Last week Hotel News Now’s contributor John Buchanan wrote what is definitely the most thorough overview of mega-resort Baha Mar, The Bahamas’ most—I pause to consider the word “ill-fated” but will instead go with “newsworthy”— addition since The Atlantis opened in 1998 just a few miles up its sunny coast.
I enjoyed this article for two reasons.
- I could sense the real drama. It is not just about a hotel opening but a real human story of dreams; aspirations; visit from banks; unreturned phone calls; government initiatives and interference; hurried, apologetic news releases from stressed public relations staff; and all other manner of minutiae that goes into development and opening. One can sense all of this in between the lines of the story.
- I was invited in January 2008 (a few months before HNN even existed) to look at the initial plans for Baha Mar, when the resort consisted of a Sheraton and a Radisson, if I remember correctly. I have always followed Baha Mar’s growing pains with interest since that time.
I stayed at the resort for four days, and the hospitality afforded me was wonderful. The site, Cable Beach, named for being the spot in which the first underwater communications cable to The Bahamas emerged, was a stunning project with its other end in Jupiter Inlet, Florida.
Cable Beach—and it is a gorgeous strand—obviously has a history of innovation, and I sincerely hope that it continues, but Buchanan’s article, and all the other media hoopla surrounding the project, underlined how difficult it is to not just open a hotel or resort nowadays but how to seamlessly do so in this 24/7 social media world—one unfortunately in which there are those who want others to fail. It’s what Germans call schadenfreude, the pleasure derived from the misfortune of others.
Once it is finally complete, Baha Mar will be comprised of several hotels, including the 300-room SLS Lux at Baha Mar, 200-room Rosewood at Baha Mar, 700-room Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar and 1,000-room Baha Mar Casino & Hotel.
It has to succeed, hence the nervousness all around. One quote from the story, by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Scott Berman, sums it up:
An impact forecast for the resort predicted that Baha Mar alone would account for 12.8% of The Bahamas’ annual gross domestic product.
Getting it right—regardless of any embarrassing setbacks—has to be done correctly and maturely.
All the way back in ‘08
Last year, Morgans Hotel Group terminated what was to have been a 20-year management deal for a 300-room Mondrian hotel because it said that Baha Mar failed to deliver a non-disturbance agreement that was part of its terms.
When I was there in 2008, the talk was that the linchpin of the entire project was to have been a Harrah’s hotel and casino (Bahamians are not allowed by Bahamian law to gamble on the island, so revenue would have come solely from international visitors. In 2013, a referendum on legalizing gambling was rejected by voters.) Also, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide was to have assembled the largest congregation of its brands anywhere on the planet—a St. Regis, a Sheraton (already on site in 2008), a W and a Westin.
The general idea of Baha Mar has not changed fundamentally, just the players involved and the expense. In 2008, the sum bandied about for all of it was $2 billion; the latest number is $3.5 billion.
That is a lot of capital to get right in respect to opening dates, marketing and consumer confidence. Groups and meetings might have been booked. Twitter might erupt with ire and sarcasm.
I will state here that my perfect vacation has never centred on a beach and getting a tan (I’m English, so we’re not quite sure what one of those is anyway). In fellow West Indies island Grenada I stayed at the Kalinago Beach Resort on Morne Rouge Beach. That was nice; the beach was in a small cove, which I had to myself for a cup of morning coffee followed by a 7 a.m. swim. But plonking myself down for hours to worship the sun? No.
I mention that because back in 2008, after seeing Baha Mar’s plans, I started wandering and came across the Hobby Horse Hall Race Track, opened in 1934 and closed in 1977 but still standing, albeit in in a twisted, abandoned state—at least when I was there (see photo below).
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| Baha Mar will be The Bahamas’ largest attraction; in the mid-20th century that accolade was taken by the Hobby Horse Hall Race Track, which now is the site of Baha Mar’s golf course. (Photo: Terence Baker) |
It has now gone, covered by a Baha Mar golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and an access road to all of the new hotels and facilities.
May Baha Mar be a huge success. In reading Buchanan’s words, I sensed there was a real need for all those developers and PR people to have some time out from all the drama, to perhaps do nothing all day but sit on the beach.
Email Terence Baker or find him on Twitter.
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