Kamalame Cay Members Guide 2022

GUEST & MEMBERS GUIDE

Alongwith complete seclusion, Kamalame Cay resonates romance, elegance, and adventure. —

ISLANDS MAGAZINE

Photo: Kira Turnbull

P.5

WELCOME TO KAMALAME CAY P.7 FAMILY & HISTORY P.13 DINING P.17 THE GREAT HOUSE & MONKEY BAR P.23 THE GROVE P.27 TIKI BAR & BEACH CLUB P.31 THE LUNCHEON P.39 THE FARM P.41 THE OVERWATER SPA P.47 ANDROS ISLAND P.49 ANDROS EXCURSIONS P.51 DIVING P.53 DIVE SITES P.55 SNORKELLING P.57 FREEDIVING & REEF RESCUE PROGRAMS P.59 FISHING P.61 ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS P.63 MARINE & WILD LIFE P.65 THE KAMALAME TREE: ISLAND NAMESAKE P.67 BIRDS P.69 FACILITIES & AMENITIES P.71 CHILDREN P.73 BESPOKE SERVICES P.75 ETCETERA P.77 COMMUNICATION P.79 FIRST AID & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES P.89 FUTURE VISION P.91 GUEST & MEMBER AMENITIES P.93 THE BAHAMAS & ANDROS: A LIVELY HISTORY P.95 THE BAHAMAS: ROUGES, REBELS & ROYALTY P.96 SWASHBUCKLERS: 1500'S - 1700'S P.97 CIVIL WAR PROFITEERS: 1860'S P.99 RUM RUNNERS: 1820 - 1933 P.101 ERNEST HEMINGWAY: 1930'S P.103 ROYALS, HIGH SOCIETY & SCANDAL: 1940'S - 1950'S P.105 THE ECCENTRIC HEIRESS P.106 HEYDAY: 1960'S P.106 DRUG SMUGGLERS: 1980'S P.109 THE 90'S & NOUGHTIES P.110 HISTORY: ANDROS P.112 SPANISH MARAUDERS & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: 1500'S P.113 SPORTSMEN & PLANTATIONS: 1890'S - 1920'S P.115 THE LIGHTHOUSE CLUB ERA: 1940'S & 50'S P.117 THE HIPPIE BOHEMIANS OF SMALL HOPE BAY: 1960'S P.119 DIVERS & MARINE EXPLORERS: 1970'S P.121 THE QUEEN, CRAB FEST & BONEFISHING: 1980'S P.123 THE HEW FAMILY PIONEERS KAMALAME CAY: 1990'S

TABLE OF CONTENTS

WELCOME TO KAMALAME CAY

Separated from the Andros mainland by a turquoise inlet, Kamalame Cay is a barefoot-chic oasis of flowering, tropical jungle and deserted, white sand beaches just a mile off the Andros Great Barrier Reef.

Edged in coral gardens and lush mangroves, this family owned, 97-acre private island is known for its translucent waters, pristine natural environment, and uniquely charming boutique hotel. Welcoming guests and resident homeowners, Kamalame is home to a collection of individually designed cottages, bungalows, and villas as well as an array of services and amenities.

Equipped with an Overwater Spa, Yoga Pavilion, Professional Tennis & Pickleball Courts, Heated, Freshwater Pool, and fabulous boutique, the island is distinct for its convivial atmosphere and serves some of the finest cuisine in the region.

An exceptional escape for beachcombers and ocean adventurers, as well as, food, wine, and design fans, Kamalame’s 40-slip marina accommodates boats up to 100 feet while the island’s bespoke seaplane service is available out of Nassau or any of the 700 islands of the Bahamas archipelago.

Praised for its relaxed chic, natural charm, and authentic island lifestyle, Kamalame is the very antithesis of the corporate luxury hotel. A place where a bikini and sarong is the dinner dress code, every guest is treated as family, and the atmosphere is as much a gracious vibe (and chilled Rosé...) as spectacular setting.

FAMILY & HISTORY

Born and raised in post-colonial Jamaica, Brian and Jennifer Hew came of age in an era when the island nation was a jewel of the Commonwealth; its sultry, tropical ambiance steeped in British and Caribbean heritage. The children of generations-old local families; they met in grade school when Brian would save his allowance to buy Jennifer candy. They’ve been together ever since.

In the 1970’s, with the political climate shifting violently, many long-established Jamaican families departed and resettled abroad. Just married, Brian and Jennifer landed on the shores of Miami, where they launched a large plant nursery and started a family. With toddlers David and Kimberly in tow, the Hews regularly sailed into the nearby Bahamas where, over a decade later, they came across the deserted island that would become their home.

An untouched atoll in the Andros archipelago, a mile off the world’s third largest Great Barrier Reef, there was only one problem: Could they persuade the Bahamian government to sell them Crown land? Yes—but only if they agreed to build a hotel in the middle of nowhere. An isolated, 96-acre slip of sand that’s only neighbour was the largest, yet least developed, island in The Bahamas, where there was little population and even less infrastructure.

Unfazed, the Hews purchased the island in 1995 and set about bringing the basics—power and water—over from Andros. Jennifer designing the beach houses and Brian overseeing the building, they scattered the island with classic, West Indies bungalows, cottages, and villas and named it Kamalame for its red bark trees. Planting 5,000 coconut palms, hibiscus, bougainvillea, frangipani and ginger-lily, they transformed the scrub grass and sand landscape into a flowering tropical jungle.

With Grandma Nellie sewing the curtains, 12-yearold David hanging the artwork, and Uncle Peter drilling the towel racks, the birth of Kamalame was truly a family affair. Starting with four cottages and a Great House, luggage delivered by wheelbarrow, the Hews created an idyllic environment that evoked their Jamaican heritage. A verdant island sanctuary beyond the hustle of the modern world they loved to share with family, friends, and guests.

Ushering in a second generation, Kimberley Hew now manages the Reservations Office while her brother and his husband took over the resort’s management in 2012. Well-travelled food and design aficionados with backgrounds in art, advertising, and luxury magazines, Michael and David King-Hew brought their own flair to the island. Pooling their international panache, they reimagined Kamalame’s cuisine program, enhanced the wine and spirits lists, refreshed décor, guided new directions in interiors and architecture, and introduced social and culinary events that drew a stylish crowd and transformed the island into an award-winning global destination.

A dose of Tulum bohemia, a dash of harbor island flair, Kamalame is a dreamy island retreat and an incredibly personal testament to one family's love for the Bahamas.

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DINING

Known for its imaginative menus of seasonal, Asian-accented Bahamian cuisine and gracious, wine-splashed vibe, dining is central to the Kamalame experience.

Wherever you dine—The Great House, The Grove, the Tiki Bar & Beach Club—Kamalame’s food program centres on fresh, local ingredients, creative cuisine, and gracious service. Menus change daily and feature local seafood and fowl, top tier imported game, and farm-fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables. Homemade pastries and breads are baked on site. Local spring water is filtered via reverse osmosis.

Dedicated to protecting its neighboring reef, Kamalame serves only mature, in-season seafood including lionfish. This local fish, similar to snapper, is doused in a medley of fiery peppers, roasted tomatoes and served on top of creamy grits as one of the Cay's classic breakfast specials. This is a must-try during your stay. (See Environmental Awareness, P. 35 for details on this local fish).

