January 28, 2022
Singer Pharrell Williams Partners To Bring New Resort to the Bahamas
Entertainer and entrepreneur Pharrell Williams has partnered with David Grutman and Groot Hospitality to build a brand-new resort in the Bahamas.
According to CNN, Williams and Groot Hospitality are building the resort which is set to open in 2024. Groot Hospitality is owned by Grutman, the Miami-based hospitality and nightlife entrepreneur.
The planned property called Somewhere Else, will be part of Atlantis Paradise Island. It will be the third hospitality project for the 13-time Grammy Award winner and Grutman, who are partners in the Miami-based restaurant Swan and The Goodtime Hotel, which opened in 2021.
Somewhere Else will have approximately 400 rooms and suites as well as multiple restaurants and bars. The resort will also incorporate bungalows with recording studios.
Williams said he likes the concept of “tropical modernism” for this new space, giving hints at a more contemporary feel. “Often, when talking about tropical aesthetics, there’s this harkening back to another time. It’s like, ‘Man, let’s let that time be.’ We’re going for the future here.”
Williams and Grutman will maintain 100% ownership of Somewhere Else’s intellectual property and have complete freedom in the resort’s creation.
“We want to do this one differently than what you’re used to from Pharrell and I,” Grutman said. “We’re really going for an emphasis on the outdoors, and experiences that you can have on the grounds of the property, whether in a fun-filled sense or in finding a quiet corner to relax. What we’re not going to have is a nightclub, for example.”
When news of The Goodtime Hotel opening was reported last year, Williams said, “The Goodtime will light up this community. People are going to be inspired by what we’re doing here. It will be good energy, good vibrations, good space, and, of course, a good time.”
Planning for the Goodtime Hotel took three years, Grutman said, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.