Nautical theme
Bahia Mar Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is getting a $7 million makeover.
FORT LAUDERDALE — The iconic BahiaMar Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort is undergoing a $7 million makeover this summer that’s slated to be completed in time for it to host the city’s annual boat showthis year.
Theredesign of theDoubleTree by Hilton-branded hotel at 801 Seabreeze Blvd., will sport a nautical theme inspired by the area’s boating, marina and beach lifestyle, the project’s interior designer said.
“It will have a sort of casual elegance it does not have today,” said SherifAyad, president of ID& Design International of Fort Lauderdale.
In all, 181 rooms in Bahia Mar’s main tower will be upgraded with a blue and white color scheme, new carpeting and headboards, peak wood dressers and desks, new appliances and custom light fixtures with USB outlets. Kingsized beds will be added to the oceanview rooms.
“There’s a lot of history and nostalgia around Bahia Mar, and once a year it’s [host] for the boat show, and we have to pay homage to that,” Ayad said.
New underwater design elements will enhance the resort’s public areas including a $50,000 chandelier draped in cascading strands of silver-flecked blue acrylic glass shards. It will be the centerpiece of the atrium.
The resort’s corridors and meeting space, including its 8,208-square-foot Commodore ballroom will receive new carpeting and light fixtures. Capping off the ballroom’s new look will be another sealife-inspired chandelier hanging fromits ceiling.
Lounge chairs and cabanas at the resort’s Waves Rooftop Pool Bar and Grill will receive new coral-colored cushions to complement its white and blue décor.
TheBahiaMar’s tower building opened in 1975 following the resort’s marina wing in 1966. The marina wing was renovated in 2015.
New landscaping and refreshed food and beverage program will be in place ahead of the 58th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which runsNov. 1-5.
“Work began a month ago, and the goal is to have it 100 percent complete by mid-October,” said James “Jimmy” Tate, CEO of Tate Capital in North Miami, and a partner in the resort complex’s new majority ownership, Rahn BahiaMar LLC.
The Rahn Bahia partnership, which includes Tate’s company, Rok Acquisitions, Rialto Capital Management andRCIMarine, acquired the property’s lease, which has 48 years remaining, in July 2014 for an undisclosed sum.
The hotel’s adjacent BahiaMar Yachting Center, which features a 250-slip marina, has hosted the Fort Lauderdale boat show since 1976. In 1984, the show expanded to both sides of the center.
Throughout the decades, the BahiaMar hotel has served as the boat show’s headquarters and epicenter of visitor and sales activity.
Tate said the new ownership has investedmore than$10million in property improvements since taking over.
“We’ve put a lot ofTLCinto the property to improve the guest experience,” he said.
Last month, the boat owner, Marine Industries show’s Associ-