Bahamas News

At $10,000 per night, the Penthouse Suite at the Reef Atlantis on Paradise Island is among the 101 top hotel or resort suites of the year, according to lifestyle magazine ‘Elite Traveler.’

The magazine, which caters to the global “jet set,” released the list of 101 Top Hotel/Resort Suites of The Year in its July/August issue.

The publishers of the magazine contend that despite the current trend toward ‘staycations’ for much of the population, the so-called “super-rich” continue to traverse the globe on private jets.

It is contended that Elite Traveler readers average 41 trips per year, including 10 intercontinental trips.

The most expensive suite on the 101 Top Suites this year is in Europe, the $52,000 per night Royal Penthouse Suite at the Hotel President Wilson in Geneva Switzerland, followed closely by the $50,000 per night Royal Villa at the Grand Resort Lagonissi in Attica, Greece and the $21,000 per night Imperial Suite at the Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome.

In the United States, the most expensive suite is the Ty Warner Penthouse at the Four Seasons Hotel New York at $30,000 per night, also notable as the most expensive suite ever built in the United States.

The magazine’s editorial director, Laura Hughes, said her readers spend more than $400,000 per year at hotels and resorts.

“So price isn’t an issue to them,” she said. “We just want to alert them to the most unique design styles, best services, and new amenities in the most amazing locations, whatever the price.”

Approximately one-third of the suites on the list cost over $10,000 per night, but a few locations with a so-called “winning combination” of service, amenities, style, and location are included, supposedly within the grasp of those seeking a “once-in-a-lifetime jet set experience.”

An Ocean Front Suite at Fort Lauderdale’s St. Regis Resort, a one bedroom suite at the Palms Place Hotel and Condo, Las Vegas, Suite #1 at Phinda Mountain Lodge, Phinda Private Game Reserve in South Africa, and a pool villa at the Alila, Cha-Am in Amphur Cha-Am, Thailand all rank among the best in the world and can be secured for less than $1000/night.

The magazine’s publishers said “101 Top Suites” was compiled by the editors of Elite Traveler and a panel of celebrity readers including Barry Manilow, Lindsay Davenport, Sean Combs, and Kelly Ripa.

Other suites in the region that made the list include the Amanyara Suite at the Ocean Villas, in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos ($12,000 per night), and the Eden Rock Suite at Villa Nina in St. Barths, which goes for $76,100 per week.

Source: Bahama Journal

A potential foreclosure looming over four properties owned by the Ginn company will in all likelihood have no impact the mega mixed use resort that the company is developing in West End, Grand Bahama, according to Minister of State for Finance Zhivargo Laing.

The Ginn company is struggling to pay the debt it owes on four high end resort communities and has failed to make interest and principal payments last month on $675 million in bank debt.

It is now attempting to reach an agreement within 30 days to restructure its debt.

On Tuesday, Minister Laing told the Bahama Journal that Ginn officials had briefed the government on its financial predicament and had sought to assure officials that there was no need for concern.

“We are advised that what is now happening with respect to the defaulted loan has nothing to do with two of their properties and one of those properties is the West End property,” he said. “So the funds that they have for the development of that property in terms of the infrastructure are set aside [in] a separate account.”

The Ginn Sur Mer site expands over 1,957 acres of oceanfront beachfront property in Grand Bahama.

The company has plans to develop 4,400 condominium and hotel units centred on a 20-story tower with 1,800 single-family residential sites.

This is the largest project that the company has undertaken and it is expected to pump hundreds of millions of dollars into Grand Bahama’s troubled economy.

The project, which began in December 2005, has a price tag of $4.9 billion.

Land clearing of almost 2,000 acres is 70 per cent complete, according to Ginn Sur Mer’s website.

The company, which is based in Florida, has more than 40,000 acres in its land bank, according to the resort’s website.

Ginn Resorts is an umbrella company for a host of other Ginn companies. In Central-Florida, Ginn is developing a “reunion” resort just south of Disney.

Resort officials reported that Ginn is also planning to develop ski sites in Vermont and Colorado.

The Ginn development at West End will be developed over 20 years, according to the company’s agreement with the Government of the Bahamas.

As a result of Ginn’s outstanding debt, Standard & Poor’s recently lowered its credit ratings on Ginn-LA and its ratings on the loans.

“This is not a default yet,” emphasized Ryan Julison, a Ginn spokesman.

Source: Bahama Journal

Despite what could turn out to be one of the most challenging periods for the country’s only cable television provider, Cable Bahamas’ latest financial statements show that the company has turned a profit in the last quarter that ended June 30, 2008 and for the six month period that ended on the same date.

In the quarter, revenue reached $20.346 million and net income climbed to $7.365 million. The revenue and net income figures were more than what was earned in the same quarter in 2007 [$18.920 and $6.562 respectively], according to the company’s records.

The company also just recently released figures for the six-month period that ended on June 30, which showed the level of revenue reaching $40.388 million and net income reaching $12.904 million.

“In revenue, we have seen a bit more traction; more than what was anticipated in Internet revenues for 2008 and that is mostly the biggest area of growth that we have seen for 2008,” said Barry Williams, vice president of Finance at Cable Bahamas.

The challenges, he said, have been most evident in the cable television and the premium package areas.

“We are having a bit of economic issues here in the Bahamas with the US recession and we are starting to feel a pinch of that from customers in the amount and type of service they are taking. Some people are cutting back on cable television,” he said.