The island offers a vast array of excellent wines and spirits while oenophiles looking for something particularly special may request bottles from our Cellar Selection.

Mealtimes are flexible. Staff is happy to accommodate later breakfasts, earlier dinners, and any dietary preferences you may have as far as restrictions and off-menu requests.

Dining is at the epicentre of Kamalame and a pivotal experience its guests have whilst visiting the island. Tables as far as the eye can see are placed along the breaking shoreline as guests sink their toes in the sand and clink their wine glasses with old friends and new.

Private dining may be arranged on the beach, at the Tiki Bar, served in-room, or at any number of picturesque locales around the island. Picnic baskets are available on request. Beach houses with full kitchens may take advantage of catering services and private chefs, as well as, prepped and seasoned, ready-to grill, platters for veranda BBQs.

THE GREAT HOUSE & MONKEY BAR

Kamalame’s West Indies style Great House is wrapped in French doors and sheltered in a lush garden overlooking the ocean.

A central gathering place and one of the island’s original structures, meals at The Great House are served indoors, fans whirling overhead, or al fresco, on the sand-floor terrace. Menus change daily and—classic breakfast through languid lunch and afternoon snacks—as evening falls, the Great House takes on a dressier air as candles are lit for dinner and drinks and menus take a fine dining turn.

The Great House is also where you’ll find Monkey Bar, the hotel’s jewel-box watering hole taking its theme from design legend Tony Duquette (1914-1999). With ‘More is More’ as his maxim, Duquette lavished the interiors of Dawnridge, his fabled Hollywood estate, in red coral and seashells, Chinoiserie, chandeliers, mirror, zebra and leopard prints, green malachite and golden sunbursts. His gift for high style and good times drawing the beau monde to his dining salon, dubbed the Monkey Room, which looked over a tropical and never ran out of champagne.

Stocked with excellent wine, champagnes, spirits, and signature drinks, we hope you’ll honour the ebullient spirit of Mr. Duquette by enjoying too many cocktails and having a marvellous time.

B REAKFAST

8:00am to 11:00am

Complimentary baskets, stocked with coffee, fruit, yogurt, and pastries, are delivered to each door every morning by 8:00am. For those who prefer something heartier, the dining room offers a full, a la carte breakfast menu.

MONKEY BAR

5:00pm until close

DINNER

6:00pm until close

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Kamalame is for those whose idea of paradise is a private island stocked with good Champagne where a sarong counts as ‘dressed’ for dinner.

Tucked into a palm grove overlooking a vast expanse of white sand beach, The Tiki Bar & Beach Club is located just off the island’s heated, saltwater pool. Equipped with an outdoor kitchen and grill, fully staffed bar, and shaded seaside loggia, this is the island’s day time hub and serves a more casual menu.

Just 40 minutes by boat, Kamalame is the favoured, untouched island outpost for in-theknow denizens of Nassau. So, you’ll often find the crowd at The Tiki Bar & Beach Club a mix of hotel guests and homeowners, along with visitors who’ve sailed over from Lyford Cay, The Rosewood Hotel, or The Albany, with whom Kamalame shares membership privileges.

Dress is barefoot-chic. Dancing and good times do break out. Most major holidays and long weekends feature live entertainment.

TIKI BAR & BEACH CLUB

BAR

11:00am to 4:00pm LUNCH 11:00am to 4:00pm

TASTE OF CARIBBEAN BBQ PARTY Saturday evening 6:30pm to close

Closed Mondays & for inclement weather

Kamalame is a bit like Mustique was 50 years ago. A charming, off-the-radar, insider secret that's terrific little scene is attracting the smart set.

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELLER UK

SUGAR CANE POP-UP RESTAURANT

A culinary journey through the tropics - from Cancer to Capricorn - the Pacific Rim and Caribbean - Jamaica to The Bahamas and Haiti to Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.

Using the very best locally sourced, farmed and harvested fish, meats and produce, Sugarcane overs a range of small and large plates for sharing along with a selection of speciality wines and cocktails. Small bites and speciality cocktails from Sugarcane are also available at TheTiki Bar.

DINNER ONLY

Thursday - Sunday 6:00pm until close

THE COCONUT GROVE

Taking its name from the sand floored, palm grove that serves as its backdrop, Kamalame’s Asian restaurant reflects the owner’s heritage and the family’s love for the region’s cuisine. Lemongrass, coconut milk, ginger, sesame oil, the menus at the island’s open-air dining room are focused on the classic flavours of The Orient and served familystyle, on shared platters. Casual family lunch, or romantic table for two, The Grove is where you’ll enjoy the wonders of Far East cuisine, Conch and ginger wontons; Aburi tuna nigiri with rum glaze to Sweet & Sour snapper.

THE LUNCHEON

Each month, Kamalame Cay celebrates the art of living well with a Luncheon for 100 guests.

Collaborating with the connoisseur sommeliers of Nassau’s Young’s Fine Wine to present a singular afternoon of dining, dancing, DJ’s and drinking. A lively mix of family, friends, and guests from all over the world, The Luncheon draws a fashionable Nassau crowd who boat or fly in for the day, and has been featured in leading publications including Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Islands, Elle, Forbes, and Town & Country

Kicking off with signature drinks and hors d'oeuvres created for each occasion, midday cocktails are followed by a family-style meal served along a beautifully dressed table under the ocean front loggia at the TIKI BAR & BEACH CLUB. Lauded for its excellent cuisine and fresh,

locally sourced ingredients, Kamalame designs original menus for every event, homemade crab dim sum to pappardelle with poached lobster. Each course is paired with an exceptional wine or champagne from Young Fine Wine’s international selection and lunch is capped with a round of indulgent desserts.

If you’re on Kamalame across a weekend that The Luncheon is held, you won’t want to miss this wonderfully curated afternoon, which sells out each month.

Cost is Prix Fixe and seats are automatically reserved for hotel guests. However, attendance must be confirmed through concierge at Pineapple House so that any free spots may be placed on the Waiting List for those hoping to come over for the day from Nassau.

The Luncheon is a languid monthly affair with wine, music, dancing, and a meal so mind-blowingly delicious, people regularly fly in from around the world just to attend.

— TOWN & COUNTRY

THE FARM

Committed to being as self-sufficient and sustainable as possible, the island flies in as little as it can and is mainly stocked by our farm on neighbouring Andros.

Home to a herd of goats, as well as, ‘Cluckingham Palace’, which provides us with free-range, hormone-free chickens and eggs, this 200-acre estate offers a steady harvest of fresh produce: greens and aubergines, cucumbers, tomatoes, melons, squash, chilies, peppers, herbs, and more. With a vast palm grove that supplies Kamalame’s organic coconut water, The Farm is also the site of the island’s special, Farm-to-Table, culinary events.

THE OVERWATER SPA

Relax, Refresh, Rejuvenate

The only overwater spa in The Bahamas, Kamalame’s wellness center specializes in a choice range of facials, scrubs, massages, and wraps. Focused on a holistic sensory experience, Kamalame’s expertly trained technicians indulge spa guests in the luxury of allnatural, marine-based, skin care.

