by Ernie Martin
Great Harbour Cay, Bahamas, an hour's flight from Miami, is a tropical paradise with what Travel and Leisure calls one of the most beautiful white-sand beaches in the world. Nestled in idyllic Sugar Beach is "BolaBeach", the beach home we owned for over 20 years, until we sold it in 2023; its magnificent setting can be seen in the aerial view shown further down.
Completed in 2002, BolaBeach is a centrally air conditioned 4-bedroom 3-bath house on a private 1.32-acre property encompassing two beachfront lots. It was designed by me and custom-built to our specifications -- with a high cathedral ceiling in the Great Room and quirks like a bidet in the master bath. Sleeps 12, due to the two sofabeds in the Great Room. The large ocean-facing terrace and 15-foot diameter Tiki hut on the beach have fully-reclining lounge chairs with cushions; after you've seen the floor plan and pictures below, there is a link with more details at the bottom of the page. And the house is here to stay, able to withstand the most powerful hurricanes and even flooding from the worst-case sea-level rise forecast for this century (details here).
But once in Great Harbour Cay, there's lots to see and do: caves, great fishing, a huge sand bar that's a treasure trove of sand-dollars and shells, plus amazing things in nearby islands. Click here for details, including how to get there.
