THE FACTS ABOUT KAMALAME CAY

Bahamas

Andros, the largest island in the Bahamas, is a labyrinth of creeks and mangroves, mudflats and shallow rivers. It is not worth lingering here but you can practically wade to Kamalame Cay, a 96-acre private resort just off the island's coast. Clearly it was Blackwell's success with Pink Sands that tempted Kamalame's Jamaican owners to sign him up on a sales and marketing contract. Now the resort comes under the umbrella of Blackwell's Island Outpost, although this could lead to false expectations. While the aesthetics have the same bohemian abandon as other Blackwell hotels, here they are less ethnic, more faded Laura Ashley florals. The menu features simple dishes with fresh fish but if you require 'off menu' items such as peppermint tea, make sure you fax your request form before arrival or they won't have it on the island. Meals are served at a communal long table in the Great House. The beach is rough and ready, like that at Jake's, littered with driftwood and backed by tangled hibiscus and casuarinas. The pool, if pretty, is as much a haven for leaf fall as the one at Pink Sands. Rooms are cottage-style with verandahs. They are thatched and copper-shingled with raftered ceilings and billowing white curtains, spread out at wide intervals down the narrow golden strand. They don't have in-room televisions or telephones. However, a plus point is that Kamalame Cay is not filled exclusively by honeymooners, which is common elsewhere in the Bahamas. The resort also has a four-bedroom villa, Kamalame Cove, which has its own staff. It is beautifully breezy. But this is not a conventional island resort. Most of the guests are here to bonefish. In fact, 60 per cent of the clientele come to fish here because the shallow waters mean the cruise ships can't get close, leaving the waters undisturbed and excellent for bone-fishing. But the resort? It's likeable, if you could afford to take it over with a group of friends. And its rusticity is a surprising antidote to those crowded sidewalks elsewhere in the Bahamas. ROOM TO BOOK Pigeon Plum, the largest one-bedroom cottage on the beach CONTACT Kamalame Cay, Staniard Creek, Andros (00 1 305 531 8800; fax: 236 8629; email: kamalame@batelnet.bs; www.islandoutpost.com). Doubles from US$590; Kamalame Cove from US$4,830 per night (sleeps up to eight people). Prices include all meals and beverages, watersport facilities and transfer fee