Interest in honeymoon-style overwater bungalows in the Caribbean is extremely high, and there is a new reason to be optimistic that we may finally get them after an announcement recently in the Bahamas. According to the Nassau Guardian, a proposed resort called Leaf Cay in the Exuma Island chain has won approval from the government for its plan to build a private-island resort similar to those in the Maldives and Bora Bora.

The proposal is for a 13.1-acre resort that would include 16 luxurious overwater bungalows in addition to a few dozen other villas and townhouses. The approval process took 19 months according to the owners, which may sound like a long time but is typical in the islands. Sandals St. Lucia took at least a year to get approval for their proposed overwater bungalows, and as of early 2014 they are reportedly ready to break ground after years of delays.

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Leaf Cay looks great, but it's too early to celebrate

The website for Leaf Cay looks very promising, but obviously there is a big difference between building an impressive resort website and building an impressive resort. If everything goes well this will be one of the premier resorts in the Caribbean area, and we are certainly crossing our fingers that it happens.

For a few key reasons, we are at least a little skeptical that it will every happen, however. There have been several similar proposed resorts in this part of the world (Belize and Turks and Caicos most notably) that either never broke ground or were abandoned shortly thereafter.

 

One thing these would-be resorts have in common is a plan to sell the units to the public and then have the buyers participate in rental income when other guests book the bungalows. In other words, it appears that they don’t have the money or access to credit to actually build the resort unless at least some people come in early as partners.

 

And at the risk of being too nitpicky, these proposed resorts all use photos of existing resorts on their websites. Leaf Cay uses at least a few photos from the Bora Bora Hilton, for example, rather than using drawings of what they actually plan to build. They do use computer images (as seen above) to show what the whole resort is supposed to look like compared to what the island looks like now, however.


No proposed opening date yet

As of now the owners have not announced when Leaf Cay is proposed to be open, and we’ll update things as soon as we hear. It’s taken Sandals several years to even prepare to break ground for overwater bungalows at its St. Lucia property, and as of now those are rumored to be opening in early 2015. It’s hard to imagine this resort opening before that, and it could be 2016 or beyond even if everything goes well.


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  1. I’m wanting book a overwater (for a couple) from Honolulu for 2 nights in November 2022.
    What is the instruction ? Could I contact you privately ?

    Reply

    1. Martine,

      We are simply an online guide to overwater resorts around the world and we don’t do bookings. We have links to the best source to book each resort on each of the pages. Best of luck! -Roger

      Reply

  2. I’m wanting to take my family to a vacation in a bungalow..over water.
    Swimming pool..I have 6 adults and 2 kids. Can u help?…send name of place or pics

    Reply

    1. Hank,

      Unfortunately there are no overwater bungalows that can accommodate 8 people. Most of them are built for 2 or 3 people and even the rare resorts with 2-bedroom units charge a fortune for those. You are best off looking for 3 separate normal overwater bungalows for your group. -Roger

      Reply

    1. Katherine,

      I cover most of this in my article on when to go to the Maldives. The short version is that there are pros and cons to any time of the year. It’s really only late May through early July when you might get hours of rain at a time. The rest of the year the rain tends to come quickly and usually end in 20 minutes or less. I think most people actually prefer to go to the Maldives when the weather is worst where they live, because it’s always warm and pleasant in the Maldives. -Roger

      Reply

  4. I’m just in the beginning stages of planning an anniversary vacation for around Sept if next year so I know it’s to early to book but wanted to know where I should be looking for the best rates on fights from atlanta Georgia. We want an over water bungalow all inclusive or mostly all inclusive lunch and dinner with drinks/alcohol included. And a few activities. If you know of 2 or 3 options that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you..

    Reply

    1. April,

      There are a few very expensive all-inclusive overwater bungalow resorts in the Caribbean, but none in Bora Bora or anywhere else in the South Pacific. If you really want all-inclusive then the Maldives is your best bet as they have about 25 resorts there that are all inclusive or offer all-inclusive options. You’ll probably get the cheapest flights from Atlanta to the Maldives about 5 months out. And you’ll usually get the best rates at a resort from 3 to 6 months out. Have a great trip. -Roger

      Reply

  5. Hi
    I am very interested to know how to build a bungalow and the conditions ex. Water deep , power of waves , etc
    Tnx

    Reply

    1. M,

      I get this question a lot and it always surprises me. I wish I could help, but we are an online guide to overwater hotels and we have nothing to do with construction of them. You might consider contacting construction firms in the Maldives, since most of the world’s overwater resorts are there and they keep building new ones. -Roger

      Reply