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Bermuda's Cottage Colonies & Private Clubs

For honeymooners and others, some with their own private beaches

By Keith Archibald Forbes (see About Us) exclusively for Bermuda Online

To refer to this file use "bermuda-online.org/accomm3.htm" as your Subject.

Recommended hotels are shown in bold. Some have the facilities shown by the following symbols. Hotels shown with 5-2 Stars reflect the symbols shown on Expedia.com. 

- business center	- business facilities	- Ship view	- dining
- disabled access	- fitness	- golf course	- meeting room
- pool	- public buses	- public ferries	- shopping
- walking area

Preface

Free courtesy hyperlinks (links) to the main websites of places and organizations, which include full details of their histories and operations, will be shown gladly, to give their full details as Bermuda resources, once they return the courtesy with a  free reciprocal link to our main Bermuda Online website at http://www.bermuda-online.org. See our Links and Mentions policy at http://www.bermuda-online.org/links.htm.

A Cottage colony is uniquely Bermudian - an upmarket place at which anyone can stay. Most have their own beaches or access, a pool and gardens. They feature a main clubhouse with a central building for Front Desk operations, one or more restaurants, reception area, sitting room, lounge and bar. Apartments or cottages are on landscaped grounds, some with ocean views. Most have kitchenettes or kitchens. Some have lower rates from November 2 to March 31, if they remain open. Take the Dine Around plan if offered. In addition to what properties charge - ask them directly - visitors should expect to pay the following Bermuda Government Taxes (a) Occupancy Tax of  7.25% and (b) a Resort Levy of 10%. Ask any property at which you stay about any further extras.

Internet Access at Bermuda Properties

Prospective clients who are internet savvy should make a point of checking this out thoroughly well in advance. It can be hugely important that where you stay has wireless (WI-FI) Internet either as a standard or an optional extra throughout the property, giving clients the ability to send and receive not only emails but ftp files and attachments including digital photographs. Many clients assume wrongly that they will have these same abilities on their business visits or vacations, via their laptops or the property's, as they do ashore in their homes and places of employment. But this is not the case. Some Bermuda properties don't have all rooms or suites with wireless Internet access but, if they have internet access at all may limit their service to Internet rooms for passengers to send and receive text emails only, no attachments such as photographs, with no ftp facilities as are now common in most good hotels, guest houses, and B&Bs worldwide for those who have or want to send ftp files. Those who travel to wonderful places want to be able to email photos back home to their families, friends and colleagues. If they cannot, it's a significant opportunity wasted for both clients and properties in terms of publicity and more clientele.

Cottage Colonies

For further details or bookings, please deal with the premises directly or via an airline or travel agent.

Nine Beaches

See "Preface" above. Daniel's Head Road, Sandys Parish MA 03, Bermuda. Began in August 2000 as Daniel's Head Village eco-tourism resort. Nine Beaches opened its doors in 2003. Re-opened April 2005 and re-vamped after being closed and in receivership. So-called because there are nine small but choice beaches, in various sizes, on the property. With 84 soft-sided cabanas - huts - on stilts, all with views of the Atlantic. It is of the two most far off places to stay from Bermuda International Airport about an hour's drive away. A 17 acre coastline in a national park and reserve area, used by Canadian Forces from July 1963 to December 1993. In World War 2, the land was a Royal Navy wireless station. The land is owned by the Bermuda Government and leased by its agency the Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) to IRC - Sandys Limited for a term of 54 years. The huts often include breakfast and feature new blue and yellow interiors with a wicker bed, colorful furniture and pillows, funky artwork, quality linens and mattresses. The resort was bought by a group headed by US hotelier Russell Urban, Bermuda hotelier David Dodwell and realtor Buddy Rego who paid up to $5 million on the revamp. They are collectively Madigan Pratt & Associates. Marketed as “Bermuda’s only ultra casual resort.” The cabanas are fitted out with quality beds, a washroom that includes a shower, a futon settee, mini fridge and double-door balcony. The resort has an outdoor bar, tennis courts, various water sport activities,  Hi Tide restaurant, a games room and more. Endemic flora and fauna thrive in the grounds, while solar panels also cut down on the need for traditional fossil-fuel energy. Nine Beaches prides itself on its 'no jacket required' casual approach.

