A major new resort in the Bahamas
1Baha Mar,?a $3.5 billion luxury resort, is scheduled to open in December 2014 in Nassau in the Bahamas.
The ambitious project is on a 1,000-acre property set along 3,000 feet of beach that will have four hotel brands in separate towers for a total of 2,200 rooms: the Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, Rosewood at Baha Mar, Mondrian at Baha Mar and Grand Hyatt at Baha Mar. There will also be a 100,000-square-foot casino; an ESPA-branded 30,000-square-foot spa; 32 restaurants, bars and clubs; a Jack Nicklaus golf course; 14 pools; a water park; and an art gallery with the largest collection of Bahamian art in the islands.
Financing for the venture comes from three sources: the Export-Import Bank of China; China State Construction Engineering Corporation, which is the company in charge of building the property; and the family of the Baha Mar chief executive Sarkis Izmirlian, who are in the real-estate business.
?The point of Baha Mar is to combine the glamour of the South of France and the excitement of Las Vegas with the gorgeous beaches of the Bahamas,? Mr. Izmirlian said in a telephone interview. ?We want to be the go-to resort in the Caribbean.? Room rates will range from $350 to $20,000 a night.