NASSAU’S oldest hotel, the 291-room British Colonial Hilton, is spending £22m on a restoration programme to transform it into a luxury business and leisure hotel before it reopens on August 1.
The 77-year-old Bahamian property, the setting for the James Bond film Never Say Never Again, will reopen as part of Hilton International’s growing portfolio of Caribbean hotels and resorts.
Included in the renovation programme will be a total makeover of all the hotel’s guest rooms, meetings spaces, restaurants and landscaping. A fifth-floor business level is being added with 46 rooms designed for business travellers, as well as a ballroom, a boardroom and several meeting rooms.
“The whole point of the restoration is to preserve the Caribbean-colonial charm of this prominent landmark whilst adding luxury facilities,” said Michael Hooper, general manager of RHK Capital of Toronto, the hotel’s owner.