LuxeGetaways enjoys seeing the continued evolution of the luxury resorts and communities located in beautiful tropical locations, globally. As we continue to discover, many of the private communities recognized for their world-class golf courses have so much more to offer their guests and members – even those who don’t choose to play golf. The Abaco Club in the Bahamas is a prime example. With incredible services and amenities combined with the natural surroundings, this resort creates a desirable destination for almost everyone.
Getting There
It is just under an hour away by commercial plane from West Palm Beach or Fort Lauderdale airport. Many also choose to fly via private jet for a quick getaway from the East Coast. Once on the ground at Abaco’s Leonard Thompson International Airport, The Abaco Club on Winding Bay is about thirty minutes by car.
The Abaco Club allows you a visit to experience barefoot luxury and the carefree lifestyle of this sporting property. For the many residents that fall in love with this location, they can then become a member, or purchase a property. They will arrange your stay in a beautifully appointed home overlooking the 2.5 miles of beach and turquoise waters along a secluded bay. Or you can request a beachy stay in a freestanding cabana-style private suite with golf course views surrounded by tropical trees where you will often wake to the sounds of the indigenous Bahamian birds, the Abaco Parrot.
For The Golfers
True, The Abaco Club is a golfer’s paradise. Try a golf lesson with the PGA pro Brian Shavers at the practice facility for fun (or where golfers can sharpen their game). Brian has ingenious methods and whacky tools (hula hoops and water noodles anyone?) to coach you gently into getting your stance, grip and swing, just right while enjoying yourself. Ready for a round with your partner? You can’t beat the setting of the spectacular 16th, 17th, and 18th holes of this Scottish-style championship golf course fronting the North Atlantic ocean.
Spa Delights
Next up, book a spa treatment at The Abaco Club Spa. This full-service spa is intimate and private, but it offers a range of facials, massage therapies, body treatments, mani-pedis and waxing. What sets it apart is the emphasis on island-exclusive treatments like the Hibiscus Signature Facial or the Bahamian Rhythmic Touch Therapy. You’ll glow.
Almost Endless Activities
Have a swim in the crystalline ocean or dive into the infinity pool, which hangs over the cliff with a stupendous view of little Sugar Cay. Jog on the beach or borrow a beach cruiser bike and pedal your way around paradise on the miles of quiet golf cart roadways on property. There are no cars allowed so you are provided a golf cart during your stay to motor about from your seaside home to tennis, volleyball, fitness center, Fun Cat electric catamarans, SUP boards, kayaks, or grab your snorkel gear to look for sea turtles, rays and dolphins playing in Winding Bay. Each morning you receive a short sheet clipped to your golf cart with a daily offering of activities.
Charter the Boat or Bring Your Own
The Abaco Club has just opened its new Abaco Yacht Club and Marina, just ten minutes away in Little Harbour. There will be mooring for your own vessel or charter the club’s own; a beautifully appointed 50 foot, Palm Beach motor yacht The Duchess of Longwood to go island-hopping with some of the best captains in the Bahamas for snorkeling, swimming, and stopping at Marsh Harbour for shopping, or Elbow Cay for lunch. Charters and complimentary shuttle service to the marina can be arranged with the concierge at the Welcome Center, which is the laid-back but efficient command center of the club. Love to fish? Book a deep sea or saltwater flats fishing trip through the club which partners with the world-renowned Blackfly Lodge guides. Concierge can also arrange a dive trip to a magnificent Blue Hole in the ocean. Tip: after your adventure plan to have a few drinks and some fresh island trigger fish or blackened mahi-mahi at Pete’s Pub, a wonderfully quirky and rustic bar built right on the beach sand fronting Little Harbour.
Dining and Cocktails
Staying in one of the club’s privately-owned homes will afford you the choice to cook for yourself or have a private chef, or simply wander over at your leisure to the very casual Flippers Beach Bar right on the beach. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, their fabulous bar program is one not to miss. Insider Tip: the friendly, career bartenders are encouraged to invent a new tropical cocktail every day, so you will never get tired of the combinations in your glass, which are, let’s face it, just a carrier for that delicious rum, vodka or gin. (See “Theresa’s Special” rum cocktail recipe)
Dinner at The Cliff House will no doubt become a habitual pleasure you will look forward to each night. Start with a sunset cocktail on the deck near the infinity pool and move into the dining room with a view of the bay for a feast of fresh seafood including the Abaco Stone Crab Claws, or Bahamian Lobster Tail. Or choose a succulent lamb, beef, pork, chicken and oxtail entrees. TIP: members bring their day’s catch to the restaurant and it will appear on the menu that evening along with the member’s name. With several preparations offered, always select this fresh-caught option.
Undeniably Peaceful
During your stay you’ll likely have a themed night to enjoy. One such is a Bahamian buffet at Flippers featuring local dishes and some excellent barbecue. Guests really enjoy these evenings, and those with children sit at the restaurant while their kids happily run and play on the beach. From your deck after sunset, when the sky darkens and the silver moon rises from the sea, you might hear the music and squeals of laughter of the children. And it might make you reminisce about the carefree days and summer nights of your own childhood. The Abaco Club will do that to you. It will make you reconnect to what’s important in life. It will give you a sense of belonging to this beautiful earth and sea, with the freedom to just “be” without a care in the world. So go ahead and visit The Abaco Club, they have something for everyone and you’ll find your paradise here too. You may even come back with a membership and the keys to your new vacation home.
Abaco Islands Update: LuxeGetaways is happy to report that under vivid blue skies,The Abaco Club on Winding Bay officially opened to visitors and members on October 29th, 2019 after the devastation of Abaco Islands caused by Hurricane Dorian. Actually the club never really closed; during the interim it remained opened and offered shelter to relief workers and neighbors who had lost their homes. Rebuilding efforts continue for much of the islands, and essential services, churches, schools and community centers are being restored and rebuilt in the main town of Marsh Harbor. The Leonard M. Thompson International Airport has reopened to private and commercial flights, and is now accepting flights from the United States again via Bahamasair and Silver Air. The best way to help is to visit and restart the economy or support the residents of the islands to rebuild and get back on their feet with your monetary donation.
Donations are gladly accepted at the Abaco-Winding Bay Relief Fund – the fund that the club initiated immediately after the hurricane with all funds being used for food, water, shelter, medical aid and supplies, and clean-up.
