Stanley’s Bar is an icon in the Bahamas on the Island of San Salvador. If you ever visit the Island you have to go for a drink a Stanley’s, even if you do nothing else.This little bar gives you a great feeling for the Bahamian people, the Island and the way they live on San Salvador.
Stanley’s is open every day from about 7 am to 7 pm. The bar is located in Sugar Loaf, about 7 minutes south of San Sal airport. It sit right on Queens highway, next to Kenny the wood-carver. (which will be another post)
Most tourist drive by, not even knowing that they just missed an awesome place. Yes, there is a sign but since the little bar is in a corner and cars are always parked on that corner, you will focus on the street and miss the bar. There is no official parking lot but then again, we are in the Bahamas, on San Salvador, you can pretty much park anywhere other than in the middle of the street. Sometimes the door is closed and the place looks deserted from the outside but don’t worry, just pull the door and walk right in.
Stanley’s bar is tiny but so cosy, when you have 4 people at the bar counter and 4 people sitting on chairs, the bar is full and unusually crowed. Sometimes when the weather is not too hot or cold here in the Bahamas, people take their drinks outside and sit on the front steps.
Stanley runs this bar for more than … years now and he is the sweetest and friendliest bar tender you can find anywhere. He knows all his clients, knows what they drink and greets everybody with a warm welcome. I had only been to the bar once but month later when I visited the Island again, he gave me a big hug and with a huge smile on his face he said “Welcome back to San Salvador Anne” .
Every one on the Island knows Stanley and his bar, everybody stops by for a beer once in a while and a lot of stories get told and created in this bar. People just hang or play domino or back gammon (on the one table in the bar) or you take your drink outside and go over to Edna (Stanley;s mother) and sit on her doorsteps chit chatting for a while, surrounded by a cat and some chicken and children playing. But, be careful, if Edna starts telling you her stories you might stay much longer than you anticipated, time just flies by listing to her.
Enough said about Stanley’s bar here in the Bahamas on San Salvador, no words or pictures can describe it.
Trust me, if you have not seen Stanley’s Bar you have not seen San Salvador. If it was up to me, it would be a national historic site ! Check out the San Salvador Video
Direct beachfront lot for sale in San Salvador, the Bahamas
Dreaming of an affordable gorgeous direct beachfront lot with long white sandy beaches and crystal clear turquoise and blue waters? Well you might have just found it on San Salvador, Bahamas. This piece of land is just absolutely beautiful.
Situated on the west coast of San Salvador with breathtaking sunsets every night. What are you waiting for?
This is your chance to finally own a piece of paradise and built the house of your dreams on a far away yet so close secluded charming little island. The lot is huge, about half an acre, 100 feet direct oceanfront. Unlike most oceanfront lots, this one has access to electric, water, internet and phone service. One for the things that is special to this oceanfront lot is what I call “the natural seawall” The lot itself is covered in lush tropical landscaping from the access road to the oceanfront. The beachfront itself is very unique, you have white sandy beach then a little formation of rocks between 2 and 10 feet deep and about 3 feet high and then white sandy beach again leading into the beautiful waters. I personally really like this setting because the rocks protect you when a storm and big waves are coming in.
Only minutes away from town and maybe 10 minutes from Club Med, the marina and the airport. The location could not be better.
San Salvador here in the Bahamas is about 180 miles south east of Nassau, probably 1200 people living on the Island, a few grocery stores, bars and restaurants but hardly any tourism other than the people that come from France, Canada and a handful from the US but they spend all their time in the all inclusive Club Med, they never venture out on the Island. San Salvador is very special and unique, come see for yourself !!! Check out my website to learn much more about the Island. The asking price on this beautiful lot for sale is $179,900 US
Below just find a few pictures of San Salvador here in the Bahamas. Sometimes a photo says more than 1000 words. There are a lot of different sides to San Salvador, you actually have to come and see for yourself.
Listing by McCarroll Real Estate
How to buy property, house or land on San Salvador Bahamas
Buying real estate, house, home, condo or vacant lot in the Bahamas / San Salvador is totally different from buying a house, condo or land in the US. Bahamas real estate law and the process of finding the property, getting it under contract and actually going to closing cannot be compared to the US process. Even I as a Real Estate Broker in Florida had a hard time understanding this whole new set of rules and it took me a long time to figure out the best way to go about it, actually the only way to be sure you get a legal conveyance ( deed)
Let’s split this issue (buying a house, home, condo or land in the Bahamas) in two separate parts
First part, finding a property to buy in the Bahamas.
