Having found itself forced to “turn down” wedding bookings even as it hosts as many as 385 a year, Atlantis has made a “strategic decision” to invest in a new $1.2 million wedding venue at the resort, its president and managing director, George Markantonis, said yesterday.
The venue, which will include an indoor wedding pavilion, ocean-side beach deck and event lawn, overlooking Paradise Beach, will be completed by the end of October.
The announcement of its development comes days after the resort opened its $5 million Cantor Race and Sportsbook gambling facility, adjacent to the Aura nightclub.
“Atlantis and the One&Only Ocean Club hosted close to 400 weddings the past 12 months; we have found that even our giant campus is constrained by enough suitable locations for the many high-end weddings that want to come to Paradise Island, so we made a strategic decision to invest in building yet another beautiful wedding location, a chapel and outside deck area that can hold several hundred people and that overlooks probably the most beautiful beach on New Providence,” said Markantonis.
Asked about the economic impact of the new venue, Markantonis said that there are no projected figures, but the investment will allow the resort to accept more wedding bookings and benefit from the many revenue streams that arise from them.
“We just know we have to turn down a lot of weddings that specifically want to be here,” he said. “The ceremonies have fees, then you do have the guest rooms involved with all of the attendees and there are all the ancillary revenues such as gaming, and food and beverage, across the entire resort.”
Atlantis VP of Weddings and Special Affairs Anna Schmid said: “We were running out of spaces to get married and so the demand was outweighing the supply. In our discussions, we agreed that we wanted to create something that could take us to the next level and deliver a more premium experience to potential brides and grooms.”
Atlantis’ Weddings and Special Affairs Department currently has a staff of nine to help couples plan their wedding.
Weddings held at the new site are open to both locals and guests from overseas, with a room night minimum of 10 rooms for three nights.
The pavilion area will be able to accommodate about 100 people for a ceremony and about 50 for a reception, while the beach deck can hold close to 200 for a ceremony and about 180 for a reception. Should a couple want to use the whole area for one big event, Schmid said up to 300 people can be accommodated.
By Alison Lowe
Guardian Business Editor
