One of the world’s most famous luxury hotels is undergoing a massive multimillion-dollar transformation.
Nearly 25 years after it opened, Atlantis Paradise Island has announced several upgrades and enhancements including new rides and slides at Splashers water playground and a celebrity-backed in-resort hotel, besides adding another Michelin-lauded chef.
The original Atlantis resort, which opened in the Bahamas in 1998, paved the way for luxury travel in the Caribbean and became known around the world for its giant marine habitats, water parks and palace-like pink architecture.
"We could not be more excited for all of the developments coming to Atlantis this year," said Audrey Oswell, president and managing director of Atlantis Paradise Island.
From New York and Dubai to the Bahamas
Michael White, the man behind Dubai's Marea and the Michelin-starred New York outpost of the same name, and whose restaurants have earned Michelin stars, will join chefs Nobu Matsuhisa and Jose Andres at the island resort.
He will be opening Paranza at The Cove, a coastal Italian cuisine restaurant that will welcome guests later this year. The new addition will make Atlantis Paradise Island the only hotel in the Caribbean to boast three Michelin star-rated chefs.
Elsewhere, there are newly renovated guestrooms and suites. Refreshed rooms are already bookable in The Royal East Tower this summer, with interiors inspired by the colours of the sea and the resort’s eight kilometres of white sand beaches.
The Royal West Tower will also be renovated to the same standard, with room bookings opening later in the year and the famed Bridge Suite — which spans the Royal Towers' 17th floor and has an average rate of $25,000 per night — will be entirely renovated and reopen in 2023.
Only for adults, The Cove Pool, featuring 20 private beach cabanas with Bahamian-inspired art and design, will also undergo a refresh.
Splashers, the pool and water playground for Atlantis' youngest guests, is included in the plans too, with new slides, climbing areas and more coming later this year.
Somewhere Else: Pharrell Williams' 400-key hotel
The Somewhere Else resort will be located at what was the Beach Tower at Atlantis and is set to offer “a unique and immersive experience”.
The 400-key hotel is on track to open in 2024 and will have top-tier dining, lush gardens, several swimming pools and live entertainment. It's a project in collaboration with singer Pharrell Williams and David Grutman of Groot Hospitality.
Atlantis Paradise Island opened over 25 years ago and has several things in common with Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai, although there is currently no formal connection between the resorts.
With five different on-site hotels — The Coral, The Royal, The Reef, The Cove and Harborside Resort — Atlantis Paradise Island also has a 57-hectare water park called Aquaventure and the world's largest open-air, ocean-fed marine habitat that's home to more than 50,000 animals.
Most Instagrammable hotels in the world - in pictures
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
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Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
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