dracularsa

Okay so I also live in Bermuda

And will answer some of these questions, as I hate it when my questions goes unanswerd.

The bus system is pretty good yes!!!! What Wireless mean by town is usually Hamilton - if you love the buzz of the city this is the closest you'll get in Bermuda. Lots of restaurants and Frontsteet with it's shop - but you can always take the bus in one cloudy day and do this. Hamilton can get very busy when a cruise ship is there and remember every wednesday night is Habour nights - featuring stalls and gombey dancers (Don't miss) I would also recommend The reefs/Fairmount Southamptom - but might be in the expensive range.

St Georges is great if you love history combined with beaches - as this is the oldest town in Bermuda - featuring some restaurants and small shops ( mostly smaller branches of the Hamilton shops)

And that's the only towns - the rest of the island is defided into Parishes such as : Somerset, Devonshire, Flatts etc

About that Romantic Restaurant - I would recommend Fourways inn - gourmet type food but really special with a piano player and good wine list. It has everything from fish to red meat

For Sushi - L'Oriental
For Steak - Waterlot\
For Italian - Tio Pepe, Portofinos
For mexican - Rosa's ("budget")
For seafood - harbourfront,
For take out - speciality inn (budget - even has sushi), Ice queen (greasy take out eg hamburgers fried chicken)

Blue is great but we tried it out and found it REALLY expensive for what you get -ordinary restaurant food for double the price plus you've got to pay extra for all side dishes - but is has a great view at sunset - so I will recommend it for cocktails.

Hope it helps - let us know if there is anything else

Duckman

Sorry pinniped, can't report on the guestrooms at Grape Bay, hopefully someone else can. Couldn't even find it on Trip Advisor.

pinniped

Well, I was able to answer this first question: there is one obvious example that I completely overlooked until stumbling upon it last night. You can redeem AAdvantage miles at the rate of 1.25 cents apiece by booking the hotel directly through AA.

The catch is that you are pretty much booking at RACK rate, and they don't have all major hotels on their list. (Although for Bermuda, they do have most of the most popular ones.) The 1.25c rate is surprisingly good (usually I expect these kinds of things to be well under a penny), but it's only really worthwhile if you can't find a decent promotion/discount somewhere else.

Anyway, it's another option to consider for anyone looking to burn miles - instead of dollars - on a Bermuda vacation.

wireless033

Well the bus system is okay, but I used the bus for the first 2 months I was here and I got sick and tired of it as it means a lot of walking and it takes so long to get to places. I would really say, it takes twice as much time to get to places by bus than by bike.

Moreover, bus drivers are not the nicest people.

The fastest way to get around is by bike, you can overtake lines. Bermudas roads are overcrowded!

Taxi is really expensive but late at night the only option cuz buses stop around 11 o clock. Or you take the bike, but that means you cant drink.

Specialty Inn does have nice food and its a place where locals go. You should definetly try a codfish breakfast on Sundays, a cheap good place to get it is the Marketplace supermarket in town on Church Street for only 8 bucks.

You should also try the Rum Swizzle, there is a restaurant thats named after it, its okay, but the food is not extraordinarily good.

If you wanna go out, go to Cafe Cairo or Level on Front Street. Don't go to ghetto places like Champions or Gombeys you can get in trouble really easy...

All bars have to close at 3 AM and only Splash and Champions are allowed to open til 5 AM where Splash is the less ghetto option.

For money reasons I unfortunately havent been to the upscale restaurants but I heard that Harbourfront is really good indeed.

Ok i cant think of anything else that you must know.

pinniped

Just returned from Bermuda - loved it! We stayed at a little guest house called Mazarine by the Sea. $275/nt. for two rooms, two king beds, and kitchenettes with full fridges. (I think a single oceanfront room with 1 king runs about $150-175 in peak season.) Grocery store across the street...it was nice to load up the fridges with drinks and spend a lot of time relaxing by the pool. This was the only guest house we could find that had a swimming pool and was also directly on the ocean. By that I mean...walk outside our room, down a flight of steps, and into the ocean. When we go back to Bermuda - and I'm sure we will - we will try to stay at this place again. Ordinarily I feel like I *live* at big full-service hotels in my day-to-day life, so this tiny guest house was very refreshing. Seeing how far the big Fairmont was from the water, I almost felt sorry for those folks dropping five bills a night to stay there.