Ariel Sands Beach Club Resort and Spa

See "Preface" above. Closed since January 1st, 2008.  The re-development of Ariel Sands is in limbo after a second group of investors fell by the wayside. The collapse of talks with the 'Eyde' group follows the withdrawal of the Hilton Group in 2007, and leaves owners of the Devonshire hotel forced to look for a new partner in an uncertain economic climate. Ariel Sands Ltd. is currently drawing up a new presentation with which to market the property to potential developers. The resort could end up with less fractional units. Ariel Sands has been owned and operated by the Dill family, whose members include Oscar-winning actor Michael Douglas, for more than 50 years. Up to 75 percent of shares in the property were recently sold to a group of US shareholders, who include Florida-based developer Bruce Sonneborn and Samuel Eyde, a property developer from Michigan. A breakdown in negotiations between Mr. Sonneborn and the Hilton Group was reportedly behind the brand pulling out of the new five-star resort in late 2007. Plans for the Hilton Grand Vacation Club were first announced in spring 2006, with Hollywood star Mr. Douglas said to have played a role in securing the partnership with the global hotel chain. The exclusive cottage colony was to be turned into luxury fractional villas, a spa, restaurant and conference centre plus a ten-room hotel. Planning permission for the $170 million development was approved in March 2007.

Until it closed it was a complex of 40 pale salmon-painted cottages with swimming pools, tennis courts and a high-class spa. 34 South Road, Devonshire Parish. Telephone (441) 236-1010. On day time day bus route # 1. With pool, private beach, two restaurants,  tennis courts and spa. The property got its name from Shakespeare's Ariel, a spirit, in his drama "The Tempest." It was first opened on December 18, 1954. Before that, it was a farm. It has been owned mostly by the Dill family in Bermuda. One of the shareholders is film star Michael Douglas, owner of Longford House in Warwick Parish and a full-time Bermuda resident since 2002. He is a prominent film star, actor and producer. He won his brace of Oscars for performing in Wall Street and producing 1975's One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. His wife is film star, Welsh-born Catherine Zeta Jones. Michael Douglas has a son, Cameron, by a previous marriage. After his mother and father divorced, Michael Douglas lived for a time on the US East Coast and received an allowance from his mother and step father, William Darrid. Diana Dill Webster's family has lived in Bermuda since the 17th century but her primary home is in California. When in Bermuda, she uses a cottage here at Ariel Sands. The family also owns the Brighton Hill Nursery across the street and up the hill to the right. 

Cambridge Beaches

See "Preface" above.30 King's Point Road, Somerset, Sandys Parish, MA 02. Phone 1- 800-468-7300 in USA or 1-800-463-5990 in Canada or directly at (441) 234-0331. Fax (441) 234-2252. E-mail cambeach@ibl.bm. All rooms or suites have Internet access. Accepted American Express cards. The President and Chief Operating Officer is Michael Winfield. A resort located on its own 25 acre peninsula on the western tip of Bermuda. It overlooks Mangrove Bay and Long Bay, in a magnificent, exclusive, private site. For the affluent, up-market visitor on business or vacation, who are demanding and have high expectations. For tennis, there are 3 all-weather courts, 1 lit (for a fee). It has five small private beaches at King's Point, Mangrove Bay Terrace and Long Beach Cafe for informal meals, Tamarisk Room for formal dining restaurants and many more features. Buses do not serve this property. Nor does the regular Bermuda Government Department of Marine and Ports ferry service on its brand-new, fast catamaran vessels. But there is a frequent complimentary ferry service for guests only directly, non-stop, to and from the City of Hamilton. The Cambridge Suites feature large terraces, sunken living rooms with beach views from the bedrooms, whirlpool baths, separate showers, double sinks and a separate room for toilet and bidet. 

