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Home / TRIP IDEAS / A-List Travel Advisors / This Island Is the Best-kept Secret in the Bahamas—With an Idyllic 40-acre Resort on 2 Beaches, It Has Everything One Could Want in a Getaway.

This Island Is the Best-kept Secret in the Bahamas—With an Idyllic 40-acre Resort on 2 Beaches, It Has Everything One Could Want in a Getaway.

2023-04-11  Maliyah Mah

The Cove resort, located on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas, has had an impressive restoration over the course of several years, and it is now worthy of a closer study.

The Cove Eleuthera
 

The Cove Eleuthera, a 40-acre boutique hotel that launched in the Bahamas in 2013, has quickly become the place to stay for high-profile guests who are looking for understated elegance in an undiscovered location. On the island of Eleuthera, one of roughly 700 in the Bahamas archipelago, the resort started a multi-tiered makeover in August of last year to restore the property's 29 luxurious suites. Eleuthera is one of the less well-known islands in the Bahamas.
 

My first journey back to the island was in March of this year, when my stepmother and I went to The Cove Eleuthera. I had not been there since 1985. The island's tranquility comes as a welcome relief. On Eleuthera, there are no traffic lights, and there is very little actual traffic overall. Around 11,000 people make their home on this extended and level island. You'll hear that it's called Freedom Island from the locals. After all, the name Eleuthera comes from the Greek word eleutheros, which means free. Maybe you know it for its pineapples that taste like candy, or maybe you just know it for its laid-back attitude of "live and let live." People looking to unwind head to Eleuthera.

And relax we did. When we arrived at The Cove on a sunny day, we didn't waste any time getting settled on the smaller of the resort's two beaches. There, I quickly introduced myself to the local marine life by going for a snorkeling session. Even less experienced snorkelers are able to navigate their way through the carved crevices of the resort's reef, which are home to orange starfish, monstrous grouper, and the occasional barracuda. The reef is nestled into the magnificent limestone cliffs that surround the resort.

Our ocean-view two-bedroom suite, which was 1,100 square feet in size and had a common living area in addition to each bedroom having its own private en-suite bathroom, featured an unobstructed view of the property as well as the tranquility that was captured by the redesign that took into consideration the natural environment.

The Cove features two breathtaking beaches, a spa with individual cottages, bike cruisers for exploring the property, a small gym, a full dock where guests can charter the property's boat for day-trips, and a dining venue that transforms from a breakfast spot into a casual poolside lunch hangout, and then back into a two-pronged dinner restaurant with a full sushi bar, where guests can watch the chef prepare their meals.

According to Tim Hepworth, an associate partner at the California-based firm BAR Architects & Interiors, which was the firm that drove the design refresh, his goal was to infuse the natural environs of the island into the interiors of the buildings.

The end result is a design that ebbs and flows into the natural surroundings flawlessly, and it can be found in all of the accommodations at the property, which include two suites, 23 cottages, and four villas. Linen-covered headboards, sporadic blue accents, and an otherwise calming palette of neutrals were employed throughout the property, and these design elements consistently underlined the significance of the surrounding natural scenery.

I also went on a tour of one of the resort's deluxe Caribbean cottages, which consisted of 950 square feet of living space, one bedroom, and a veranda that overlooked the water. There is a living area in front of the beds, and the beds themselves float in the middle of the room. The rooms have an earthy aesthetic, with linen sconces, light wood, and plush rugs of various sizes. In the bathroom, guests have the option of either soaking in the free-standing tub or making use of the roomy outdoor shower, which is possibly one of the most sumptuous aspects of the apartment.

The further improvements, which are scheduled to take place over the summer and fall of 2023, will add four additional Caribbean Cottages and one more suite with two bedrooms, increasing the total number of keys to the hotel, which will be created over the course of the next few years, up to 34. It is anticipated that the project will be finished in November of 2024.

