Tiamo Fact Sheet
Tiamo Resorts, South Andros Island, The Bahamas
About Tiamo Resorts
Tiamo opened in 2001 as a destination for adults who want to reconnect with each other and with nature in a luxurious, private setting. Tiamo is a different kind of resort. Here, tourists don’t crowd the streets, and TVs, computers and cell phones are nowhere to be found.
One of the smallest tropical resorts in the world, it has room for only 22, in 11 hand-made bungalows built on 12 acres of beach and surrounded by 125 acres of preserved wilderness.
Energy for everything from the ceiling fans to stove tops come from solar power. Tiamo’s one of the largest solar-generating systems used by a private tourism facility in the Caribbean.
To keep lodging cool, each building is elevated, offers a wraparound porch and white reflective roofs, and utilizes high-pitched ceilings and open design for maximum air flow.
The Nature Concierge Team (NCT) consisting of trained biologists leads complimentary snorkeling adventures, kayak trips and nature tours where the incredibly personable scientists teach about the plant, animal and marine ecosystems guests encounter.
The dining room is in the main lodge and features white tablecloths, candlelight and cuisine prepared by Tiamo’s Caribbean-trained chef.
About South Andros
South Andros is on the southern tip of Andros, which is the largest of the Bahamas Out Islands, yet it is considered to be the largest unexplored tract of land in the western hemisphere. Fewer than 8,000 people live on the island.
The land where Tiamo is built was known as the North Quarters in the early 1900s, and was inhabited by freed slaves who primarily lived as farmers or spongers, taking what they didn’t use to sell in Nassau on handcrafted sailboats made on the beach.
Natural wonders
South Andros is home to the world’s longest chain of linked blue holes, ecological treasures teeming with angelfish, stingrays, butterfly fish, barracuda, parrotfish, lobster, schools of jacks and French grunts, as well as corals and sponges. It’s also the bone fishing capital of the world.
Affectionately called the “Big Yard,” the South Andros Barrier Reef is the third largest barrier reef in the world and one of the last remaining stable reefs in the Western Hemisphere. It is home to some of the best snorkeling and diving in the Bahamas. Divers who brag about “doing the Tongue” are referring to the area here where the reef drops nearly 6,000 feet into the Tongue of the Ocean.
Getting there
Tiamo is accessible only by boat. Guests can fly directly from Nassau or Fort Lauderdale to Congo Town International Airport on South Andros Island. They area taxied to the dock and ferried on a small boat, navigated by a captain, who likes to entertain his passengers with stories about the island.
About the founders
Mike and Petegay Hartman own and operate Tiamo Resorts, which grew from a dream to build an environmentally friendly resort. The couple attracted investors through the initial launch of the resort’s Web site in 1996. They attracted inquiries from all over the world and soon had enough to begin construction in 1998. The Hartmans and their daughter continue to live on the island and greet every guest.
Tiamo Development Corp.
The success of Tiamo led to the creation of Tiamo Development Corp., which is working to develop other eco-destinations, based on the Tiamo model. Mike Hartman speaks throughout the country about the benefits of ecotourism and best practices that he’s learned from his own experiences.
Media contact
Mike Hartman, owner
Tiamo: 242.357.2489
US Cell: 954.258.6642
media contacts
Mike Hartman
Owner
Tiamo: 242.369.2330
US Cell: 954.258.6642