Using only the finest ingredients, this plant-based line blends bio-available seaweed with pure steam-distilled and cold pressed essential oils. A pioneer of cruelty-free beauty, OSEA’s certified organic products contain no animal-derived ingredients—lanolin, beeswax, carmine, etc. 100% vegan, the brand’s innovative formulations are non-toxic and gluten-free.

Please see your in-room Spa Guide for the list of treatments. Note: Massages may be arranged at the spa or in your room at no extra charge.

Being massaged with essential oils in the overwater spa, you can sightsee through the clear glass floor at your sea-dwelling neighbors.

— MARTHA STEWART LIVING

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Surrounded by miles of white sand beach; Kamalame Cay is the ultimate in Caribbean immersion. — HARPER'S BAZAAR

ANDROS ISLAND

Comprised of three major atolls bisected by saltwater channels, Andros is the largest of the Bahamian archipelagos 700 islands. Despite its beauty, size, and proximity to Nassau just eighteen miles away, it remains among the region's least explored. Spread across 2,300 sq. miles of tropical foliage, mahogany and pine forests, inland Blue Holes, and lush mangroves, Andros remains sparsely populated. Its 10,000 residents inhabiting small villages along the island’s palmfringed, white sand coast.

Known as ‘bights’, the saltwater channels of Andros are the world’s premier bonefish habitat and also teem with sea turtles, starfish, and dolphins. One hundred miles deep, the planet’s third-largest barrier reef lies just offshore; home to colourful angelfish and parrotfish, stingrays, mantas, and pristine coral gardens.

Dropping sharply into a trench known as The Tongue of the Ocean, the sea floor plunges to depths of more than 6,000 feet and is a habitat for whales, dolphins, marlin, shark, and other large species.

A haven for marine, plant, and wild life, Andros boasts two of the largest protected nature reserves in the Caribbean. The island’s 300,000 acres of wetlands, reefs, and marine replenishment zones, are preserved and protected by The Andros Conservancy and Trust. The West Side National Park is home to wild boar, rock iguana, tropical butterflies, over 25 species of orchid, and a shelter for the endangered, West Indian Flamingo.

THE ANDROSIA BATIK FACTORY

THE WORKSHOP, SMALL HOPE BAY, 10km

Producing the signature textile of the Bahamas, Androsia offers vibrant, tropical prints in nature motifs like turtles, seashells, flowers, birds and coral. Hand printed, cut and sewn, using pre-shrunk and fade resistant dyes, original batik designs adorn bedspreads, table linens, beachwear and clothing and you may also purchase fabric by the yard.

ARTISANAL WOVEN BASKETS, WOOD CARVING & SEA SPONGES

RED BAY, ANDROS, 25km

This remote settlement named for the Seminole Indians who founded it in the 1840s offers a glimpse into Androsian village life. Descendants of an ancient tribe, locals practice traditional sponge harvesting, basket weaving and woodcarving. Exhibited internationally, the mahogany carvings (odalisques, fish seashells, other natural forms) of Henry Wallace have been shown at The Smithsonian and range $100 to $2,500. Carving for 45 years, Wallace works six days a week and meditates on Saturday, the Rastafarian Sabbath.

SOUTH ANDROS CONCH FEST

MARS BAY, ANDROS, 25km

Running mid-October, this festival celebrates the island’s other ubiquitous shellfish with a three-day feast and conch-cracking contests.

ANDROS EXCURSIONS

CRAB FEST

FRESH CREEK, ANDROS , 15Km

Catching land crabs as they leave their burrows to march into the sea to lay eggs is an Andros tradition with locals and visitors walking the beach to scoop crustaceans into baskets. Held in June each year, Andros Crab Fest brings islanders together to celebrate with an array of tasty Bahamian recipes.

MENNONITE FARM

SAN ANDROS, ANDROS, 15km

Arriving on Andros in 1976, the local Mennonite community runs a thriving carpentry shop, fruit orchard, greenhouse, and a bee farm that produce the island’s delicious organic honey.

INLAND BLUE HOLE

CENTRAL ANDROS NATIONAL PARK, ANDROS, 10KM

In the island’s lush interior forest, a fresh water blue hole is edged by a gazebo and diving platform. Toss a bathing suit and sunscreen in your beach bag—and take along a gourmet hamper stocked with lunch and chilled wine.

DIVING

Staffed by experienced instructors, our fully equipped, PADI rated Dive Centre is located at the Marina dock and offers a range of certifications, resort courses, and excursions for divers, non-divers, snorkelers and children.

Catering to all experience levels in balmy Caribbean water with 100-foot visibility, Kamalame introduces guests to the abundant marine life of one of the planet’s most celebrated dive sites. Excursions range from snorkeling jaunts to nearby islets to advanced diving in the legendary Blue Hole and along the Barrier Reef.

Preserved by The Andros Conservancy & Trust, the unspoiled 140-mile coral reef is the world’s third largest, yet least unexplored. A national marine park protected by the Bahamas National Trust, it is the focus of the island’s Forfar Field Station, an international research facility for studies in tropical ecology and marine biology.

Beginning in shallow water, the reef gradually drops to 100 feet before plunging 6000 feet straight to the bottom of the ‘Tongue of the Ocean’ with its myriad canyons, caves, blue holes and sand chutes. Home to a wide range of sea life, sightings of dolphins, turtles, eagle rays, tuna and stunning corals are common for divers and snorkelers.

Just offshore, the world's third largest coral complex remains untouched due to its remote location. The adventure here is exploring this stunning marine ecosystem through the resort's padi-certified dive centre.

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STINGRAY SANDS I 25°

A stunning coral garden rich in rays and nurse sharks.

OCTOPUS GARDEN I 35°

Masses of colorful coral heads.

BLUE HOLE DIVES I FROM 40°

The underwater cave systems of Andros are riddled with a comprehensive ocean Blue Holes and cave systems.

THE AMPHITHEATRE I 50°

A spectacular dive into a large, sandy seabed of the reef that’s wrapped by an impressive coral wall that flourishes with sea life.

TONGUE OF THE OCEAN I FROM

DIVE SITES

THE WALL I 100°

Dripping with sponges, sea whips, and gorgonia, this pristine spot offers the effect of an underwater hanging garden.

GIANT’S STAIRCASE I 120°

Where the Wall descends along giant steps leading into the 6,000-foot abyss of the Tongue of the Ocean.

WHIP WIRE WALL I 80" TO 100°

Descending from the whip-wire coral wall and on down; this multi-level dive offers truly stupendous views of the underwater Grand Canyon.

90°

Advanced divers will enjoy this truly amazing site: one of the most impressive walls in the world rich in large groupers, ceros, tuna, sharks and coral.

Explore a barrier reef that plunges more than 6,000 feet into the 'Grand Canyon of the Caribbean' set in an untouched archipelago of uninhabited islets and pristine beaches that rivals the Maldives.

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— SOUTHERN BOATING

SNORKELLING

Surrounded by idyllic deserted islets, Kamalame offers numerous snorkeling jaunts to the area’s private atolls and coves. Full day or half, excursions may be outfitted with a gourmet hamper for a private lunch on a castaway island.

