Bahama Mama

It's only January and I'm already tired of being cold. Given the recent record warm winter temperatures seen around the country, it's pretty pathetic to be wishing for summer this soon, but I am, and will always be, a cold weather lightweight. So when I read about Baha Mar, a new destination resort underway in the Bahamas, I was ecstatic and began to fantasize about a getaway to the $2 billion tropical oasis. Unfortunately my getaway would have to wait because the resort isn't expected to be completed until 2011. (Boooooo!) That won't stop me from daydreaming though, so if you too need a momentary escape from the cold, read on and be awed by some of the resort's amazing features and amenities...

Baha Mar will be the Caribbean's largest single-phase destination resort, created and developed by Baha Mar Resorts Ltd. and a subsidiary of Harrah's Entertainment Inc., according to a press release. The joint venture partners also have signed management agreements with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., which means Starwood brand hotels will spice up the resort. Baha Mar will be a mixed-use project located in Nassau, Bahamas, on a 1,000-acre site. Design plans call for lush, natural landscapes and waterscapes, and Caribbean-inspired architectural elements that evoke the area's Colonial, European and African influences. Baha Mar will feature an expansive water boulevard and 50-ft.-high circular waterfall, and will offer 3,000 guest rooms, with Harrah's Entertainment operating a new Caesars Resort Hotel at Baha Mar with more than 1,000 guest rooms, and a nearly 100,000-sq.-ft. casino--the largest in the Caribbean. The remaining guest rooms at Baha Mar will be offered at the first and only collection of four Starwood brands at a single resort, consisting of a W Baha Mar, St. Regis Baha Mar, Westin Baha Mar and the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort. The W, St. Regis and Westin are anticipated to include residential units. Under separate agreements between Baha Mar and Starwood, the Sheraton Cable Beach Resort is anticipated to open in 2007 following an $80 million property-wide renovation and re-flagging of Baha Mar Resort's existing Radisson Cable Beach & Golf Resort. Are you drooling yet? Well stop, because there's more...

Other planned amenities at Baha Mar include Starwood's Bliss and Remede branded luxury spas at the W and St. Regis, and a third, full-service luxury spa facility expected to be the largest in the Caribbean. Additional features include an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course, a distinctive show-lake experience, 200,000 sq. ft. of meeting space, a 20-acre beach and pool experience with 3,000 ft. of continuous beachfront, and a retail village with upscale shopping, chef-branded restaurants and entertainment venues. (Okay now you can wipe up that puddle of drool.) Construction is scheduled to begin this year.

Maybe I'm biased from tropical-withdrawal, but that sounds amazing, right? See you there in four years!

--Jessie Bove