Baha Mar Casino Resort Soft Launch To Take Place On April 21

When casino developers set out to build multi-billion dollar casino resorts they prepare themselves to face numerous challenges along the way and understand that a project of this size will take a considerable amount of time to complete. When the government of the Bahamas approved the development of the Baha Mar casino resort, government officials expected the project to be completed in the late 2000s and provide a significant boost to the island’s economy.
However nearly a decade later, the Baha Mar casino resort is still not fully completed and has posed serious concerns for the government and the resort developers over the years. The project is estimated to have been developed at a cost of $4.2 billion dollars and occupies more than a thousand acres on prime beach front property in Nassau. The Baha Mar casino resort is expected to have a soft launch on April 21 but not all of the resort’s facilities will be fully functional just yet.
There are three hotel brands which will be a part of the multi-billion dollar resort. The Grand Hyatt will have a total of 1,800 rooms, SLS Hotels will have 300 rooms on the resort and Rosewood Hotel & Resorts will have 200 rooms, making a combined total of 2,300 hotel rooms available for occupancy. The Bahamas is considered one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world and both government and the resort developers are expecting to see a constant flow of tourists to the property as there are both gaming and non-gaming facilities that looks to cater to a wide audience.
The Grand Hyatt will have its room prices in the $300 range while the SLS brand will have its rooms starting at $500. The Rosewood Hotel rooms will be the most expensive as the starting rate per night is fixed at $700. The SLS hotel rooms will open later this year while the Rosewood hotel rooms are expected to open only next year. The property will also be home to more than 40 restaurants and 30 high end retailers including Bulgari and Rolex.
The restaurants will serve a wide variety of cuisine from all over the world including Chinese, English and Japanese sushi. However, only few of these restaurants and luxury retailers will be opened from April 21, as the majority of these establishments are expected to be opened towards the end of this year or early next year.
Those who are interested in the Baha Mar casino will find a massive 100,000 gaming space that provides patrons with a nice view of the ocean and will be opened 24/7. The casino floor is expected to have around 1,500 slot machines and 150 table games along with a convention center that covers 200,000 square feet.
Those who are interested in the non-gaming activities will find fabulous golf courses such as the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course covering 18 holes, as many as 11 swimming pools, an Espa Spa that has 24 spa rooms and spectacular lakes and water fountains that are lit up by colorful lasers. Children will also find the aviary interesting as they will have the chance to learn more about butterflies and hummingbirds and also be able to take a class on Bahamian basket weaving.
Baha Mar’s creative arts director John Cox stated that the resort will also have nearly 8,500 pieces of Bahamian art which includes a mix of photographs, sculptures, paintings and ceramics from well known and upcoming Bahamian artists. Cox stated that there isn’t a lot of information out there depicting the rich history and culture of the Bahamian people and the Baha Mar casino resort will look to change that by bringing to the forefront the richness of the Bahamian culture.
Oxford Economics published a report back in 2013 which stated that the Baha Mar resort would contribute nearly 12 percent of the GDP as the resort was expected to create thousands of jobs, boost tourism on the island and generated a significant amount of revenue for the government in gaming taxes. During the soft launch period, the resort is expected to employ around 1,500 employees and when it all of the facilities are fully functional, the resort should employ close to 5,500 people.