Before I arrived I’d heard that January was too early and thus too cold to visit the bahamas.  That the service would be slow and generally horrible.  That the food would be bad.  And that everything would be disgustingly expensive.

Well everything is a little expensive – with the $/GBP exchange rate at almost 2:1 I find the prices merely a little high but I can easily see how an american would view them as extortionate.

The other 3 allegations seem so far to be completely wrong.  Landing at Nassau yesterday morning the weather was a very healthy  30C.  And this morning was spent lounging by the pool and acquiring sunburn. I anticipate spending most of my pre-tournament in and by the pool.  Relaxation and exercise (sadly rare commodities in my usual lifestyle)  in one refreshing package.

Somebody told me that the reason service here was bad was because the locals were so laid back they just moved extremely slowly and didn’t ever feel in a rush to do anything.  Imagine my shock then when my taxi from the airport screeched away like it was trying to hit a speed great enough to time travel.  If I’d closed my eyes I could have been in Vegas. After the shock of those initial brown trouser moments however I felt encouraged – this was promising.  

Lunch/Dinner we took in the Atlas Bar and Grill – a [relatively] cheap “diner” in the casino.  The food was good and the service quick.  While I can’t speak for the rest of the bahams it would seem that Paradise Island at least has become americanised.   If the reports of poor/slow service are all that have put you off visiting in the past then I urge you to give it a try.  I haven’t tried room service yet but I have a feeling it’s going to be a lot faster and more vegas-like than people anticipated.  It is however still overpriced initially and laden with added fees.

Tonight I actually began to wonder if it has become too americanised.  We took dinner in one of the gourmet restaurants (Casa D’Angelo).  For the price one expects certain things.  The dress code to be adherred to is one.  Excellent food is another.  As is attentive and great service.  

I was expecting a european style experience with dinner lasting 2+ hrs.  Instead we were back out of the door (having had starter, main and dessert) barely an hour after sitting down.  The service was polite and attentive but possibly too much so. We got the same impression I often get in america – that of being rushed through the meal because they want you back out of the door and the table freed up for the next party.  Anywhere else I would call the food very good.  However again one expects more from a place like that.  While nothing was wrong with the meal/service this combination of  factors (blind eye to dress code, main meal coming far too soon after the starters, chef lacking talent/creativity) left me  disappointed overall.  I won’t be returning nor, sadly, can I recommend it.

I can however recommend the resort as a whole.  It’s going to be a fantastic vacation.  Next year I hope to see some more of you here. (Were it not for the fact tha it’s illegal for residents to gamble in the bahamas I would seriously consider moving here.) 

The only two caveats are beware of the timeshare agents – they appear to have a deal with the hotel as the check-in desk send you over to talk to them.  And although a 15% gratuity is automatically added to each and every food/beverage bill there is also a space on the receipt/bill for “extra gratuity”  How to correctly handle this I have not the faintest idea.

So a poker blog with no poker in it?  What’s up with that? 

To play at the peak of our game we must want to play and its extremely helpful to be in the right condition to play.I’ve been promising myself a vacation for some time now.  It’s easy to forget that poker is supposed to be the means by which we gain the ends we want.  It’s not supposed to be an end in itself. Remembering to enjoy the money and your life is important.  It’s also very possibly one of the keys to longevity in this profession.  There will be plenty of time to talk about and play cards.

Ok fine we’ll include a poker-ish aside.  We were sat next to some poker royalty on the Gatwick-Nassau flight in the form of Lee Jones.  He was as you’d expect, nice, friendly, easy-going.

I start play on saturday the 6th (as does bikocruz (arriving thursday I think)) and am here for another 4 days after the tournament ends so I plan to have a real (and needed) vactation.  I want to go skydiving and swimming with dolphins etc.  There is tons to see and explore.   

So baking hot sun, sun loungers with adjustable “roofs” (to avoid the aforementioned baking hot sun, a cool, cool pool.  Gourmet restaurant and exciting plans for rest of stay.  It was almost a perfect non-poker day – spoiled only by the fact I dropped $400 online soon after waking :-)