Bahamas' Grand Isle Resort & Spa

The Bahamas hasn't been a secret for a very long time. But there are properties in this destination that many clients never heard of and would be pleased that their agent told them about. Grand Isle Resort & Spa in the very quiet and spacious Emerald Bay Resort is one of them.

Travel Agent recently toured the community of luxurious ocean and golf course villas located within the 500-acre EmeraldBay property. Sitting on 13 acres, the 78 Caribbean villas offer excellent ocean views, a variety of water sports, a Greg Norman-designed golf course and a recently unveiled penthouse. Once its brand new spa is completed in December, it will be able to compete with some of Great Exuma's other—and probably better known—luxury properties.

We stayed in room #3103, a Partial Ocean Front Suite. The two-floor, two-bedroom suite offered a partial view of the ocean, a patio, an outdoor balcony and two 60-plus-inch plasma TVs. The room is about $600 a night in the low season and goes up as high as $1,100. We loved the room, but preferred the Ocean Front Suites, which offer a front-and-center, painting-like scene of Great Exuma. We inspected room #1413, which goes for about $1,200 in the low season and about $1,700 in peak season.

The best room, however, is the $5.7 million Master Grand Penthouse, which was unveiled to media, tourism and government officials when we visited. It sits on the highest point of EmeraldBay in The Bahamas. In peak season, the rooms cost as high as about $6,000 per night.

We toured the 4,000-square-foot room, which is one of two penthouses the property plans to have. It has four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a media room and outdoor balcony with views of the ocean, Great Exuma and the back nine of the golf course. The master bedroom has French sliding glass doors leading to the terrace, a marble bath with dual vanities and a whirlpool tub. Also, all guests have the option of requesting in-villa dining; the resort's cooking staff will prepare a meal in the kitchen and have it brought to your clients. The concierge can assist with choosing courses from the fine or casual dining menus.

Guests of Grand Isle Resort and Spa can play on the 18-hole golf course and six lighted tennis courts; they also have access to local excursions for fishing, sailing, snorkeling, sightseeing and diving.

We were particularly fond of snorkeling. Coral reefs are located just a short distance from the rooms. We swam only about 20 feet or so into the ocean before we were swimming over a reef, spotting an array of exotic fish. We couldn't tell you the names of the fish like other snorkeling enthusiasts can, but we can tell you that they were some of the most beautiful we ever saw.

Other activities that Grand Isle Resort & Spa offers include kayaking, seasonal children's camps, and adult activities including a state of the art fitness center.

The existing Palappa Bar & Grille is an outdoor lunch venue overlooking the infinity pool pavilion, the beach and the turquoise waters of EmeraldBay. This restaurant serves lunch every day and dinner on designated evenings with an emphasis on native fish such as conch, grouper, snapper and crab.

Grand Isle Resort & Spa offers agents a 10 percent commission. Agents can call General Manager Tracy Stoltz at 242-358-5000 or e-mail [email protected].