We never did figure out the bus system all that well. The route map is extensive and the buses are very clean, but the schedule doesn't seem to operate exactly on-time. Some of the bus drivers are downright nasty (they're somewhat famous for this), but the Bermudians riding the buses were incredibly helpful. And we also encountered a couple of friendly drivers as well...

We walked a lot. Sometimes we'd walk into Hamilton to catch a bus south or a ferry to one of the ends of the island. I know all of the travel books warn you about walking around in Hamilton (especially north of Victoria Park), but we didn't have any problems or even remotely feel threatened. Hamilton is a bit of a grubby port town like port towns the world over. No creepier than walking around the industrial parts of Seattle's waterfront. Granted, we weren't out at 3AM or anything like that...

The two ends of the island - St. George's and Dockyard - were our favorites. Also spent a day on the south side visiting the sandy beaches. South side: sandier beaches, bigger surf, picturesque in the traditional sense. North side: rocky shore, calmer surf, good snorkeling.

If you run, definitely bring your shoes. Bermuda has an extensive rails-to-trails system that runs almost the whole length of the island. I was able to do a 14-miler with minimal interaction with traffic once I got outside Hamilton and onto the trails.

My only complaint: we ate a lot of mediocre, overpriced food. It wasn't really the prices that shocked me - I expected that going in - it was the mediocrity of the cuisine and service. We had one memorable meal at a place called Aqua at the Ariel Sands. Good food, good service, right on the water. When we go back, I suspect we'll split our food budget between grocery store picnic food for breakfast and lunch and then fairly upscale restaurants for dinner. I would rather pay $35 for good seafood than pay $17 for a bad cheeseburger at a sportsbar.

Duckman

Thanks for taking the time to post the trip report pinniped. Very interesting reading. Glad you had a good time.

Did you try BLUE by any chance?

rbrenton88

Looks like you answered my question if Ariel Sands is still there. How did the grounds look? Ddi you happen to see any rate sheet?

pinniped

First, we unfortunately didn't make it to Blue. Sounds like a good place...

Second, Ariel Sands was nice, but my wife and I both remarked how we were expecting it to be much more luxurious. Rates were around $500/nt. for what appeared to be a small room comfortable for two adults max. $620/nt. for a suite that would presumably sleep 3 or 4, although I never saw the inside of any of the rooms. I get the sense that a lot of that rate is paying for (a) the name recognition, the Hollywood-types who go there, etc. and (b) the standard this property likely set back when it was built.

It was nice overall, and we enjoyed the meal there, but the place just seemed like it needed a little work. Landscaping, minor refurbishment/updating, etc.

The upside was that it has extensive oceanfront grounds and a nice private beach. Plus a great little beachside bar where people could hang out at night when they weren't having dinner at Aqua.

johnndor

Resurrecting a dusty thread, it looks like we (myself, wife, 10 yr old and 7 yr old) might be staying one night (possibly two) in Bermuda on a flight back from Europe - that's the only way we could get an award ticket. Approx. date is July 28th.

So, what would you recommend for a place for a family of 4, close to airport would be nice if we don't have much time, and as budget-friendly as if possible in Bermuda?

Thanks

pinniped

Our place from last summer - Mazarine by the Sea - would be good for a family of 4. Fits the budget requirement. If you book the two adjoining rooms ($275 total for the two in the summer season), you have plenty of room for four.

Nice small pool. Right on the ocean. Convenient to Hamilton. Not excessively far from the airport - 20-30 minutes or so. Actually closer than most resorts, I think. (Although there certainly are a handful nearer the airport.)

johnndor

Thanks - I have sent them an email (nice, as I think they used to only have phone contacts.)

JOUY31

Moving this thread to the Caribbean forum. Thanks for your understanding.

Jouy31
TravelBuzz moderator

johnndor

Unfortunately, Mazarine by the Sea (as well as many others I have checked) are booked. Looks like my options are a few places with bad reviews, or one of the Fairmonts, at $450 for the night. Any other help? (Looking for 7/28, one quick night)

turtlegirl

Pinniped, How did you locate Mazarine by the Sea? I'm not finding a web site. Just a few pics. on trip advisor with a few glowing reviews. Did you see the 9 Beaches resort in your travels and if so any opinions?

ChinaShrek

Heading to Bermuda in October. Anyone try Ascots at the Royal Palms? We were thinking of a nice dinner there.