French Leave Resort, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Central Eleuthera

We are long time lurkers of the resort (Marriott point users), and through a series of crazy events with our Eleuthera Airbnb, we ended up staying at the French Leaves resort. For those interested, this will be a fairly thorough review (read: novel) with pros and cons.

Pros: The property itself is just beautiful. The restaurant, pool, villas are all very high quality, walking paths are well maintained, and the property grounds feel safe and welcoming. It’s not at all like staying at a hotel but more like staying in a gated community. The staff (Chrissy, Kizzy, Nolin, and so many more) are absolutely wonderful. When you need anything, they were there for us, but they also made sure to just be conversational and pleasant. Hang out at the pool and Nolin and Malik will be quick to point our sting rays, sea turtles, dolphins, and more from the peacefulness of the patio :) THE BEACHES!! I don’t think the Marriott app shows off the beauty enough OR THAT YOU GET A GOLF CART TO EXPLORE. When you get to your villa, you’re literally handed guys to a golf cart that you can drive to the beach. The main beach has umbrellas and chairs for laying out, and then you can take the cart north to Twin Coves and stop at the little pull offs in between. Truly amazing. Just from these beaches you can get enough snorkeling and swimming in. 1648, the on property restaurant, is so convenient and very good. They occasionally have live music, but even without it, the sunsets are legendary. Food wise, we enjoyed the conch rangoons, the chicken wings (buffalo and mango habanero), and the various catch of the day fish. We stayed in Villa 20, a 1 bedroom / ocean view villa, and we think we had the best villa on the property. Mornings were breakfast on the patio, evenings, when the sun is quite hot, were relaxing on the couch. The bathroom is large and private, and the well equipped mini kitchen is very convenient. Noise-wise, we really couldn’t even hear anything when inside the villa. Comfort-wise, the two AC units and ceiling fans keep things super cool for those who like it that way.

Cons Literally none.

Disclaimers: The island of Eleuthera is not “happenin’” by any means. The resort is actually walkable to Governors Harbor (albeit not with great sidewalk infrastructure), a fairly large town for Eleuthera standards, but don’t go expecting tons of amenities. You’re here to go to beaches, relax, snorkel, fish, etc, and not expect you’re in West Palm Beach or Beverly Hills. We went without kids. With young kids, this might not be our preferred resort style. While we have traveled all over the world and often at Marriott properties, we aren’t all inclusive people. If you’re going for endless drinks, you’ll pay for it. That isn’t our style so we are okay without those type...

We stayed four nights as a couple in a private villa November 2024 before Thanksgiving. This is a wonderful boutique resort with very friendly staff, pool, well maintained grounds, and a beach. Each villa has its own golf cart to drive over to the French Leave beach near the abandoned Club Med, which includes a cooler that you can fill up with ice. We got to the beach early (a bumpy road to get there, but a fun experience). This is a place to get off the grid, although I was able to do a bit of work. ||They nailed many facets of creating a great experience! The villa is newer and beautifully decorated. Our villa was oceanfront and the sunsets were stunning. |Water bottles were refreshed every day in the mini-bar. The airport is small and for a rental car you must deal with an individual or small company set up before arriving. Our person met us right at the airport (North Eleuthera, ELH) with an SUV as promised. There are potholes on the road, and we drove about an hour (stop at the Glass Window Bridge). If you are careful, avoiding potholes is not a major problem. We were glad for the rental car as we stopped for groceries and wine/beer. Burrows is right down the road from the resort, and one side is a local grocery store, the other half a liquor store. Both very friendly, and we got a free beer to try before we bought.||The staff at the French Leave (Krissy greeted us) checked us in efficiently, took us to our villa, and came back with two rum punch drinks that started the vacation off right. We ate breakfast at the 1638 restaurant on site, which is a bit slow, but this is island time. We kayaked off the resort in the peaceful bay, which is beautiful and serene. We lounged in the pool, which has plenty of chairs and poolside service. There is live music on several nights in the restaurant, which has delicious food. Again, if you want to take your time, explore the island, have access to a beautiful pristine pink sand beach, this is the place to go.||We visited the Leon Levy Preserve, which is not far away and highlights the natural biological life on the island. We drove over to Tippys for lunch, which has very fast service, great conch tacos, and a beachy atmosphere. We drove out to LaBougainvilla resort for dinner, which was just okay. May have been better during daylight hours. Not much else to do around the area except relax, kayak, snorkel (included equipment) and power down. Highly recommend this place and appreciate the wonderful, warm and welcoming staff! Especially Keio! Having traveled to many islands, this one...

My wife and I arrived to celebrate our 30 year wedding anniversary. We are Marriott Reward Members, and used Marriott points to book a vacation package.Arriving at the resort, we were greeted by Nigel. While checking us in the general manager, Mr. Mills, also said hello. Based on other reviews we were not offered a welcome drink as others were supposedly offered. Nigel gave us a quick tour of the resort. We were never told our room had been upgraded.Since we now had a full kitchen, the next day we went grocery shopping.After 2 nights in the upgraded villa Nigel saw my wife outside the fitness center and asked her if Mr. Mills had spoken to us regarding our room and about moving out the next day.Mr. Mills had seen us the night before as we were walking to dinner, but didn't acknowledge us or say anything. Upon arriving at the beach we were greeted by Rudy as usual. He is a really nice person, and always took care of us.He proceeded to tell us that Nigel was looking for us and needed to talk to us about our room.5 minutes later Nigel is at the beach telling us that we need to move out of our room. I asked him Today? and he says yes. I asked him why and he proceeds to tell us for the first time "THAT WE HAD GOTTEN A COMPLIMENTARY ROOM UPGRADE, AND THERE WAS A GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM AND MARRIOTT DIDN'T PICK IT UP, AND THAT AS A RESULT SOMEONE BOOKED THE ROOM WE WERE IN, AND THAT WE NEEDED TO MOVE OUT, AND THAT THIS WAS A CASH PAYING CUSTOMER, AND SINCE WE WERE GIVEN A COMPLIMENTARY UPGRADE WE HAD TO MOVE OUT SO THEY COULD GIVE THE VILLA TO THE CASH PAYING CUSTOMER. HE SAID HE HAD ANOTHER ROOM READY FOR US THAT WAS RIGHT BEHIND OUR CURRENT ROOM AND EQUAL TO WHAT WE ORIGINALLY BOOKED". Long story short, the French Leave Resort does not seem to value Marriott Rewards members. He told us he would give us a toaster, hot plate, microwave, place settings, and a free bottle of wine. Never got the hot plate or bottle of wine. He only brought us a toaster, and we got someone else to get us the microwave and place settings. The general manager, Mr. Mils, saw us numerous times and never apologized once or said anything regarding our move. He avoided us like the plague, even doing a 180 on our last night there as we were getting up to leave the restaurant. Restaurant is average and overpriced for the quality. You can eat just as good or better in town at Buccaneer Club. Beach is very nice as well as all the views.You can rent a house on the beach for a whole...