7 Best Hotels in Eleuthera and Harbour Island, Bahamas

Nestled between the aquamarine and emerald waters of Rock and Exuma Sounds, gigantic villas have two bright bedrooms, a full bath, and a stainless-steel kitchen, while the beach cottages feature a luxury bathroom and wet bar. Watch breathtaking sunsets painted over the full-service marina from your second-floor balcony. If you choose to stay in one of the new private bungalows or suites, you'll also have a direct view of the stunning beach. For a unique experience, have the staff take you by boat to one of the nearby footprint-free islands for the day. Pack a picnic and your seashell bucket and get ready for complete solitude.

An elegant yet energetic flair accents this eight-acre oceanfront resort, right on the beach. The main lobby is a study in British colonial style, while the billiard room of the bar attracts a younger and hipper crowd. Guest rooms come in a variety of styles, including suites, bungalows, and cottages. All are decorated in a modern tropical style, with neutral tones, streamlined wood furniture, and flat-screen TVs. Worth the extra splurge are the Villa Carissa, a private, three-bedroom beach house with an adjoining one-bedroom guest cottage, and the newly-built Sol Y Mar and Hilltop four-bedroom residences. 

The private Howard Beach House is the perfect luxury vacation home, especially for large groups. The house features four bedrooms and bathrooms, all of which were recently renovated, along with a fully equipped kitchen. Other amenities include a covered sundeck, retractable canopy, lounges, and an outdoor shower. 

Across the street from a pink-sand Atlantic beach and Tippy's oceanfront bistro, Pineapple Fields is the perfect base for a disappearing act; hole up in one of 32 condo units, each with front and back verandas, a full kitchen, and a living room with pull-out queen sofa. Washers and dryers in each unit are especially handy for families and visitors who aren't planning to leave anytime soon. Next door to the hotel is the 25-acre Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve. When you've had enough seclusion, Governor's Harbour, Eleuthera's liveliest town, is just four miles down the road.

Pink Adirondack chairs on the dock welcome you to this colorful and casual resort situated on the bay side of the island. Guest rooms are in cottages with private patios, built on sloping grounds, each decorated in an upscale Caribbean design. Both restaurants at the resort are among the best on Harbour Island, serving delicious Bahamian fusion dishes. The resort also boasts what is perhaps the island's best sunset view, which you can enjoy while you're splashing around in the infinity pool or lounging in one of the cabanas on the small private beach. 

Each of the rustic cottages on this property, owned by the Percentie family, is named after a different island of The Bahamas. The native theme continues inside the lodgings, where each individually decorated room features a private bathroom, flat-screen TV, and tea and coffee maker. There's no lobby to speak of, since the room where you check in also doubles as the famous Ma Ruby's restaurant, but the place is full of local charm and just a short walk from the pink-sand beach. Juanita Percentie, "Ma" Ruby's enterprising daughter, also rents a luxurious five-bedroom beach villa nearby, complete with a romantic rooftop bedroom, gourmet kitchen, and waterfall pool with swim-up bar.

With the largest marina on Harbour Island, equipped with 51 slips capable of accommodating yachts up to 160 feet, this resort is ideal if you're a self-sufficient traveler or family that doesn't require many amenities but enjoys spacious condo-style rooms and water-focused activities. Each junior suite or one- and two-bedroom unit is well-appointed in a modern colonial style, with rich dark woods and plush beige sofas sharing space with sepia-toned photographs and plasma-screen TVs. Valentines draws a serious boating crowd with its dockside bar and complete dive shop. For the best marina views, request a room in the Andros building.