By Alexander Britell and Guy Britton

How do you not instantly fall in love with an island called Green Turtle Cay?

It’s always those minuscule, tucked-away islands that have a way of enchanting the traveler, wth their empty beaches and their green hills and their beach bars. 

And Green Turtle Cay is certainly one of them, a 1.5-square-mile cay in the Abacos chain of The Bahamas that can only be reached by boat. 

There are less than 450 full-time residents here, an island whose history dates back to the New Plymouth settlement of the late 1700s, when this tiny cay was a refuge for British Loyalists in the wake of the Revolutionary War. (If you’re going to stick with the losing side, make sure you end up on a beach in The Bahamas).

Today, it is a charming little haven for yachters and travelers, with a small village, a marina and, well, a truly special hotel. 

The Tranquil Turtle.

At the highest point of Green Turtle Cay is the Bluff House, the private home that in the 1950s became the first (and now the longest-operating) resort in the Out Islands of The Bahamas. 

An oceanfront room at The Bluff House.

The historic property is perched right above a stretch of white sand beach on the Sea of Abaco, with a total of 15 units across one, two, three and four-bedroom units, including some spectacular one-bedroom rooms with remarkable views. 

And then there’s the Tranquil Turtle, the sort of aforementioned beach bar that is a destination for boaters in the know, with terrific Bahamian food and cocktails. 

The beach at The Bluff House.

The Bluff House is the kind of Caribbean hotel that is worth the extra journey, a special place, an authentic beachfront Bahamian retreat that reminds us of why we travel in the first place. 

It’s a hotel that instantly makes you fall in love with it.

For more info, visit The Bluff House.