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Day passes at Melia or RIU

NECruiser83

By NECruiser83,
in Bahamas

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  • 2 weeks later...
mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
Posted

I'll add in a few photos here, but the full album of 40+ photos is here: http://s58.photobucket.com/user/mikesteg/library/Melia%20Nassua

 

These are somewhat random, but hopefully helpful. If there are any questions I'll do my best to answer.

 

As a short review: it is a beautiful facility. We quite enjoyed it and would not hesitate to go back.

 

First, an overhead view:

 

Overhead%20with%20legend.png

 

Sorry, this is the best resolution from Google maps so I could not specifically point out the hot tubs and such.

 

The main pool with the seating/buffet in the background:

 

P4082077.jpg

 

The main pool bar:

 

P4081927.jpg

 

The beach:

 

P4082037.jpg

 

The buffet, complete with freeloaders:

P4082091.jpg

 

 

More in the next post...

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mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
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The east (purple square) pool with the hot tub:

 

P4082099.jpg

 

 

The far side of the east pool, opposite the hot tub:

 

P4082076.jpg

 

More of the east pool. The water fall is immediately to my left. The hot tub is in front of the rocks in the center.

P4082072.jpg

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mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
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Zero-depth access to the west (blue square) pool:

 

P4082083.jpg

 

Hot tub near the west pool:

 

P4082082.jpg

 

More of the west pool.

The water fall/grotto is to the left.

The hot tub is to the right and forward 20 or 30 feet.

Under the bridge leads to the zero-depth entry which is on the right side of that area from this perspective.

 

P4082081.jpg

 

 

We were there the first week of April and the waterfall pools were fairly cold. Quite a bit colder than the main pool. I assume that was due to the waterfall churning the water, but perhaps the main pool is warmer due to the drunks at the swim up bar. :o Anyhow, in summer I'd bet the waterfall pools warm up quite a bit. It was not at all busy when we were there, so no issues finding space by the main pool. Other than hitting the beach and hot tubs a couple times, we set up shop near the main pool and stayed.

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mikesteg

mikesteg

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I had forgotten it was the Sheraton previously, but this was our first time there. Very nice hotel, though I didn't think to take any pictures inside.

 

There was a banker's conference when we were there, and it was a bit humorous seeing all the people in suits out by the pool. The first time I ever wanted to be a banker, for sure... :D

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Garryjac

Garryjac

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Hi. Love the pictures. A couple of questions. I need shade and want to know if there was adequate shade available on the beach, or is it easier to get shade by the main pool. We are a party of 3. Also, did you purchase the day pass when you got to the hotel, or before you got to port. Did you purchase a food package and how much if you did. Thanks.

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mikesteg

mikesteg

Posted
Posted
Hi. Love the pictures. A couple of questions. I need shade and want to know if there was adequate shade available on the beach, or is it easier to get shade by the main pool. We are a party of 3. Also, did you purchase the day pass when you got to the hotel, or before you got to port. Did you purchase a food package and how much if you did. Thanks.

 

Hi Garry,

 

The day we were there, we had no problem finding seats in the shade. However, most of the seating is uncovered so I could see the possibility of not being able to find a shady spot to sit.

 

This is the covered seating for the main pool:

 

P4082077.jpg

 

You could pull chairs back into the shade somewhat, but that would be limited to a few more than are already there. I don't recall there being any shade structures adjacent to the other pools. I'd say this is pretty much typical for a nice beach area, except that you could pop into the beautiful air-conditioned hotel lobby if it were necessary. That probably isn't where you want to be on a beach day though.

 

This is a side view of the beach. There were more palapas, but not a vast number. First come, first serve, so entirely possible that no shade would be available on a given day (or if your ship is one of the later ones to arrive.) A good number of trees also, but not such as to give 100% shade for a full sized human without shuffling every 15 minutes.

 

P4082086.jpg

 

The pictures above give a good 'picture' of the crowds on the day we were there. Based on that, I can't give a good estimate of how easy it really might be to get shade. I don't know if Melia limits the number of day passes so this might be somewhat typical.

 

We pre-purchased though book a tour carribean. I had not user them previously, but had no issues with this transaction. They had a couple of food options, but I did not get those. I wish I had though. At the time I think the buffet was another ~$70 for the four of us.

 

I figured we'd buy something ala carte as a snack and spend $20 or $30, but in the end I was only able to buy the last two sandwiches from the Starbucks in the lobby for $10 each. That worked out, but had I waited we'd have had to use the buffet or have no food. The buffet was $36 per adult and $18 for kids. It looked quite nice, but not nearly worth that price.

 

The 3rd party site now has a food option which is much cheaper, so I'd now lean towards that to have some reliable food. When I booked it was also somewhat expensive, but now it isn't much more than the day pass alone. I would ask the details on that first because the hostess at the buffet told me that both restaurants in the hotel were buffet only. I don't know if the O'grille(?) is offsite or what.

 

I have read on CC that you can book direct with the hotel, so that might be worth a call also. If they have a better deal on the buffet, it is certainly convenient.

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Garryjac

Garryjac

Posted
Posted

We are arriving in Nassau May 16. Hopefully it won't be too crowded. I saw that they have lunch at o'grille for $39 at that website. I might go ahead and book it ahead of time so that it is an option we can use. Thanks for the information.

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deb1eric

deb1eric

Posted
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All booked through that website for $39 each including lunch at O'grille.

I just booked through that website too, I'll report back on my daytrip, going next week. Got the lunch package from the grill

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

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jill24fan

jill24fan

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I did the lunch package with the grill as well for May 14. Looking forward to getting some reviews on the lunch before then. We did a regular day pass there a couple of years ago and it was great. However, now I think I read somewhere that all the free water toys are being charged. Does anyone know?

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blessed3

blessed3

Posted
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I just booked through that website too, I'll report back on my daytrip, going next week. Got the lunch package from the grill

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N910A using Tapatalk

 

Can you please provide me with the website that you use? I went to Melia when it was Sheraton, and just walk in to get a day pass. We're be in Nassau with six other ships next month. I would like to reserve a day pass.

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