Enhancing the Cotton Bay Experience

Beyond the pink-and-white sand beaches of Eleuthera lay Wood Cay and Water Cay, Cotton Bay's two privately-owned, uninhabited islands.  The islands are available to residents and guests as a private retreat, so they may enjoy solitude and serenity on not one but three islands.  Cotton Bay is keeping the islands on reserve so that homeowners of Cotton Bay Estates and guests of Cotton Bay Villas, Starwood's Luxury Collection resort, may take daytrips to the cays at their leisure.   

“Visitors of the cays will be able to enjoy barbequing, shelling and sunbathing on islands that feel all their own,” said Franklyn Wilson, developer of Cotton Bay and chairman of the board of Eleuthera Properties Limited. “The cays help Cotton Bay maintain a harmonious relationship with Eleuthera’s environment and provide residents and guests with an untainted travel experience.”

While Wood Cay and Water Cay were founded nearly a century ago and have long been uninhabited, they have played host to some of the most distinguished guests of the legendary Cotton Bay Club, Cotton Bay’s predecessor.  Among such celebrated guests were Juan Trippe, founder of Pan-American Airways, and the late President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  The son of late President Ronald Reagan camped out on the cays for days at a time, according to Captain Cally, Cotton Bay’s fishing and exploration specialist.

“With a refreshingly rustic yet glamorous feel, the cays give the sense that you’re on a desert isle even though you’re still conveniently located in the heart of one of the Bahamas’ most beautiful channels,” Wilson said.

With their crystal-clear waters and pristine beaches, Wood Cay and Water Cay are not only a paradise for escapists, but for sport fishing and wildlife enthusiasts alike.  From November to mid-July, the cays offer some of the best conditions in the world for bird watching and catching bonefish.  Additionally, the cays and their surrounding sand banks feature a spectacular assortment of sea life, including stingrays, sea stars, conchs, many species of fish and a wide array of sea shells.

The smaller island, Water Cay, is a freshwater cay located off the Northwest tip of South Eleuthera and is about seven acres in size. A long, undulating island, Wood Cay is known for its white sand banks which create a magical experience that enables one to walk on water, as the shallows of the banks provide a bridge out into the water to the ocean’s edge.  The perfect place for shelling, Wood Cay is a 14-acre island closer to Eleuthera with an abundance of starfish, sand dollars and other shells.  The cays are easily accessible from Davis Harbour, Cotton Bay’s private marina, by motorboat, yacht or by chartering a private vessel.

“With a half-mile in between them, Wood Cay and Water Cay are far enough from one another to have distinct personalities, but close enough to allow for island hopping,” said Thomas Sands, member of the board of directors and son of the founding president of Eleuthera Properties Limited, the corporate parent of Cotton Bay.  “We want residents and guests to enjoy the privacy and peacefulness on the cays and on Eleuthera that no other Caribbean resort offers.”