First Resorts Set to Open at Nassau's Long-Awaited Baha Mar
It is countdown time at Baha Mar as the long-anticipated March 27 opening date approaches. The three resorts to debut that day are the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, the centerpiece and flagship property with 1,000 rooms and a 100,000-square-foot casino offering 1,500 slot machines and 150 table games, the 200-room Rosewood at Baha Mar and the 300-room SLS Lux.
Also expected to open that day will be the convention and entertainment center, the Espa spa, pools, the 18-hole TPC at Baha Mar (a Jack Nicklaus Signature course) and a number of restaurants and luxury shops.
Still to come will be the 700-room Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar, scheduled to open on May 1, and the all-inclusive Melia Nassau Beach, which will become the Melia at Baha Mar when its $19 million renovation project is completed in early 2016, including the addition of four restaurants to the existing three eateries.
When completed, Baha Mar will total more than 2,900 rooms in five resorts. The $3.5 billion gaming and luxury resort complex has been under construction in Nassau’s Cable Beach area since groundbreaking on Feb. 21, 2011.
The project was backed by China’s state-run Export-Import Bank and constructed by thousands of Chinese workers employed by China State Construction Engineering Corp. Kicking off its countdown was the launch of “The Voyage,” a TV commercial that debuted during the Academy Awards ceremonies on Feb. 22.
The message reinforced the “Bahamian Riviera” positioning message for Baha Mar. The ad was filmed in Croatia and the Bahamas and traced the voyage of a stylish couple as they traveled from the Mediterranean and experienced Riviera-style locations around the globe.
They eventually disembarked on the 3,000 feet of white, sandy beach that fronts the Baha Mar complex. Similar versions of the ad will air up through the series of opening events that include a ribbon-cutting gala in April and a grand opening event in May.
Baha Mar also launched a first-night-free promotion to jump-start the March 27 debut. Guests who book a room by April 30 for travel from May 7 to Sept. 30 receive a complimentary first night when two or more nights are booked at the Casino hotel or the Grand Hyatt, four nights or longer at SLS Lux and five or more nights at Rosewood.
The offer is based on double occupancy and does not apply to Saturday arrivals. A $40 daily resort fee (not including tax) will be added to the booking. As the final pre-opening touches are being put in place, tour operators, too, are gearing up for the soft opening in March. Delta Vacations will offer its customers all the properties in the Baha Mar complex.
“We are seeing strong year-over-year growth in Nassau in general, and Baha Mar bookings are increasing as interest continues to grow in the industry and among consumers,” said Elizabeth Moriarty, MLT Vacations’ vice president for product development.
To ensure all is ready for MLT’s customers, members of its product development team are on the ground this week to get firsthand updates on all of the latest developments, Moriarty said.
“We think that Baha Mar’s level of sophistication and what it has to offer are going resonate with travel agencies and their more upscale clientele, and help to make Nassau an even more attractive destination than it already is,” she said.
Delta’s air capacity investments in Nassau during the past few years have included nonstop flights from Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Indianapolis, Minneapolis and New York.
“Travel agents have lots of flight and scheduling options for their clients,” Moriarty said.
Travel Impressions plans to sell Baha Mar, although an official said that the operator does not have it on sale yet and still is evaluating when it will launch.
Pleasant Holidays plans to offer packages at all Baha Mar hotels, according to Jack Richards, president and CEO. The company is awaiting updated information on the all the facilities at Baha Mar and anticipates moving the date for arrivals into the April/May time frame.
Both Apple Vacations and Travel Impressions will be selling Baha Mar, as will Mark Travel. More operators are expected to climb onboard during the spring and summer.
Mike Larregueta, Baha Mar’s vice president of global distribution sales, said advance reservations are pacing well.
“With the launch of our digital and cooperative marketing campaigns in mid-February, we have seen a spike in rooms sold through our tour operator partners and through our direct channels,” Larregueta said.
Source: Travel Weekly
