Bermuda

Written by Jennifer Milano, September 2016

Everyone has his or her way of mindless web surfing.  Mine is to track airfares, looking for a good deal.  As much as I travel and look to save money, I don't often find a sweet deal. In mid-July, I was on Google's flight tool plugging in various destinations for late August, just before my kids were due to return to school.  My eyes lit up when I saw a nonstop from New York to Bermuda for $260 roundtrip.  I looked for the usual catches - were the flights at the crack of dawn or late at night?  Nope, I could choose an 8:15 am or 4:00 pm departure, and similar times on the return.  Was the fare only available for one passenger?Nope, I could get seats for all four of us.  Next, I checked the Bermuda hotel I had had my eye on for the past decade, the Elbow Beach Hotel.  $770 per night!  That killed the deal. Next, I checked my Fairmont benefits, which are substantial with the Fairmont Visa credit card and President's Club Membership.  Fairmont was running a special - $199 per night, and I could use one of my free upgrade certificates for a room on the Gold Level at the Fairmont Southampton, which came with free breakfast, tea and scones, hors d'oeuvres and desserts.  I called my friend, Christine, who has stayed at the Fairmont on the Gold Level with her family of five twice in recent summers.  Christine gave me the thumbs up.  

Last on the checklist before booking was talking to my husband and kids.  We were getting ready to head to the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador in early August.  We would be home for about ten days after that trip before packing our bags again and heading to JFK.  Would we really feel like getting on another plane?  My twelve-year-old daughter is usually the first one to lobby for lazy days at home, but once she saw photos of Bermuda's beaches, she was begging to go.  My nine-year-old son, who also thinks his mom goes a little overboard on travel, pointed out that the flight was less than two hours.  Even my husband, who tolerates working from the road while fulfilling his wife's travel agenda, said "Bermuda's on our list, let's do it."  (He loves to check things off his list.  I'm not the only Type A person in this marriage.)  The dates even coincided with our fifteenth wedding anniversary.  Everyone being on board, I booked it and hoped we wouldn't feel differently after coming home from Ecuador.

The Galapagos Islands in Ecuador were amazing (click here to read about our trip).  After digging out of a massive pile of laundry, cleaning wetsuits and restocking the fridge, I was feeling like staying put and enjoying the last days of summer in New England.  But the kids kept showing me photos online of Bermuda's pink sand beaches and clear, warm water. "This will be an actual vacation," my daughter reminded me.  "Our other travel is so busy."  As I reopened our suitcases and began to pack, I realized she was right.  It is really easy to throw a bunch of shorts, shirts and bathing suits in two carry-ons.  We zipped to JFK before morning rush hour and were in Bermuda before lunchtime. We were swimming by 1:00 pm.  Other than dinner reservations at one of the Fairmont's many restaurants, there was nothing to book.  We slept as late as we wanted, ate our free breakfast in the lounge, took the hotel shuttle down to the beaches, swam, snorkeled, ate lunch by the beach or pool, went to town or for another swim, made sure we were back in the Gold Level lounge for free tea time and scones, showered and lazed around in the room, and went to dinner.  This was our routine for four days, which was a perfect amount of time.

Our stay was not trouble-free.  In general, we don't love large resorts, and my husband and I have difficulty refraining from turning into hotel critics.  The Fairmont was at full capacity, and the service was inconsistent.  The Gold Level concierge gave us misinformation on at least two occasions.  The pool and beach staff did not clean up meaning that the remains of guests' food and drinks ended up in the ocean and the pool area was dirty.  Housekeeping missed our room one day.  Some staff were friendly, most were apathetic, and others were downright rude.  Noisy neighbors and thin walls are not a great combination for a good night's sleep.  Taxis on Bermuda are expensive, so if you want to explore it will cost you (visitors cannot rent cars in Bermuda).  And the hotel tacks on pricey service charges and resort fees to the otherwise reasonable room rate.

So why did we still enjoy our time in Bermuda, you may be asking?  The beaches are absolutely gorgeous - leave the Fairmont beach and start walking along the coast to find spectacular, pink sand beaches with not a person in sight - and just a one hour and 45 minute flight from New York.  We met some wonderful, welcoming Bermudians throughout our visit and learned a lot about life on the island.  I'm not sure there are many places where you can be swimming in warm, aqua waters in the morning and enjoying a scone with clotted cream and strawberry jam at tea time in the afternoon.  Just our discovery one morning of this tiny, deserted cove tucked into a corner of one of the beaches was enough to make our family trip worthwhile!

