Name: The Sugar Apple Lodging
Address: Colebrooke Street, Harbour Island, Harbour Island, Harbour Island, Nassau, The Bahamas, Bahamas
Rating: 9

Smoke-free property

Garden

Terrace

Outdoor furniture

General

Free Wi-Fi

Internet

Free parking

Parking

Pets Not Allowed

Pets

Extra decontamination measures

Contactless check-in and/or check-out

Additional measures against COVID-19

Health and Safety Measures

Location

At the apartment

Pink Sand Beach

North Eleuthera International Airport

Governor's Harbour Airport

The Sugar Apple Lodging

Harbour Island

We had a very nice 2nd floor, one-bedroom apartment complete with a private balcony with 2 comfy lounge chairs - great for relaxing. The best part of Sugar Apple is the host, Rosita, who is kind, generous and full of good information. It is very close to a public access beach that is hardly used and Rosie provided beach chairs and an umbrella. Great location (across from Ramora Bay that has a good restaurant - Aquapazza - and their other eatery has a 3:30-6 p.m. Happy Hour! You're also right up the street from Ma Ruby's where a delicious grouper dinner may be had with island music on Friday nights. Let Rosie advise  you on renting a golf cart and then you can  scoot to the nearby grocery (Piggly-Wiggly) and bakery (Arthur's). It's always an adventure getting to Harbour Island but once there, Sugar Apple and Rosie provided a perfect retreat.

Sweet Stay at Sugar Apple

Rosie is an amazing host, gave us loads of tips to enjoy our stay on Harbor Island. She helped us organise our onward travel too. Sugar Apple has the authentic feel of the Bahamas.

Management is very friendly and seeks to make your visit comfortable and pleasant.

Very friendly host. Excellent location. Walking distance to the main beach.

Terrific place. Located across from the Remora Resort. Tiny, simple cozy and perfect for a couple. Clean as can be. These folks care about every detail of your visit. Wonderful, gracious warm Bahamian hospitality.

Cozy, clean and nice.

Ken and Cindy first of all I take this time to say thank you for choosing our property at The Sugar Apple Lodging. 

You checked in on 19th of December 2020  before hours of checkin time at our property on Harbour Island .Checkin time is between 3 to 6 pm . 
Mrs Thelma works at another property of ours and she was scheduled to go at the Sugar Apple to prepare for your arrival though on your reservations there was No time stated for you to arrive. As shown one of the photos above. 

However you came  early I spoke to Cindy your wife  I explained to her the situation of checkin time and that she was early for checkin can you give us time to get the room ready she  said it was okay admitted you guys showing up early because she knew that you she arrived early but that you guys  could go and explore the island and have lunch  then return later to get into the room. 
Also I mentioned to Cindy that our water heater had issues which we had to remove yesterday (Friday)and that the plumber was to come and replace another water heater smaller then what was there before because it’s all that was available. 
She asked will she get hot water today or Monday. My reply was we will work on it for today. 

When you returned to the room we had installed a 10 gallon water heater which was all that was available has I discussed with your wife on the island so  we purchased and installed that. 
That was not a 25 gallon  which was there before but you got a 10 gallon water heater which is  the same size has in other units  . These are what we use which can get extremely hot once turned to maximum temperature  has I explained to Ken via our phone conversations also I was back and forth asking you Ken , how is the temperature of the water you said it was getting hot slowly but surely why because it was not originally turn up to maximum so you and I continued our conversation back and forth about 3 time or 4 times  trying to get the correct temperature , for the water to heat cause I honestly did not want it too high cause I didn’t not want you to get burnt while showering. You also mentioned in our conversation together that the heater was on low. So when you said it’s hot but you see where it can be turned up some more I then called the plumber back again to kindly go and turn up to the maximum because Ken says it’s still not hot enough.  Ken you know that the plumber and I worked on that water temperature until you were satisfied. I also requested Mrs Thelma on Tuesday after you went out, when we installed another Brand New kitchen Faucet on Monday to confirm if that water was getting hot she said “Mrs Rosie I got burnt I don’t see why they’ll want it any hotter than that.” Unfortunately all of this happened because the government water and power system went off which I apologized or due to circumstances beyond my control.Which is when we put you on our water systems down I don’t understand how you can say that the plumber said it was a problem with our pump and he is the exact one who installed it 1 month ago. However once the government power went off then we don’t have internet as well. Yes some properties on Harbor island have generators but we get our power from the government which is what we pay for, residents and guest are familiar with such circumstances not only The Sugar Apple property  to endure such situations. We face challenges like all others. However we try to make our guests stay has comfortable has we can when we face such challenges. 

