How’s this for a celebrity endorsement: Martha Stewart, facing five months in Camp Cupcake, chose to play in The Bahamas before heading for the clink. <\/P><\/p>\n
And not just anywhere in The Bahamas – the domestic diva was spotted at the exclusive One & Only Ocean Club resort on Paradise Island, where the likes of Regis Philbin, Paris Hilton and Nick Carter have all spent time. <\/P><\/p>\n
It’s compelling evidence that Paradise Island and Nassau, the capital city of The Bahamas just 600 feet away on New Providence, have again become the place to go. <\/P><\/p>\n
Back in the early- to mid-1900s, these islands became a swanky winter retreat for high-rollers, rich celebs and European royalty. But in the ’70s, developers invaded, chopping away palm trees to make room for tacky high-rises and resorts, and bargain gem shops. <\/P><\/p>\n
And then, in 1994, along came Sol Kerzner. The colorful hotelier, for years most famous for his Sun City extravaganza in the wilds of South Africa, erected the 123-acre Atlantis resort, a lavish hotel, casino and theme park that looks as if it were conceived in a drug-induced haze. Furthering the resort’s surreal magnificence, in 1998 he added on the “Royal Towers,” a 70-foot high complex of suites, fountains and aquariums. Its opening attracted such A-listers as Julia Roberts and Leonardo DiCaprio. <\/P><\/p>\n
Paradise Island – and Nassau – were back. <\/P><\/p>\n
Since then, clubs and restaurants have sprung up along with upscale shops and art galleries, and many hotels and resorts have undergone renovations. <\/P><\/p>\n
The area has also become a Hollywood darling. Upcoming big-budget movies “After the Sunset” (Pierce Brosnan) and “Into the Blue” (Jessica Alba) were filmed in Nassau and Paradise Island, and a Billy Zane indie feature, “Three,” begins production there shortly. <\/P><\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest sign yet that the Bahamas have come back is that both JetBlue and Song are flying non-stop between New York (JFK) and Nassau. JetBlue’s service started yesterday ($99\/one way; jetblue.com) and Song starts Dec. 1 ($99\/one way; flysong.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
BEFORE YOU GO<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n
While Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne made their mark in-country, the twin tempests left this area pretty much alone. <\/P><\/p>\n
GETTING AROUND <\/B><\/P><\/p>\n
Paradise Island is best known for its fancier hotels and casinos, Nassau is where you’ll want to dance, drink and shop. Although a harbor separates the two, you can easily walk across the toll bridge (free for pedestrians). <\/P><\/p>\n
Tool around Nassau, which lies on the north side of New Providence, and Paradise Island by taxi or motor scooter (scooters are usually $50\/day, and can be rented through most hotels). <\/P><\/p>\n
WHAT TO DO <\/B><\/P><\/p>\n
The cacophony of “beeps” and “boops” you’ll hear on Paradise Island is coming from the Atlantis. The largest casino in the Caribbean, its 980 state-of-the-art slot machines are open to you whether you stay at the hotel or not. You’ll also find 78 gaming tables (Martha reportedly was up $200 when she was here). <\/P><\/p>\n
The casino, built over a seven-acre lagoon – the only casino in the world that hovers over a body of water – has huge skylights and glass sculptures (atlantis.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
To up the stakes, go swimming with the sharks via Stuart Cove’s Dive and watch them feed around the coral reefs ($125, Southwest St., South Ocean, Nassau; stuartcove.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
Pirates – they looted and pillaged, but darn it if we don’t love them now anyway. Celebrate their dominance over the ancient Caribbean at Pirates of Nassau, where kids can explore a pirate ship replica and watch the last moments of an unfortunate soul walking the plank. Adults can have a beer for $3 at the Pirates Pub ($12 for adults, free for kids under 12, Marlborough and George streets, Nassau; pirates-of-nassau.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
Did you know there were 200 species of palm trees? See most of them at the Retreat, an 11-acre garden ($2 for adults, $1 for kids under 12, Village Road, Nassau). <\/P><\/p>\n
For upscale shopping, try Solomon’s Mines. On sale are $50,000 watches alongside rare African diamonds and china (Bay Street). <\/P><\/p>\n
The Kennedy Gallery is for pieces crafted by local artists (Parliament Street). <\/P><\/p>\n
DINING<\/B> <\/P><\/p>\n
Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s sophisticated Dune in the Ocean Club resort is where a sarong-wrapped Martha was spotted eating an egg-white omelet and a croissant with jam. Go for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dishes range from $12 to $50 (oneandonlyresorts.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
For your chopstick fix, head to Double Dragon, where entrees start at $8 (Bridge Plaza Commons on Mackey Street, Nassau). <\/P><\/p>\n
To nosh as the locals do, check out the open air Crocodile Waterfront Bar & Grille. It has grinning reptiles on the protective wall (to keep out the street noise), live music and gorgeous views. Dishes start at $11 (East Bay Street, Nassau). <\/P><\/p>\n
WHERE TO STAY <\/P><\/p>\n
The exclusive and secluded Ocean Club resort will cost you (from $795\/night; oceanclub.com). Atlantis is less expensive, but can go as high as you’d like (from $346\/night, Bridge Suites from $25,000\/night; atlantis.com). <\/P><\/p>\n
For something more modest, stay at Nassau’s Buena Vista Hotel. Only caveat:It sits above a crowded restaurant (from $65; buenavista-restaurant.com). And check out the Ocean Spray Hotel, in Nassau (from $78\/night; [800] 695-8284). <\/P><\/p>\n
Chris Bunting, New York Post Online<\/B><\/P><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More flights, big star power – The Bahamas are back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10223285771444175_51037792744":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-headlines"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246020"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246020\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bahamasb2b.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}