Coral Sands Inn & Cottages

The staff and service here was top notch,noteably Romanda at the front desk. Coral Sands also recently underwent a beautiful renovation. All of the design elements are so thoughtful and Harbour island perfect. Highly recommend a stay at Coral Sands...

Coral Sands is the best combo of everything that makes Harbour Island special. It’s small, safe, and beautiful. The staff and people on the island are always friendly, warm, and welcoming. There isn’t a bad room. All have magnificent views.
It’s tucked away at the end of Chapel Street and just a short golf cart ride away from the charming Dunmore Town. Steps from Pink Sands Beach (where the sand is like nothing you will ever get to experience anywhere else in this universe). It’s been a go-to for over 20 years.

Tutto

What an amazing resort (and renovation)! If you are reading this on TripAdvisor, go to the actual website to see the updated photos! Coral Sands' accommodations are charming and roomy. The beach is ah-ma-zing (except on windy days). The sand and water are beautiful. The seaweed is diligently raked away each day by resorts here on the island. You can walk as far as you want in either direction on the beach because the shoreline is extensive and not blocked by rocks or buildings, like many other Carribbean beaches. If you walk towards lava rock point, it is 1.25 miles, approximately. The water can be still or rough, it just depends on the weather and the day. FYI, the water was frigid this time of year (December), though, if that matters to you.

We were impressed by:

- The resort rooms, villas, beach area, landscaping, athletic areas, and dining areas are meticulously kept and maintained. The new decor is high quality, the bed linens (and all amenities) are great. The furniture is all very nice around the whole resort -- everything has been redone top to bottom including patio furniture. The details like nice fabrics and art really stands out.
- We stayed in the Sea Grape Garden Cottage and loved it.
- It may sound like a small item, but to me a standout point is that Coral Sands is one of the few resort that still provides individual high-end soaps, shampoo and toiletry items with accommodations. Even 5-Star hotels are going the way of "communal" soap and shampoo dispensers, which is unsanitary (gross) and just not classy (no-one is buying the "we are trying to cut down on plastic" excuse by these high-end hotel chains!) We love the Ortigia brand, and bravo to Coral Sands for not caving on toiletry item quality.
- The majority of the resort service was good. There were a couple of times we had to prod a little (such as checking on food & bev service by the beach and pool), but they did seem busy.
- The majority of the food at the resort was very good. (But, really really really expensive as others have pointed out. For example, 1 cocktail and 1 mocktail drink was a total of $46 after tax and the built-in gratuity). We only had issue at dinner with the beef tenderloin & potatoes entree, which was over the top salty. The flavor was great, though (minus the salt) and the quality of the steak was great.
- We had an issue with the TV glitching on us for a couple of days. I should have called sooner, because when I did call, maintenance responded immediately, even though it was 9pm that night. Then, the property manager OK'ed a replacement for maintenance tech within minutes, and we were back to our much-anticipated football game within an hour! WOW, that is great SERVICE. :)
- The pickleball courts, basketball/tennis court, and new "paddleball" court are outstanding, and all equipment necessary is provided by the resort. There is also a cold-plunge "pool" (big enough for one to sit in momentarily) and a hot sauna in the fitness gazebo area. They have water and towels available and the fitness equipment is all new and really nice (Matrix and Peleton).
- We received turn-down service 2 of the 4 nights we were out to dinner. The cookies were delicious.
- The pizza on the lunch menu. (Highly recommend the Margarita pizza)

Sidebar recommendations for hotel guests:

- American dollars are accepted.
- Check to make sure your credit card does not charge international fees before getting here.
- Bring a coverup or shawl/light jacket for nights. Believe it or not, it can get surprisingly chilly on the island at night (at least in December), especially if it has been a windy day.
- The continental breakfast is tasty, but that is the only part of the meal that is included in your stay. Anything hot or made to order is a separate breakfast menu and charge.
- You can rent a golf cart through a 3rd-party vendor rental rather than pay the $150 per day, to the resort, for one of theirs. The vendor will then deliver the golf cart to the resort. We paid $120 per day for an outside-vendor golf cart and it is well worth renting one to go explore the island, go to dinners outside the resort, and get beverages and snacks offsite. Coral Sands was very accommodating in allowing us to use their longer power cord for charging the golf cart, near the office.
- To get the nicer shady cabanas by the pool (there are 3 at the time of this review), you will either need to snag one early before breakfast or wait until noon/afternoon, when the families of young kids head away from the pool area for lunch/naps. A lot of the deck area loungers have shade umbrellas, too, but you just have to move the loungers around, to stay shaded out of the sun.
- If you want to be away from the toddler/young kid crowd, ask to be seated in a quieter part of the Pink Mermaid dining room. We love kids, but ours are now college-aged, and we noticed a lot of young families let their kids RUN around the dining area or jump up and down on the nice banquette seats. I felt bad for the staff in those situations. It was not ideal for the other diners either.
There is only morning coffee service with the breakfast area.
- Coffee for purchase is not available during the day (see Cocoa’s coffee shop info below, in Dunmore Town, a few minutes away by golf cart)
-On a couple of the fancier drink orders, we had missing ingredients that completed the cocktail. On one occasion I asked, and they said “yes, we are out of that item.” I asked if we could substitute something to make the drink complete, and they complied after that, but I had to ask. So, don’t hesitate to do this, because it happened a couple of times to us.
- Bring small bills for additional tips; the staff really appreciate this even though gratuity is built-in on receipts. I am sure they rely on some extra tips for their pay.

