construction, but that is a good thing. The rooms they had just redone looked great. The hotel was a little run down, but it was not all that bad. My room was nice and cold, and the staff was fine (a little laid back compared to American standards, but that is to be expected). As mentioned, the dinner at the restaurant was not very good, but the breakfast and lunch were. 1 users found this review helpful. 7 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? You can do better than Xanadu! Visited: July 2005 Posted by jondoe My wife won a trip for two through a bridal company the summer of 2004. We went to the resort as an upgrade I had to pay for. We were one of three couples who went via the contest. The beach was the best part. We thought the hotel looked like a war zone. It was not kept up, and there were cracked and broken walls. Our showerhead broke, and took a few hours to get it repaired. Also, there was no hot water, and the AC was out. The one ice machine in our building was broken, and we had to go the restaurant for ice. The restaurant was okay, but it was nothing to brag about. We found the service to be poor. It took them three hours to bring us towels to our room. Although the staff was somewhat nice, I felt uncomfortable around them. The pool area and the beach were the best part of the trip. This was not a worthwhile "up-grade". We did like the fact that very few people were here while we were. It made it nice and somewhat private. There was nothing to do at night here but walk around the abandonded resort. The resort was so far out, it cost $9 to get to town by taxi and $9 again to get back to the hotel. By the way, the port is $18 away...one way! I will not return to this resort. Despite the great beach and the nice quiet evenings, there were just too many negatives. 2 users found this review helpful. 7 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Awful Visited: January 2004 Posted by rd1191 I stayed in this hotel with a group of friends. We had 3 rooms that all had fabulous views in the tower. One room did not have A/C and it was unbelivably hot, the other room the A/C could not be turned down and it was unbelivable cold. In the third room, the A/C worked just fine. The staff was not helpful. The hotel has an interesting history and it must have been amazing in its hay day. My parents remember visiting it many years ago and rave about how fabulous it was. I hope that someday it will be just as fabulous. I think it is a good idea to help out the people of the island. It is very poor and it is sad to see the poverty that exist here. We want to a local group home (similiar to a orphanage). The kids have almost nothing yet are very happy. We brought games and clothes for them, and played games and sang songs. One kid, Franklin, captured our hearts. We gave the kids bubbles to play with. One of the bottles spilled and so it was empty. Franklin insisted on keeping it. Three days later when we came back we were in his bedroom (that he shared with 10 other boys) and under his bed was the empty bottle. They have nothing and something small and unimportant to us was special to him. So, although we did not enjoin our stay at the hotel we did enjoy the island people and the beaches were so beautiful. So, when you visit, volunteer some of your time to these very special people. 1 users found this review helpful. 8 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? If you're thinking of booking,........DON'T Visited: August 2003 Posted by awhite If you're thinking about booking this resort, let me tell you don't!! This is not the place you want to be. Every employee we ran into had a serious attitude toward what ever you asked. I asked for an iron, ironing board and an alarm clock, and I the only two things I got was an iron and attitude. That's right no ironing board and no alarm clock. Our first room (that's right, first room) was terrible. The tub had a hole in it where something use to go. We found hair in the tub, and there was a gap around the tub almost an inch thick. I honestly thought something was going to come out and get us. Our 2nd room was a little better but still wasn't what you would expect. The pool looked very nice untill you got in it. There was all sorts of things floating in the pool including enough hair to make a wig. I'm not saying I shouldn't expect some things but this was truely ridiculous. Oh by the way, 24 hours and 3 phone calls later (to the front desk)I still didn't have an ironing board or an alarm clock, so I called (4th time)and asked for a wake up call. Did I get it?..NO!! When we did wake up, we went to eat breakfast and there were ants on the table we sat at and everything was just filthy. To make a long story short we ended up losing our money (some $300.00) and checked out early and went and stayed at the Royal Oasis. This was well worth losing money and paying more. I can't tell you how many times my wife and I said how glad we were that we changed hotels. It truel made the rest of our trip enjoyable. My advice to anyone already booked; lose what ever fee they charge you and book a stay at the Royal Oasis or some other resort because this place is terrible. 