Sometimes you just need to get away. And while a beach vacation in the middle of Summer may not be the first thing that comes to your mind, it certainly is just as amazing as it sounds!

At the beginning of August our family decided on a whim to take off to the Bahamas for a week and spend some quality time together just the four of us. While we had visited the islands as cruise destinations, this was our first time staying for any length of time, and now that we’ve done it – it certainly won’t be the last!

Nassau was less than a three hour flight from Toronto, and since we were traveling with kids – this was perfect! We stayed at the sprawling Grand Hyatt Baha Mar which hasvonly been open since April, so everything was brand new and pristine. While it was still in a soft-opening phase, there were a variety of restaurants available for us to choose from, six swimming pools, the most beautiful white sand beach, and a variety of high-end shopping right on the property. This mega-resort has something for everyone and their grand opening is slated for November/December of this year.

If there was one thing that stood out to me from this property is was the endless array of gorgeous cabanas lining every one of their six swimming pools. With two little kids in tow, we spent most of our days by the pool, although we did hit the beach at least once each day. The kids loved trying all the different pools and practicing their skills, which I’m proud to say was such a boost for both of their confidence levels in the water!

Each pool had a selection of full-stocked cabanas that were available to rent for the day, and they were literally a life-saver to escape from the heat during those peak-sun times. Each cabana came with a flat-screen television, a sectional sofa, a mini-refrigerator, and we were greeted each day with still and sparkling water and a fresh fruit platter. The kids went nuts over the fruit each day, which was great because it was probably the only healthy food they ate the entire trip!

The rooms at the resort were breathtaking and quite literally an Instagrammer’s dream! It was white on white everything, and the floor to ceiling marble bathrooms were fresh, bright and swoon-worthy. I’m sure it helped that we were probably one of the first guest’s to ever stay in the room, so absolutely picture perfect everywhere!

My only recommendation for a family of four would be to definitely upgrade to a deluxe room with a balcony, or a suite for extra space to stretch out in. We had a crib in our room so this made the layout quite challenging and a bit tighter than we would have liked, but in reality we were only sleeping here so it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Although still in a soft-opening, there were a good variety of restaurants already open and every one of them was amazing. Quite often you don’t like all the restaurants at a resort, but we made a point to try all of them and were impressed with the quality, selection and service at each one.

Our favourite place to grab breakfast was the French patisserie Café Madeleine. Sadly having only discovered it three days into the trip, we couldn’t stop ourselves from going back every morning after that! Not only were the pastries and cappuccino’s spot on, the café decor was serious goals!

For lunch believe it or not, the best food was found in cutest pink airstream sitting right on the beach. El Jefe served up sopes, carnitas, and margaritas all while you sat under pink umbrellas with the best views of Cable Beach.

While we did try (and enjoyed) all of the on-site restaurants, we kept going back to The Swimming Pig for its convenience and ease with the kids. Although not my first choice for dining on vacation, this pub-style eatery served flatbreads (which kept the kiddos happy) and the most amazing burgers and drinks – so we kept coming back day after day.

One of our evenings we ventured off property and dined at Café Matisse, a small Italian restaurant centrally located in Nassau that was recommend by our concierge. The food was absolutely delicious (and that’s coming from an Italian), and a nice change from eating at the resort – highly recommend!

We spent an amazing week in Nassau and can’t wait to come back one day soon to discover more of the Bahamas! Heard some amazing things about the Exuma’s and those adorable swimming pigs….

*This post was written in collaboration with Grand Hyatt Haha Mar. In exchange for this review, we received special perks during our stay at the property. All opinions on this blog are always my own.