Before there was the bar, before there was the hotel, there was the cocktail.
It’s been here for decades, through different name and different storms: the Tranquil Turtle, a marvelous mix of Bacardi 151, Gold and Silver, pineapple, orange and grenadine, a siren sip for boaters the world over.
In the 1950s, word spread about the perfect rum punch at the top of the hill on Green Turtle Cay in Abaco, where sailors and yachters would venture when there was little here but white sand and green brush, spending their nights in the calm waters off the beach.
Soon, Pearce and Kitty Coady built their home here, and the legend of the Bluff House was born, one that has only grown in the last 70 years across several different ownership groups.
Today, the Bluff House is the oldest resort in the Out Islands of The Bahamas, a boating Mecca and one of the most charming island hotels, well, anywhere.
And tiny, beloved Green Turtle Cay continues to inspire travelers, drawing them in with a peculiar magnetism that manifests itself just about as soon as you take your first sip of a Tranquil Turtle.
“There really is something special about this island,” says Molly McIntosh, the longtime general manager of the Bluff House and a chief ambassador for Green Turtle Cay. “Of course I’m biased, but there really is something different here than anywhere else.”
It’s hard to disagree, whether you’re looking out at the turquoise seas at the edge of the Tranquil Turtle bar or peering out at Abaco from one of the beautifully-appointed rooms at the top of the hill.
McIntosh immediately fell for the island, first coming here a few times on vacation before making the permanent move.
And her stewardship is a big reason why this hotel has such a devoted following, from the boaters who make regular pilgrimages here to the visitors who come and stay at the hotel several times a year.
In all, the property has a total of eight rooms, a mix of one, two and three-bedroom cottages and suites set on a lush 12-acre site from White Sound to the Sea of Abaco.
There are two eateries: the fine-dining Boathouse at the marina’s edge, and the aforementioned Tranquil Turtle Beach Bar, the latter unsurprisingly one of the most celebrated watering holes in The Bahamas.
There’s a marina-side pool, access to world-class fishing and the palpable feeling that you’ve immediately become part of a family, the rarefied group of people who come here, who love Green Turtle Cay and who ensure it retains its unique charm.
They still come, just as they did for that first Tranquil Turtle seven decades ago, looking for something rare, something perfect at the top of the hill on Green Turtle Cay.
For more, visit Bluff House.