By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton
How do you not instantly fall in love with an island called Green Turtle Cay?
It’s always those minuscule, tucked-away islands that have a way of enchanting the traveler, wth their empty beaches and their green hills and their beach bars.
And Green Turtle Cay is certainly one of them, a 1.5-square-mile cay in the Abacos chain of The Bahamas that can only be reached by boat.
There are less than 450 full-time residents here, an island whose history dates back to the New Plymouth settlement of the late 1700s, when this tiny cay was a refuge for British Loyalists in the wake of the Revolutionary War. (If you’re going to stick with the losing side, make sure you end up on a beach in The Bahamas).
Today, it is a charming little haven for yachters and travelers, with a small village, a marina and, well, a truly special hotel.
At the highest point of Green Turtle Cay is the Bluff House, the private home that in the 1950s became the first (and now the longest-operating) resort in the Out Islands of The Bahamas.
The historic property is perched right above a stretch of white sand beach on the Sea of Abaco, with a total of 15 units across one, two, three and four-bedroom units, including some spectacular one-bedroom rooms with remarkable views.
And then there’s the Tranquil Turtle, the sort of aforementioned beach bar that is a destination for boaters in the know, with terrific Bahamian food and cocktails.
The Bluff House is the kind of Caribbean hotel that is worth the extra journey, a special place, an authentic beachfront Bahamian retreat that reminds us of why we travel in the first place.
It’s a hotel that instantly makes you fall in love with it.
For more info, visit The Bluff House.