New Providence and Paradise Islands Feature

Cable Beach, a string of resorts on a white-sand beach west of Nassau, is getting a makeover so massive that it's expected to rival Las Vegas when everything is completed in 2013, although numerous setbacks and delays make this date questionable. A mammoth $2.5-billion resort called Baha Mar will include six luxury hotels—the already-in-place Sheraton and Wyndham, as well as a Westin, W, St. Regis, and a 1,000-room luxury casino-hotel. The 3,600-room beachside complex is the single largest investment in the history of the Bahamas.

Cable Beach's two current resorts—the Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort and the Wyndham Nassau Resort & Crystal Palace Casino—are open and operating as Cable Beach Resorts during the building of Baha Mar. The company has already spent more than $150 million renovating these two hotels and casino. Updates at the Wyndham include flat-screen TVs and refrigerators in all guest rooms, and two bars are being added to the casino. The Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort was completely overhauled and now presents a sophisticated lobby and brand-new room furnishings. Together, the current resorts offer 1,250 guest rooms and suites (most with ocean views), 13 restaurants and lounges, more than a half mile of gorgeous white-sand beach, and a variety of water-sport activities. Headliners continue to perform at the Rainforest Theatre and a cabaret show is in the works.

When finished, Baha Mar's attractions will include a 200,000-square-foot casino, the Caribbean's largest freestanding spa, the West Bay Village shopping-and-entertainment complex—all connected by a series of canals and wide pedestrian paths—as well as an 18-hole Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course.

Michael Hong, known for his work on the $1.6 billion Bellagio Resort and Wynn Resort in Las Vegas, is leading the design team for Baha Mar, which will sprawl across 1,000 acres. The reconstruction of the landscape and the development of the hotels will be extensive, but the Baha Mar Group says it will all be done in a way that does not disturb guest experience.

For more information on Baha Mar, visit www.bahamar.com or www.crystalpalacevacations.com, or call 800/222-7466.