I just returned from a 1-week stay at this wonderfully situated, Caribbean casual resort. After reading some mixed reviews, I am pleased to report it was perfect for my husband and me.
We are beach hounds, and Fortune Beach was exquisite with 1200 feet of soft white sand. Every morning, a beach raking machine would make 5 passes along the beach, leaving it perfectly groomed for the delightful day ahead. One of our interests is being able to snorkel right from the beach, and this resort offers amazing underwater life just steps off shore. We brought our own gear and just walked out there anytime we wanted, many times during the week—the best kind of free fun. The resort also has snorkel gear for guests.
The resort also offered a free snorkeling trip out to Fish Reef--a 10 minute boat ride away--to all guests in October who stayed at least 4 nights. That excursion really showcased the abundant fish life of the Bahamas.
We were in the B building, had hot water in the shower, good A/C, beach and shower towels all the time, no problems with noise. The beach views from our spacious patio looked like a postcard.
Now the food. We chose to start with the Italian restaurant which you have to reserve. Our waitresses Althena and LaToya were so friendly and warm-hearted. Our food was consistently excellent, we had the Mahi Mahi with zucchini, carrots & rice, Steak & Caribbean Lobster, Chicken Parmesan, some sort of shaved & seasoned beef appetizer, plenty of Merlot. We even celebrated my husband Mike's birthday there and asked the staff to "surprise us"-- they put together a really special, creative menu for us, complete with song, cake and candles.
We had read online that the Asian restaurant had skimpy portions. Our plan was to
have appetizers there, then eat dinner in the Italian. Boy did that backfire, we were
so full after our appetizers and wine that we skipped dinner and had the awesome
wood-fired pizza at 11:00 that night when our appetite returned. Don’t miss this pizza, it has a hand-made thin crust—if you’re a fan of that style pizza, it’s a must. One night the chef even made pizza bread and passed out the big chunky crusty bread topped with spicy, saucy goodness. I wish I could beam myself back for that.
The breakfast buffet was beautiful with its omelette station, tables brimming
with fresh fruits of all kinds, home-baked breads, yogurts, etc. etc. We did
a different combination every day and it was usually enough to tide us over
until dinner time.
The evening buffet was also surprisingly good. There was so much variety--on
Thursday night, they had a huge pork carving station, fresh fish, salads and
desserts galore and different every night. Nie even fixed us an enormous
fresh sub sandwich wrapped carefully in cellophane for us to take on the
flight the next day--it really hit the spot and much better than the $10 sandwich &
chips lunch box the airline was selling.
Things that could be improved: the ambience in the Italian restaurant could be spiffed up without much trouble or expense, it looks a little like a strip mall restaurant. The two restaurants were only open Thursday through Sunday, probably because it was slow season. No one told us this at check-in and it would have been helpful to know so we could plan for it. There’s also some coral in an area of the beach which should be roped off and protected. We saw swimmers tromping all over it, and it was a shame to see.
If you venture “off campus” which we love to do, I can highly recommend Bananas. You can walk there via the beach in about 20 minutes—they’re open until 5:30, so it’s a terrific lunch or early dinner stop. We had delicious conch soup and conch salad, which was surprisingly absent at the Viva. For some mysterious reason, they featured Minestrone soup all week.
Another nice restaurant is Sabor’s on the marina, at the Pelican Bay resort. The marina lights sparkle and reflect on the water, it’s a very romantic place and the menu is ridiculously creative—look it up online before you go. We thoroughly enjoyed our melt-in-your-mouth escargot, fresh grouper and parmesan encrusted hog snapper. The water surrounding you is underlit, illuminating all of the underwater action for your dining entertainment.
I could go on and on--and I will. I am a freelance travel writer and my husband is a photographer. We will be publishing a variety of articles about our Bahamian adventure in the weeks to come. I will let you know where I get published if you'd like to learn more. Or you can feel free to e-mail me directly for details. One last word of thanks to Gloria Pratt, Assistant Manager, for your assistance during our stay.