There will be no lay-offs during the proposed Baha Mar billion-dollar resort development, Sarkis Izmirlian said last night at the official unveiling of a joint venture between Baha Mar Resorts and two of the world’s best-known gaming and hospitality companies.
“We are committed to our new family at Cable Beach Resorts and we thank them for all their efforts since we’ve taken over this operation,” Mr Izmirilian, CEO and chairman of Baha Mar, told government officials and special guests during a special ceremony at the Rain Forest Theatre.
Harrah’s Entertainment and Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide were officially named Monday as partners in Baha Mar’s $1.6 billion “resort metropolis” that was last night described as the single largest hospitality investment in the history of the Caribbean.
The three partners will make “cross property” investments in Baha Mar, a 1,000-acre, mixed-use, “one-of-a-kind” project at Cable Beach. Baha Mar will lead the investment with 57 percent, followed by Harrah’s with 33 percent and Starwood with 10 percent.
Harrah’s will operate a new 1,000-room Caesars Resort Hotel and 95,00-square foot casino the size of two football fields – and Starwood will operate the first and only collection of its premier brands at a single location, including a 300-room W at Baha Mar; a 300-room St Regis at Baha Mar; a 700-room Westin at Baha Mar.
In addition to the hotels, Starwood’s Bliss and Remede branded luxury spars are also planned at the W and St Regis. Baha Mar Development will run services tying the resort together.
Prime Minister Perry Chrisite, who was in the hospital when the deal between Baha Mar and government was signed, said that along with Atlantis at Paradise Island, Baha Mar will reinforce the position of The Bahamas not only as the best holiday and vacation destination in the Caribbean, but also as the regional and world leader in tourism.
However, Mr Christie said that without the charming smiles and hospitality of the Bahamian staff and executive, the most glorious architecture and design becomes little more than a simple pile of concrete blocks and steel.
The Cable Beach properties will offer a massive casino and six hotels with a total of 3,550 rooms, and will be a complement to Kerzner International’s 2,300-room multi-billion Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.
Construction on the first phase of the resort is scheduled to begin in 2007 and is set to open in 2010. Future phases of Baha Mar are expected to include additional hotels, a variety of residential offerings and a second 18-hole golf course.
Developers say that the project will provide 5,000 direct jobs in construction, along with many more spin-off benefits to the economy; and when finished will provide more than 5,000 permanent jobs, pumping more than $400 million into the local economy.
The property – aimed at young adults, families and convention customers – will feature an 18-hole golf course, long beachfront, 55-foot-high waterfall and a network of canals connecting casino, hotels, shops and open-air restaurants. The resort’s design team also worked on the Bellagio and Wynn resorts in Las Vegas
Harrah’s, which bought rival Caesars Entertainment this summer, is to build a 95,000 square-feet Ceasars casino – the size of two football fields – at the resort. Starwood will build and run hotels under its Sheraton, Westin, W and St Regis brand names. Baha Mar Development will run services tying the resort together.
The company had missed an initial target date to find a hotel partner. During the Heads of Agreement signing in April, Prime Minister Christie said that Baha Mar “is to use its best effort to enter into final agreements with its resort partner by August 30, 2005, and its casino partner by December 31, 2005.”
A lot is riding on the Baha Mar Development, which is expected to transform the Cable Beach area while complementing Sol Kerzner’s multibillion-dollar development on Paradise Island.
Two weeks ago, Mr. Kerzner said he believes that Baha Mar will be good for The Bahamas, like the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort.
By: Erica Wells, The Bahama Journal