STANIARD ROCK

Some of the best snorkeling in The Bahamas is five minutes away in this spectacular maze of Elkhorn coral that’s home to turtles, spotted eagle rays, and southern stingrays.

PIGEON CAY

With a beautiful beach and a patch of shallow water coral, this is the perfect spot for novice snorkelers and those with children.

BLUE HOLE CAY

A haven for pufferfish, grunts, and snapper, as well as anemones and sea hares. Our closest oceanic blue hole lies in just five feet of water, then drops to ten.

CALABASH CAY

Adjacent to Blue Hole Cay with a sandy beach edged by waters teeming with marine life, this islet is nice for beginners. Turn over rocks in search of urchins, anemones, lobsters and more.

NORTH PASS & SADDLEBACK CAY

Edged by a sand bar rife with sand dollars and seashells, the prettiest Cay offers a lovely palm fringed cove, that’s Ideal for picnics and snorkeling.

RAT CAY

Five minutes north of Saddleback Cay and named for the animal it’s shape resembles; this islet is just off an ocean blue hole that’s home to parrotfish, snappers, nurse shark, turtles and squid.

FREEDIVING & REEF RESCUE PROGRAMS

Descend up to 55 feet into the ocean using your own breath, free of cumbersome gear. Freediving allows you to explore coral reefs, snorkel-free, improves spear fishing, and is renowned for its restorative physiological and meditative effects.

Deep-water immersion and ambient pressure combined with weightlessness, and breathing techniques, Freediving triggers the body’s ‘Mammalian Diving Reflex’. Oxygenconservation and a significant drop in heart rate causing the body to release oxygen-rich red blood cells as it redirects flow to vital organs like the heart and brain.

With a PADI-rated Dive Centre, accredited instructors, and Basic and Advanced level courses, Kamalame is one of only three resorts in the Caribbean certified to offer this unique

experience. Edged by the world’s third largest barrier reef, the island’s translucent waters are home to an array of stunning, marine life rich sites.

Small groups or one-on-one; this three-class series requires some preliminary e-learning via PADI iTouch that may be completed prior to arrival. On-site, the first session centres on breathing skills and is held in the island’s heated, freshwater pool. The final two classes are boat excursions focused on the use of ropes and weight for deep ocean immersion.

As part of Kamalame's ongoing commitment to ocean conservation, the Dive Team has spearheaded a coral nursery initiative that allows eco-enthusiasts to combine diving and doing good. The island's Certified Reef Rescue Divers guiding guests in the care and cleaning of critically endangered Staghorn Coral (Acropora cervicornis), which grows within The Bahamas' Reef Rescue Network along the Andros Great Barrier Reef, just a mile offshore.

BONEFISHING, REEF FISHING & OTHER ADVENTURES

Made famous in the 1930s by Ernest Hemingway, who introduced sport fishing to Bimini, the Bahamas is one of the world's premier fishing destinations. Ideal for first-time anglers and sportfishing pros, as well as bonefishing and spearfishing, it's flush with marlin, tuna, snapper, sailfish, barracuda, wahoo and much more, the turquoise waters of this 700-island archipelago is famous for endless marine life.

The biggest bonefish live right in our backyard. Anglers enjoy two distinct world-class sport fishing options in the crystal waters surrounding Kamalame Cay. And if angling isn’t your thing, there’s also paddle boarding, sea kayaking and plenty of snorkel gear to keep you busy.

BONEFISHING

Let one of our experienced professional guides take you through pristine flats and mangrove creeks in search of the elusive bonefish. Guides can accommodate up to 2 people per vessel.

REEF FISHING

Anchor along the reef and fish for demersal fish like snappers and grouper. Our guide will inform

you of local fisheries regulations and you may be able to bring back dinner!

SPEAR FISHING

In The Bahamas, we spearfish using pole spears and Hawaiian slings and cannot spearfish on SCUBA. Our team is willing to teach if you have never tried before- it involves snorkeling with a spear, duck diving down to find your fish and then making the perfect shot so you will have to work hard for your dinner!

FIRST MATE TRIP

Join us on a trip to catch fresh fish for the Cay! Stop by the dive shop marina for more information as these fishing trips are limited.

SNORKELING

Explore the underwater world and learn about its marine life. Our experienced team can point out cryptic creatures and loves to share our knowledge of the ocean. See the Cay from a different perspective, snorkel around Blue Holes or along the third-largest barrier reef in the world, or simply bask in the sun and be enjoy the beauty of the nearby cays and ocean blues.

CASTAWAY PICNIC DROP OFF

Enjoy a peaceful and private afternoon on a secluded Cay, all by yourself with a picnic lunch. Soak up the sun, explore the island, or jump in for a swim at your leisure.

ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Kamalame’s longstanding commitment to a low impact footprint is constantly evolving and currently includes:

SUSTAINABLE PLANTING

An ongoing program that replaces detrimental Casuarina trees-their toxic pine needles decimate other foliage-with enviro-friendly coconut palms. Using seaweed as rich fertilizer, 500 new palms are introduced annually.

MARINE SANCTUARY

Kamalame has designated a 10-mile seabed along the coast of North Andros as a ‘no take’ reserve to protect and promote local marine life.

LIONFISH INITIATIVE

With a diet of baby Grouper, Snapper, and other native fish, the non-indigenous Lionfish that washed into The Bahamas with ‘92’s Hurricane Andrew proved destructive to local sea life. Partnering with the marine protection group, BREEF (breef. org), Kamalame fights against future damage by harvesting Lionfish for our menus. Do your bit for the environment—have a Lionfish for lunch!

ANTI PLASTICS

Shunning plastic bottled drinking water; Kamalame offers guests fresh, local well water that’s filtered via our RO (Reverse Osmosis) system.

We share our place in the sun with quite a few representatives from the animal kingdom, some lovely to look at, but a couple to look out for...

The CURLY-TAILED LIZARD works very hard to banish pesky flies and mosquitoes, if you care to feed them, they adore cheese. Seldom seen and completely harmless, the BAHAMAN BOA is Kamalame’s most impressive resident. Guests may also encounter the odd field mouse. Innocuous light brown creatures who burrow amongst beach foliage and, when it’s colder, occasionally aim for warmer indoor perches. STINGRAYS & LEOPARD RAYS are found in the creek by the Marina at the Cay’s south endlook but don’t touch as these have quite a barb. MANTA RAYS are also seen close to shore, along with MANATEES, who are very happy to eat lettuce that guest feed them from the dock.

MARINE & WILD LIFE

Dolphins tend to frolic in front of the Cay in the mornings or in the Creek in the afternoons. Nurse sharks are rare, though curious; and do not attack unless provoked by food. BONEFISH flourish in the flats on the west side of the Cay; spot them by their circular surface ripples.

Most JELLYFISH in the area do not sting so if you spot one while snorkeling or diving, simply enjoy the mesmerizing motion of these fascinating creatures. Nonetheless, if you spot one, do not attempt to touch it.

The same goes for FIRE CORAL-mustard yellow in color with white tips and fine hair—these cause a burning sensation on contact. Ask for a guide to point it out to you on your first snorkel or dive.

A rare world of exclusive exotica and complete escapism, it's hard to believe Kamalame Cay sits less than 200 miles from the United States. Just goes to show, heaven really isn't that far away.