This tiny cove, just past Horseshoe Bay Beach toward Warwick Long Bay Beach, ringed by limestone and occasionally swamped by a wave was our favorite spot on Bermuda

When to Go to Bermuda:

Bermuda is a great beach destination, but only between May and October.  Located about 600 miles off the coast of North Carolina, Bermuda is chilly during the winter months.

How to Get To and Around Bermuda:

American Airlines and JetBlue (and maybe others) fly nonstop from east coast cities like New York and Boston. Fares fluctuate, so watch closely before booking.  We flew American for $260 per person roundtrip.  If we had booked a few days earlier, we could have saved about $20 per person with JetBlue.

Visitors cannot rent cars in Bermuda (although they can rent mopeds).  Taxis are expensive, but available.  If you prefer a private transfer, email Nick DeRosa from Luxury Transportation Ltd. (luxtransbda@gmail.com).  We thought our hotel was booking us a regular taxi to the airport, but Nick ended up being our driver.  He was on time and friendly (although more expensive than a regular taxi).  There are public buses and stops along the main roads, but for a family of four in the August heat, a taxi made more sense. We did use the public ferry system, which was efficient and inexpensive.  Fairmont also runs a ferry from the hotel to Hamilton, which is slow and infrequent, but comfortable and free of charge!

Where to Stay in Bermuda:

For years, I have wanted to stay at Elbow Beach Hotel because it is billed as Bermuda's only luxury hotel right on the beach.  The prices were more than triple the cost of the Fairmont Southampton for our dates, which we could not justify.  We did eat dinner at Mickey's Beach Bistro at the Elbow Beach Hotel.  The food was very good, and the setting on the sand cannot be beat.  (If the hotel concierge tells you the restaurant does not take reservations, he/she is mistaken.  Insist that the concierge call and book you a table.) While at Mickey's, we walked down the beach, which is very pretty but we preferred the wide, pink sand beaches in Southampton.  Also, the hotel is not really right on the beach, but up on a hill similar to the Fairmont.  From the outside, the hotel and rooms did not wow us, and certainly could not be worth triple, or even double, the price of the Fairmont.

The Fairmont Southampton (there is also a Fairmont in Hamilton, Bermuda's main town) offered a good value for us.  The hotel is beautiful in many ways, but a bit worn in spots. The room's furnishings could use updating, the walls are thin and the shower pressure is low.  However, the rooms are spacious, comfortable and well-appointed.  We had a free upgrade to the Gold Level (click here to read about the benefits of the Fairmont Visa card and President's Club), which gave us free breakfast, snacks and desserts, as well as a dedicated concierge desk.  We give the Gold Level at this hotel a mixed review.  The lounge is too small for the number of guests it needs to accommodate, but during quiet times, was lovely.  Tea time was a highlight.  Breakfast should have been more plentiful, and staff seemed overwhelmed by the number of guests.  (I do not like eating breakfast with the remains of the prior guests' meal under my feet.)  Two of the concierge staff members were friendly and helpful, while two gave us misinformation.  The first room we were assigned backed up to a service elevator and we could hear the elevator moving up and down.  We asked to change rooms, which the staff kindly accommodated.  

The outdoor pool area is nothing special.  It is better for small children, as there is a tiny slide into a kids' pool.  There are not enough chairs to accommodate guests, and no staff interested in managing chair availability.  Staff also fail to clean up trash, or monitor guests' behavior.  We shared a hot tub with some other guests until they dumped food and beer into the water.  Disgusting.  Other guests were cleaning their shoes in the swimming pool.  Disgusting.  My advice?  Skip the outdoor pool.  Go to the beach.  Then later, between 6:30 pm and midnight, go to the spa pool, which is open to all guests during evening hours.  The spa pool is lovely and clean, with a quiet terrace overlooking the ocean.  There are two peaceful hot tubs.  Bring a book and exhale.  The spa pool area is an oasis of calm in an overcrowded resort. 

