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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

Note 1. An active free courtesy link to the websites of all properties will be always be shown gladly when they do likewise with a reciprocal link to this site. Active email addresses will also be shown when properties agree to link. Another benefit of linking in this way is that potential or repeat customers can see accommodation prices posted on websites to which this site links. There is no obligation at all for any properties not linking to this site to be included on this page.  Sorry, but websites that won't reciprocate the free courtesy active reciprocal hyperlink we offer are not linked to on this page. Nor is there is no obligation at all for any properties not linking to this site to be included on this page.

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.

Bermuda Hotel Association’s Hurricane Guarantee programme:

• If the Bermuda Weather Service predicts a hurricane-force storm to approach within 200 miles of our island and within five days, you may cancel reservations without penalty
• If our island is directly affected by a hurricane (as determined by the Bermuda Weather Service) during your stay, the participating hotel will not charge for rooms, food and beverage or other essential services for any period of time that the hotel’s normal services are unavailable
• If a participating hotel is unable to continue operations due to damage incurred by a hurricane (as determined by the Bermuda Weather Service), the hotel will invite you to return for a complimentary stay within one year from the reopening
• The replacement stay must be taken within one year from the hotel’s reopening and will be in an equivalent room category to the original booking. Other expenses, including airfare and incidentals, are not covered by this guarantee

Please contact your hotel or cottage colony or guesthouse or apartment so see if they participate and for complete Hurricane Guarantee terms and conditions.

Cottage Colonies

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

Nine Beaches

Formerly the Daniel's Head Village eco-tourism resort. Daniel's Head Road, Sandys Parish MA 03, Bermuda. Telephone toll free in USA and Canada 1 866 841 9009. Re-opened April 2005 and re-vamped after being closed and in receivership for over three years. It originally opened in August 2000. So-called because there are nine small but choice beaches, in various sizes, on the property. 96 tent cottages or bananas - huts - on stilts. Fifteen of the leeward side Cabanas are air-conditioned. 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, the Bermuda Government owned (via its Bermuda Land Development Corporation) property leased to the Village is on the former military base used by Canadian Forces from July 1963 to December 1993. In World War 2, the land was a Royal Navy wireless station. The huts rent for over $300 a night including 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 in August 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 fitted out with quality beds, a washroom that includes a shower, a futon settee, mini fridge and double-door balcony. The restaurant offers “simple, casual fare”. Locals are welcome to enjoy lunch or dinner. Air-conditioning units have been placed in the cabanas. Customers seeking Four Seasons Hotel-type luxury are being discouraged or told clearly that there are no bathtubs or fine dining. 9 Beaches is for people who want to enjoy the natural beauty of Bermuda at a much discounted price. The resort has an outdoor bar, tennis courts, various water sport activities, a games room and more.

Ariel Sands Beach Club Resort and Spa

To close down completely on December 31, 2007 (see below). 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. The property is on day time day bus route # 1. With pool, private beach, two restaurants,  tennis courts and spa. 

The property gets 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,  63 in late September 2007. 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, 38 in 2007. 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. In late 2007 it was announced The Hilton group has pulled out of a proposed new five-star vacation club at Ariel Sands announced earlier.  Negotiations between the world-renowned chain and developer Bruce Sonneborn, one of the resort's new non-Bermudian shareholders, broke down. This exclusive hotel and cottage colony, including the Aqua restaurant, will now close completely on January 1, 2008 to be demolished and rebuilt as time share accommodation plus a ten-room hotel. Ariel Sands Ltd. would still own the property in the New Year but 80 percent of the shares would be sold to non-Bermudians, including Florida-based Mr. Sonneborn and Samuel Eyde, a property developer from Michigan. Aqua restaurant was fully booked for New Year's Eve 2007, which will be Ariel Sands' last day of business.

Cambridge Beaches

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 

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.

Fourways Inn

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

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

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

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. 

St. George's Club

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

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 Institute of Ocean Sciences Inc. 

62 rooms. 17 Biological Lane, Ferry Reach, St. George's Parish GE 01. Telephone: (441) 297-1880 extension 102. Fax: (441) 297-8143. There are 62 rooms for visiting faculty or researchers or scientists or school groups or Elder hostel members, not the general public.

Bermuda Sailors' Home

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.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club

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

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

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