THE KAMALAME TREE: ISLAND NAMESAKE

The Kamalame tree (Latin: Bursera simaruba) is a species in the Burseraceae family native to tropical regions of the Americas, the Caribbean, Venezuela and Brazil. Also known as Gumbo-Limbo, Copperwood, and West Indian Birch, it’s sometimes referred to as the ‘tourist tree’ for its distinctivelooking bark—red and peeling as the sunburnt traveller.

Thriving in dry, salty, calcium-rich, coastal soil and soaring to a height of 100 feet, this fast-growing, hurricane-resistant tree is often planted as a decorative, ‘living wall’ windbreak. Flowering year round though mainly winter through spring, its clusters of pale green blossoms feed bumblebees and butterflies. In summer the Kamalame’s fleshy red berries are a favourite of tropical birds and winter migrants, alike. The lipid-rich tissue of the berry’s seeds a favourite of parrots, crows, orioles, kingbirds, pigeons, doves, mockingbirds, thrushes, finches, warblers, woodpeckers, and more. The trees fallen, fruit-laden branches a key source of nutrients in the aftermath of hurricane season.

The Kamalame is also prized for its healing properties, its sap and bark used for centuries in natural and indigenous medicine. Pain-reducing, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial; boiling its bark into tinctures or applying the resin, its extracts combat gout, arthritis, ulcers, rashes, asthma, and burns, heal wounds and reduce fever. It’s also said to neutralize snake venom, clean the blood, and boost libido. Mayans use it to treat everything from stomach pain and headaches to fever and nose bleeds. In Haiti, the fragrant sap—known as chibou or cachibou—is used as incense.

— BOCA RATON OBSERVER

Kamalame Cay is a hidden gem. Precious moments of serenity are found on this private island where one can walk miles of white sand beach without ever encountering another soul...

BIRDS

There is an abundance of birdlife of Kamalame, which is home to Herons, Hawks, Ibis, Pelicans, Egrets, and Piping Plovers. As well, hundreds of bird species feed, breed, migrate through, and are endemic to, Andros Island. Guests are welcome to spot the archipelago’s rich birdlife on their own at the following locales and The Front Desk at Pineapple House is happy to arrange guided excursions.

BIRDING SITES

The sand flats on the west coast of Kamalame Cay offer excellent viewing of herons, willets, yellowlegs, plovers, various terns, roseate spoonbills and the occasional flamingo. Named for the white-crowned pigeons that feed on it, nearby Pigeon Cay is also popular with Terns who nest there between May and June. Staniard Creek is a good place to see shorebirds including pelicans, Shiny Cowbirds and barn owls.

Owens Town is a good spot for migratory warblers along with orioles, hummingbirds, and barn owls. The small pond between the runway and the tarmac at San Andros Airport attracts cattle egrets by the hundreds, moorhens, coots, West Indian tree ducks, glossy ibis, herons, limpkins and red-tailed hawks.

PINEAPPLE HOUSE

With an Internet Lounge and a Boutique stocked with beachwear, beauty supplies, and sundries, our Front Desk cottage is staffed 7:00 to 7:00 to assist guests with every request - excursions and spa bookings through dive lessons, court times, specialty dining, childcare and travel plans.

ON-SITE AMENITIES

Three Miles of Private Beach

Heated Freshwater Pool

PADI-Certified Dive Shop

Resort Boats for Ocean Excursions

Overwater Spa with OSEA Organic Products

Tennis Courts

Selection of Dining and Drinks Venues

Childcare Services

Internet Lounge with Complimentary WIFI

Complimentary Golf Cart

Boutique stocked with beachy-chic fashion, accessories, skin products and sundries

Professional Tennis and Pickle-ball Courts

COMPLIMENTARY TO ALL OF OUR GUESTS

FOOD & DRINK

Daily Continental Breakfast Basket delivered to your door (homemade pastries, coffee, fresh squeezed juice, fruit, etc.)

Fresh Baked Cookies dropped off every afternoon

Weekly Island Events RECREATION

Although there's no kids club, there is babysitting, the island is totally safe, and offers plenty of kid-friendly fun, from hermit crab races and sand castle making to swimming, nature walks, and scavenger hunts.

— HUFFINGTON POST

A tropical playground of deserted islets, private beaches, abundant nature and exciting marine life, Kamalame is a Robinson Crusoe adventure for kids.

ACTIVITIES

While Kamalame does not have designated programs for youngsters, there are plenty of island diversions. The Cay offers snorkeling lessons for children, fun excursions to nearby islets, and Scavenger Hunts can be arranged through Pineapple House with 48 hours notice. Outside of which, there’s the freshwater pool, splashing in the warm shallows along the beach, feeding curly tailed lizards, collecting crabs and shells, building sandcastles, exploring the cay on guided nature walks, and evening bonfires.

CHILDREN

DINING

The dining room at Great House is child friendly and accommodates families with younger children who require earlier meal times. Kamalame offers a Kid’s Menu and the kitchen is happy to prepare special requests that are not listed. There is no food and beverage charge for children five and under whose parents are booked on a ‘Guest of House’ basis.

CHILDCARE

Nannies are available with 24 hours notice through Pineapple House, which is also stocked with basic first aids items in case of any minor tumbles, bites, stings or scrapes.

Anexclusive, yet understated, experience that never compromises on style, Kamalame Cay is a chic, private hideout with all the trimmings and extraordinarily friendly staff.

DINNER AU DEUX

Our romantic four-course dinner for two is served seaside on a white-linen topped table surrounded by Tiki torches and candlelight under a glittering canopy of stars.

CASTAWAY PICNIC

Spend the afternoon on an idyllic islet complete with snorkeling gear and a gourmet hamper stocked with lunch, chilled beverages and wine, and set up in the shade of a palm tree on your own private island.

SUNSET CRUISE

Depart the Cay at dusk and take in Kamalame’s brilliant sunset, cocktail in hand, as our ferry makes a slow tour along the coast.

NORTH END ESCAPE

The ideal place for an afternoon picnic, the northern tip of the Cay is one of Kamalame’s loveliest spots. Arrange for a lunch hamper, hop in your golf cart, and follow the road to the end of the island to discover this ultra secluded and palm shaded beach.

BESPOKE SERVICES

THE CELLAR

Vinophiles looking for something really special may request bottles from our Cellar Selection.

BEACHFRONT

BONFIRE

Grab a bottle of chilled wine from your fridge and settle in around a blazing bonfire under the stars right in front of your beach house. Assembled teepee style out of dense island wood, they last three hours…

NATURE WALK

Enjoy a guided tour of Kamalame’s exotic trees, foliage and flowers with Colette, our resident island botanist and green thumb.

Please reserve in advance with our Concierge Team. List available for pricing.

IN-ROOM AMENITIES

Air Conditioning & Ceiling Fans

Mini Bar

Fresh Spring Water

Selection of Teas

Nespresso Machine

Digital Safe

Books & Games

Molton Brown Toiletries

Robes & Slippers

Beach Bags & Beach Towels

Complimentary Laundry Service

GRATUITIES

Tips are included in the rate and divided amongst staff on a scale. Gratuities for guides or exceptional service are at your discretion and may be handed out directly to staff or left with the manager handling your checkout.