Coral Beach Tennis Club & Cottages 

See "Preface" above. 66 rooms. South Road, Paget Parish. Air-mail postal address is Horizons Ltd, P. O. Box PG 200, Paget, PG BX, Bermuda. Telephone: (441) 236-2233. Fax: (441) 236-1876. Just west of the Elbow Beach Hotel, it is less than 3 miles from the City of Hamilton. Garden and estate cottages are spread over a large, groomed estate with its own gorgeous private beach. Also a Private Club. If not a member, you need an introduction from one. International tennis is often played here. There are 8 clay courses, 3 lit. With Horizons & Cottages - because it has the same owner - it shares a 9-hole mashie golf course. On bus route # 7. Guests who stay here should also see the Alfred Blackburn Smith Nature Reserve. 8.7 acres, it is not public but open to guests and members of the Coral Beach Club and Bermuda Audubon Society. It was donated in 2003 by then owner Elfrida Chappell, daughter of the late Mr. Smith, to the Bermuda Audubon Society and named as such after him. He gave it to his daughter as a 21st birthday present in 1935. It is one of the last undeveloped tracts of undeveloped Bermuda upland forest. It offers spectacular views of the South Shore.

In April 2009 Plans for a five-star hotel and fractional resort here were scuttled by planning officials. The Development Applications Board (DAB) refused the 'in principle' planning application for the Four Seasons Hotel, citing several examples of how the development would defy the zoning of Draft Bermuda Plan 2008. Developers Brickman Holdings of New York submitted the application, with the resort to be managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. George Wardman is the owner of Coral Beach and Tennis Club and Horizons (see below).  More than 40 objections were received against the five-star hotel and residence club. The Bermuda National Trust, Bermuda Environmental and Sustainability Taskforce (BEST) and scores of residents raised concerns about loss of open space, potential traffic congestion and construction noise. The plans for the resort included 60 fractional ownership 'cottage colony' style villas at Horizons and Coral Beach. Another 20 residential units were to be built for sale to sole owners. The 150-room hotel was to be accompanied by a spa, fitness centre, tennis courts, pools and a conference centre. The Horizons nine-hole golf course was to disappear and the resort would also have brought major changes to South Road, with new access points and a pedestrian underpass tunnel near the entrance to Coral Beach. If approved, South Road would also have undergone a reconfiguration, to straighten a bend at "two well-known traffic accident spots". An access road would have also linked the resort to Tribe Road Five. This drew 25 letters of objection from residents, who claimed traffic congestion along Ord Road, Southcote Road and the tribe roads would increase as a result.

Fourways Inn

See "Preface" above.10 cottages. 1 Middle Road, Paget Parish.  Or P. O. Box PG 294, Paget PG BX. Phone in USA (800)-962-7654 or directly at (441) 236-6517. Fax (441) 236-5528. E-mail fourways@ibl.bm. MEF Ltd, owners of a number of non-hotel restaurants in Bermuda.  Very upmarket and luxurious, with cable television, in a fairly central location to see all over Bermuda. This facility offers cottages in traditional Bermudian architecture, around a freshwater pool heated  in winter. It is inland, not on a beach but not far from a public beach and with access privileges at the adjacent private beach. It has probably the best and certainly the most expensive restaurant in Bermuda. It will continue as before, open to the public but with the intention of moving the MEF catering division to Fourways. On bus route 8. On bus route 8. 

Horizons & Cottages

See "Preface" above.50 rooms and suites. 33 South Road South & Southcote Roads, Paget Parish PG BX, Bermuda. P. O. Box PG 200, Paget, PG BX, Bermuda. Telephone (441) 236-0048. In USA & Canada 1-(800)-468-0022. Fax (441) 236-6651. E-mail horizons@ibl.bm. Prominent local hotelier George A. Wardman is the owner. On an 18th-century hillside plantation on 25 acres of wooded grounds, It first opened as a property for paying guests in the latter part of the 1930s. It has its own 9-hole mashie golf course it shares with its sister Coral Beach Club. (Nine 18-hole courses are island-wide). The Main House has 9 guest rooms, all with private baths, seating areas, balconies or patios. The 14 cottages contain from one to 5 bedrooms each with private bath and breakfast terrace. The Banana Tree cottage is a favorite for honeymooners. Luxurious in service, price and comforts. With access to the private Coral Beach for guests, its own smart-casual restaurants at Ocean or Barbeque Terrace or coat-and-tie Middleton Room, tennis on 3 all-weather courts, freshwater pool, beach facilities within easy walking distance at the superb private beach of the Coral Beach Club sister property owned by the same family. On bus routes 2 and 7. Chelsea Clinton, only daughter of former US President and Senator Clinton, is reputed to have been conceived here in the late 1970s.

