British Colonial Nassau — Hotel in New Providence

*Update: Money Refunded. Thank you, but I should not have been charged to begin with.

Very Simple, they steal from you. If you would like, see below. Still no response from Selvinique, for something they charged $165 on top of the room being more than they quoted us. Beautiful hotel, put a camera in your room, as they seem to just want to take from you if they feel they can. IF they return my money, I will change my review. It's April 1, and still no response from Selinique. A shame, and just not acceptable.

On Friday, March 29, 2024, 5:50 PM, Selvinique Wright Good afternoon Mr. Friendman,

I extend my most profound apologies for the delay in response as I was heavily entrenched in operations and now have the opportunity to review my emails.

We take matters such as this very seriously and I can assure you that your concern has been noted and has been sent to our security department for further insight. The charge is showing to apply to a broken lamp that was discovered inside room 571 after your departure. An investigation has been launched and I kindly ask for a 24-hour opportunity to provide you with a follow-up and resolution.

Warm Regards, Selvinique From: Eric

Selvinique, I thought I would try you one more time, if I do not get a response within 24 hours, I will contact Hilton corporate, I would also respectfully ask you to show me an invoice of the lamp, a picture of the broken lamp, and I also have video footage of our room that I keep everywhere I go that I sit out for situations like this I record. So hoping you will make this right before I have to take it to your Corporate headquarters. Thank you.

Thursday, March 28, 2024,

Hello Selvinique, I was told to reach out to you from Dimitri at the front desk, and that you are aware of our situation. My family (2 boys), 1 girl and my wife and I stayed at your hotel Saturday, March 23 in room 571. After spending an entire day with delays in an airport, and then Southern Air cancelling flights that evening we had no where to stay. With the help of amazing ladies at the airport they helped us book your hotel. When we checked in, after we were quoted around $400 on the phone we checked in and decided to pay the difference as your hotel was beautiful and we said oh well lets to it. We checked in around 6 pm, dropped our bags, tipped everyone that helped us with our bags well, and then walked over to The Fish Fry based on the recommendation of the gentlemen who dropped our bags off. It was great. we came in, took 4 showers, and went to bed. We woke up at 6 AM and were gone at 6:30 AM. Upon seeing an extra $165 charge i have been going back and forth with Dimitri who claimed WE broke a lamp, and that charge is to pay for it. The weird part is the charge says The British Colonial Rest (like restaurant) which is odd since we were charged for something "broken." Also, we had a pending charge of $200 with the same title as we checked out.

Not me or anyone in my family touched any lamp at all, We all have no idea what anyone is talking about. we turned on main lights for around 20 minutes to shower and then woke up and left.

Between, cancelled flights and Southern Airlines taking out money with no refund, vrbos we are told we had reserved and then switched on us, and now this, it feels like we are being taken advantage of in the Bahamas. I have had to pay for extra flights due to airlines not holding their reservations, and extra hotel rooms for $500 plus dollars, as we could not get to Eluethera, and then to be told we broke something and charged $165 for it, which is absolutely a lie, is a bit much. I have tipped everyone well, and love the wonderful local Bahamians, and want to give back to your amazing island, but this is crazy. We can't have money taken from our pockets anymore. I am hoping you can help, as this is just not true. WE DID NOT touch or break anything in the room and I hope and pray you and your hotel is going to make it right and return our...

