From the grand opening of the oft-delayed Baha Mar resort complex to the buzz surrounding a new Margaritaville resort, Travel Agent brings to you the highlights of some of the Bahamas’ most anticipated property openings, as well as other hotel news from the destination.
Baha Mar Grand Opening
Baha Mar, the highly anticipated integrated resort destination, will finally celebrate its grand opening this spring. The $4.2 billion beachfront development will have 2,300 rooms and suites, in addition to an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course. The resort will also include one of the largest casinos and the first flagship ESPA spa in the Caribbean. Baha Mar encompasses three brands: Grand Hyatt, which is open now; SLS, which debuted in November; and Rosewood, which will be opening in the spring.
In March, Grand Hyatt Baha Mar announced the opening of Regatta Food Hall in the lower level of Baha Mar’s east tower. The new restaurant is led by chefs de cuisine Robert Allum and Shyju Babu, and serves up a wide assortment of local and global cuisines, American fare and international classics for breakfast and dinner. With five distinct stations, diners can choose from baked, grilled, smoked and roasted, seared and fried dishes, as well as confectionery goods.
Regatta Food Hall is the newest addition to the 20 Grand Hyatt Baha Mar-managed internationally inspired dining outlets, including pan-Asian eateries, ornate cocktail lounges, swim-up pool bars, a French cafe and pastel Airstream food trucks. Breakfast prices are $32 for adults and $10 for children ages 5-11, while dinner costs $54 and $15, respectively. Children ages 5 and under dine for free. Optional alcoholic beverage packages are available with both meals.
Regatta Food Hall, the newest addition to Grand Hyatt Baha Mar-managed dining outlets, serves up both local and global cuisines.
Meliá Nassau Beach Renovation
Meliá Nassau Beach — All Inclusive, a family-friendly resort on Cable Beach, has completed its $19 million renovation, which began in late 2014. The 694-guestroom resort has been completely transformed. Of the hotel’s total number of guestrooms, 102 rooms are part of The Level, Meliá Hotels & Resorts’ elevated service concept.
The guestrooms and suites have been redesigned with contemporary Caribbean-style décor, along with views of the Atlantic Ocean, three resort pools and gardens.
Margaritaville Resort on Tap
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville brand is set to open a new Caribbean resort in Nassau. Margaritaville Holdings has announced that Margaritaville at The Pointe will be a $250 million, six-acre development with an expected opening date in mid-2019. Already under construction, the development will include a new 150-room Margaritaville Beach Resort, 150 luxury oceanfront residences — 100 of which will be branded One Particular Harbour at The Pointe — a marina, an open-air shopping concourse, a movie theater, bowling alley, entertainment center, outdoor performance stage for live entertainment, cascading water pool, St. Somewhere Spa, retail huts, a kids’ club, water park, and a private beach with cabanas and chaise lounges. Also planned are several signature Margaritaville food and beverage concepts.
The resort will include opportunities for lively Caribbean adventure experiences with the LandShark water park and family-friendly activities, such as a cave aquarium, blue hole diving pool, water-slide tower, infinity pool, private hot tub, surf simulator, beach entry pool, children’s splash play area and tropical island overlooking a lazy river.
The 45-slip marina will have floating berths for up to 150-foot yachts, as well as dockside Wi-Fi. A public-access boardwalk will be lined by tiki hut-style marina shops for local crafts, with a pier restaurant and yacht-club facility. The pier will also serve as a launch pad for pirate ship excursions and a water taxi transporting tourists to various points of interest in and around Nassau. Additional details and timing for the development’s phased opening timetable will be announced in the coming months.
One&Only Now a Four Seasons
One of the Caribbean’s most popular beach resorts, One&Only Ocean Club, is now managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. The management shifted in late November. The newly named The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas’ traditional Caribbean-style buildings are surrounded by 35 acres of gardens, with dining, spa, sports and recreation facilities.
The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort houses 107 accommodations in Caribbean-style buildings.
Atlantis, Paradise Island Revamps Coral, Adds Eateries
Atlantis Paradise Island Bahamas is undergoing major renovations with more dining options and a complete overhaul of its family-friendly The Coral, which includes a new lobby, swim-up snack bar for kids, fresh pool and cabanas, as well as a complete rebranding of The Cove — the resort complex’s high-end, luxury hotel. Throughout the resort, new eateries are being added, many of which are owned and operated by local Bahamians.
Warwick Paradise Island Increases Commissions
The adults-only, all-inclusive Warwick Paradise Island — Bahamas has increased commission for 2018 on its “Best Flexible Rate” category from 10 to 20 percent. Also, travel agents booking the resort’s special promotional and seasonal packages will receive 15 percent commission, which is up from 10 percent.
The four-star deluxe resort, which Travel Agent visited last March, four months after it opened, is unique in that it does not include a beach, but it does offer marina views from its main pool. Warwick Paradise Island — Bahamas has 250 rooms on 12 floors; four dining options plus a poolside Chickcharnie’s Pizzeria & Grille; two bars; a fully equipped fitness center; entertainment and activities; an onsite gift shop; and a tour desk offering sightseeing options.
Of interest to your foodie clients, the Warwick recently appointed Bahamian Christopher Chea as its new executive chef. Chea brings 40 years of culinary experience and education to his role where he will be responsible for overseeing the operations, menu development and food preparation at the resort’s five restaurants.
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