Mid Ocean Club

See "Preface" above. 21 rooms and suites. 1 Mid Ocean Drive, Tucker's Town, St. George's Parish. Or by airmail at P. O. Box HM 1728, Hamilton HM GX. Telephone: (441) 293-0330. Fax: (441) 293-8837. Email midocean@ibl.bm. This property was one of those begun by the British shipping organization Furness Withy in the 1920s that really began Bermuda's climb in tourism. On a 640-acre estate in the most exclusive area of Bermuda, with numerous beautiful residences and 3 large private beach areas, unique features of which are the natural arches, plus coves on the estate, accessible by a private road to the Tucker's Town peninsula usable only by Mid Ocean Club members. The world-famous Mid Ocean 18-hole golf course was first laid out by Charles Blair MacDonald, who created what became the National Golf Course in the USA.  It was once ranked as one of the 10 best golf curses in the world. There are also 2 tennis courts and a tennis pro. It has 21 rooms, fine dining in its own restaurant, plus a Beach Cafe in 2003. It is a private club. You must be a member or referred by one to stay. It has received the Bermuda Government's Tourism Longtail Merit Award. On bus route # 1. Also a Private Club.

Pink Beach Club & Cottages

See "Preface" above. 91 rooms. South Road, Smith's Parish. Telephone 1 441 293 1666. Fax 1 441 293 8935. E-mail info@pinkbeach.com. Definitely upmarket, also offering privacy and discretion. On 17 landscaped acres,  its own two gorgeous small private pink sand beaches and two tennis courts for guests only, it now has a new combined tourism and condominium center. Secluded cottages offer Junior Suites and Ocean View Suites. All have separate living rooms and bedrooms. Bus route 1 by day passes below, on South Road, so much-used during the cruise-ship season that guests may sometimes have to wait for the second bus. With its own indoor Bermudiana Dining Room and seasonal (April to October) The Breakers Ocean Terrace Cafe restaurants. Also see separate beachfront houses, priced between US$1.9 million and US$2.3 million and built around a pool.  Each has three or four bedrooms in the Hidden Cove development, opened in July 2002, adjacent to Pink Beach Club, being sold by The Property Group. Or e-mail info@property-group.com. Owners or their guests can use all the facilities of Pink Beach. 

Lantana  redevelopment possible in 2010

There have been a number of proposals to redevelop and reopen Lantana, one of the first cottage colony resorts when it opened in the 1950s. It had a much-deserved reputation for friendliness and excellent service at its choice upmarket Somerset location until its closure in 1998. It was then owned by the late John Young.

In May 2008 it was reported a New York hedge fund manager intends to create a $145 million "ultra-luxury resort" on the site of the old Lantana cottage colony. Lawrence Doyle said he had bought out the previous owners of the 9.6-acre Somerset site, Lantana Resort Ltd. and Great Sound Realty Ltd., and hopes to start work on the redevelopment by the start of 2009, with a view to opening in the summer of 2010. 

Lantana was previously under contract with Mr. Tom Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence withdrew, in writing, on February 1, 2008, citing the influence of an imminent recession. DR Lantana Management LLC, 100 percent owned by the Lawrence P. Doyle and Karen Doyle Irrevocable Trust of New York, is the new company founded to develop the West End property. Mr. Doyle plans to develop a small, ultra-luxury, exclusive resort, aimed at affluent, repeat visitors. It is hoped to leverage the site's unique attributes, such as its sheltered bay and stunning mature vegetation, by creating an award-winning resort, featuring a world-class restaurant, spa and yacht club, befitting the history and potential of the site and island

Previously, a number of investors had planned to transform the resort with 40 hotel suites, 17 beachfront villas, a 25,000 square-foot spa and conference centre, a marina and an expanded man-made beach. But after a key investor, Connecticut-based Tanner and Haley, pulled out in early 2006 and sold its interest in the scheme to a third party which subsequently opted out of the project, the plan failed. The site was put up for sale in the summer of 2006, with an asking price of $18.5 million.