BREAKAGE

Kindly report any accidental damages to the Concierge at Pineapple House so a replacement item may be sourced for you. Depending on the circumstances, a charge may be added to your bill.

COMMUNICATION

Kamalame’s beach houses are not equipped with televisions, Wi-Fi, or phones. However, an on island mobile is included at arrival & internet hotspot available for purchase.

INTERNET

Complimentary WIFI is available 24hrs in the lounge at the Pineapple House along with a selection of tea, coffee, water, and fresh fruit. Given our remote location Internet is run via satellite so please limit downloads to email and web browsing. The system has a daily capacity that does not support larger media files.

HOTSPOTS

We recommend purchasing a hotspot on your phone prior to arrival. We also have hotspots available for purchase for those who need to stay connected. Hotspots (with a daily limit) are included with each Villa.

PHONE

On-island pre-paid mobiles are provided at checkin so you can contact Concierge for anything you might need during your stay. Pineapple House has complementary Wi-Fi and the waiting area is available for internet and quick calls.

PRINTING

The front Desk at Pineapple House is happy to print and deliver any documents you may require. Simply forward the file to concierge@kamalame.com with your name and your room highlighted in the subject line.

MEDICAL

Pineapple House is equipped with Band-Aids, antihistamines, aspirin, and other basic first aid items. In the event of serious injury or illness, the resort will transport you to medical services on Nassau via private plane. Please note that the airstrip is 20 minutes drive from the island.

Should a health incident occur during the night, call for help and stay in place.

FIRST AID & EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

FIRE

Rooms are outfitted with smoke alarms and extinguishers. In the event of fire, evacuate the area and contact a staff member immediately.

Should evacuation of the entire Cay be necessary, report to the Arrival Dock and await further instructions from the Manager.

FUTURE VISION

From its mid-'90s launch as a tiny, off radar resort-four cottages, a pool, and a Great House, frequented by fishing buffs -Kamalame Cay has gradually expanded into a world-renowned stylish getaway. One that now includes a range of villas and bungalows, a collection of private residences, a fine dining program, new sugarcane restaurant, two new professional tennis and pickle-ball courts, an overwater spa and, following the 2023 dredging of the harbour, a marina that accommodates boats up to 100 feet.

Clusters of chic, ocean-side beach suites are planned for a handful of exceptional locations around the island. The first two sets of bungalows were added to the island's north end in 2016 and 2024 will be enhanced by a Club House & Pool that will act as a second Great House.

Finally, with a limited number of beach-front estate lots available for purchase to international homeowners, island development is thoughtfully handled-from who buys to what they build- with an eye on conserving what makes Kamalame so special and unique: Community and Unspoiled Natural Beauty.

A 96-acre private island with a renowned resort, Kamalame Cay has expanded to include private homes on this slice of pristine shoreline hidden among the quiet, coconut palm laced inlets of north-east Andros...

THE BAHAMAS & ANDROS: A LIVELY HISTORY

THE BAHAMAS: ROGUES, REBELS & ROYALTY

Of all the world’s islands, only the rollicking saga of The Bahamas offers such a fascinating blend of socialites, pirates, bootleggers, aristocrats, smugglers, eccentrics, opportunists, and scandal. Its journey from ‘Pirates Republic’ to ‘Jet Set Getaway’ a wild, centuries-long adventure involving a cinematic cast of characters from Captain Morgan and Al Capone to Ernest Hemingway and the Windsors.

SWASHBUCKLERS: 1500’s - 1700 ’ s

Declared a ‘Pirates Republic’ in the 18th century, buccaneers like Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Captain Morgan installed the Skull-and-Crossbones as the unofficial flag of The Bahamas. Stashing treasure among the archipelagos’ isolated cays and channels, and leaving hundreds of wrecks off shore, many locals supported themselves as ‘wreckers’, combing the coast for lost spoils. Today, many local sites commemorate the fabled buccaneers of The Bahamas: Morgan’s Bluff, the highest point on Andros Island, is named for Captain Morgan—the only pirate to be knighted (by King Charles II in 1674). Small Hope Bay on the east coast of Andros takes its name from Morgan’s remark that there was “small hope” of anyone finding the treasure he’d buried there. Nassau’s most august hotel, The Graycliff, is a 1740 estate built with the plundered riches of swashbuckling Captain Graysmith.

CIVIL WAR PROFITEERS: 1860’s

The 19th Century welcomed a fresh wave of adventurous outlaws as the offshore headquarters of American Civil War blockade-runners and the brisk trade that sprang up around their endeavours. Lacking the manufacturing capabilities of their northern counterparts, Southern states relied on overseas imports to carry out the 1861 to 1864 war effort. When President Lincoln cordoned off all southern ports early in the battle, the enormous profits in providing the South with supplies—$300,000 for a round trip while returning with sought-after southern cotton—saw shipbuilders, captains, seamen, entrepreneurs, and profiteers flood into Nassau. Shops were packed, streets were crowded, buildings sprang up across town as land prices quadrupled and the public debt was cleared overnight. The Royal Victoria—a grand hotel opened in 1842 to accommodate the influx of wealthy foreign voyagers from the Cunard line’s newly added Nassau stop—was now awash in everyone tied to the war’s import-export trade. Confederate and British Officers, newspapermen, diplomats, spies, rascals, characters as rich and as colorful as those of the pirate era. Not since the buccaneers had the Bahamas seen such an influx of riches; even the lowliest seaman was drunk on champagne. Many were caught and imprisoned, more died in wrecks or in battle, before General Sherman cut off the southern ports from the interior, ending the Bahamas’ second outlaw gold rush.

RUM RUNNERS: 1920 - 1933

Five decades on, Al Capone would bring a new brand of smuggling to the islands. Overseeing operations from The Graycliff Hotel, which he purchased as a gift for his mistress and was the site of terrific parties, the gangster transformed Nassau into a Jazz Age rum-running hub. With planes and powerboats fanning contraband booze across the East Coast and the Florida Everglades, Prohibition bootlegging became the premier industry in The Bahamas. Reveling in the good times, Nassau’s Lucerne Hotel held an annual Bootleggers Ball. Money flowed freely in all circles, millions were invested in real estate, and many notable family fortunes were made.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: 1930’s

The 30’s also saw The Bahamas earn renown as the favoured game fishing haunt of the era’s most celebrated writer. Captivated by the region’s heroic marine life, Ernest Hemingway spent much of the decade aboard his 38-foot boat, The Pilar, reeling in massive marlin, wahoo, and sailfish. Exploits he recounted in numerous articles for Esquire Magazine including a 1935 account of how he managed to shoot himself in both legs while attempting to subdue a giant, flailing shark he’d hauled aboard. While in the islands, Hemingway wrote much of To Have and Have Not—the only novel he published in the 30s—while his adventures in The Bahamas inspired such later classics as The Old Man and The Sea and Islands in the Stream.