Ken and Cindy could NOT deny that they did NOT get internet excess from check in date . actually during our conversation back and forth daily perhaps 6 or 8 times within the first few days i kept asking Ken are you denying you don’t have internet he keep saying I do not have internet actually I proved him untruthful because when the  
friend who I was talking to online I asked him to give Ken the phone and greeted Ken then I said to Ken do you realize I’m speaking to you via the internet at the property he said oh okay
at that moment  I’m getting it perfectly here where I’m sitting in the garden then I said but you have been saying since you arrive you never had internet then he said oh okay I have the internet perfectly I’m in the garden so Ken said let me go inside the room then I’ll confirm if internet was inside he went and we spoke for a minute then the phone started reconnecting which is what normally happens on what’s up. The signal was low in certain parts of the apartment  but Ken and Cindy is Not being fare by saying that they did not have internet from the moment they arrive on the property or in the unit . I told Ken that in some areas the internet signal were not strong because of the all the steel beams in the building and I told Ken that from first day. 

Ken kept insisting that bring another router in the room however we asked the cable company to come and Assit which they did after constantly begging after a few days though they were there from Monday did their service and told me Ms Rosie your internet works perfectly only low signals in certain locations of the unit but there is internet.  So I requested the cable guy to come and place one in that unit which Ken took a photo of and placed it for viewers to view. 
My question to Ken and Cindy while there are you denying you do not have internet but my friend with you there and Mrs Thelma  and cable tech confirmed that internet was there only low bars in certain areas. So because you insisted on bring a router the cable tech guy put it in also. 

However Mrs Thelma was there on Tuesday and she was talking to me from the unit where their son stayed in the second bedroom. The signal was very clear . We did have the cable company come over on Monday to clean the pole I was then told that the wire on the poles for cable company had to do some maintenance. Then I said go the company kindly put another router in the unit which is what Ken took a photo off . Ken and Cindy always had internet. As a matter of fact The lady called Ebony connected Ken and he said he was online  on Saturday  when he checked in so why all denials I leave it in their  conscience .

Regarding cleanliness of the room when you said that it was dirty I ensured that Mrs. Thelma came to your room the next day and re-clean the whole room with brand new sheets and she came with another person to help her. And also since you were complaining that you needed the room cleaned every day even though it states that cleaning is once per stay she came to you and that is when your wife,Cindy, told her on Thursday that she doesn’t need to clean the room  because it was clean yesterday and also adding that she doesn’t change her sheets everyday in her house and you were a witness to what she said to Mrs. Thelma and she also told you “Ken that you know we don’t change the sheets every day.” Also regarding the cushions Mrs. Thelma gave them to you cause she also sent me photos when she put them outside so you can’t say that. As a matter of fact all the time when your water was being fixed the plumber always used the WIFI. And for you to say that I use guest money to come to Kenya that is just a plan and simple lie because I haven’t received any money yet from Expedia and you didn’t even want to pay for the golf cart you rented. Mrs. Thelma had to beg you to pay her for the golf cart and you even went on saying that a big wheeler in a different company goes for $40 and it really is between $75-80 a day you can even look online, and after all of that you ended up tipping her $50. So for you to say that all I did was deny you can’t say that because every time you came with a complaint I ensured that everything was done.

Respond to Review

Please find full review on Google.Limiting to 1500 characters, To put it simply, the own of this property no longer has the "hospitality gene" and was in a different continent while were were there. Every problem we encountered with the apartment was met with denial and then apology. For most things a photo/movie or an in-person visit from a "friend" was required before any remedy was made.This is NOT a 3-star accommodation. 2 star at best.