 Mr. Doyle is a money manager who is chairman and co-founder of Kinetics Asset Management, Inc., which manages some $20 billion in assets and is based in New York. He said he would be providing a proportion of the estimated $145 million project from his own pocket.

St. George's Club

See "Preface" above. 71 units (43 2- bedroom and 28 1-bedroom cottages). 6 Rose Hill Street, in the historic Town of St. George. Phone (441) 297-1200. The club sits in 18 acres on the top of a hill overlooking the town an easy short walk away - also walking on the St. George's Golf Club course behind the club. A time-share property as well. It is listed by RCI as one of the two timeshare properties in Bermuda. Many cottages have terra-cotta tiled kitchens, cedar bars and living rooms. Club-owned restaurant on the premises. On 1, 3, 10 and 11 bus routes to and from the rest of Bermuda, a short walk. 3 pools. Fitness room. Own grocery and gift store, others nearby, in-site scooter rental shop. Own private beach and bar at Achilles Bay three miles away. The club house property and time share units were built on the site of the famous St. George's Hotel which in a previous era had an illustrious career. It was once the choice place to stay for many artists who came to Bermuda to paint the Old Town in the early 20th century. (See Artists who Painted Bermuda).

Willowbank

See "Preface" above. 65 rooms. Middle Road, Ely's Harbor, Sandys Parish. Phone (441) 234-1616. Fax (441) 234-3373. E-mail reservations@willowbank.bm. It is owned and operated by the Willowbank Foundation, registered Bermuda Charity # 433. On bus routes 7 (Dockyard) and 8. On six acres of historic grounds, with 2 private beaches and water views, outdoor pool (heated in winter) and 2 plexi-pave tennis courts. A Christian spiritual retreat complete with devotions for those who wish them. It has its own restaurant offering Modified American Plan for patrons. It got the Bermuda Government's Tourism Longtail Merit Award in July 2001 and Environmental Health Standards Award in July 2000.

Private Clubs with limited accommodation

There are six. Coral Beach and Mid Ocean Clubs are for members or their guests only. They have beaches, golf and tennis. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club have sailing - and like the others, a restaurant. 

For further details or bookings, please deal with the premises directly.

Bermuda Sailors' Home

See "Preface" above.2 bedrooms, both with 2 beds, no private bathroom. Adanac Cottage, Richmond Road, Pembroke Parish, Hamilton HM 08, on outskirts of City of Hamilton. Telephone: (441) 295-5598. Fax: (441) 292-1519. Limited to mariners who are crew members of any type of ship, including yachts. Opened in the city of Hamilton in 1937 as Dickie Tucker's Sailors Home for seamen. Dickie Tucker at one time also cared for and recorded all the numerous graves of merchant seamen of all nations who died at sea but were buried in Bermuda. Also, he founded the Guild for Holy Compassion. The present house, now considerably updated from the old picture shown below, was purchased in 1963 from the Vallis estate. Ask about current year's cost.

Elderhostel Program at BIOS

See "Preface" above. 62 rooms. 17 Biological Lane, Ferry Reach, St. George's Parish GE 01. Telephone: (441) 297-1880 extension 102. Fax: (441) 297-8143. For visiting faculty or researchers or scientists or school groups or Elder hostel members, not the general public. The Elderhostel program at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences Inc. (BIOS) - formerly the BBSR - has been operating since 1982, and now offers five different courses over a season of approximately 12 week-long sessions. Participants stay at BIOS, hear lectures by BIOS staff and speakers from around the island, and go on field trips to sites often inaccessible to the holiday visitor. Courses include History, Natural History, Marine Science and Oceanography. Questions can be e-mailed to the Elderhostel Coordinator in Bermuda

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

See "Preface" above. 3 rooms. Albuoy's Point, city of Hamilton. Telephone 1 441 295 2214. Fax 1 441 295 6361. Rooms are from $140 per person per day plus service charge. With its own marina, restaurant and nearby access - within easy walking distance - to buses, ferries and shopping.

Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club

 See "Preface" above. Mangroville, 25 Pomander Road, Paget PG 05,telephone (441) 236-2250. Must be a member or referred by one.

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