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Reviewed 27 September 2008

My husband and I made our 4th pilgrimage to Small Hope Bay Lodge this August. We loved it as much as we always do. We have gone before with our 2 kids (6 and 13) and they enjoy Small Hope as much as we do, but while they were visiting the grandparents, we decided to sneak off for 5 days. The kids are still mad that they didn’t get to go, but we told them that they would definitely go next time, which I hope will be soon! Now for our review:

Small Hope is a relaxing getaway from the nonsense of politics, traffic, cell phones, and general stress of the “real” world. The beaches are beautiful with hammocks between every palm tree on one beach and a half mile of white sand and hot tub on the other. The rooms are actually steps from the water just like it says on the website. The rooms are easily cooled by the ocean breezes, but you can get air-conditioning if you find the need (for an additional $15 per day). I love the Androsia in the rooms and picked up some fabric at the outlet store to cover some pillows in my daughter’s room.

My husband and I love to dive and find the diving there safe, interesting, and fun. On the shallow dives you see a plethora of fish, the shark dive is great fun with about 12 Caribbean reef sharks around a suspended chum ball, and the wall dives are beautiful, but I must say that my favorite is the Ocean Blue Hole dive with its swim-thrus and fascinating rock formations. Our 13 year old got certified at Small Hope at 11 years old and the divemasters made sure that he had a great experience in the water and helped prepare him for the table questions that would be on the PADI exam (math is not his long suit).

We both enjoy the meals at Small Hope. Breakfast is made to order and you can get the Bahamian breakfast or standard American fare. Lunch is served buffet style with salads, sandwich fixings, a hot dish, and dessert. Dinner is wonderful with 2 hot options (usually fish and lamb, pork, or steak), lots of salads, veggies, a starch, and more desserts than anyone could ask for. The last time we came our kids ate dinner in the games room with Small Hope competent and complimentary babysitters. They enjoyed interacting with the Bahamian staff and the other kids and we enjoyed having time to talk to the other guests during cocktail hour and dinner.

When we came with the kids, it was great that we could arrange for babysitting for our younger child while we and our older son went out diving. It seemed like an ideal situation and since the dive sites are within about 15 minutes of the dock, we were never gone for too long.

Being there with just my husband was wonderful and romantic. We went in the beachfront hot tub and stargazed from the hammock on the end of the dock (you have to look for it, as it is hiding behind the dive shop).

We flew from Boston to Nassau on Jet Blue and then took the 15 minute Western Air flight to Andros Town. It is actually pretty easy (at least from the east coast).

I can’t say enough good things about Small Hope, but it is not for anyone who is not comfortable walking around in flip-flops, or barefoot and it is certainly not for the type who would prefer to vacation in a generic chain hotel. It is unique and a little rough around the edges, but that is what I like about it. Oh, and don’t let me forget to mention that they have the friendliest staff of anywhere I have ever traveled. My husband and I have traveled all over the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Mexico and we definitely feel like Small Hope is our home away from home.

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
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4  Thank waterbug589
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 25 September 2008

I have been to SHBL many times, including 2 New Years Eves. The last 4 times *before* the Oct 2006 visit I took my ailing mother with me. She was 85-86 years old and ill with terminal lung cancer at the time. Aside from the fact that the diving is wonderful, the food is superb and the location ideal, the staff is amazing. When my mother was no longer able to walk, they carried her to and from our cabin and set out a recliner chair on the patio for her so she could be comfortable as she sat out there for a few hours at a time while I went diving.

The cabin staff was amazingly patient with the personal challenges we had and I don't know anywhere in the world you would see such care.

On our very last trip, which turned out to be 2 weeks before she died, they'd carry her out to the dock and somehow manage to get her down the ladder onto the dive boat so she could go out for a boat ride.

I love this place and would recommend it to everyone.

Date of stay: October 2006
  • Trip type: Travelled solo
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3  Thank IsisTheCat
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 23 September 2008

We were so thrilled with Small Hope Bay because we were so prepared for what to expect from other TripAdvisor reviews. Hope this helps. We stayed at SHB May 28 - June 4, 2008.

