What's New

Planning A Trip

British Airways (tel. 0870/850-9850) has increased its service from London to Bermuda from five to seven days per week, making the island more accessible for European visitors.

Where to Stay

Many longtime favorite hotels, such as Michael Douglas's Ariel Sands or the City of Hamilton's Waterloo House, have shut down and are being converted to condos or offices. But other hotels have risen to take their place, including Tucker's Point Hotel and Spa, 60 Tucker's Point Club Drive at Harrington Sound (tel. 441/298-9800). This is the latest reincarnation of the legendary Castle Harbour Club. A boutique hotel with only 88 units, it offers the most deluxe living on island, opening onto a pink sand beach and featuring a championship golf course.

In another major development, Newstead Belmont Hills Golf Resort & Spa opened at 27 Harbour Rd. in Paget Parish (tel. 441/236-6060). The centerpiece of this 60-room hotel is the top rated Belmont Hills Golf Course. The Old Newstead Hotel, so beloved by Mark Twain, was torn down to make way for this forty-story newcomer with its avant-garde design. Most of the resort is owned like a time share, with independent guests allowed to rent the accommodations when not in use by the owners.

Where to Dine

A longtime favorite restaurant, Tuscany, has been reborn as Bolero Brasserie, 95 Front St. (tel. 441/292-4507). The restaurant has a sophisticated European brasserie theme, and is open daily with a tapas or amuses bouche menu in the afternoon between lunch and dinner. The menu is a complete departure from Tuscany's former Italian cuisine, with a broader international selection. Specialties include such classics as coq au vin along with a good selection of fish and seafood. The staff is dressed in long waist coats (hence, the name bolero) along with long white aprons and red ties.

Hotels continue to open or close top restaurants, including the Ocean Club, which has made its impressive debut at the Fairmont Southampton, 101 South Rd. (tel. 441/238-8000), serving tantalizing Asian specialties and fresh seafood. Offering panoramic views through huge windows, the restaurant fronts the ocean and lies atop a cliff overlooking pink sands.

In another development, the Ocean Grill & the Cedar Room, serving a finely honed international cuisine, operates out of the Pompano Beach Club, 36 Pompano Beach Rd. (tel. 441/234-0222). This pair of restaurants offers some of the most dramatic views along the seacoast, and the food is excellent, too. Menus change with the season to take advantage of market-fresh ingredients.

No restaurant has generated more media attention than the opening of the New Harbourfront Restaurant at 19 Crow Lane (tel. 441/295-4207) in the City of Hamilton. Currently, it is the most sought-after dining table on the island. The chefs are skilled at combining tastes and textures, and they also operate a great section serving sushi, sashimi, and tempura (try their oyster tempura). Near the entrance is an etched aluminum bar that's become a popular hangout.

Seeing the Sights

At the Royal Naval Dockyard, the 1834 Commissioner's House has opened, part of the Bermuda Maritime Museum (tel. 441/234-1418). In the 19th century, this house was the equivalent of the White House in Washington to the British colonial government of Bermuda. Wandering through this house, you can see what remains of Imperial Britain at the height of the Victorian age in Bermuda. It even contains exhibits associated with the slave trade.

Bermuda's first all-purpose art museum, the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda, opened in 2008 in the Arrowroot Building in the Botanical Gardens at 183 South Rd. (tel. 441/236-2950). The museum features a changing exhibition of the work of Bermuda's artists, as well as famous international artists who have left works during visits to Bermuda, including Georgia O'Keeffe and Winslow Homer.

The Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, 40 Crow Lane in Pembroke Parish (tel. 441/292-7219), displays exhibits related to the underwater geology of Bermuda, including one of the world's largest collections of seashells. It also showcases the various treasures the local seafarer, Teddy Tucker, salvaged from shipwrecks.