ROYALS, HIGH SOCIETY & SCANDAL: 1940’s - 1950’s

Trailed by stacks of monogrammed Goyard luggage and a phalanx of press photographers, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor sailed into Nassau in 1940 to set up a languid colonial life among the 29 islands and 661 cays of the Bahamas. Dispatched by Winston Churchill to act as Governor, the Duke was chauffeured about in a car graced with a gilded crown in place of a license plate while the Duchess brought her much vaunted style to Government House. Having the interiors painted to match the pale blush of her face powder, which she patted on walls so it could be replicated exactly, the property’s glass doors were etched with the Duke’s imperial cipher. Commissioning a table that’s surface was embellished with a three-foot replica of her signature; the Duchess opted for a chic, modernist decor, swanked up with the occasional Regency flourish.

With the royals in residence, Nassau claimed its place as a tony island getaway and introduced an official, three-month winter ‘season’. Pan Am launched direct flights from Miami, Nassau nightclubs like The Silver Slipper and The Zanzibar presented live orchestras and “native” floorshows, and The Porcupine Club soon boasted an exclusive membership of Mellons, Morgans, and Astors.

With the international set building coastal mansions in which to lavishly entertain one another, Nassau was quickly deemed the “Social Center of the South,” a seasonal retreat that hosted a whirlwind of seasonal parties for Palm Beach and New York society. However, with Nassau’s long history of notoriety and the intrigue that followed the Windsors wherever they went, the island would soon be engulfed in scandal. Often invited to Sir Harry Oakes’ Westbourne state, the lavish pink villa on Cable Beach would be the site of the tycoon’s infamous 1943 murder. With authorities, including the Duke, trying to frame another titled local, Count Alfred de Marigny, for the crime, the incident and ensuing trial was splashed across international newspapers and would become the subject of innumerable films and books.

In the end, de Marigny was acquitted and sailed off to Havana with his wife—Sir Harry Oakes daughter, Nancy—where their good friend, Ernest Hemingway, welcomed them ashore. And the scandal only served to cement Nassau’s reputation as a posh, tropical outpost. Equal parts louche and luxe, Nassau next saw the 1948 opening of Sir Oliver Simmonds’ Balmoral Club; an exclusive hotel that became known as the ‘Immoral Club’ for its adulterous, cocktail-swilling clientele.

THE ECCENTRIC HEIRESS

However, high society and high jinx was hardly confined to Nassau. Just southeast, Whale Cay was home to the unconventional Standard Oil heiress, Joe Carstairs: A tattooed lesbian with a penchant for Savile Row suits and fine cigars whose powerboat-racing career had established her as the “fastest woman on water”. Purchasing Whale Cay in 1935, Carstairs erected a grand Spanish villa and a museum to highlight her accomplishments. Always accompanied by ‘Lord Tod Wadley’—a leather Steiff doll that she considered her best friend—Carstairs appointed herself ‘ruler’ of the nine-mile island and its inhabitants. Her home for the next four decades, where she entertained a parade of beautiful women, including her lovers Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich, gifting the latter with her own beach house as a WWII respite.

HEYDAY: 1960’s DRUG SMUGGLERS: 1980 ’ s

With the 1961 U.S. embargo on Cuba, Havana’s affluent American holidaymakers were rerouted to Nassau for sophisticated island holidays of Polo, gambling, nightlife, and cocktail parties. Looking to create a Bahamian Monte Carlo, Huntington Hartford purchased Hog Island, a two-mile cay just off Nassau, and renamed it Paradise Island. This handsome heir to a supermarket fortune, built the iconic Ocean Club hotel in 1962 and flew more than two thousands guests on private jets for opening night. The following year, Lord Dudley, Third Earl of Staffordshire, purchased The Graycliff on Nassau, refashioned it in high English style, and welcomed Lord Beaverbrook, Lord Mountbatten and Sir Winston Churchill. Meanwhile, the posh seaside residences of Lyford Cay, a gated, 448acre community on Nassau’s west coast that launched in the 1958, was now a winter roost for the international set. Home to the winter estates of Babe Paley, Princess Grace, the Ford automotive heirs, the Aga Khan, and their glittering, high season guest lists.

Drawing an influx of famous visitors, Nassau’s reputation as a star-studded tropical getaway was secured in 1965. The Paradise Island Casino served as a backdrop for Thunderball—Sean Connery stepping off a speedboat in a crisp dinner jacket— as the Beatles checked into The Balmoral Club to film scenes for Help!

Out in the Exumas, southwest of Nassau, the advent of the 80s cocaine boom saw The Bahamas hark back to its fabled outlaw past—this time as the era’s most notorious international smuggling hub. In cahoots with Pablo Escobar, Manuel Noriega, and Fidel Castro, Carlos Lehder bought half of Norman’s Cay and converted its yacht club, marina, and airstrip into an international drug trafficking outpost. Chasing off locals and unsuspecting visitors, Lehder assumed total control over his lawless fiefdom. He extended the tarmac and installing a compound renowned for its endless parties and good time girls. Revolutionizing the global drug trade, Lehder replaced human “mules” with aircraft fleets that carried 300 kilos of cocaine from Columbia to every corner of America. With his wealth ballooning into the billions, Lehder offered to pay off Colombia’s external debt to escape criminal charges but to no avail as the DEA’s “Operation Caribe,” brought his empire to the ground. The drug lord received a life sentence but his infamous legacy prevailed, with references to his escapades in cult classics like the 2001 movie, Blow

THE 90’s & NOUGHTIES

Now welcoming millions of guests each year, Nassau–Paradise Island is a booming, international resort destination lined in boutiques, casinos, restaurants, and oceanfront resorts. Those inclined toward less glitz and a crowds have turned to the surrounding, less trammeled islands—The Exumas, Eleuthera, Harbour Island, and Kamalame Cay—where deserted beaches, pristine coral reefs, and smaller, privately run hotels are found scattered amongst the more charming and secluded cays and atolls.

HISTORY: ANDROS

For a relatively unknown island, Andros has an unusual past and rather extraordinary guest list; one that ranges from Columbus to The Rat Pack, spanning world leaders and famed explorers.

SPANISH MARAUDERS & CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS: 1500’s

Despite its 2,300 square mile span, stunning beaches, and close proximity to Nassau, just a 15-minute flight away, Andros is scarcely populated, its original inhabitants surviving only in the diaries of Christopher Columbus. Having claimed the island in 1492, the Spaniards were so impressed by the free-diving skills of the native Lucayan tribe— expertise perfected gathering conch—that they’d quickly enslaved them. Shipping them off to toil as pearl divers in Venezuela, where they expired from diseases they had no immunity to and were rendered extinct by 1520.

SPORTSMEN & PLANTATIONS: 1890’s - 1920’s

Andros had enjoyed a unique assortment of visitors over the years. Prior to becoming British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain ran a sisal plantation at Mastic Point in the 1890s—or attempted to. Legend has it that local Androsians were asked by Chamberlain to cut down trees that supposedly housed the nests of mythical spirits known as "chickcharnies". These local workers would ward off the spiritual creature with voodoo powers passed from their Seimonle Indian and African ancestors. Superstitious descendants of African slaves and Seminole Indians, they avoided these mythic creatures with voodoo powers. Bolting in terror, they left Chamberlain to fell the trees himself, which he did and, according to local lore, was thus cursed for life. Maybe they were on to something: The plantation, despite six yeas of effort, was a failure… and we all know what happened at Munich during WWII.

