Scalable, Reliable, Invisible: Hot Water Solutions at Baha Mar Resort

There’s a reason people cross oceans to get here. In the Caribbean, the waters shift between blue and green, clear enough to see every grain of sand. Palm trees lean into the wind like they know which way it will blow.

Baha Mar, set on the shores of Nassau, The Bahamas was built with that in mind. A luxury resort, guests are there for the private cabanas, fine dining, and spa days. It’s a place to unwind and recharge amidst paradise.

The resort is home to three distinct hotels—the Grand Hyatt, SLS Baha Mar, and Rosewood Baha Mar—each offering its own upscale accommodations. The sprawling campus includes 45 restaurants, a casino, a spa, and a water park. Expectations of the hotel and its facilities are high.

Guests at Baha Mar expect a seamless experience, from check-in to checkout. That means no delays and every detail working as it should—including hot water. From morning showers to back-to-back laundry and kitchen demands, hot water interruptions at a resort this scale would be sharply noticed.

The Problem at Hand

The story begins more than 15 years ago. Baha Mar was still a blueprint, and its developers needed a hot water system that could match the scale and demands of the resort. Working closely with our local commercial rep and a prestigious MEP firm, we identified some inconsistencies with the existing design that wouldn’t work for the scale of the resort.

Our Solution: Condensing Boilers and Indirect Hot Water Heaters

We proposed employing condensing boilers with our indirect water heaters—making Hubbell the basis of design. At Baha Mar, these boilers operate with low return water temperatures, supplying 140°F hot water to Hubbell Synergy Hydro BWPs, our indirect-fired water heaters. Hubbell BWPs then use a heat exchanger to transfer energy from the boiler loop to the domestic hot water (DHW) tank. This approach optimizes fuel use, minimizes thermal cycling, and extends the lifespan of the equipment.

The Best Indirect Water Heater for the Job

The Hubbell Synergy Hydro BWP is a fully packaged indirect water heater. It uses boiler water from a condensing boiler (or other heat sources) as the energy source for heating potable water. Employing a plate-type heat exchanger, the system can provide close crossover temperature heat transfer at boiler water temperatures below traditional U-tube design.

BWP features a HydraStone™ cement-lined tank, designed to meet the demands of world-class resorts like Baha Mar. It’s available from 120-10,000 gallon capacities, with in stock sizes for faster lead times.

The HubbellConnect Elite digital control system on our BWPs provides full running and temperature control. The system is designed for scalability, making it ideal for large-scale resorts like Baha Mar. It can easily be programmed to control multiple heater plants, external recirculation pumps, and setbacks. Plus, users can remotely adjust setpoint temperature to meet fluctuating demand.

Baha Mar Today

Today, almost fifteen years later, our BWP units continue to supply the resort. The result: significant operating cost savings and long-term reliability.

At Hubbell, our role goes beyond simply supplying tanks. Each project is engineered to meet the specific demands of the application, and when we see opportunities to improve a design, we work with our partners to make it happen. For Baha Mar, that meant improving efficiency. We continue to support the hot water system with our service and troubleshooting.

The next time you’re poolside or stepping into a hot shower on vacation, remember this: what feels effortless to guests is the result of smart engineering working exactly as planned.

HUBBELL is a leading manufacturer of cement-lined water heaters with expertise that spans over a century. We offer water heaters for most energy sources with storage capacities from 1–10,000 gallons as well as instantaneous and semi-instantaneous water heating solutions. All Hubbell products are designed, engineered, and manufactured for reliability coupled with unparalleled support and service. Contact us today to find out more about our cement-lined water heaters, storage tanks or other water heating products.