"When can we come back again?" is all we heard the kids saying by the 3rd day. Need I say more? :)

My wife and I decided (well, ok, mostly me) to take the SCUBA class in our hometown in South Dakota in January. Guess what? It's awfully cold here in January. We took a trip to Grand Cayman to try out our new pool skills and loved it. We were bit by the dive bug. So, we decided on Small Hope Bay because of all the family friendly reviews, as the kids did not get to go to Cayman.

Everyone at home said, why go to the Caribbean in June when it's summer here? It was 48 degrees F when we left and 54 and raining when we returned. It was in the 80's in the Bahamas our entire trip, but we were never uncomfortable with the trade winds coming in off the ocean. My husband hates heat and humidity and never had a problem sleeping without A/C. The ceiling fan and standing fan did just fine. The beds were comfortable (I was skeptical, because they certainly don't look it) and we all slept great all week.

A little about our photos - it's very typical on TripAdvisor to see photos of the common areas, and they ARE everything you see. What I haven't seen are photos of the living quarters. We had a family 2-bedroom cottage - 2 bedrooms connected by a small hallway, locking door, and the 3/4 bath. The rooms were made up every day and there was plenty of open shelf storage so you could unpack for the week. There was also a safe in the room.

Myths about SHB: bad water pressure and cold showers (we experienced neither), poor beaches (our kids had a blast swimming and snorkeling), not much to do (we read books, went diving, toured the Batik factory, laid on the beach, had a picnic on Goat Key, went snorkeling and kayaking, and explored Fresh Creek, sang along with the staff after-hours).

Truths about SHB: rustic and simple (but VERY clean) cottages, friendly and out-of-this world fantastic staff, good and diverse diving (sharks, blue holes, night dives), excellent food every day for seven days (even for a 3 1/2, 9, and 13 year old), a "can do" attitude from everyone at the lodge.

Another great thing about SHB was the access to a babysitter anytime we wanted. We have a 13, 9, and 4 year old. When we wanted to go diving in the morning, we left the kids onshore with the sitter and enjoyed ourselves. When we wanted the older kids to come snorkeling on our dive boat, we left the 4 year old with the sitter onshore and took them out with us. The dive staff was very flexible and accommodating to our every request.

Our 9 year old took SASY training with Skeebo (we'll miss you Skeebo) and LOVED it. She's ready to go SCUBA when she turns 10. The staff were very accommodating to a youngster and encouraged her so that she may enjoy this the rest of her life.

In short - rustic, wonderful, completely relaxing. I don't think anyone fought or raised their voice for 8 days straight! (HEAVEN) We'd go again in a heartbeat!

Date of stay: May 2008
  • Trip type: Travelled with family
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3  Thank jbiker
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 30 August 2008

I stayed at Small Hope in August 2008. I am an avid diver who also teaches scuba diving. First of all, I must say that if you are an experienced diver who has dived in many locations around the world then small hope is not for you. I found the diving be very poor. Very few fish compared to diving near Nassau (Exuma Cays) where, as an example, I saw huge schools of spade fish that number in the double digits (Compared to a max of 4 spade fish in a school that I saw at small hope).

As a PADI resort I felt that they didn't follow the guidelines that PADI has set for Recreational Diving. Diving at 45 feet for 45 minutes is NOT like a 45 minute safety stop (which I was told by the dive staff) especially after doing 90feet+ dive with only a 10 minute (or less) surface interval.

This sort of diving can be dangerous to new divers who do not know their limits or the NDL (no decompression limits) calculations. There were many times that I saw new divers exceed their NDL especially on the second morning dive (btw the dive staff never participated in second morning dive). The first dive of the day ALL dive staff participated which meant that the boat was left anchored but unmanned.

Now about the resort itself,

I must say that I was informed that there was no air conditioning (unless you wanted to pay the $15/day) But what I wasn't informed of was the partial fresh water showers that gave you that sticky feeling that salt water does. Also the showers had very little pressure and was more like a dribble than a stream of water. The resort actually ran out or there was little to no water pressure for most of a day during my stay. The only way to shower that day was to sit on the floor and splash the small drops of water (that dribble out by gravity) onto myself.