3 users found this review helpful. 7 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu is a resort reborn! Visited: August 2003 Posted by lac My husband, daughter and I recently returned from Freeport, Bahamas. This was our first visit to this area. I had researched websites on wheretostay.com, and read your reviews regarding Xanadu. Since most of the negative reviews were outdated, we decided we should stay here. We were actually fascinated by the fact that Howard Hughes owned this property at one time, and its location was much more desirable for us than being in the heart of Freeport. Our first impression of Xanadu was that the present owner had done a wonderful job of rehabilitating the resort, as any work completed during this massive venture, was tastefully done. Much hard work, thought, and money has gone into the process of restoring this wonderful property. And through it all, management remains gracious and accommodating. It took us a day or so to wind down from our fast paced living to the slower paced island living. Lounging at the lovely pool and/or the short walk to the beach and marina helped us to relax. Dining was a pleasure whether we chose to eat in their beautiful restaurant or at the beach area. The large rooms were more than satisfactory, service was great, and anything we needed was pleasantly addressed. We intend to return here, as we are especially curious to see Xanadu when the restorations are completed. If you are looking to relax in a private area of Grand Bahama Island, just a taxi ride from the hustle and bustle of Freeport, Xanadu is the place to stay. We highly recommend Xanadu, and give it a five-star rating. 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu,A resort reborn! Visited: August 2003 Posted by lac My husband, daughter and I recently returned from Freeport, Bahamas. This was our first visit to this area. I had researched websites on where to stay, and read your reviews regarding Xanadu. Since most of the negative reviews were outdated, we decided we should stay there. We were actually fascinated by the fact that Howard Hughes owned this property at one time, and its location was much more desirable for us than being in the heart of Freeport. Our first impression of Xanadu was that the present owner has done a wonderful job of rehabilitating the resort, as any work completed during this massive venture, was tastefully done. Much hard work, thought, and money is going into the process of restoring this wonderful property, and through it all management remains gracious and accommodating. It took us a day or so to wind down from our fast paced living to the slower paced Island living. Lounging at the lovely pool and/or the short walk to the beach and marina helped us to relax. Dining was a pleasure whether we chose to eat in their beautiful restaurant or at the beach area. The large rooms were more than satisfactory, service was great, and anything we needed was pleasantly addressed. We intend to return there, as we are especially curious to see Xanadu when the restorations are completed. If you are looking to relax in a private area of Grand Bahama Island, just a taxi ride from the hustle and bustle of Freeport, Xanadu is the place to stay. We highly recommend Xanadu, and give it a 5 star rating. Lastly, anyone using your website should link to Xanadu?s web page for up-to-date pictures and information. 3 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu,A resort reborn! Visited: August 2003 Posted by lac My husband, daughter and I recently returned from Freeport, Bahamas. This was our first visit to this area. I had researched websites on where to stay, and read your reviews regarding Xanadu. Since most of the negative reviews were outdated, we decided we should stay there. We were actually fascinated by the fact that Howard Hughes owned this property at one time, and its location was much more desirable for us than being in the heart of Freeport. Our first impression of Xanadu was that the present owner has done a wonderful job of rehabilitating the resort, as any work completed during this massive venture, was tastefully done. Much hard work, thought, and money is going into the process of restoring this wonderful property, and through it all management remains gracious and accommodating. It took us a day or so to wind down from our fast paced living to the slower paced Island living. Lounging at the lovely pool and/or the short walk to the beach and marina helped us to relax. Dining was a pleasure whether we chose to eat in their beautiful restaurant or at the beach area. The large rooms were more than satisfactory, service was great, and anything we needed was pleasantly addressed. We intend to return there, as we are especially curious to see Xanadu when the restorations are completed. If you are looking to relax in a private area of Grand Bahama Island, just a taxi ride from the hustle and bustle of Freeport, Xanadu is the place to stay. We highly recommend Xanadu, and give it a 5 star rating. Lastly, anyone using your website should link to Xanadu?s web page for up-to-date pictures and information. 