The Fairmont runs a free shuttle from the lobby to the beach, which is efficient (although be prepared for wet seats).  The Fairmont beach is beautiful, except for the hundreds of people who frequent it.  The pros are that there are chairs and umbrellas, and towels can be obtained from the cranky towel lady.  During our stay, the water was rough, but normally the sea is calm and there is snorkeling right off the beach.  Lunch at the beach is above average for beach food, although the food poolside (at Wickets) was a bit better.  Our main problem with the Fairmont beach was lack of cleanliness.  Waves rolled up onto the sand, washing guests' plastic cups, beer bottles, napkins and leftover food back into the ocean.  Over and over again.  Staff did nothing to keep the trash out of the water, which was disappointing.  There were large groups of people who stood in the water with their drinks, catching bottles of beer from their buddies on the beach.  The scene was not great for a family.  That being said, toward the end of our stay there were fewer partiers and more families around and the beach was a bit cleaner.  

Even so, here's my advice:  Get off of the Fairmont shuttle at the Fairmont beach and get beach towels (or get them from the pool before you get on the shuttle in case the beach runs out like they did one morning when we were there).  Then, walk through the black metal gate to the public beach, Horseshoe Bay.  The beach is gorgeous, and clean.  There are chairs and umbrellas to rent if you wish, but we spent all of our time in the water or on the sand.  To the right of the big beach is a small cove.  Get there in the morning before the cruise ship passengers arrive.  The cove is beautiful, with clear water reaching your waist at low tide. It is perfect for children, who can see turquoise parrot fish, rainbow-colored fish and other sea life just standing there in the water.  When it starts to get crowded, leave and walk to the far end of Horseshoe Bay, away from the Fairmont beach.  Keep going - you can walk all along the sand, discovering hidden coves and swimming in clear water when you get hot.  This tiny cove was our favorite discovery of the trip:

We were amazed to reach stretches of sandy beach thousands of feet long, with not a person in sight.  Our family played in the waves for hours, having the warm ocean all to ourselves. Had the water been calmer, we would have snorkeled more off the beach.  We walked along the beach path all the way to Warwick Long Bay, a mile-long deserted stretch of pink sand and turquoise water. If you were to walk straight from Horseshoe Bay to Warwick Long Bay, it would take probably 40 minutes, but spend the whole morning so you can stop along the way to swim and play.  (Morning was also a good time because it was low tide while we were there, ensuring we could walk along the beach for most of the walk rather than the sandy path just inland.)  There are no facilities past Horseshoe Bay, so eat a big breakfast and plan on a late lunch after you return!

Where to Eat:

We ate most of our meals at the Fairmont. Did we love the Gold Floor lounge breakfast? No, but it was free.  Wickets, poolside, had good fish sandwiches and burgers for lunch (although the "brioche bun" is really a grocery store packaged regular bun).  The food at the Fairmont Beach was also decent.  One day, we went to Hamilton and ate at the recommended Pickled Onion.  It was good, but not great.  Staff also had recommended Flanagan's, Coconut Rock  and Devil's Isle in Hamilton, none of which we had time to try. The doughnuts at Glaze were just okay.  Our best meal outside of the hotel was at Swizzle Inn.  My rockfish was outstanding. There are two locations - one near St. George's, where we ate, and one closer to Southampton.  The ice cream across the street from the St. George's location is not good.  We also thought our meal at Mickey's Beach Bistro was really good, and the location on the sand at Elbow Beach cannot be beat.  If you can, book a table for sunset!

We tried two of the Fairmont's restaurants for dinner.  The Newport Room off the lobby was not good.  The pasta at Bacci on the golf course was very good, although the entrees took an hour and twenty minutes to arrive at our table.  The atmosphere at Bacci is really nice.

What to Do:

Walk the beaches.  Swim.  Snorkel.  Relax.  If you are inclined to do something else, you can take a taxi to the Royal Naval Dockyard to shop, see (or swim with) dolphins in captivity, visit the National Museum of Bermuda or play mini golf.  We visited Dockyard on a Saturday because there were no cruise ships there.  It was mildly interesting, but not a must-see.  From Dockyard, you can take a public ferry to Hamilton for more shopping or a meal, then take the Fairmont ferry or a taxi back to the hotel.  Or you can explore historic St. George, the most picturesque of Bermuda's towns.  There are also caves to explore at Crystal Caves (we did not visit the caves).  My advice?  If you are going to see something, visit St. George followed by a meal at Swizzle Inn.  Or, take the free Fairmont ferry to Hamilton if you want more action or plentiful souvenir shops.  Then get yourself back to the beach!