by Brian Major
Last updated: 10:36 AM ET, Wed March 25, 2015
PHOTO: The Baha Mar project has been delayed several times beyond the original December 2014 opening date. (Courtesy of Baha Mar)
One week after confirming its flagship hotel would open on March 27 with three others to follow in a "phased" launch, developers of the $3.5 billion Baha Mar mega-resort in Nassau, Bahamas now say the resort will open in "early May."
Officials at the mega-resort blamed this latest delay on the project's construction managers. "In setting our opening date for March 27, we relied in good faith on the representations of the resort's construction manager and lead contractor," said resort officials in a statement issued late Tuesday.
"Based on this party's repeated assurances, Baha Mar announced that it would begin a paced opening beginning March 27 and culminating in its grand opening scheduled for early May," the statement continues. "Subsequently, it has become clear that the contractor has not completed the work with an attention to detail consistent with Baha Mar standards of excellence.
"Anything less than a world-class facility and best-in-class guest experience is not acceptable to Baha Mar. As a result, Baha Mar will not begin its paced opening on March 27. Baha Mar expects to celebrate its grand opening the first week of May 2015, as planned."
Company officials did not specify whether all of the resort's four hotels will open as part of the new May launch date.
In February, Baha Mar officials insisted the mega-resort would open as scheduled on March 27, with three properties - the flagship Baha Mar Casino & Hotel, and the Rosewood at Baha Mar and SLS Lux at Baha Mar hotels to begin hosting "paid guests" on that date. Under the plan a fourth property, the Grand Hyatt hotel, would open "shortly thereafter."
The latest delay sets the resort premiere back five months from the original opening date. The project's first delay occurred late last year, when company officials announced Baha Mar grand opening would be delayed to "late spring 2015," missing the original December 2014 opening date.
In all, the resort will boast 2,200 guest rooms. The flagship property is slated to feature a 100,000-square-foot casino, described as the Caribbean's largest. Resort amenities will also include a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, a spa, multiple pools, restaurants and shops.
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