The Ocean Club on Paradise Island is reopening its original Hartford Wing with 26 refreshed guestrooms and two suites shaped by Bahamian light, sea and heritage.
The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas is giving its original Hartford Wing a carefully judged update rather than a wholesale reinvention. Twenty-six Hartford Ocean View Guestrooms and two suites return in October with lighter finishes, new furnishings and interiors designed to preserve the character of the resort’s oldest accommodation wing.
A 1962 wing enters a new chapter
The Hartford Wing opened in 1962 and remains one of the resort’s most recognisable areas, centred on a palm-lined courtyard and positioned close to the lobby, spa and restaurants. Its ground-floor rooms are especially valued by families for direct lawn access, while upper-level rooms add privacy and broad Atlantic views.
Four Seasons has approached the work as an evolution of that established identity rather than a break from it. The aim is to retain the glamour and proportion of the original wing while making the spaces feel brighter, calmer and more closely connected to the colours of Paradise Island.
Joanna Kerr draws from sand and sea
Palm Beach-based Joanna Kerr Design has introduced a palette inspired by shifting shoreline colours, using soft natural tones with brighter accents in artwork and textiles. Blue linen-effect wallcoverings replace darker wood panelling, while layered timber finishes add depth without losing the lighter overall mood.
Custom details reinforce the sense of place rather than relying on generic resort styling. Marine-life artwork, basketweave references, sculptural woven pendants and a blue mosaic private bar all connect the rooms with tropical materials, ocean light and the Hartford Wing’s established architectural language.
Bathrooms and finishes receive equal attention
The redesign extends beyond decorative surfaces into floors and bathrooms, where sand-and-shell-inspired tile creates a quieter base for the rooms. Large-format wave-patterned stone tile and basketweave mosaics add texture, while new lighting and stone details make the spaces feel more considered and permanent.
That level of finish matters because luxury renovations often succeed through small material decisions rather than dramatic gestures. Here, craftsmanship is used to improve comfort and coherence while avoiding the sense that an historic resort has been stripped of the details that made it distinctive.
The wider resort continues to evolve
The renewed Hartford Wing arrives alongside refreshed pool furniture, new padel courts and a programme of autumn wellness weekends. Guests also retain access to three pools, watersports, fitness programming and dining that includes DUNE by Jean-Georges, Ocean Blu and the Martini Bar.
Reservations for the refreshed rooms begin with stays from October 8, following the property’s seasonal closure. For returning guests, the significance is continuity: a familiar part of The Ocean Club is being improved without losing the atmosphere that has made it one of the Caribbean’s best-known resort settings.
Official sources: press.fourseasons.com.