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? It was great fun for the entire family. Visited: July 2003 Posted by nmjr185 This past July I brought my wife and three children to this resort for one week. The rooms were brand new and spacious enough for my entire family. We just wanted a quiet place to relax and escape from the city life we are used to. This was the place to escape to. The staff was very helpful, and when we asked for extra towels they were there within minutes. In a selfish way these negative reviews will keep some people away making this a private retreat for some, but those who do not go are truly missing a wonderful vacation. Congratulations to the owner who even offered to keep an eye on our kids while my wife and I took a stroll on the beautiful beach which was a very short walk from the hotel. If you don't visit this beautiful hotel, you are missing out on something special. And I agree with the reviewer who said the pictures on this site do not do Xanadu justice. It was just painted in a soft yellow color that is the color of healing. And the pool that is shown has been completely done over in also very warm soothing colors. I believe the truth should be known about this resort and the real pictures of the resort should be displayed, this definitely is a five-star hotel. 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? This is a great resort for the value. Visited: July 2003 Posted by jedreira I arrived at Xanadu a little apprehensive after reading all the negative reviews. The resort was very well maintained and clean. The staff was friendly and the accommodations were great. We arrived one hour before check-in time and were given our room after a minute wait. We stayed in the tower that is under construction. Since we did not plan on sleeping all day, the construction noise did not bother us. Construction started about 9:00 a.m. The staff was friendly, and the food at the Beachside Bar and Grill was excellent. The taxis were expensive, but they were up front with the charges. 1 users found this review helpful. 4 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? How to ruin a perfect vacation. Visited: July 2003 Posted by kaybilly This could be a first rate hotel with the right management. When we arrived at the marina they were very nice but it took us 20 minutes to get gas; then they had us riding all around to the beach side to catch a man in a boat to pay for the gas. We never did get him, so I told the man that was with us we would pay him later. When we got to our rooms (2 deluxe) both air conditioners did not work as well as one of the televisions. They finally got it fixed after several hours. No towels or washcloths were in the rooms and when they finally got around to bring them they brought only one washcloth. This was the 4th of July weekend and they had only one ice machine working. When we tried to buy some ice from the store on the property they told us they had to keep it for their boats. We wanted to go fishing and had no ice. We had to go into Lucaya to get ice. The manager of the restaurant was very rude to all the people in the restaurant. It took about 30 minutes just to get waited on. I must say that Ms. Majors, the dockmaster, was very nice and so was her assistant Helena. This could be a very charming place but the work so for has been very shotty. I had read the other reviews before we left and thought maybe these people went with a bad attitude. Believe me when I tell you that could not be true. I tried to be very nice even with all the problems but it was hard at times. I just cannot get over the restaurant manager hollering at another couple because they sat down before a table was cleaned. If they waited, they might not ever have received any service. We asked everyday for washcloths but we never did get any. We stayed there four days with two rooms and a dock space. It was not cheap and we were not looking for something for nothing. The gas the first day was $300.00. When we had to get gas before we left the hotel we waited 30 minutes, and no one ever came. We did have enough gas to make it back to Florida. I guess if we had to we could have gone to another port. We were all very disappointed and we will never stay at that hotel again. I was all ready to write a good review when I got back since I knew it could not be as bad as every one said but I am afraid it is true! 1 users found this review helpful. 