Let’s be very clear about what the Sugar Apple Lodging is and what it is not. It is three apartments located on the ground floor of a two-story house. The owner’s apartment, when in residence, is located upstairs.  Since it is an apartment, do not expect to find anything you might find at a resort, or “lodge”. It is bare-bones and provides a place to stay while on Harbour Island. If you are looking for more than a place to stay, I would suggest you look elsewhere.

Being an apartment, it’s simple to write a report addressing the primary resources you would expect to find in an apartment. You can decide what “star” rating it is, but from my family’s experience from extensive traveling, this apartment would be more appropriately rated somewhere between 1-2 stars. It should never have been listed at 3-star by Expedia.

Our week-long stay is quite likely to be different than others because we believe we were the first guests to arrive after the Bahamas closed down for Covid. We made our reservation on 11/5, after the island opened for travelers, and our reservation was for 12/19. This provided a six-week window for the owner to prepare the apartment. Sadly, it was far from ready when we arrived.

The apartment owner was not in residence and completely relied on a local contact for maintaining the units. Our biggest complaint is that whenever we didn’t have water pressure, didn’t have hot water, didn’t have internet, didn’t have the usual items that come with a kitchen apartment, didn’t have clean towels, floors, sheets—we had to contact the local (“Ms. Thelma”) and she would contact the owner, who would then decide what actions would be taken. However, in every case, the owner would deny the problem existed. Eventually, I had to text the owner, but it still resulted in the owner denying there was a problem. In every case, it required having a “friend of the owner” come by the apartment and VERIFY that the problem existed before any resolution would be attempted. Videos and pictures helped tremendously. I have included them for examples.

Electricity: This was turned off when we arrived. Granted, the check-in time is 3pm, and the two flights per day arrive at either noon or 1pm, so it’s all but guaranteed you will arrive on Harbour Island before 3pm. We didn’t set any speed records and still arrived at the apartment by 2pm. There was no one there. We later learned we were not the first guests to have this problem.
Upon arrival Saturday afternoon, there was no one on the premises to “check us in.” (see picture) Our cab driver shouts up to the house: “Thelma, you have guests.”  When no one appeared, he contacted Thelma and eventually, Thelma showed up. Thelma is the local contact for the Sugar Apple Lodge, the owner, Rosie, was in Kenya

Ms. Thelma then scrambled to find an electrician to turn on the electricity. Power on the islands can be sketchy. All the resorts have backup generators and it seems many, many homes have them as well. This is not the case for Sugar Apple apartments. Once we had electricity, it was time to check out the next resource…

Water:  The town water is not considered potable for tourists and you will want to stock up on bottled water. You might expect to find a “welcome bottle” upon arrival (2-star+ lodging) but there was no drinkable water in the apartment. Town water can also be turned off by the water authority for various reasons, so most lodging and homes also have backup wells. Sugar Apple did, but the pump required to provide pressure for the well water is almost inoperative (see video) During the week, we went from well water to town water, back to well water, back to town water. In light of Covid, not having running water for their guests to wash their hands!  Unbelievable. We did finally get running water, but hot water was a different story. After our first night, we figured the hot water would have had plenty of time to heat, but the first shower showed it was barely lukewarm, and just a trickle, not enough pressure– even the luke-warm water ran out after one shower—there were three of us (it’s a two-bedroom apartment!). After considerable texting and denials from the owner, the owner informed us that she had recently installed a new heater and that it was “all she could find” in some short amount of time. (See the photo). This heater is 10 gallons, enough to barely get one hot shower. When the plumber installed it, the plumber later told us he was told to keep the heat down to avoid scalding. The problem is that means you run through the luke-warm water even quicker. It took yet another day to get it set higher (day 4 now) to have enough hot water for two quick showers. We never were able to get three showers worth of hot water.

Cleanliness: The apartment had not been cleaned in quite some time, so when we arrived, everything was dusty and smelled of stale, moistness. There was also sand on the bathroom floor, smelly towels, etc.  While I cannot say for certain, it appeared the place had been cleaned after the last guests from the spring had left, but nothing had been done to prepare the apartment for our arrival. The owner had six weeks to prepare. We had to request a full cleaning. Apparently it was our responsibility to point out to the owner that the place was not clean for guests.

