Bermuda - a tale of two times
Jul 8, 2024 | 2:49 pm
#1
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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Bermuda - a tale of two times
When my wife and I got married thirty-something years ago, we honeymooned at the Southampton Princess in Bermuda. With our anniversary coming up, and a required family commitment, we booked another trip with the hopes of recapturing some of that past experience. This won’t be the most entertaining TR you’ll read and there are definitely better resources here in FT about planning trips to Bermuda. But maybe this will help with some perspective.
Hotel Planning:
Ideally, we would have liked to stay at the Southampton Princess again but it has been closed for renovations for a number of years and it doesn’t look like any progress is being made. Indeed, the locals seem to understand that the hotel has changed hands a few times and it officially sits in the Fairmont brand. We looked at a few options including Elbow Beach, Grotto Bay, the St Regis and the Hamilton Princess. One of the intriguing things about Grotto Bay was the all-inclusive option which seemed pricey at the time we were doing our trip planning ($129 per person per day for meals and drinks). Looking back, I don’t think we were fully aware of just how expensive Bermuda has gotten in 30 years (but to be fair, our hotel package from our honeymoon included meals so we didn’t really have perspective) and the all-inclusive certainly seems like a good deal now even if it means eating on property every day.
(As a reference point, afternoon tea at the Southampton Princess back then was $16 for the two of us. Ha! You won’t find anything near that price today!)
We did like that the Hamilton Princess was centrally located and gave easy launch points to both ends of the island. They also have a private beach club with jitney service running every couple of hours. It’s hard to pick hotels based on photos on the internet and ultimately we decided on the Princess based on location.
Hotel Stay:
My wife put together a really nice photo album from our honeymoon and it was interesting to compare both hotels after-the-fact. I remember the Southampton being a little dated even 30 years ago. But the rooms were big and the balcony was big and had sweeping views. The Hamilton Princess is certainly up-to-date but we had a smallish room with what can be described as a “nice” view (which of course is directly due to the room category I booked). The balcony here had room for one little chair and one little table. Odd decision.
Our room at the Princess was a looong walk from the lobby which also included going up and down sets of stairs (or the use of elevators). Our room was close to one of the restaurants but far from the lobby and the other restaurants. We were also sort of close to the family pool but a walk from the adults-only pool. I get that they are constrained on space but the property is laid out long and narrow. Ehh…first world problems.
Also, gift shops in the hotel are crazy expensive, even considering Bermuda’s already high cost of living.
Hotel Dining:
I do remember from our dinner on our honeymoon was just how long meal services were. It really felt like we were being ignored. But then we realized that the service was going to be slow and paced (in a good way). We were never rushed during a meal. Same thing now. We ate in the hotel just about every night (either the Crown & Anchor or the 1609 Bar and Restaurant) and each dinner lasted upwards of two hours. The views over the harbor at the 1609 Bar were f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. While I highly recommend making reservations, we never had an issue getting a table at either restaurant.
But dang, meals are EXPENSIVE in Bermuda. You can look at menus online but for some reason, it just never clicked with me how much we were going to be paying. Turns out we did most of our dining at the hotel and now I’m thinking that maybe an upgrade to the Gold floor would have been smart. I’ll have to remember that for next time.
There is also a big difference in dress code nowadays. Looking through the phot album, men all wore a dinner jacket and slacks and women wore dresses. This time around, it was more common to see men wearing t-shirts and sneakers to dinner.
Hotel Status:
Throwing this in as an aside. I have ALL/Accor Gold status and it seems generally worthless. While I may be jaded from my Marriott status (and previous Omni Black status), there was no recognition at check-in. I’ll also add that this is where it was hard to decide between the St Regis and the Princess. I do wonder if my Marriott status would have helped at the St Regis.
The Beach Club:
Well, once you hit their private beach club, any (?) issues you might have with the hotel itself all melt away. There are actually three separate beaches you can use:
When we stayed at the Southampton Princess, they also had a private beach with rentals. But the photos make it look like it was pretty crowded.
Sightseeing:
Thirty years ago, my wife and I hopped on a scooter and buzzed around the island. Sadly, it looks like aggressive driving has hit Bermuda, too, as buses and taxis think nothing of pushing up against a tourist on a scooter. It was scary to be in the bus. I can’t imagine what the riders on the scooters were thinking.
Thirty years ago, the Dockyards seemed to be a place for artisans (and t-shirt shops) to accommodate the cruise ships. Now the place was overrun with t-shirt shops. Unless you’re going to the Maritime Museum, I don’t see how this could be on anyone’s list of recommended places to go.
St Georges is still St Georges.
But since we had a family commitment, the time we had available for tourist stuff was limited and that seemed okay since we could relax at the beach.
The Airport:
It’s not a very big airport and we landed at the same time as another flight. We weren’t in any rush to get into the arrivals line and it took us maybe 30 minutes to clear arrivals.
The airport website recommends getting to there three hours prior to departure. This is tricky. We flew in on American and they have four afternoon flights departing within an hour of each other. I think three hours was way too much but I could see the bag drop line getting long if you get to the airport too close to the earlier departures. Security and US Immigration pre-clearance took 10 minutes tops. I would say two hours is plenty sufficient. Souvenirs at the airport were stupid expensive. If you missed buying something somewhere else on the island but decide you really want something, you’re screwed.
Verdict:
Yeah, I’d do this same trip again.