Enjoying better luck, the American Bethel family founded Flamingo Cay on the west coast of Andros in the 1920s. Named for its thriving flock of national birds, the private lodge welcomed well-heeled sportsmen, including the Duke of Windsor, for private boar and waterfowl shoots. Now a century old, and open to paying guests, Flamingo Cay is an exclusive fishing and hunting resort run by the original owner’s grandson, Charles B. M. Bethell III, who also enjoys flying his vintage planes.

THE LIGHTHOUSE CLUB ERA: ROYALS, THE RAT PACK & WWII PROFITEERS: 1940’s & 50’s

By the mid 20th Century, sleepy Andros was home to 5,000 fishermen, basket weavers, and subsistence farmers, scattered along a handful of coastal settlements. The island’s backwater somnolence broken up only by the 1950’s arrival of The Lighthouse Club: a ritzy development financed by Swedish industrialist, Axel Wenner-Gren.

Having made his fortune with the Electrolux vacuum-cleaner company—as well as munitions for the Reich—Wenner-Gren relocated to the islands in '42 to avoid war and taxes. He arrived aboard the Souther Cross - a palatial yacht purchased from Howard Hughes with tricked out anti-war artillery.

Having set himself up in the islands; the millionaire Swede and was swiftly taken up by the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Exiled to Nassau, the bored governing royals were thrilled to welcome WennerGren: A kindred spirit given to bragging about his friendship with Hermann Goering who came handily equipped with the world’s largest private luxury liner. The trio was soon under constant surveillance by British Intelligence who, aware that the Duke looked forward to reclaiming the English throne upon Hitler’s much-anticipated victory, viewed Wenner- Gren as his chief liaison with the Nazis. The agent assigned to the case? Ian Fleming. Meanwhile, with plans to develop a Shangri-La for the sun-seeking super rich, WennerGren purchased 100,000 acres in Fresh Creek,

Andros. Though the full scheme would never be fully unrealized—the power broker got as far as a posh yacht club before his death in ’61.

Completed in the early ‘50s, The Lighthouse Club drew sailboats full of swells over from Nassau, like the Rat Pack docking for drinks or Esther Williams sipping cocktails by the pool. Despite a roster of glitterati inclined to clearing tabs with thousand dollar bills—four-digit currency that startled the locals— the Lighthouse Club lasted less than ten years.

It's demise, according to local folklore, transpired from a curse laid by an employee, whose young daughter had been violated by a wealthy tobacco heir.

Expeditiously decapitating himself by strolling into a propeller as he attempted to depart the island, the cad’s swift and fatal comeuppance was deemed black magic by the Club’s staff. They dropped whatever they were doing and fled the lavish estate.

Abandoned, The Lighthouse Club was devoured by the jungle with banana trees shooting up through the pool until a hotel was erected with the name a few decades later.

THE HIPPIE BOHEMIANS OF SMALL HOPE BAY: 1960’s

From heirs and heiresses to hippies, Andros evolved into an island steeped in unique history. After the end of The Lighthouse Club era, a group of Canadians took over a palm fringed, turquoise cove and founded Small Hope Bay Lodge. This land had earned its ignoble title in the 1800s as a so-called hiding spot for Captain Morgan. The swashbuckling pirate judged the coast such a riddle of estuary-traced nooks and crannies that looters would have “small hope” of finding the treasure he stashed there. Swapping urban culture for island life, Small Hope’s ex pat hippie occupants constructed a rustic retreat of wood cabins that stretched from the white sand

shore into the flowering jungle; spending their days artfully splattering colourful kaftans with wax as they refined their batik skills. Paying guests explored the kaleidoscopic barrier reef a mile off shore, idling in seaside hammocks, and squeezing lemon juice onto slabs of fresh-caught marlin. Small Hope’s hedonist mien and superb scuba diving earned the groovy resort a spread in Playboy and famous guests like Pierre Trudeau, an avid diver. The Canadian Prime Minister and his flowerchild wife, Margaret, would conceive their first son here in ’71 – a Christmas day baby called Justin, who would grow up to be Prime Minister of Canada, just like his father.

DIVERS & MARINE EXPLORERS: 1970’s

With the world’s third largest Great Barrier Reef just offshore, the ‘70s also brought a phalanx of marine conservationists and scientists to Andros. Jacques Cousteau charting and filming its legendary Blue Holes, one of the most spectacular of which is now named for him: Cousteau’s Blue Hole as the Forfar Field Station, opened in 1968 at the tip of North Andros. A non-profit research facility in North Blanket Sound that offers courses in marine biology and island ecology; named for Archie Forfar, a Canadian who lived on Andros and died here in 1971 attempting to break the world record for depth on scuba.

THE QUEEN, CRAB FEST & BONEFISHING: 1980’s

When Queen Elizabeth touched down in the ‘80s, she cut the ribbon at Queen’s Park in Fresh Creek, which would become home to the island’s annual Crab Fest celebration, a summer event that now attracts thousands every year from Nassau and beyond. Drawn to Andros’ world-class deep sea and bone fishing; the 80s also saw a wave of enthusiastic fishermen like George H.W. Bush.

THE HEW FAMILY PIONEERS KAMALAME CAY: 1990’s

Today, Kamalame hums along, as a unique, privately run resort that’s still home to the close knit clan who created it with such singular creativity and spirit. Transforming an isolated island into an elegant, palm shaded village where every member and guest is treated as a friend of the family.

Located just off its north east coast, Kamalame was Andros islands first luxury hotel when it opened in 1998 with four cottages, a pool, and The Great House. A 15-minute hopper from Nassau, Kamalame’s laid-back charm, premier fishing and diving, deserted beaches and lush landscape began drawing a wave of international guests. Over the next two decades, the Cay slowly and gracefully evolved into a under the radar retreat known as much for its tropical elegance, fine dining, stylish habitués, and convivial atmosphere, as its idyllic coastline, flowering jungle, coral gardens and ocean excursions.

Bringing high-end lodging to the rustic island, as it expanded, Kamalame became the major employer for North Andros. Vitalizing the local community by engaging hundreds of workers: Managers, waiters, kitchen staff and housekeepers, through gardeners, mechanics and construction crews. Success that has seen roads, infrastructure and telecomm improve and, in recent years, holiday homes and new local businesses cropping up along the North end of Andros.

TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST AWARDS

[ 2016, 2017, 2018 , 2020, 2020, 2021, 2022 ]

NO.1 RESORT IN CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA & THE BAHAMAS, 2021

N

O.7 RESORT IN THE WORLD, 2021

N

O.1 RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS, 202 0

NO.5 RESORT IN CARIBBEAN, BERMUDA & THE BAHAMAS, 202 0

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER READERS' CHOICE AWARDS

[ 2016, 2017, 2018 , 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 ]

CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER GOLD LIST [ 2018 , 2020 ]

N

O.1 RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS, 2020

N

O.2 RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS, BERMUDA, AND TURKS AND CAICOS, 2020

WORLD TRAVEL AWARDS LEADING PRIVATE ISLAND RESORTS [ 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 ]

NO.1 RESORT IN THE BAHAMAS, 2022

FODER'S FINEST HOTELS AWARDS TOP 92 HOTELS IN THE WORLD, 2021

O.1 HOTEL IN THE BAHAMAS , 2023