It’s morning in Bimini and I’m in the pool overlooking the lagoon and Rockwell Island.
There’s no one else here, just the bobbing yachts and the sound of the water and the glimmer of the sun under the clouds.
This isn’t my private pool, but it’s the next best thing: one of the swim-up suites at Resorts World Bimini.
There are a collection of suites just like this at the resort, all opening right up to the property’s Lazy River at the edge of the lagoon.
They’re all sleekly designed, with dark brown floors and crisply designed bathrooms with ultra-modern showers.
But the centerpiece is, unsurprisingly, the pool access, something more and more travelers are searching for.
And it’s not hard to understand why.
Even if you love spending your entire day at the beach, there’s simply no greater amenity in a hotel room than direct pool access, perfect for cooling off during the day and adding a new dimension to the evening.
And more and more resorts are answering that call, adding swim-up access to their resorts, sometimes entire wings of them.
The vast majority still tend to be at all-inclusive resorts; finding them at a traditional EP hotel is a bit more difficult; and that’s what makes the Resorts World rooms so unique (and, depending on when you reserve them, a rather good value, too).
Swim-up access turns a mere hotel room into something more, a kind of mini-villa, where your room — and your experience — doesn’t just end at the sliding door.
And even if you’re not in the water, the patios are terrific, with a table and chairs and a broad deck.
Of course, there is certainly no shortage of things to do here, both at Resorts World Bimini itself and in Bimini, long one of the adventure capitals of the Caribbean: bonefishing, exploring the mangroves, snorkeling and diving, visiting the Shark Lab.
But Bimini has a particularly perfect brand of quiet, too, something that should be savored. It’s something you begin to understand in the Lazy River outside your room.
Plainly, these are the some of the best swim-up rooms in The Bahamas, and another big reason to visit the country’s newest hotspot.
For more on visiting The Bahamas, which just updated its protocols to waive testing for vaccinated travelers, see here.