Arriving to Harbour Island after a ten-minute boat transfer from North Eleuthera Airport, the initial panorama isn’t much to look at: a cluster of golf carts in a makeshift car park, a small store, an indifferent restaurant. But first impressions don’t matter much here: Harbour Island has the quiet confidence of a place that knows it doesn’t need to show off. After the initial burst of tourism in the 1930s and the introduction of regular flights to Eleuthera in the 1950s, the area gradually abandoned its modest fishing industry and small farms in favour of becoming a discreet hot spot for film stars, executives and celebrities hungry for a taste of barefoot luxury.

Our cart is now heading towards the northeast part of the isle, whose year-round residents number just 2,000. We are bound for one of Harbour Island’s most exclusive spots, the “Millionaires’ Row” of the Bahamas. A drive through Dunmore Town – the island’s only village, named after Lord Dunmore, governor of Virginia in the 1720s – provides a glimpse of traditional Bahamian architecture, with its pastel-coloured cottages and low white wooden fences. A few curiosities we come across en route, such as the multicoloured hut of the self-proclaimed “conch king” Marty and a rousing open-air sermon, offer a beguiling snapshot of the varied culture on this four-square-kilometre paradise.

Two enormous seahorses resting atop a pink-and-white chequered floor welcome us to Coral Sands Inn & Cottages. This iconic auberge opened its doors in 1968 under the leadership of the late American actor and fighter pilot Brett King and his wife, Sharon. Like many before and after them, they fell head over heels for “Briland” (say “Harbour Island” three times fast and you’ll understand the local nickname) and … never left. The old-Hollywood-style establishment was recently sold to the real-estate investment company AJ Capital Partners, which broke ground on a massive renovation project in late 2024. The property now comprises 41 keys, ranging from one- and two-bedroom cottages to villas with private pools, as well as the 12-bedroom “inn” above The Pink Mermaid restaurant in the main building.

“We were inspired by old photos that capture a world frozen in time,” explains Krissy Melendez, the project’s lead designer. And although time may stand still on Pink Sands Beach, which lives up to its rosy name, the activity programme is packed. Kayaking, paddleboarding, snorkelling, tennis, pickleball, outdoor fitness, strength training and yoga classes are all on the menu, as well as a nine-hole putting course and in-room massages (while the wellness centre is under construction).

FOMO is a foreign concept here, and guests are free to laze under a candy-pink parasol and enjoy just what draws people here from all over the world: talcum-fine sand, crystalline water and a temperature set almost permanently at 28°C. Our cottage, The Princess Parrot, is accessible via a staircase that also offers direct access to the beach. Inside, a fabric-draped canopy bed, tropical tchotchkes, Oriental rugs and shell-encrusted light fixtures and mirrors take the coastal theme to the extreme, without ever going all the way over the top. Far from the minimalist aesthetic and natural colours that have dominated the Caribbean in recent years, Coral Sands feels like the home of an aesthetically minded friend – a little extravagant, but always in good taste.

Although the service runs on island time and the gastronomical offerings are not cheap (true across the island), the Italian bistro with Bahamian overtones nonetheless wins us over with lobster capellini served on a spicy citrus and garlic cream and the conch and stone crab scampi tagliatelle with a broth made from Kalik, the local beer. Also of note is the signature cocktail,   the Pink Mermaid, a blend of gin, grapefruit and candied ginger whose colour echoes that of the sun setting over the infinity pool that evening. If Harbour Island is the home of friendly people, Coral Sands Inn & Cottages is the home of the delightfully flamboyant. It’s a blend of the compositional sensibilities of Slim Aarons with the colour palette of David Hockney, expressed in their most beautiful form – a tropical one.

Across the Water

The Farm takes the island of Eleuthera, opposite Harbour Island, back to its agricultural roots through a blend of eco-farming and heartfelt hospitality

Can you enjoy the Bahamas without a beach? That’s the question that visionary hotelier Ben Simmons asked himself as he looked back on the island’s – and his own family’s – history. “Until the start of the 20th century, this area of the Bahamas drew its wealth from agriculture – mostly citrus fruit and pineapples. Tourism has transformed the island and allowed it to develop, but now, I want to highlight this forgotten side of it,” explains the owner of The Farm, the youngest sibling of the  collection (The Other Side, The Current). Twelve solar-powered rooms have been built on an organic farm that is also home to a 53-tree orchard, herb garden and henhouse, where fresh eggs are collected daily. This venture into agricultural tourism has not forgotten the need to seduce, offering a myriad of agrarian experiences: masterclasses on the art of kitchen gardening, farm tours for children, Sunday brunches under the dappled canopy of fruit trees, and dinners concocted exclusively from the day’s vegetable harvest and the morning’s catch. It’s a love letter to the farm culture of bygone days, and an original concept that’s sure to prove irresistible.

Photos: Marine Sanclemente, Boz Gagovski, Jody Zorn