You have to find your dream property, your lot, your condo, your home in the Bahamas. NOT that easy!
See, in the US we have the MLS system meaning about 99% of all properties for sale get submitted to this system and you can find them on websites like Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow and many more. So, it is very easy to sit at home and search the net for hours and days till you see something that is interesting and in the process of searching for homes or land or condos you get a very good feeling for the areas and the prices etc.
Not so in the Bahamas. Till a few years ago the Bahamas did not have an MLS system, now finally the Bahamas has a similar system BUT only a few properties that are for sale in the Bahamas actually make it into the system. You wonder WHY? As always, it is money ! In the Bahamas the real estate commission is not negotiable, the seller has to pay 10% for a vacant land sale or 6% for and improved land sale(house,condo)
If a realtor put the property (his listing) in the MLS he has to split that commission with the buyer’s broker. If he doesn’t put it in the MLS he can keep the whole commission. Since Bahamian sellers are so new to the MLS system, most of them do not understand it’s benefits and therefore the sellers do not insist on an MLS listing. All this means that you as a buyer have a very difficult time finding ALL the properties for sale. If you check on realtors website only HIS listings are on there and there is a very HIGH chance that he will not even tell you that the house next to his is also for sale for a much lower price. There is also a high amount of “for sale by owner” . These properties are usually not advertised at all and since no commission is paid, no realtor in the Bahamas will tell you about these homes or condos for sale.
Now what ??? How can you make sure that you know each and every property that meets your needs and wants that is for sale in the Bahamas, on the Island you chose? Well, get on a plane and come down here. Find someone who knows the island and that knows real estate, drive around and ask questions. There is only so much research you can do online and it is very difficult to find good information on the web.
Second Part. How to get clear title to your Bahamas property and all the legal paperwork.
We are not talking about buying a new shirt at Burdines and if you don’t like it you can bring it back within 90 days. Your Bahamas home or land will cost a lot more that a shirt and you can not get a refund if you don’t like it anymore.
You need a lawyer that works for YOU and not the seller !!! This Bahamian lawyer will do a title search and ensure that it is free and clear !!! he will issue something like a title insurance that will protect YOU. Please understand the importance, till just recently the Bahamas was not known for keeping accurate records of property sales (due to the different recording system). If money exchanged for a piece of land or home and the buyer got some “official looking paperwork” but forgot to record it ( because he was not told to do so) than the government didn’t even know that there was a new owner and therefore the old seller could sell this piece of Bahamian property again, to someone else……. and again. So, please get your own lawyer (unless it is a new home or condo development you are buying in) when buying property in the Bahamas.
Please understand, this was the short version of this complex issue. I have met a lot of people who bought properties in the Bahamas and the once that are happy and that use their property have done their research and talked to the closing lawyer. The once that are unhappy and full of drama stories are the people who got caught up in the moment and believed a smiling “NO PROBLEM” salesperson.
The photos on this page a REAL photos that I took today on the Island of San Salvador Bahamas. These real estate for sale signs tell the story better than I ever could. You do not know if they are from realtors or owners but then again, it doesn’t really matter since you can’t read the phone number anyway ……LOL This is just the island way, nobody is in a hurry to sell I guess.
Buying real estate, house, home or vacant land in the Bahamas, San Salvador is a dream come through for many people (and it was for me) This Island is breathtaking beautiful and the moment you step off the plane you get transported into another world. It is all worth it !!! Go after your dream !!!
Sashimi dinner on San Salvador Bahamas
San Salvador here in the Bahamas is famous for fishing and diving and snorkeling and all kinds of things that have to do with water. I am not the biggest fan of Sushi or Sashimi but this appetizer was out of this world, the best I ever had Sashimi. The pictures tell the whole story.
I do not fish, wouldn’t even know how to but I am lucky enough to know people that fish !!!
Please do not ask me the names of the fish…….. have no idea just know that they were delicious !!!
San Salvador is a beautiful place and yes, you only have 3 or 4 little grocery store with limited inventory so you got to be creative when you cook dinner but who needs a big Publix if fish like this swim around in your backyard and you can pick the “sours” (mix between a lemon a lime a grapefruit and an orange if you ask me) from the trees.