I was in town to host my nonprofit day camp & celebrate my birthday, which I do yearly. I was a regular guest at this hotel for over 10 when it was a Hilton as I carry the Lifetime Diamond VIP Hilton status. A status that is not easy to achieve. I knew most of the staff. I haven’t stayed at the property since it lost its branding. I have visited the bar twice as a patron. Once, the night of the Janet Jackson concert and after that, Saturday 19Aug on my birthday. Upon visiting (this time), I see a few Hilton staff I know were present which was comforting. They are chummy with me we shared laughs. Working staff were amazing, friendly, professional and worked cohesively together. Literally no issues. ||||However, the bar… I’m sitting there with my niece. I’m wearing a tiara & birthday sash, mingling to other patrons to be polite & eliminate awkwardness. First guy, business traveler soliciting sex. As a business traveler myself, he is the very reason I never leave my room and eat in the hotel. But, he was respectful. Next person who sits next to me is a couple. He was exceedingly rude and hurled insults as a result of one question… “Hi. Where are you from?”. He & his companion were both exceedingly rude and aggressive. When I told him, “we’re done” to stop his manic rage, he only gets worse in his volume & insults. Him, being verbally abusive. His attacks all unfounded and the entire response was odd. So odd that I leave my food and stand behind two women on the far of the the bar that I hasn’t interacted with even in eye contact. He was dangerous & I felt unsafe. The insults he spewed were flagged as discriminatory when I initially posted this review so that tells you the level to which he was out of control. Most literally insults as based on a clear internal discourse of him unable to emotionally regulate and him not being able to handle his feelings of intimidation. Bar staff try to get him to stop but he was out of control. Everyone is confused as to why he was so angry and why he refused to calm down/stop. Although security should have been called and he dragged out.. none of which happen, I instead leave with my niece. ||||In shock, I complain to valet (we didn’t even park at the hotel). Without even going into depth of a description of his aesthetic but his behavior, they knew who the culprit was. I am told he was a fired former staff member. Security doing their rounds, valet tells me to inform them… I do describing him as a hostile & abusive patron. Security knew who is was as well. Clearly, this is common with him. No one knew his actual name but said he was referred to as “tippy or tippy toes” He’s a tall darkskinned man- Bahamian, medium build, facial hair with gold on all of his teeth.||||My point: someone like him is dangerous and it’s known. The staff know who he is and how he behaves. He was fired from there. There is NO reason why he should be allowed to patronize for the safety of guests, patrons & staff given his anger issues. It’s entirely reckless of the hotel to allow it and he should have long been banned. Of the 70+ times I’ve been to the island over 13yrs, I have never…. To say I’m not traumatized would be a lie. ||||Was my birthday day ruined, indeed yes. I felt unprotected & unsafe. Me, a paying customer with decorum celebrating my birthday vs this man who came in to start a fight and sadly, I became the target. I need security to be more proactive with respecting itself and those who come there. He should have never been allowed in nor allowed to stay. This wasn’t a one off thing, this man has a history and it’s known. Staff nor managers at Hilton would have ever allowed this and would have swooped in and escorted him out immediately. ||||I would never promote this hotel as the safety of guests is...

After lots of research into options for where we would stay for our first trip to the Bahamas, we settled on the British colonial and are very happy that we did.

The location is excellent close to the cruise ship port, which I would recommending visiting once or you will be exhausted by the street vendors pushing their products and services. Close to an excellent restaurant the Graycliff, which has a wonderful tradition and Canadian connection. There are also two other restaurants that are must try places one of them is the Cricket Club for authentic Bahamian food. The other is Goldies at the very end of the fish fry area.

The hotel itself is really beautiful, clean and comfortable in all areas. The staff are polite, friendly and very welcoming and eager to accommodate any request.

The bar and restaurant staff are exceptional, including the lovely young woman at the café that made my double espresso with a bit of warm milk every day.

Demetre At the front desk was very helpful when we discovered a leaking water issue in our original assigned room as soon as we checked in. He quickly had us moved from that room and upgraded us to a much nicer suite as compensation. David, Omar and all of the staff at the restaurants in the main hotel were exceptional.

The gym facilities were all that you needed and an insider tip it’s where you can go to get ice cold water from a dispenser when your bottle of water runs out because 17 American dollars for two standard bottles of water is alarming. The washroom/change rooms inside the fitness centre are pristine and much closer to the beach, then walking back into the hotel or to your room.

Everybody was exceptionally friendly the lifeguards to the service staff on the beach and the amenity coordinators. The pools were nice although we mostly stayed in the beachfront. The pool bar is a better option for food and drinks.

Señior frogs next-door is fun to go to once or twice, but I never need to experience that much Twerking ever again, especially in a restaurant with so many children coming from the Disney cruise lines. If you do go there have the fresh conch salad, game changer, also make sure you check the receipt after they take and tap your card. They overcharged us by $100 which they claimed to be a mistake, but I think a lot of people get so inebriated they don’t check their receipts until they get back on the cruise ship, if at all.

The private beach is really nice and safe. We never worried for a minute about leaving our possessions behind while taking a swim or grabbing a bite, even though the resort fees in my opinion are a little bit high, but standard. I’m happy to pay for peace of mind while out of the country.

Also be aware that you should get all of your taxi prices upfront. The drivers do prefer US cash, but some will take credit cards and beware of taxi pirates (that’s what the local camera drivers called them ) that are not really taxi drivers at all but more like a Uber service in a place that doesn’t have that. They will be the ones outside of the taxi stands that are regulated.

If we return to Nassau again, we would absolutely stay at this hotel and absolutely...