If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.
Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (USD553.50), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.
Settle into the rhythm of island life at Caerula Mar Club, a barefoot beach resort on lesser-trodden Bahamian shores. Your day’s tempo is set by sunrise yoga, snorkeling and siestas by the palm-fringed pool, soundtracked by waves lapping the pristine sands below. Three tropical eateries fuel castaway carousing; recovery takes place in the oceanfront treatment room or your bright, breezy suite. This idyllic stay has been masterminded by a family of TV fame, but here, it’s the tropical vistas that steal every scene.
11am. Earliest check-in, 3pm; but both are flexible, subject to availability.
Prices
Double rooms from £387.80 ($495), including tax at 10 per cent. Please note the hotel charges an additional service charge of 13% per room per night prior to arrival.
More details
Rates include return transfers (from South Andros airport and Driggs Hill dock) and non-motorized watersports. For breakfast, order a smoothie at Switcha (from $5) or bigger bites at Lusca (from $15). There is a minimum stay of three nights.
Also
Unfortunately, Caerula Mar Club is not suited to guests with reduced mobility.
Hotel closed
The hotel opens annually from 19 October until 15 August.
At the hotel
Bikes, kayaks, paddleboards and snorkeling kit to borrow; gym, three-times-weekly sunrise yoga, pickleball court, ping pong and foosball tables, lending library, board games, boutique, charged laundry service and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: air-conditioning, Bluetooth speaker, minibar, free filtered water, bathrobes and bespoke bath products.
Our favourite rooms
The neutral hues of each suite and villa are designed to let the island’s natural colors shine: azure sea, emerald palms and sugar-white sand. We like the Clubhouse Garden Suites for their tropical position and verdant views; the Signature Collection Clubhouse Suite and Pink Sands Villa delight with direct beach access – day-starting dips couldn’t be easier…
Poolside
The heated saltwater pool takes its cue from the sea just beyond, sharing the same turquoise tones. Swaying palm trees shade the plush sunloungers, as do the seashell-white parasols dotting the pool patio. Come evening, make a beeline for one of the poolside fire pits for some cocktail-fuelled people-watching under the stars.
Spa
Caerula Mar Club has one treatment room, housed in a beachfront lodge where the sea views are as soul-soothing as the Swedish massages and all-natural facials on the menu. The breeze-kissed deck is a picturesque spot for pre- and post-treatment respite, or a spot of sunrise yoga.
Packing tips
Skimpier swimwear for beach-bound tanning; something sturdier for watersports. There are no screens in the rooms, so lean into analog living with bucket-list books and postcard penning.
Children
Little Smiths over 12 years old are welcome. There’s a lounge with a TV, ping pong and foosball tables, and board games, plus an outdoor pickleball court. The villas suit bigger clans, and they can all accommodate one rollaway bed ($100 a night).
Sustainability efforts
Solar panels provide Caerula Mar Club with energy during the day, and in a bid to reduce plastic usage, the resort favors agave drinking straws and glass carafes of filtered water in the restaurant and rooms.
At Driffs, there are only two tables under the bar pergola; otherwise, you’ll snack at your sunlounger. Slide onto a banquette at Lusca for side-by-side suppers.
Dress Code
In Sweaty Betty shorts or Lululemon leggings to Switcha; chic cover-ups and kaftans for poolside Driffs, and beautified but breezy threads for smarter Lusca.
Hotel restaurant
After early morning yoga, prolong your virtuosity with a fresh smoothie or specialty coffee from Switcha (pastries and gelato are on hand for any treat-yourself moments). At lunch, drift over to Driffs, where your self-restraint starts to be tested: devour crispy lobster bites and grilled pizzas, alongside boundless beach views. Come evening, you might already be familiar with Lusca – the sleek space also puts on a sit-down breakfast – but it’s their tropical take on fine dining that draws a crowd. Daily-changing, multi-course menus showcase island-fresh ingredients, and by the time you get to dessert’s selection, self-control is well and truly compromised…
Hotel bar
At Driffs Beach Bar, sundowners take on new meaning with the Sunset Caerula, a refreshing vodka-based tipple with grapefruit, strawberries and soda. Swap swimwear for shirts at Lusca’s long bar; the specialty here is the rum, watermelon and mint-infused Island of Bryan, named for the family’s television legacy.
Last orders
Switcha serves from 6am to 2pm; Driffs opens at 11am and serves food until 4pm, and drinks until 6pm; breakfast at Lusca is from 7am to 11am, and dinner is between 6pm and 9pm.
Room service
Restaurant dishes can be delivered to your door between 7am and 8.30pm.
Caerula Mar Club sits on the palm-dotted shores of the Bahamas’ pristine South Andros Island.
Planes
Fly from Fort Lauderdale or Nassau, via commercial or chartered flight, to Congo Town Airport on South Andros. From there, it’s a 10-minute drive to the resort; free return transfers are included with your stay.
Automobiles
Swap four wheels for two: cycling is the best way to explore beyond the resort, and there are bikes to borrow at the hotel. Should you hire a car, there is free parking at Caerula.
Other
If you’re arriving by private boat, you can be dropped off at the small dock in Driggs Hill. From here, it’s a 10-minute drive to the resort; staff can arrange return transfers for free.
Worth getting out of bed for
Caerula Mar Club is perfectly placed to help you tick off all-natural adventures on South Andros Island, which is characterized by thick mangroves, secluded beaches and underwater worlds. Borrow a bike to cruise along coastal pathways to tucked-away coves and cocktail bars; non-motorized watersports and snorkeling kit are also included in your stay. Otherworldly ocean holes and coral reefs can be reached on diving excursions, and staff can also arrange reef or bonefishing to catch lunch, mangrove tours on a paddleboard or kayak, and guided nature hikes to spy a host of bird species. Take in the sunset via boat cruise, or sunrise with oceanfront yoga.
Local restaurants
You’re unlikely to dine outside of the resort, given Caerula Mar Club’s three dining spots and the rustic appeal of Andros Island. However, there are a couple of local eateries within cycling distance: Mudda-Sic Bar & Conch Stall and the RustyBarge serve up punchy cocktails and casual bites.
Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this tropical boutique hotel on South Andros Island and unpacked their bottles of rum and breezy beachwear, a full account of their toes-in-the-sand stay will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Caerula Mar Club in the Bahamas…
Caerula Mar Club has its own Mr and Mrs Smith running the show, and though their faces may be familiar to those who flirt with reality television, we’re more starstruck by their paradisal resort on the large but lesser-loved South Andros Island. The couple stumbled across the untouched isle on a fateful boat trip, falling head over heels for its pristine setting, and we’re swooning, too: every-shade-of-blue views extend from most tropical corners and the sandy shores are straight from a honeymoon moodboard.
This island idyll lends itself to dropping and flopping, but the ever-energetic can get their active fix with days on the water (bonefishing, boating, kayaking) or in it (swimming, snorkeling, diving). And with big adventures comes bigger appetites: island-inspired café Switcha delivers day-starting smoothies, head to poolside Driffs for fresh lobster and grilled pizzas, then finish with fine dining at upscale Lusca. Whether it’s family fun or a romantic retreat you’re seeking, expect to be swept off your feet by Caerula…
