The taxes will kill you

Nothing is as promised at this Hilton. Our stay started out nicely enough, with polite doormen and cold towels upon arrival. It quickly disentegrated. We were put on a smoking floor after specifically requesting a non smoking floor, and as everyone on the floor was smoking pot 24/7, we moved to a non smoking floor, where everyone merely smoked cigarettes 24/7. Daily calls to the manager were ignored. Towel requests were ignored.Sometimes our virgin pina coladas were $4, sometimes $8.75, depending on who was or wasn't trying to rip us off. There was a waitress on the teeny teeny beach, which is indeed RIGHT next to the port, but after repeated requests with no results, we just went to the bar. There was never silence or serenity, because adjacent to the hotel is Senior Frogs, which played drinking games and had conga lines from noon until 2 a.m. The stench from the cruis ships was unbearable.We had to use our room keys to go up in the elevator, and they were put out of order daily. The beds are twin, and judging from the definite downward slopes in the middles of the beds, are very old indeed.One day we had no water. The front desks response? "It's the Bahamas. Go with it." When we checked out, we were hit with maid tax, extra person tax, service tax, you name it, it doubled our tab. We asked to speak with the manager, who got really and truly nasty, while the male manager wheeled ice cream from us. All in all this Hilton was a disaster.

Great for Adults!

This is a super hotel. Everything from the service to the facilities is well above average. Yes, the rooms are on the small side, but very comfortable. The pool area is clean and relaxing, and the private beach, though small, is adequate. We were there over the Easter weekend and had plenty of room.Stay here if you want a relaxing vacation with a minimum of noise.We visited Atlantis, which was a nightmare (hundreds of teenagers running around drunk - they seem to serve alcohol to any age there).It was good to get back to the soothing atmosphere of the Hilton.

A land mark with class

I was initially apprehensive after reading the reviews. I have been to Cancun a number of times and did not necessarily want an all inclusive. This hotel gave you the real sense of being in the Bahamas. We visited friends at an all inclusive on Paradise Island. It was nice but lacked the class of the Colonial. It may not be the best place for the kiddies, but we went to get away from all that. The beach was fine for sun bathing, the pool was as good as any, the service, the drinks and the entertainment was the bestl. I even questioned one of the employees at the all inclusive where the night life was and he reccomended the Colonial! When we took the ferry, the guide pointed out the Colonial as the Land Mark of Nassau. On our last night we sat on the beach and watched the cruise ships leaving, it was great. We are planning to make this an annual trip.

Mixed feelings

Think of this as a downtown hotel rather than a resort hotel, and you'll probably be satisfied. We went 3/03 as part of a $620 per person 4-night package from Roanoke, VA, so expected (and got) a small room, which had very small windows, and a surprisingly big bath with nice marble tile. Apparently man-made beach is about the length of the hotel, and was adequate for us; we enjoyed watching the tugs bring the cruise ships in, but understand why some found them annoying. Staff expecting tips were overly friendly, and those not expecting tips notably less helpful. A 15% service charge is automatically added to tab for all meals/drinks -- don't double-tip for average service. Hot water did not work in our shower one of five days, sink hot water did not work a different day. Take books and magazines - a $7 paperback cost $12 at their gift shop (elsewhere on the island about $10). Hotel is downtown, close to ferry and shopping, but therefore slighty noisy (not relaxing). Next time, I'll stay at Cable Beach or Paridise Island, if I can afford it.

Very Disappointed... for a Hilton

The hotel looks grand from the outside but don't be fooled.....The rooms are small and most of the windows, on the beach side, don't have a view and don't open to allow fresh air.... NO balcony.The hotel sits on a postage stamp lot with little or no beach. The beach faces the cruise ships on one side and a water discharge pipe on the other side (water from who knows where).Spend the extra cash and stay at Atlantis. It was a great place to spend the day and have dinner.

