In late 2020, COVID-19 tests started to become a hotel resort amenity that ranged from available upon request to required for all guests at a few resort hotels. Now in early 2021, U.S. travelers are likely to become much more interested in getting swabbed while between drinks on vacation as effective Jan. 26, a negative COVID-19 test will be required to re-enter the country — even for citizens.
This hotel testing trend started slowly, primarily in far-flung destinations such as smaller resorts in the Maldives, but we now expect it to ramp up significantly in the coming weeks since it will be really hard to commit to going on an international trip if you aren’t sure how you’ll get tested in order to re-enter the country.
At the recently reopened beachfront Baha Mar hotel complex, it’s now likely you’re going to take at least three COVID-19 tests for your vacation, including one that’s completed upon arrival to the resort.
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Resorts offering COVID-19 tests
Baha Mar in the Bahamas
Shortly after pulling up to the Baha Mar hotel complex (home to the Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, Rosewood Baha Mar, SLS Baha Mar and the Baha Mar Casino and Sportsbook, as well as a Melia property), you’ll head to an area near the front desk to receive a rapid antigen test conducted by Doctor’s Hospital. You’ll then complete the check-in process (with your mask on, of course) and quarantine in your room for approximately 30 minutes, or until your results are available.
This is in addition to the COVID-19 PCR test you must take no more than five days before you arrive in the Bahamas.
If your rapid test comes back negative, you’ll receive your wristband and be able to freely move about the property. For guests who stay five days or longer, you’ll need to repeat the testing process on the fifth day.
Graeme Davis, President, Baha Mar, tells TPG via email that, “Today’s reopening marks an important milestone for Baha Mar and The Bahamas’ tourism industry. We are deeply committed to safe travel and protecting the health of our guests and associates. So, Baha Mar requires guests over the age of ten to take a complimentary Rapid Antigen COVID-19 test upon arrival. The tests are conducted by personnel from Doctor’s Hospital, the premier hospital in The Bahamas, in a comfortable setting near the front desk in the Grand Hyatt lobby. Once completed, guests are directed to check-in.”
In addition to all of that pre- and mid-travel testing, Baha Mar is also offering optional PCR and rapid COVID-19 tests ($125 and $25, respectively) for guests before they depart. This will become crucial for those looking to return to the U.S.
Atlantis in the Bahamas
The family-friendly mega-resort in the Bahamas can schedule either a rapid or PCR test at the Beach Tower at Atlantis. Prices range from $40 for a rapid test, $175 for a PCR test or $250 plus the cost of the test if you want a physician to come to you to perform the test.
You can schedule the appointment online and available seems to be very solid at present.
Andaz Mayakoba in Mexico
On its Instagram stories, Andaz Mayakoba in the Riviera Maya section of Mexico states that it offers guests onsite COVID-19 tests prior to departure from the resort via the AZUMED Laboratory with results delivered within 12 hours via email. The. cost is $190 USD and tests need to be scheduled via the concierge 24 hours in advance. Tests taken on Sunday won’t have results delivered until Monday.
Excellence Resorts in Mexico
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The family of Excellence Resorts in Mexico will provide COVID-19 tests for guests whose home countries require a negative result. They do testing upon arrival on-site, and free of charge through Feb. 2021.
Sandos Playacar, Sandos Caracol, and Sandos Cancun
Guests can receive COVID-19 tests without leaving the property with results delivered via email within 24 to 48 hours. The cost of a PCR COVID-19 test is approx. $115, and the cost of a rapid test is approximately $25.
Coconut Bay Beach Resort and Spa in St. Lucia
Coconut Bay and its sister property Serenity at Coconut Bay offer complimentary rapid antigen COVID-19 tests for guests staying five nights or longer, according to Travel Pulse. If your stay is shorter than five nights, you can pay $75 for the same test before returning home. This doesn’t exempt travelers from St. Lucia’s entry requirements, and you can arrange your tests with front-desk staff at Coconut Bay or your assigned butler at Serenity.
The Crane in Barbados
Guests can arrange tests with the resort’s concierge, which will then be administered by on-site medical staff. You can expect to receive results within 24 hours, and each test costs $150.
St. Regis Maldives
The St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort website states that it provides PCR test swabs directly at the resort three days prior to departure via the resort doctor. On-site PCR tests are $165, subject to services charges, and reservations should be made at least 72 hours before departure. The hotel’s website states that departing guests who require a negative PCR certificate to return to their home country or final destination will be prioritized.
What happens if you test positive
Unfortunately, the odds are high these days that if you test enough people, someone will eventually test positive.
While not every resort that offers testing has a published policy in place for when guests test positive, some do. In this regard, the Bahamas is already a few steps ahead. For example, Baha Mar guests who receive a positive rapid test will be visited in their room by medical personnel from the Medical Director’s office for a follow-up PCR test. While waiting for this result, which could take about six hours, guests will need to wait it out in their room.
If you receive a second positive result with this highly-accurate follow-up test, you’ll have two choices. And neither one of them is ideal.
With a confirmed positive test, you’ll either need to quarantine or, interestingly, you’ll be given the opportunity to fly home on a “private aircraft or an air ambulance.” There will be a so-called Special Guest Ops team that will provide support to those guests who do test positive.
Travelers bound for the Bahamas right now are also subject to a new fee ($40 if you’re staying up to four nights and $60 if you’re staying longer). This fee covers the requisite Bahamas Health Travel Visa, the mandatory rapid test taken on the fifth day of your stay and a mandatory health insurance plan, regardless of where you’re staying. (Children 10 and under still need the health visa, but do not pay this fee and are not subject to routine required testing.)
The rapid test you take on arrival to Baha Mar is provided at no cost to the traveler by the hotel and the mandatory health insurance will cover up to $50,000 in COVID-19-related medical expenses incurred on the island, as well as up to $7,000 in quarantine-related expenses, if necessary (up to $500 per day). This plan, which frankly seems like a bargain for the $40 to $60 fee, also covers medical evacuation due to COVID-19 up to $100,000 — but that’s subject to medical necessity.
Related: State-by-state COVID-19 travel guide
Bottom line
While there has been a contingent of U.S. travelers seeking sun and fun in countries across the Caribbean, Mexico and beyond, those getaways are about to become a lot trickier with the introduction of new testing rules for returning back to the U.S.
Some close-in destinations, such as the Bahamas, have already been working toward this tourism testing infrastructure, but other locations and resorts likely have some rapid catching up to do.
The other major logistic for resorts to work through will be what happens when guests do test positive and can’t return to the U.S. for a period of time. The Bahamas and some resorts, such as Baha Mar, have those plans in place, but it remains to be seen how this eventuality will be managed at resorts more used to managing massage appointments and margarita orders than pandemics, stranded international travelers and mandatory quarantines.
Featured image courtesy of Baha Mar.
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Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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