The situation has forced the company, like many others that recognize tough economic times, to tighten its belt and exercise more operational efficiency.

“The other thing is that because we are aware of what is happening one of the things is to really tighten up on expenditures and operating costs and we have been able to control that quite well, but that is really what is translating into positive net income.”

In his annual statement to shareholders in April, Brendan Paddick, the chairman and chief executive officer of Cable Bahamas, said The Bahamas has been stifled for the past eight years as the regulators ponder the future of the communications industry.

At the time he blamed the government for holding back on change and technological advancements that would have led to lower costs, more competition, a broader range of products and services, increased employment and a more efficient marketplace.

Last year was a challenging one for Cable Bahamas, despite having experienced a 23 percent growth in subscribers while the operating efficiency increased by 7 percent.

“This growth has been achieved despite being denied an increase in our basic television rate,” Mr. Paddick wrote. “In these days of rising costs, it is almost unfathomable that regulators have deemed it fair to freeze Cable Bahamas’ basic rate for more than 13 years.”

Mr. Williams preferred not to comment on the matter yesterday.

He did say, however that it’s anyone’s guess about how things are going to shape up for the rest of the year.

“We have a conservative forecast,” he said. “We think that with managing costs tightly, controlling receivables as best we can, continuing to push and do innovative things, we should come out ok.”

The most substantial expenses for the company are related to fuel, electricity and airline costs and services provided by suppliers.

Source: Bahama Journal

Cost of living pressures are taking quite a toll on citizens in some of the far flung islands of The Bahamas, as they struggle to stay on top of rising costs for essential goods and services.

Some citizens in Mayaguana, Acklins and Crooked Island complain about having to shell out more money for the things upon which they depend for their very survival like food, energy and the precious inter-island mail boat service, whose operators lament that they are also caving under high fuel prices.

“The mailboat service is very poor. You are looking for the boats to come every week and instead it comes every two to three weeks and [food items] are spoilt,” said Rev. Lester Bain, a Mayaguana resident. “Captain Eddins Taylor used to make it here twice per month, but it is getting [worse] with increased prices. People need their stuff every two weeks so things don’t go bad.”

Others complained that they are essentially held hostage by the infrequent shipping calls. The situation appeared to have heightened their frustrations about other high consumer expenses; the cost of a gallon of fuel in Mayaguana has risen to $7.25 per gallon. There are also increased freight costs and the price of food has gone up.

“I try not to raise my prices took much,” said Rev. Bain, the proprietor of a local grocery store. “I take a beating sometimes.”

Mail boat operators have complained that the rising cost of diesel fuel, dilapidated docks in the Family Islands and stagnant tariffs over a decade were among the problems that they faced.

Earlier this year the government approved a package of subsidies to mail boat operators aimed at helping to improve their service standards and profitability.

The infrequency in shipping to some Family Islands that are farthest away from New Providence was a matter that MICAL MP V. Alfred Gray raised in the House of Assembly on Monday during its last sitting before an almost two month long summer break.

He told house members that he had been informed that heavy fuel costs was the reason for the irregularities.

“Please, I am asking the government to look at those far flung islands in the southeast Bahamas because now these mailboats are only able to go every 12 – 15 days,” he claimed.

“That is not acceptable. They are saying because of the high cost of fuel and lack of subsidies, they cannot go more often. Now that is something that I do not want the government to take lightly.”

For many weeks, he had been agitating for an improvement.

“My people cannot be starved because of the lack of government funding. We have to get the mailboats to Inagua and Crooked Island and those places because that is how they live. That is their lifeline.”

That lifeline is what the administrator for Acklins Steve Wilson said has been relatively regular for the last five weeks, at least. He told the Bahama Journal on Tuesday that the government had addressed the matter of subsidies for mailboat operators and there have been positive changes in the way the operator that services the island does business.

Other Acklins residents confirmed that the vessel services the island at least once per week. However they complained about the inefficiencies of the collection system on the island and the past trend of Sunday ports of call. Sunday is the traditional day of worship for many residents who prefer not to deal with any other distraction.

“The prices for the goods are high and they don’t appear to go by the tariff at all. It is a mess at the mailboat to get your freight,” said Cyril Ferguson, a Salina Point, Acklins resident.

“They don’t have regularly scheduled service and sometimes they would be to the dock from 3p.m. to 8 or 9 o’ clock in the night,” added Alma Beneby, who lives in Masons Bay, Acklins.

They both said they could do without the complications since they are already burdened by the high prices of other critical goods like gasoline which has reached $7 per gallon.

“Everybody is complaining. People have to go to work, so they have to buy it. The only people who would not feel the pinch [of high gas prices] are the police, BTC and National Insurance because their firm supplies them with fuel,” Ms. Beneby said.

The Bahamas mailboat network currently covers 22 routes with almost two dozen vessels that ship over $9 million worth of goods annually.

In Crooked Island, the complaints about mailboat operations continued, but Kermit Farquharson said he has noticed an improvement in the service rendered by Captain Tom Hanna.

He said the frequency has improved.

However, expressed a concern about another key area on the island.

“To be honest prices on the island are pretty stiff and what we need is price control over here to go into some of these shops and deal with these people. I know the cost of living is rising but some of these costs are very stiff,” he said.

Source: Bahama Journal