Great place to stay

We booked this hotel after being scared away from another one...when we got there after a day of traveling it was a wonderful site...The rooms were small and cute, but the bathrooms were large and beautiful, we didnt have a beach view, but for us, looking out and seeing sun in the middle of winter was wonderful....we didnt hear any sounds (music, people) after we went to bed which was never that late...We are a young couple that wanted a nice place, not spring break like, but still relaxing and comfortable...The staff was always pleasant, the rooms were always clean, the pool was great to relax by(and was heated, which was nice for the colder days or nights) the pool side cafe was decent priced and convienent, the beach was a nice nice place to come to to watch the huge ships come and go, but to swim it wasnt the best, although it was better than most of the other hotels around that area...paradise island has a great beach...Taxi's are expensive, never cheaper then 10 bucks to go down the street, learn the bus schedules! the food is so-so, the poop deck is a cute place to go, really touristy though...the rest's in the hotel are expensive and very dressy, so if you want to go, which i recommend, make sure you bring a dressy outfit...also, the best day we had was taking a tour to rose island, i highly recommend it, go to the tour desk in the hotel...well worth the $...overall if you come here with an open and relaxed attitude and understand that you are in a beautiful country that will not be exactly like the one you are from, then you will have the best time.

Just came back

I picked the Hilton because I have always been happy with them in the past. The room at this particular Hilton was just okay. Our room faced the street. It had these two tiny windows. The locals play loud music all night, which makes it hard to sleep. If you decide to stay here, get a room facing the ocean or don't go. As for the room itself, the carpet was dirty with stains on it. They skimp on the towels they give you. The bedding was definitely not new. The food at the hotel restaurant are not worth the money. Go across the street to the restaurants. Shock alert: A small bottle of water is going to cost you about five bucks-no matter where you buy it. If you want to stay at a hotel so that you can have easy access to a beach, then this is not the right place for you to stay. Their private beach is like the size of a postage stamp. It's sectioned off and then the cruise liners dock a few yards off to the side. I know you can't see this in any of the pictures of the hotel on the internet or in any brochures, but take my word for it, they are there. You might want to stay in Paradise Island at one of their hotels. If you want to take a taxi from this hotel to Paradise Island, it will run you ten dollars plus $1 for the toll bridge and tip.

An honest review

The room was okay, but not great. The bathroom was really nice, spacious-marble flooring. It had a separate stand alone shower. However, carpet in the room was so dirty, I had to throw my socks out after wearing them for just an hour or so of walking around on it. I had them change my room, and the new room had the same problem with the carpet. So, bring your thongs if you plan to stay here. You don't want to pick up some nasty foot infection. Blankets on the bed are old and poor quality. The heated pool outside was great. Very clean, warm water. Forget swimming in the beach. The Hilton's area of the beach is sectioned off and is very small. It also backs up to where the cruise ships dock. So, there is a possibility the water could have oil run off in it, etc. The water just isn't clean if the cruise boats have been sitting in it all day and night. Don't bother eating in the hotel restaurants. They're expensive and the food is not good.

Quite happy

We basically chose the Hilton for 2 reasons - my husband is a hotel VIP member and the hotel is centrally located.

We have a toddler so it was important we be accessible to the main restaurants/stores. McDonalds is right across the street and taxis/buses are right there.

Being VIP member, we received Executive Lounge privileges -- breakfast in the a.m., coffee in the p.m. and drinks/hors d'oeuvres in the evening. It worked well for us to be able to feed our daughter in the hotel. We also had an awesome corner room with ocean view and city view.

The hotel staff was very amiable and the hotel was quite clean. The beach is rather small (no chance of taking long walk in the a.m.). However, the staff was friendly and you got a feeling of intimacy with the staff and guests (I didn't feel as anxious with my daughter running everywhere).

We were a bit confused that their Patio Grill was always closed -- maybe it was a timing thing.

Nassau Hilton--disapointing

As far as Hilton's go, this one was disapointing. Small, old European style rooms. Single beds. The elevators were out for one entire day and the ceiling had serioius water leaks and odors the entire time. Unless you need to be downtown on business, stay at one of the resort properties. The so called private beach is a joke (a small strip of sand overlooking the cruise ship dock).