6 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu is a beautiful resort! Visited: June 2003 Posted by sdooley689 I stayed at the beautifully new updated Xanadu Resort this past June with a few friends. It was a magical place and we had a wonderful time. Set on its own private beach, it was a jewel in the sand! Immediately upon arrival, while checking in we were enticed by the lobby's gleaming marble floors, soft overstuffed furniture set in front of a huge fireplace with a gorgeous mahogany mantel. It exuded the luxury fitting what we envisioned was a billionaire-like Howard Hughes lifestyle. All of the staff and managers we interacted with were lovely and extremely professional attending to all of our needs. Although the renovations were underway during our visit, we did not mind as we were one of the first patrons to stay in these lovely well-appointed rooms and got a great deal as a result. The colors, fabrics and furniture were soothing and definitely fit the mood of the Caribbean. We were in the tower, and our rooms overlooked the pool, tennis courts and lush greenery that surrounded the estate. My friend had a spacious room as well, overlooking the marina. Each room had its own private terrace! The beach was gorgeous, and had all the amenities of a resort with plenty of opportunity to rent a jet ski, parasail or get your hair braided. You could also just relax on a lounge chair with a tropical drink and enjoy the wonderful island music which played from a Tiki bar nearby. Conveniently, there were merchants selling a variety of items and gifts from their cabanas on the walk down to the beach, as I forgot my towel. I highly recommend staying at this beautiful resort. However, the pictures shown on this site were obviously taken prior to the renovations. I cannot wait to visit next year! 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? At least the scuba diving was good. Visited: May 2003 Posted by beckymiller815 After reading all the poor reviews of Xanadu we were worried, but we figured maybe it was just some overly-pampered people that couldn't deal with a little reality. We figured that since we're easy-going, everything should be fine. We stayed in the tower. The room at first glance seemed very nice, newly renovated and brightly colored with a great view and a kitchenette. Upon closer inspection, we discovered the remodeling work was shoddy and sloppy, the dishwasher wasn't hooked up, the light in the bathroom wouldn't turn on most of the time, and the water was very yellow. We were forced to buy $3.99/gallon bottled water at the overpriced grocery store. Additionally, the staff was in no hurry to help us, and nearly every day the maid would remove dirty linens and not replace them, so we had to chase down more washcloths and towels. The cleaning was also very sloppy. We were invited to have breakfast with the timeshare salespeople and we figured what the heck? Breakfast consisted of flavorless, chewy bacon and scrambled eggs with lots of eggshells in them, typical of a staff that is entirely without concern for the guests. One pleasant exception was one of the bartenders, Amille. A delightful guy who we thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. The resort has all the potential in the world and it really is nearly heartbreakig to see it in the hands of people who don't understand service and don't care. If it was properly run (and when the remodeling is done) it could be quite a fantastic resort. I might give it another chance in five years, but at the rate the construction crew moves the remodel might not be done yet. 1 users found this review helpful. 6 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? Xanadu is a hidden jewel. Visited: April 2003 Posted by rbrownsp Eight of us stayed at Xanadu - four stayed in the tower, two in the small block overlooking the swimming pool, and my friend and I had one of the small villas. We had maid service every day and each evening she returned to see if we needed anything. We had a huge bedroom, large lounge, a corner bath and a brand new full kitchen. There was even a small private swimming pool outside! The grounds were lovely and our friends in the tower had great views of the marina and all the private yachts. The beach at Xanadu was one of the best on the island. We watched several buses from other more expensive hotels (located in the noiser parts of the island) deposit their guests at Xanadu's gates just so they could use the beach! The food was fine, and the staff at both the poolside bar and the indoor piano bar were both helpful and fun. We were told that there was work going on before we booked, and we got a fantastic deal because of this. As the Bahamas gets "rediscovered" as a destination, Xanadu will be found to be one of the "hidden jewels". We have booked for later this year and next April. If you are seeking peace and quiet yet want to be within a taxi ride of all that Freeport has to offer, go to Xanadu before everyone finds it and it then it will be hard to get a room! 4 users found this review helpful. 1 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful? We had a magical vacation at Xanadu Beach Resort. Visited: April 2003 Posted by ntpirfic Twelve friends and family and I had the best time at this resort. The rooms were newly furnished and spacious. And the views from each of our rooms were all so breathtaking - from the beach view and canal view to even the views from rooms overlooking the new pool. We found all the staff from the grounds keeper to the manager to be extremely friendly making us feel welcome - so much that we have already booked a return visit for 2004. Congratulations to the owner for transforming this into Paradise for us. 4 users found this review helpful. 2 found this review unhelpful. Did you find this helpful?

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