Freedom Restaurant & Sushi Bar,
 

"The enhancements we have planned will further solidify The Cove Eleuthera as a leading resort destination on the island of Eleuthera and in the Bahamas," says Carlton Russell, managing director of The Cove Eleuthera. "The Cove Eleuthera is a leading resort destination on the island of Eleuthera and in the Bahamas." According to Russell, guests have always anticipated a "calm, remote location," which is a real lure for individuals who favor traveling to far-flung locales. According to him, "elevated dining, accommodations, and immersive island experiences" would be introduced as a result of the ongoing restoration.

three-bedroom luxury cove villa
 

I got a walk through resident organic gardener Angie Cooper's abundant organic garden as the heat of the day began to subside. The garden is home to starfruit and gooseberry trees, asparagus plants, and raised beds that are bursting with fresh herbs and greens. Later on, we would be the recipients of Angie's hard work — and of Eleuthera's fabled rich soil — at the Freedom Restaurant & Sushi Bar, where my local Caribbean scallops came with some of the exact greens I'd seen growing just hours earlier. The soil on Eleuthera is renowned for being exceptionally fertile.

During the time that we were there, the resort had a significant number of guests, but we never got the impression that it was crowded. At this resort, you won't ever have to compete with other guests for a seat, you may walk right into a restaurant and eat without making a reservation, and you are free to stroll barefoot across the sand and grass without fear of being judged. When I was there, I was completely oblivious to the fact that a wedding had taken place at the Cove while we were there. However, I later found out that I should have been aware of the event because it took place during our stay there.

Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve
 

Bahamas National Trust
 

A celebration had been held close to the property's breathtaking Point Bar, which is perched on a bluff between the North and South beaches. The event had been on the intimate side. After that, the small party retired to the property's three-bedroom luxury cove villa, which features a primary bedroom that looks out over the water, as well as a gleaming kitchen, a long lap pool, an outdoor shower, plenty of room for a makeshift dance floor, butler service, and two back bedrooms for additional wedding guests. (it sleeps up to six). After the ceremony and reception were over, I was free to look around in this space as well.

related link : Everything You Should Know About Beach Pigs in the Bahamas

Even when we ventured off the site, there weren't very many individuals that we ran into. One day, we got up early and drove to meet with Ethan H. Fried, Ph.D., a botanist who works for the Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve and the Bahamas National Trust. Together, we were going to investigate the native population of Hippocampus erectu, which is a kind of seahorse that lives on the island. There, where we were lying on our stomachs in water up to our knees, we watched as he scooped up a pregnant male seahorse, which was a floating miracle of science.

Eleuthera
 

Our Cove tour guide, Shenika Darville, who is also the activities coordinator, then drove us to some of the most quietly spectacular natural formations. I leapt out of a platform that was forty feet in the air and into the Sapphire Blue Hole, which is a blue pool with no discernible bottom. After that, we drove to the Queen's Bath, which is a series of limestone craters that are warmed by the sun and offer guests the opportunity to sit and watch the violent crashing of the waves. We were the only individuals there at any point during the dizzying, sweltering middle of the day.

related link : My daughter fell in love with the ocean after I took her to a coral nursery in the Bahamas.

The Freedom Restaurant & Sushi Bar underwent some renovations in the past year, and one of those improvements was a sushi bar, which we decided to visit on our very last night. Chef Aadam Coetzee, who hails from South Africa, is in charge of the bar, which occupies a square in the middle of the dining area. Guests have the option of signing up for omakase dining, which is the form of dining that we were treated to throughout our multi-course dinner prepared entirely at the discretion of the chef. To begin, a roll made with shrimp tempura as the base, followed by yellowtail that has been cut very thinly and topped with jalapeo, shaved truffle, and ponzu. Nigiri sushi with a rainbow of colors arrived before we did. We chewed on them. Chef Aadam made more. We also consumed those items.

After that, I was given the opportunity to participate in a bespoke activity called "try your hand at a roll," which has the potential to become a guest option in the near future. After receiving instructions from Chef Aadam to "cut it into a julienne, and then a brunoise," I proceeded to cut the ahi tuna first into thin slivers, and then into very little squares. He began by placing a sheet of nori in front of me, followed by slices of cucumber on planks. We used a metal mixing bowl to blend my chopped tuna, which was a reliable brunoise cut from school, with honey, kimchi, eel sauce, and sesame oil. After that, we spooned the mixture on top of the nori, which I had previously coated with a thin film of rice. After that, I was able to master rolling. The chef remarked that I was a natural, but I'm not sure whether he was simply trying to make me feel better. He did not need to make an effort. Being on Eleuthera, namely at The Cove, was almost as satisfying as eating one of the local pineapples.


2023-04-11  Maliyah Mah