Internet:  While my family were on vacation and not “working remotely” we relied on having at least SOME internet to avoid paying the international fees for cell phones. Upon checking in on Saturday, we asked Thelma to make sure that we had internet for our son to work on Monday.  THERE WAS NO INTERNET WHEN WE ARRIVED. The owner of, Sugar Apple, Rosie, was in Kenya; but apparently has an apartment upstairs.  Being Saturday, the internet company didn’t arrive until Monday to resolve the problem While Thelma, did get the internet turned on, our son was not able to work as the connection was constantly dropped. This was a daily battle w/Rosie and my husband.  She just refused to believe that the internet wasn’t working.  Not until a phone call was dropped between a maintenance worker Darren, who was on the phone w/Rosie, when he walked inside the house, did Rosie finally believe my husband. Our son finally returned to Miami. Meanwhile, my wife and I were forced to pay $20/day each, to receive internet on our phones so we could text Rosie about our problems!

To be fair we got great internet outside. But you can’t expect guests to only use a laptop outside! And that wasn’t until day five, that the cushions to the lawn furniture were brought out from storage.   Come to find out, all Rosie needed to do, on day one or even BEFORE, was to move the access point from her apartment upstairs into our rental downstairs.   Such a small step would have kept our son on the island w/us.  

Finally, In order to flush the toilet after a bowel movement, it was necessary to open the tank, push the float down, to allow enough water in for it to fully flush the bowel movement. It turns out the toilet float that had been installed was incorrectly sized and would shutoff the water filling the tank prematurely. 

As for room noise, well, let's just say don't expect to fall asleep until after 11-midnight as the road is only 50 feet away. The roosters are part of the "charm" of the island and eventually you get used to them, but they simply help you get up in the morning to go exploring.

To be clear, we were constantly battling for the basics, running water, hot water, internet, clean apartment, outdoor cushions to sit on lawn furniture.  The owner has a real attitude problem She does not have the hospitality gene. Perhaps she did in the past, but in our case she does the bare minimum in hopes that she can collect her rent money and then escape to Kenya. If you contact the local real estate firms or other travel services, we expect you can do a lot better. We used Expedia and they were of little help and only offered to rebook into a location not located on Harbour Island, for twice the price.

We paid a three star price for a 2 star (1 Star?!) lodging.  No vacation should be a “battle for the basics.”

This is an apartment rental. It is 2-star at best.

We gave this one star only because zero wasn't an option. Large cockroaches in the bathroom that I had to kill and take pictures of. There were a number of other bugs as well. Not how a relaxing holiday should be spent ever. Dirty sheets also. 

There was no one around to look after us when we arrived. A random stranger pointed to our door with the key inside when we got there and said this is your room. After complaining about the bug infested room and the owner agreeing to change us to a different room upstairs: that room while appearing cleaner had no hot water and the cleaning lady told us not to look in the cabinets as they were filthy under the sink. We told the owner we would try the room out for the night to make sure it was alright before deciding on staying there for the rest of the trip. The owner proceeded to state that we had to make a decision before we even had a chance to stay in the room. All we were able to do was give it a quick once over because the cleaning lady was slow to arrive and clean it well past the time she was told to by the owner. So we decided this headache wasn't worth it and had the help of a good travel agent to get us off this island as quickly as possible. This marred our entire trip as it changed our logistics completely. 

We will never go back here or to The Bahamas and the only good part was when we left this island and the entire region and came home. To her credit the owner gave us a full refund. That's the only positive of all of this. But that was also a challenge to obtain. All in all a horrible experience that we will never forget.

Bug infested

An amazing stay. Rosita was wonderful and took care of all our needs to make our stay perfect.  She made us feel like family. The grounds are beautiful. We loved our morning coffee on the deck under the palms  Our room was comfortable and clean. The beautiful Pink Sands beaches and great restaurants are close by. We would definitely stay again.  We loved it!

The Sugar Apple Lodging

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