PARADISE FOUND Discover double the bliss at these two luxurious island retreats
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’m an island aficionado, a chump for any floating landmass ringed by powdery white beaches and turquoise water. There’s nothing like lolling on an isolated patch of sand with exotic birds flying overhead, a breeze that never disappears and the sound of steel drums somewhere in the distance. Recently we escaped reality on Paradise Island. Since we couldn’t decide between two unique resorts, we spent a few days at each one.
The One&Only Ocean Club
Friends in-the-know who fre-
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BC The Magazine // March/April 2012
quent the Caribbean raved about The One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island. The low-key, bi-level resort with just 105 rooms and three villas is spread out on 35 acres with three miles of unspoiled beach. And gorgeous terraced gardens that extend a quarter of a mile on seven levels. Never mind that the Bahamas are in the Atlantic, not the Caribbean, as most people think. Why quibble about semantics when the Bahamas have the same clear blue water, cerulean sky and pristine beaches? Even better, it has this remarkable resort with a wonderful
sense of place and a unique history. In 1939, a wealthy Swedish industrialist discovered what was then known as “Hogg Island” while on a world cruise aboard his private yacht. He bought the island, which he christened Shangri-La, and created a private estate on it. In 1959, he sold Shangri-La for $9.5 million to Huntington Hartford II, grandson of the founder of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P). Hartford’s first order of business was to change the island’s name to Paradise Island. He added a hotel, exclusive cottages and a golf course, and then dubbed the ex-