Baha Mar Ltd. announced on Monday the signing of management agreements with Hyatt Hotels Corp., Morgans Hotel Group and Rosewood Hotels and Resorts for a new US$2.8 billion resort in the Bahamas.
The 1,000 acre property is planned to include a 700-room Grand Hyatt convention hotel, a boutique 300-room Mondrian, a Morgans brand and 200-room luxury Rosewood.
“The successful completion of our management agreements with Hyatt, Morgans and Rosewood is a significant milestone for Baha Mar as we continue to turn this vision into a reality,” said Sarkis Izmirlian, Baha Mar’s chairman and CEO.
Construction of the project, being bankrolled by the state-owned Export-Import Bank of China and China State Construction Engineering Corp. began in February. The Chinese investors entered in after Harrah’s Entertainment terminated its investment in the project in 2008. However, that and the downturn in the world economy did not deter the project from plowing ahead.
“The partners and investors in Baha Mar consider the current economic slowdown as a timely opportunity to build this project at a greatly reduced cost, and to be ready to open when the recession ends and global travelers are seeking fresh, new experiences,” Baha Mar wrote in a press release.
Baha Mar anticipates making a big impact on the Bahamas tourism market, which is only tepidly recovering from a reduction in tourists in 2009 according to statistics from the Bahamas Hotel Association. The first five months of 2011 showed only a 0.6% increase in room revenue and a -0.2% decline in room nights sold year-on-year from the same period in 2010.
Baha Mar bills itself as the largest single-phase resort ever developed in the Caribbean and the largest project under development in North America. It will include about 3,500 rooms and residences, the largest casino in the Caribbean, the largest convention center in the Bahamas, a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course, three spas, a 20-acre eco-water park and many restaurants.