Here are some additional things that may be helpful to know for your trip to the island:

- Short taxi van rides from the ELH airport are $10 each to Eleuthera's dock area. There are many at the airport, you do not need to call in advance. Water taxi (pretty much a big fishing boat type vessel) to Harbour Island is then another $5 each (the boat will be crammed, by the way, with airport people and luggage, but it is quick). Then, there is another taxi from the Harbour Island dock to your resort ($5 each for a golf cart ride, $10 each for a van ride).
- We saw a lot of Ross Golf Cart Rentals on the island. Check them out first: rossgolfcartrentals.com
- There is a bank (RBC) near Valentine’s Resort if you need the ATM for Bahamian dollars (the RBC kiosk charges $5.50 on top of what your bank might charge) rbcroyalbank.com/caribbean/personal/bahamas
- Check out Cocoa's for coffee and small food items (down near Valentine's Resort in town). They have alternative "milks" for those that don't do dairy. Their lattes, smoothies, and breakfast items are great. We do recommend skipping the Turmeric latte, though!!!
- The "Mario On the Spot" Liquor store was great for buying some vodka, local rum and additional mixers at a much better price than onsite at the resort. An entire bottle of the good local "Pin Drop Rum" is $50 at this store, while the Pin Drop drink at the resort is a small cup with ice at $22. (And check out this very good local spirit and the recipes on: pindroprum.com)
- There are lots of mini convenience stores outside of the resort to run in and get bottled water, soft drinks, etc. They look like dives on the outside, but are very safe to shop at, and the employees are helpful inside.

- More about golf cart rates:
Rates Will vary! According to the Harbour Island website**, on average, you expect the following prices of passenger seats vs. rate per day:
2-seater cart / $55 per day
4-seater / $55-$65
6-seater / $80-$150
**However, we found that most cart rental companies were $90-$120 per day (you can definitely negotiate the priced with the smaller rental shops, based on number of days, such as 7th day free for a week's rental, etc.)

- Excursions: BOOK WELL IN ADVANCE!
The Conch concierge group that the resort uses books private boat charters and a land tour experience, but that is about it. Some of the more interesting excursions (turtle sighting, Exuma pigs) can be found at Valentine's Resort Dive Center.

- Restaurant ideas: BOOK WELL IN ADVANCE!
(We tried Rock House, Acquapazza, Pink Mermaid, and Bar 480...Rock House was our favorite out of those. We missed out on the better restaurants like the Dunmore because we waited too long to book, apparently). The Coral Sands concierge gave the following list via email and helped with the reservations:

• Bar 480 at The Briland Club Residences and Marina -
opentable.com/r/bar480-queens-highway
• Da Vine Sushi & Wine Bar - davinewine.com
• The Ocean View Club - ilovetheoceanview.com/the-restaurant
• The Other Side (On Eleuthera Island) - LUNCH ONLY - ontheos.com
• Acquapazza Wine Bar & Ristorante - acquapazzabahamas.net
• Malcolm 51 at Pink Sands Resort - pinksandsresort.com/dining
• The Blue Bar Restaurant at Pink Sands Resort - LUNCH ONLY - pinksandsresort.com/dining
• Rooster Tail Bar & Grill at Valentine's Resort & Marina - valentinesresort.com/dine
• Thai'd at Runaway Hill - runawayhill.com/restaurant
• Queen Conch (Native dishes)
• Ma Ruby at Tingum Village (Native dishes) - tingumvillage.com/ma-rubys-restaurant
• The Rock House - rockhousebahamas.com/harbour-island-bahamas-restaurants
• The Landing - harbourislandlanding.com/the-landing-restaurant
• SipSip - romorabay.com/dining/sip-sip LUNCH ONLY
• Romora Bay - romorabay.com

my husband and i spent five nights in december in one their newly renovated briland rooms. absolutely beautiful. the resort itself is beautiful, quiet, pristine. great food and bars. service over the top. the beach seems to go on endlessly and is like light pink talcum powder. the water itself warm and you can walk out a long way as it remains non-rocky and shallow. the only downside was the weather. we had 4 of our 5 days stormy, windy, rainy. really really disappointing. but we had a good time, and will return.

Really poor customer service. Not accomodating for young families. We had to cancel last minute due to pregnancy related illness and they offered no flexibility. Do not recommend -- other great hotels I'd choose over.

The pink sand beach and sunrise is breathtaking. The staff is thoughtful and very accommodating.

Awesome staff and property, can't wait to return. I would recommend chartering a boat to see surrounding islands, turtles and pigs!

D

Stayed in one of the remodeled ocean view rooms, they are beautiful and so comfortable. The staff was super friendly and the food was outstanding. This is a gem in the Bahamas that you don't want to miss.

Amazing

Great location on pink sand beach. Spacious rooms. Great communal areas - especially the beach bar/restaurant. Very friendly staff. Lots of loungers on beach and by pool.

Beaches, pickleball court and cold plunge

Location is superb...best beach.....restaurant was HORRIBLE!!!!! expensive food I expected. But small portions of crappy, dry, non-authentic, Bahamian food I've ever had.

Beautiful location, lovely interior design, absolutely incredible beach. Service is a problem. No real beach or poolside service to speak of. We were approached maybe twice the whole week. No one put out towels, there are no chair covers. Bar tender was unpleasant. Table service is slow and distracted and not particularly pleasant. There is a real dichotomy here between the setting/decor and the service. I hope they figure it out!