The beaches were also poor. We were told upon arrival that the best beach to use was the one on the far side of the dinning-hall/outside bar (This was on the opposite side to where the cabins were located). I must admit that the beach looked just like the pictures on the small hope website (long beach, nice sand, etc.). What the pictures didn't show was that at high tide the beach disappears. The water goes right up to the rock and therefore there is no exposed sand left during this time.

The food was hit and miss. Making your own sandwiches every lunch for 289.00/day was not exactly what I had in mind.

To be honest I thought that they had a fairly nice/rustic resort I would have been slightly more satisfied with the the actual resort stay (not including the diving) if it hadn't been for the luxury price.

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Travelled solo
    • Value
    • Location
    • Check-in / front desk
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
8  Thank diver_guy67
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reviewed 24 August 2008

My husband and I stayed at Small Hope from Aug. 6-12th with 1 night on either end in Nassau. SH is a beautiful setting with a hard-working staff, and I would recommend it mostly for experienced divers who are looking for deep or more adventurous dives such as blue holes, shark, and night dives.

Diving: I went with an Open Water Referral from home so I could do the dives there for final certification. I found that most people were far more experienced divers and I could only go on the second of 3 dives each day due to the depths and my own lack of experience and confidence. I met many serious and experienced divers, but for me, I was a bit overwhelmed and needed to start more slowly and with more shallow dives. The experienced divers were very happy with the challenging dives and with the knowledge of the Small Hope dive staff.

Rooms: They are basic cabin types, with tiled floors, half with air conditioning (surcharge of $15.00 per night) which was appreciated in the hot August heat. We stayed in one cabin for 3 nights, Carlisle, that had only luke-warm water and a very loud air-conditioning unit with windows that didn’t quite close. We moved to a more modernized room for the last 3 days which was very cool and had hot water. We are used to living at summer camps and both were fine for us.

Food: It is very good for fish and meat lovers. We are both vegetarians and I am vegan due to some health issues which I discussed with registration staff beforehand. There was always something my husband could eat, and when he was made aware after arrival, the chef prepared some delicious meals for me which other guests actually asked to taste, and they too, enjoyed the dishes. I think SH could add further vegetarian dishes to the menu and I believe such food would be welcomed by guests, supported by the fact that some others there asked to share my meals.

Seating: As mentioned in many reviews, guests sit at common tables and dive staff and management join guests for meals. If you are a social person, you will enjoy getting to know many interesting people from all over the world.

Eco-Trips, Nature Walks and Snorkeling: The web site needs to be updated, as the Safari Creek Trip is no longer offered and there is really not much available in terms of eco-trips outside of the diving. They will take you to sites to snorkel if there are at least 4-6 other guests who wish to go. Most people are there to dive and so this can become problematic if you are mainly a snorkeler. The reefs are really not that great for snorkeling, and I found that doing so from the beach was actually comparable to going out on the boat.

Beach and Relaxing: Small Hope is a great place to simply relax in a hammock or rest on the beach. Most guests will be out diving all day so one can have the beach practically to oneself. Most people go to sleep at a reasonable hour and it was always quiet after 10p.m.

Smoking: I was surprised that advertised as an eco-conscious resort, there is smoking allowed everywhere (except on the boats). This means people are smoking at meals and in the lounge where breakfast is served. If you are sensitive to cigarette smoke, this may bother you as some may light up right beside you.

Western Air: To our surprise, we found out upon arrival in Nassau that Western Air does not take credit cards. Be prepared and bring cash if this is how you will travel to Andros.

Nassau International Airport: Arrive at least 3 hours before your flight is scheduled to depart for home. It is common for people to be lined up outside the door. Checking in online beforehand is meaningless and you join the main line. We almost missed our flight home. Many families seemed to still be in line for U.S. customs 30 minutes after their plane was scheduled to leave. You can plan on being in line for at least 2-2.5 hours, according to one of the airport workers. Patience is key.

Staff at Small Hope: The kitchen staff, maintenance, cleaning, office and many dive staff work hard, from early morning until late evening. We found most to be very polite and welcoming and we had some very interesting and genuine conversations with specific staff members whose efforts we greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Date of stay: August 2008
  • Trip type: Travelled as a couple
    • Value
    • Location
    • Check-in / front desk
    • Rooms
    • Cleanliness
    • Service
    • Business service (e.g., internet access)
1  Thank mish1
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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