Cocodimama Charming Resort

Cocodimama is the result of a year-long search by a Sicilian tour operator and his wife, who set out in 1999 to find an island that matched their idea of a quintessential retreat. They looked across Asia, Africa, Australia and South America before a sunset on Eleuthera's Alabaster Bay settled the matter. The name comes from an Italian phrase for a mother's affection, and the couple ran the place accordingly, opening first as a small Italian restaurant with a deck over the water, then growing it into a bed-and-breakfast of about a dozen rooms. It is a boutique stay. The resort now holds 14 rooms across three buildings and a shared main house, decorated in a mix of Bahamian and Mediterranean touches, and is let to a single party at a time, sleeping up to 35 overnight guests. The beach itself runs wide and shallow, with a sandbar reaching out a couple hundred metres, good for children and for slow, thigh-deep wading. Rooms come with en suite bathrooms, air conditioning and a private balcony facing the water. Guests hire their own cook for the on-site commercial kitchen, and the resort hosts beach bonfires and barbecues on select nights. Governor's Harbour and its airport sit close by, along with several local restaurants.