"There are a few givens we look forward to with beachside mega hotels. Water toys—paddleboards, overwater trampolines, jet skis—are fun and plentiful. There’s a pool for every type, from child-free to swim-up-bar to infinity. A Rolodex’s worth of restaurants and bars means what you want to eat is always available. The year-and-a-half-old Rosewood Baha Mar, with its 237 rooms overlooking Nassau’s waters, nails all of the above on a smaller, more intimate scale. It also pulls off something exceedingly rare for its genre: It captures the destination in a way that goes beyond conch-fritter shacks off the beach path (which we also love). For a satisfying glimpse of art, stroll the complex, where the 2,500-piece collection including stained-glass sculpture and photography is all local and curated by John Cox, formerly of the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. In fact, it’s likely guests will meet the affable Cox while here. He heads up Baha Mar’s creative space, where a selection of local artists craft bags and clothing in a large studio on the property’s first floor. This mix of locality, cerulean sea, and ultra-private intimacy makes Rosewood Baha Mar the easiest place to stop in to for winter sun without becoming a total beach bum or one of the hoardes—although if you're into it, there's easy access to a vast casino in the Grand Hyatt, golf and tennis courts, and hopping SLS hotel nightlife." - CNT Editors
