My name is Ed, and I am an addict. My addiction is not to alcohol or any illicit substance. It is, in certain senses, far worse. You see, my addiction is to golf, and there is no known treatment, let alone cure, for my malady.
As a self-confessed golfaholic, virtually all of my leisure travel is configured to cater to my uncontrollable cravings. Hotels without – or far from – golf courses, however stylish and satisfying, are forever crossed off my list of possible destinations. A holiday without a golf course nearby is not, alas, a proper holiday for me. In an ideal world, I want to be at a first-class hotel that has a first-class golf course right on the property. And I recently found exactly such an ideal world at Albany in the Bahamas.
Albany is not just a golf resort but a luxury marina development spanning 600 ocean-front acres on New Providence island. Often, when you go on holiday to the Caribbean or the Maldives, say, you have to take another plane (or boat) at the end of a long flight from London. Not so with Albany, which is less than 10 minutes’ drive from Nassau airport.
The various buildings – residential villas and apartments, restaurants, spa, fitness centre, kids’ club, golf clubhouse and pro shop – are spread over the property and accessed by golf carts. It is a big place that soon seems intimate. Even though it is relatively new, having opened in October 2010, it feels like it has been there for years.
