The Marlin at Taino Beach Resort

This Resort has a nice but small private beachfront that is "generally" for guest only. I enjoyed Freeport's rural feel. We started our stay in Rm 5410, a top floor 1 bedroom with a view of the ocean. After the 2nd night we were forced to relocate due to Bug BItes from something in the bedding. The bites, more than 50 were localized to my lower legs, and had all of the signs of Bed Bugs, but the staff were insistent that Pest Control did not indicate this... This first room, while antiquated and somewhat worn with very outdated and some appliances that were InOp (Microwave), was at least on the top floor with a great view of the pool and the sunrise. Unfortunately, do to the infestation, we were moved to a lower level Studio Room of lesser quality, and next to two of the most unruly families I have ever experienced. Apparently they were related and had children running back and forth banging on the doors at late hours of the night. Security was called several times but was of very little help. The Guest Services manager was of very little help, and several times avoided follow-on calls from us, like when my wife's sandal were missing. We were relocated a 3rd time due to issues with the room and the unruly family nearby, but only on the day they checked out. This was supposed to be a very relaxing vacation, the location and the beach just feet away... top floor view on the sunrise, etc. etc. etc. That was all taken away one issue after another. Irony - the resort conducted the typical sales pitch for a unit on the morning of our 2nd day ranting and raving on their Resort. This turned out to be the Resort from ... you know where! I absolutely intend to share this review with more detail to the Ministry of Tourism for the Bahamas. I heard so many times while there how their tourism and hospitality is there number one priority, well I want to see because it was certainly not shown during my stay at this Resort. Note: The local people and other services (Valentine Lewis Transportation Services & Forbes Charter Services) were exceptional.

Boring! Boring! Boring!. But if you're looking for a quiet relaxed vacation then this is the place to be. There's nothing to do. The pool and beach was nice but that gets old after awhile. No entertainment unless the cruise ship came in for the day. There's a ferry that'll take you to the market place. They run every hour on the hour. Not much stores open at all and they mostly all sell the same thing. There are bars and restaurants to eat at tho. The highlight was the fish fry on Wednesdays and the sunset "dinner" (meatballs and wings) cruise which we were gifted for sitting through a sales pitch. The rooms in the Coral looks like a page out of the 70's. A few times the power went out for HOURS! And worst of all..NO WIFI in the rooms! Never again! Love the Bahamas, but will never come back to Taino Beach and Resort.

They revolve around the cruise line . Unless you come in on a cruise don't bother with them. They close everything early and no schedule us accurate unless there is a cruise ship there . They closed the ferry early and left us stranded. They close the bar 30min into 2hour happy hour . The close the restraunt. They put the speaker and music up when the ship leaves. I will gag at the mention of this hotel forever. As I write this we are stuck because they closed the ferry early

The place is nice enough but the island has not recovered from the hurricanes from years ago. No businesses are back. Several times I was the only one on the beach for hours in the afternoon. There were some families with time shares that were there but they stayed mainly in the pool area. Not much to do there at all. This is the 3rd visit in 3 years where the island has been very quiet. A cruise ship did come in and a handful of people did go to the market square area for drinks and food. But there was really nothing going on.

First things first. At check-in you are told that the guest room water is potable, HOWEVER, it has a high degree of salinity. Plan to pick up at least one gallon of water, per person, per day, for your entire stay. You’ll need bottled water for not only for drinking and making coffee, you’ll also need it for cooking. Purchase your gallons of water at a local grocery store. No where online when booking a stay here, does it mention to be prepared in advance for the guest room faucet water with the high salinity. There is no free shuttle to the grocery store so plan on either driving your rental car or paying for a taxi both ways. The rooms, buildings, and grounds were clean. The oversized pool is excellent with a water slide and swim up bar. Do be aware that they sell pool day passes to large cruise ships as a day excursion for the ship passengers. Though the pool is so large that there was not an overcrowding issue during the timeframe that I was there in April. The beach was excellent. The rooms/suites were sparse with kitchen and cooking supplies for a timeshare. The onsite restaurant was average in food, price, and service. Best to catch the free ferry behind the Flamingo Bay Hotel (across the street), to Port Lucaya for restaurants and tourist shopping. There was considerable “pushing” by staff throughout the stay to get you to take a tour of other timeshares on the island and sit through their sales pitch. Overall, it was a nice place to relax and hangout at the pool or beach. Nothing extraordinarily special about this property.

After vacationing in two different resorts in Nassau, The Great Exuma, Antigua, Jamaica, two different resorts in Aruba, St. Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, and multiple other locations around the United States, I can honestly say that outside of my stay in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba while in the Navy, I have not experienced a worse in the Caribbean. It started with their sales rep in the lobby. She looked at my wife and me as if we were crazy when she repeatedly told us, four straight times, that the only restaurant on location was only open from Thursday to Sunday. But this was Saturday, and what were we supposed to do for five days? Then the events rep, tried to sell us a Sunset cruise that was included in the "Time Share pitch." I could go on with detail, but I'll keep it short as possible for the remainder of the review. Only one day's worth of coffee included included in the stay! A non-operating refrigerator, only rolls of TP included in a week's stay, but THREE GIANT COCKROACHES were complementary. The hose in the firestation outside our room was missing, but the rusty door to the cabinet was left wide open. Oh yeah, the ice machine wasn't working, so I had to travel to another floor, 2 x's per day to load in our refrigerator to keep it cool. The pool water was extremely cloudy. The beach was filthy with cigarette butt's, trash, seaweed, BROKEN GLASS. There was ZERO WIFI in the rooms, only in the community areas. About 25% of the rooms are unlivable. You can hear what sounds like the batteries to fire alarms beeping outside some unoccupied rooms. The shelves in the souvenirs/convenience store are less than 50% full, but that's ok because i never saw the light on it the store. Many parts of the resort are in serious need of demolition and unsafe to be around. STAY AWAY!

The pool is absolutely amazing! The pool games were fun and the pool swim-up bar staff was very friendly. The beach and ocean was amazing as well. Visited August 9-16. Seemed like very few people at the resort (maybe due to school starting back). As far as our unit, there were a couple of minor things. There was a dish towel and liquid but no sponge or dish rag so I couldn't wash up dishes in the sink (there was a dishwasher). In the bathroom, there was no soapholder so the soap kept sliding off the edge of the sink. But the big issue was the bed. It's the worst piece of crap I've ever slept on. Not what I expect when I go to this type of resort. There was hardly any support and you couldn't wiggle your toe without it creaking and cracking. I thought it was going to fall down a couple of times. Again, the pool is amazing so if you can get past the bed, then I would recommend this resort. Also, the ferry across the street was very covenient for going to Port Lucaya Marketplace.

Better have your wrist band at this place else they will treat you like you don’t belong there. Very rude front desk staff. So much for the island friendliness as there’s none.

Please confirm what you are getting prior to you travel when booking through RCI. If it says Ocean, that property is still being renovated as of July 2024 and will continue to be for at least another year. Coral is very out dates and you are living in a Flintstones, concrete furniture type room. There is no balcony water feature either. Marlin is renovated compared to the rest, but is definitely due for some upgrades.