AMAZING how fast this little island of San Salvador on the eastern side of the Island chain recovered. Yes, there is still some work to do, some roofs to repair and some streets to fix BUT the spirit is back up and everybody is in a positive mood.
A lot of people are still out of work because Club Med doesn’t open till 1/31/2016 but that is only 2 weeks away. Electric, water, phone, internet they were all down after the storm but back up and running now all over the island. I have to say, I am truly amazed about the progress and most of all how the beautiful people of San Salvador dealt with the clean up.
Yes, you still see some debris on the side of the roads, some blue traps on homes, some of the landscaping is still brow instead of green but the one thing that really stunned me when I was on the Island in December was the road to Snow Bay (east coast of San Salvador) ……..everything is and looks totally different than before and I think I will be like this for some time to come.
What used to be a typical dirt road with some potholes in it now looks like something from out of space. my first thought was “this is how I picture the moon” I know, it sounds crazy but it is soooooo different.
Never seen anything like this and the first time I went from Sandy Point, Columbus Landings 4 (west coast of San Salvador) to Snow Bay and Guanahani Resort to have a coffee with Elena and Carlos I stopped the car a couple of times to take in this new reality and the beauty of it.
This first drive down to Snow bay is something I won’t forget for a long time. I was mesmerized by how different everything looks and by the thought that “wind” did change the landscape that much. I guess that was the moment when I really understood how strong this hurricane was. So, like I said, San Salvador here in the Bahamas survived the storm and is doing great again.
Hurricane Joaquin on San Salvador Bahamas
Hurricane Joaquin news, updates and damages on the Island of San Salvador in the Bahamas.
It has been a couple of very intense dates for San Salvador and it looks like there is still a few more hours of high winds, lots of rain and definitely huge waves for the west coast of the island.
I am in Florida at the moment and I was going crazy with worries about the people on San Salvador. I spend hours on the computer and in front of the TV to find any kind of reliable news and information. at one point I realized how many people are NOT in San Salvador right now and they all have friends or family here in the Bahamas or homes that they own and care about. they are all in the same situation I was in.
So, instead of just sitting here worrying I created a face book page for San Salvador news and updates. This page is helping a lot right now and I hope in the future we can keep it going with more positive updates and news about the Bahamas and our beloved Island of San Salvador.
Check it out to get REAL information from real people on the island of San Salvador. Joaquin is not gone yet and there is already a lot of property damage on San Salvador but hopefully nobody will get hurt.
Here is the link San Salvador facebook updates
Please like the page, that way you will not miss any updates on Joaquin.
Food on San Salvador Bahamas. Where to go for dinner or lunch or breakfast, restaurants and take outs on San Salvador in the Bahamas. I was working on my computer all morning long and around noon I needed a break and I was hungry. Got in the car in search for some food.
Preferably a cheeseburger which I didn’t have in month. After half a mile or so I ran into Robby and his friend and we decided it was time for a “cold Kalik” so off we went to Stanley’s bar.
After that first stop I picked up my friend K in town and we headed for “Carters take out” in Cockburn town but unfortunately they were closed for a few days.
Next stop was the restaurant “Paradise” where we chatted a little bit with the police inspector and some other people but Paradise was under renovation and it would have taken hours to get some food.
So, we headed over to Hansel’s restaurant BUT we were too early it was still closed.
Now we are running out of options …. but “Down home” in Sugar loaf (subdivision on San Salvador) answered the phone and we were able to order 2 cheeseburgers.
So, off we go to Sugar Loaf but no without making a quick stop at “Zippy” in Cockburn town for another beer.
Once we had our burger we went to the Columbus Land fall park, found a nice picnic table in the shade right on the beautiful beach and all of a sudden the day turned into something very special. How lucky can we be to have the best burger, a beer and the most awesome scenery on San Salvador.
We could not help it, the water and the beautiful beach just “called” u s and after we finally finished our food we went in the water (fully clothed)
Soaking wet as we were we wanted to go home but of course we had to stop at “Juice” for one more beer and some good company.
Sometimes it is not easy to find the food you want on San Salvador but this little excursion that K and I did yesterday shows you that it is all well worth it! We had an incredible afternoon on this very special Bahamian Island of San Salvador.
San Salvador Bahamas 