(If I can figure out how to post photos, I might come back and add a few)
Hotel Planning:
Ideally, we would have liked to stay at the Southampton Princess again but it has been closed for renovations for a number of years and it doesn’t look like any progress is being made. Indeed, the locals seem to understand that the hotel has changed hands a few times and it officially sits in the Fairmont brand. We looked at a few options including Elbow Beach, Grotto Bay, the St Regis and the Hamilton Princess. One of the intriguing things about Grotto Bay was the all-inclusive option which seemed pricey at the time we were doing our trip planning ($129 per person per day for meals and drinks). Looking back, I don’t think we were fully aware of just how expensive Bermuda has gotten in 30 years (but to be fair, our hotel package from our honeymoon included meals so we didn’t really have perspective) and the all-inclusive certainly seems like a good deal now even if it means eating on property every day.
(As a reference point, afternoon tea at the Southampton Princess back then was $16 for the two of us. Ha! You won’t find anything near that price today!)
We did like that the Hamilton Princess was centrally located and gave easy launch points to both ends of the island. They also have a private beach club with jitney service running every couple of hours. It’s hard to pick hotels based on photos on the internet and ultimately we decided on the Princess based on location.
Hotel Stay:
My wife put together a really nice photo album from our honeymoon and it was interesting to compare both hotels after-the-fact. I remember the Southampton being a little dated even 30 years ago. But the rooms were big and the balcony was big and had sweeping views. The Hamilton Princess is certainly up-to-date but we had a smallish room with what can be described as a “nice” view (which of course is directly due to the room category I booked). The balcony here had room for one little chair and one little table. Odd decision.
Our room at the Princess was a looong walk from the lobby which also included going up and down sets of stairs (or the use of elevators). Our room was close to one of the restaurants but far from the lobby and the other restaurants. We were also sort of close to the family pool but a walk from the adults-only pool. I get that they are constrained on space but the property is laid out long and narrow. Ehh…first world problems.
Also, gift shops in the hotel are crazy expensive, even considering Bermuda’s already high cost of living.
Hotel Dining:
I do remember from our dinner on our honeymoon was just how long meal services were. It really felt like we were being ignored. But then we realized that the service was going to be slow and paced (in a good way). We were never rushed during a meal. Same thing now. We ate in the hotel just about every night (either the Crown & Anchor or the 1609 Bar and Restaurant) and each dinner lasted upwards of two hours. The views over the harbor at the 1609 Bar were f-a-n-t-a-s-t-i-c. While I highly recommend making reservations, we never had an issue getting a table at either restaurant.
But dang, meals are EXPENSIVE in Bermuda. You can look at menus online but for some reason, it just never clicked with me how much we were going to be paying. Turns out we did most of our dining at the hotel and now I’m thinking that maybe an upgrade to the Gold floor would have been smart. I’ll have to remember that for next time.
There is also a big difference in dress code nowadays. Looking through the phot album, men all wore a dinner jacket and slacks and women wore dresses. This time around, it was more common to see men wearing t-shirts and sneakers to dinner.
Hotel Status:
Throwing this in as an aside. I have ALL/Accor Gold status and it seems generally worthless. While I may be jaded from my Marriott status (and previous Omni Black status), there was no recognition at check-in. I’ll also add that this is where it was hard to decide between the St Regis and the Princess. I do wonder if my Marriott status would have helped at the St Regis.
The Beach Club:
Well, once you hit their private beach club, any (?) issues you might have with the hotel itself all melt away. There are actually three separate beaches you can use:
- The “main” beach is Sinky Bay. Lots of lounge chairs, umbrellas and towels. Free use of their kayaks and stand-up paddle boards. Beautiful protected cove. And waiter/waitress service for food and drinks.
- Cross Bay Beach is a bit of an overflow beach. Lots of lounge chairs but no umbrellas. And you have to carry over your own towels. Also a beautiful beach which I think is directly facing the ocean.
- Boat Bay Beach is easily (in my opinion) the most beautiful of the three. It’s a protected cove with no amenities but no one goes there. The water is warm and serene and you don’t want to leave
When we stayed at the Southampton Princess, they also had a private beach with rentals. But the photos make it look like it was pretty crowded.
Sightseeing:
Thirty years ago, my wife and I hopped on a scooter and buzzed around the island. Sadly, it looks like aggressive driving has hit Bermuda, too, as buses and taxis think nothing of pushing up against a tourist on a scooter. It was scary to be in the bus. I can’t imagine what the riders on the scooters were thinking.
Thirty years ago, the Dockyards seemed to be a place for artisans (and t-shirt shops) to accommodate the cruise ships. Now the place was overrun with t-shirt shops. Unless you’re going to the Maritime Museum, I don’t see how this could be on anyone’s list of recommended places to go.
St Georges is still St Georges.
But since we had a family commitment, the time we had available for tourist stuff was limited and that seemed okay since we could relax at the beach.
The Airport:
It’s not a very big airport and we landed at the same time as another flight. We weren’t in any rush to get into the arrivals line and it took us maybe 30 minutes to clear arrivals.
The airport website recommends getting to there three hours prior to departure. This is tricky. We flew in on American and they have four afternoon flights departing within an hour of each other. I think three hours was way too much but I could see the bag drop line getting long if you get to the airport too close to the earlier departures. Security and US Immigration pre-clearance took 10 minutes tops. I would say two hours is plenty sufficient. Souvenirs at the airport were stupid expensive. If you missed buying something somewhere else on the island but decide you really want something, you’re screwed.
Verdict:
Yeah, I’d do this same trip again.
(If I can figure out how to post photos, I might come back and add a few)
Jul 8, 2024 | 7:22 pm
#2
Join Date: Jul 2002
Posts: 4,080
Interesting. Having been there 30ish years ago as well, I just presumed the genteel nature of the island would be long gone by now, rendering it indistinguishable from it's Caribbean competition. Maybe I will read up on the current feedback from visitors and reconsider.
