Chesters Bonefish Lodge

Thank you, Arnette for making my week on Acklins so enjoyable. The room was comfortable and spacious and food was fine. I appreciate it is difficult to get a big selection of fresh produce at this remote destination. My main reason for the trip was fly fishing for bonefish and there can't be many other fishing lodges where bonefish are swimming past just 20 yards from ones bedroom on every tide. I was able to achieve my ambition of catching bonefish on a DIY arrangement as it was important to me to find,cast and hook fish with relying totally on a guide. Although it was easy to wade straight out from the Lodge, I also enjoyed the day that I took a kayak to reach other good places for bonefish. Finally please thank Jacob for the day I treated myself to going in your boat to some more remote flats. Great sport. Thanks again.

Had a great time at Chester’s Highway Bonefish Lodge, now Acklins Creekside. Went to get some bonefishing in and it didn’t disappoint. The flat across the street was great every night with amazing sunsets and tailing bones. Numerous DIY opportunities around the island. The lodge was great as well. Arnette made sure I had everything I needed from rental car to meals and fishing information. It was clean and comfortable. Would definitely go back again.

While on vacation in Acklins, my son and I had the pleasure of dining at Chester's Highway Inn. The quality of the food was incredible, being further accentuated by the quality of the service. What I especially loved was that the, " Native, Island ambience, " was not lost in order to provide such quality service. I would definitely highly recommend Chester's Highway Inn to everyone.

4 of us had a nice stay at Chester's with Arnette in mid April. Everything was operated on time, starting with a pickup with 2 vehicles at the airport on arrival until we were deposited back there at our requested time 5 days later. The rooms are clean and spacious. It's basically a 2 room setup with a small kitchenette and sitting area in the front room and then a bedroom with 2 queens in each other room. With 4 of us, it was nice to have the extra space to hang out in the evenings. Food was good. Relatively simple, with something fresh from the sea most nights. You are on a remote island with a small population, so you have to keep that in mind. Sometimes the water pressure is weak. The air conditioner in one of our rooms didn't get the room as cool as we would have liked. Food options are limited so you might have a pairing that seems odd to an american. However, the people were nice and reliable, the fishing was good, and the overall experience a blast. So, if you are the kind of person who values the adventure over a ritzy experience, I recommend Acklins and Chesters.

It's challenging to even explain how dreadful our experience with Arnette Chisolm at Chester's Highway Inn Bonefish Lodge truly was, especially in light of the other shining reviews, but please believe. I have been traveling to the Bahamas for years now. I adore the people as much as the pristine nature and incredible fishing. I've stayed at high end lodges and dirt cheap dives. This was the worst experience I've ever had by far. This isn't just that "one bad review" you always see on Tripadvisor. Please read the entire post. Arnette was under great stress upon our arrival. After much time trying to understand the situation, we believe it must be because she is now trying to operate the entire lodge without her husband who is no longer at the lodge. She was the only person there most of the time. Upon arrival, she let us know that she did not have enough provisions for us. She had not received a wire transfer and could not therefore supply the lodge. And that the mailboat would not arrive until Saturday. Not a great way to kick off a trip that was relatively expensive and included pre-charges for gratuity and strange hotel fees that we had reluctantly accepted. It was true. She did not have provisions ready. We did not have drinks at meals. She asked for us to bring bottled water from our rooms. The meals were bizarre. Old, long-frozen grouper fingers one night. 1/2 of a tiny lobster tail the next. Absolutely miniscule steamed Snapper... On our first day of scheduled fishing, we awoke to the sounds of hammering and a compressor running. A man was working on the boat. It wasn't ready. And when it was, the boat was completely substandard. We had to shuttle Arnette with us to the dock where she picked up the guide's car and drove it back. Each day she asked us to shuttle her and the gas to the boat. Bizarre. She did not have enough bottled water and asked us to "help her with water," boiling discolored water in a pot and having us funnel it into empty water bottles -- this really happened. When we got out on the water to fish and drank it, we literally spit it out -- it was non potable salt water. If you've been out on a boat in the blistering heat of the flats, you know how important water is. Unacceptable. Two days into our stay, she came into our room and sat down in a tizzy and explained to us that she had received no wire transfer and that she wanted us to be aware of "our plight." We replied that we weren't in a plight but rather on vacation. She later apologized for this and said it was completely unprofessional, but the behavior didn't change. On Saturday, the mailboat did arrive. We had more snacks and bottled water. But the service continued to disappoint. For three days straight she was over one hour late in the morning for breakfast and we missed the ideal tides. We even talked over how we needed to make the time in the morning and she agreed, but then failed to be ready for us. There were other bizarre antics. One mo