John buchanan has some very good points and I don’t think he is trying to be all one side and does acknowledge the fault to be place in CCA and the complicity of the government and their anointed inspectors who had on hundreds of occasion had to visit the project and pass on certain codes until any further work could be done…..so how did work continue? Based on very reliable inside sources, I can confirm that not only was the original December date missed, most people with any hotel experience were saying back in the summer that December date was absolutely not going to happen….yet senior BML leadership kept turning the other cheek and force it down the world. That being said, CCA was pushed so hard that corners were cut….and BML knew it. Further delays were because BML started running out of money more than a year ahead of time because of “Ego” spending and not smart marketing. $250,000 plus expenses for a feng shui Master to fly in and do and bless a good luck opening day which again was pushed down the ranks as no option other than to comply does not seem like good business. the March date was indeed missed even further and had no chance based on several slowdowns as CCA wasn’t getting paid. March date was never going to be an option either…..all the Brand hoteliers always forecasted a Late summer opening……ironical, most people don’t know that back in 2013, Fall 2015 was the target date….ego and not wanting to miss the prime season is why December 2014 became the de facto forced date. A non-official and up to 72 hour s prior to yet another “Official” announcement, May 15 was to be a new date…..and on and on and on. CCA has said in public, and very true that thousands of work change orders would came in, many daily….mostly cutting back and redesign, less pools, smaller fountain lakes etc…..all because BML couldn’t afford it anymore….these things add time, not decrease it, yet opening dates never change contrary to CCA’s continued revision and forcast of what they thought was a more reasonable time for completion and BML would not accept.

I'm a bit confused? First, last we all knew, no were near half th residencs were sold. Seond, if indeed $16 million has been colelcted in advane deposits, how come the joint provisional liquidators recentley said they found very little money in all of the accounts left by Baha Mar-Sarkis and hence they needed to get approval from the court to ask the EXIM Bank for yet another loan so as to pay insurance on all the lnd and assest incuding Melia so they could keep their doors open.....where exactly is this $17 million now hiding

All good points and just to clarify from above, Starwood is not the largest hotel chain in the world, not even in the top 3.

If you are refering to the "Potential" deal among many potential buyers, of Starwood, to be clear they are not even close to being the Largest hotel chain in the world.

The naivety in regards to the official commentary on construction staring back up and the very resources and process to open/run a hotel…..nay a mega resort, boggle the mind. Some have mentioned that nobody has addressed and/or asked for the results from the CCA audit on the project to see what it would take to complete. A big deal was made when everybody was singing positive choir that they were back on the site and would take 10 days to complete….indeed, what are the results? Further, IF they start back in 2 months, there is NO WAY they will be open by May…what is this man thinking??? I’ve said this before, finishing the construction and opening are two completely different things. All the Brands and Expat will have left….you get a new investor to open under different brands, ok…..you needs business on the books, pre-booked reservations, conventions, groups and individual guest (Which means your reservations systems need to be open now and a sales team selling). IF by the grace of God they can open in May, it will be with 10 people checking in. Oh, what about all the independent Restaurant and retail vendors that originally signed on, the beach front operators etc, they have all gone away and owe money for the loans they took out to pay Baha Mar upfront…..one assumes they will all just jump back on board? This will be a joke if anybody thinks that this resort can open with any credibility and resources any sooner than 2017.

And the can keeps getting kicked down the road. Seems like nobody has the testicular fortitude to make a final decision already....how many times can these dadlines and court dates keep changing?

If the above mentioned "“(There was an appearance) before Justice Winder this morning, where there was an application to amend the petitions to add petitioners to all of the petitions except the Gaming Board’s petition, which was already amended, pursuant to his order,” is potential cause for delay yet again.....I say petition declined and do what needs to be done already.

Fantastic editorial and very on point. Only item i'd add.....all this talk about 97% complete and "Early Openings next year" are so misguided, it's insulting! It was bad enough that all the expats had already basically left the island, but now the Bahamians laid off.......does the Gov't know anything about the hotel business. SO much energy, time and work was put in to pre-books of groups/conventions.....seting up travel agncy accounts and developing "High Rollers" for casino revenue just to mention a few........this was all put in place 2 years prior to opening. Everyting was cancelled and willhave to start from scratch. IF the construction is indeed finalied in the next 6 months, will Baha Mar open the doors with 5% occupancy because no other revenue generation is currently underway.....and when will all this staff again magically appear? Many of the Bahamians will have moved on to other jobs, and good luck finding any expats for the hotel brands needed for the senior level jobs to guide and train the bahamians?

"And he questioned whether the design was in keeping with efforts to preserve the character and authentic Bahamian architecture of downtown Nassau, given that renderings of the multi-level garage show a property more in keeping with the financial districts of London or New York."

And what is wrong with growing with the times, we want the shops, bars and restaurants to make money but traffic is terrible, Parking is worse.....I think there is one formal garage downtown and arent they closed on Sundays....we want local to get out and about and grow to be a developed country, yet we want to look like 3rd world.

"Mr Symonette’s comments will likely strike a chord with many Bahamians, especially those who live and work near the construction site adjacent to the existing British Colonial Hilton hotel on Marlborough Street" I'm sorry, how many people actually live right where referenced downtown.....this is a commercial and finacial distric with charm in design with pastel colors of the shops. Much more gentrification still needs to happen on some of those abondoned buildins......Oh, and by the way,indeed for the few home owners,have you not heard of property value increases....make it through the construction and the added ammenities will certainly increase their value....just like the communities around Baha Mar did in anticipation of the project finishing.

Wow, that seems a bit racist

Double dipping into getting paid for a job not being done in a bankrupt (Sorry, symantics) soon to be liquidated, company, that's what. How can anybody be serious about paying people that aren't doing a job, from a company not paying any bills???? if one wants to speak to labour laws, lets talk about a Gov't that owes a company money, doesn't pay them which could be used for other actual invoices due/vendors who have basically carried Baha Mar on their loans etc, but pays employees for work not done???? I hate when people lose jobs, But everybody should have been terminated within the first month of a non-operation company.