Off Season Bliss at Elbow Beach
Written: Dec 02 '01 (Updated Dec 02 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Gorgeous private beach, all amenities on site, excellent food. Family friendly.
Cons: Very expensive even in the off season.
The Bottom Line: An excellent very upscale hotel with many amenities located on a gorgeous beach. Great location for exploring different parts of the island.
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| ebolles's Full Review: Elbow Beach |
Earlier this month I had the wonderful experience of spending a week at Elbow Beach Hotel in Paget Parish, Bermuda.
First, The Beach...
Elbow Beach Hotel overlooks the beach of the same name, unquestionably one of the most beautiful beaches in Bermuda. Much of the beach is reserved for Elbow Beach guests. Along with the usual chairs, umbrellas and towels, a variety of beach toys are available at the shoreline, from large paddle bikes to boogie boards to kayaks to scuba gear. The pink-tinged sand is the softest you will find anywhere, and the beach is over a quarter of a mile long, perfect for a morning run or romantic walk. Food service is available beachside in the summer season but was very limited during my off-season visit.
Off season discounts
The best thing about visiting during the off season: no crowds. The weather is still lovely - mid 70s during the day and mid-60s at night - and the water warm, but we rarely had to wait to eat even at very popular restaurants and we even had whole beaches to ourselves at times. The hotel was very uncrowded as well. The fact that travel is currently down among Americans (the majority of tourists in Bermuda), no doubt made it even less crowded than usual during the off-season. Generally Bermuda is among the most expensive places in the world to vacation but because of the drop in tourism, there are some unusual deals out there right now. But it is still much, much more expensive to stay in Bermuda than other Caribbean destinations.
Beautiful grounds and great location
The majority of the hotel grounds are beautiful botanical gardens, with a variety of flowers and plants of all kinds, from palm tress to pine trees. The walks leading down to the beach are spotted with various vistas and pretty places to sit including hammocks, benches and open grassy spaces. Dozens of cats roam about the grounds. There are several beautiful walking paths, including a shaded one that leads out to the front gate of the hotel, where it is a very short walk to the bus stop and a nearby restaurant. The city of Hamilton is only a ten minute ride away, as are many fabulous beaches.
The Amenities and Staff are First-Rate
In addition to the beach, this resort has just about anything you could ask for all under one roof. There is a beautiful olympic size fresh water pool with a jacuzzi, a gym, scooter and moped rentals, tennis courts, a beauty salon and spa, two bars, as well as several different restaurants and stores. The spa offers all types of massages, makeovers, facials, mudwraps - whatever type of pampering you want - in a variety of different packages. There is always a concierge available, and we found them extremely helpful with everything from dinner reservations to purchasing bus passes to arranging special requests. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and efficient. An error on our room tab was quickly cleared up when we checked out.
Very kid-friendly
The hotel also operates a "fun center" and "kid's club" which offers activities for children from ages 5-13 which include trips to the nearby aquarium, caves, treasure hunts, pool games, arts and crafts, movies and other diversions that can keep children busy all day during the week. Activities are also scheduled for the weekend, but for fewer hours. Babysitting services are available.
Accommodations
We booked our stay through an unusual package deal which translated into a room rate significantly below the rack room rates for off season ($250+ a night). Because of this, I wasn't expecting too grand a room, definitely not an ocean view. I was pleasantly surprised to discover our room not only had an ocean view, but was far more elegant than I had expected. It was not in the main hotel building, but one of the many one-story buildings found on the hill overlooking the beach. There was a comfortable king size bed, ample closet space, a second room with comfy chairs, a tv, and a wet bar, that led out to a private patio. The bathroom was a modest size but came with soft terrycloth robes, a hairdryer and the usual tolietries. There was also a small fridge, in addition to the wetbar. Evening turndown service was a nice touch and included bottles of spring water by the bed every night.
Only One Big Flaw
There was one large flaw in this otherwise charming building and that was the lack of soundproofing in the outer room. In the bedroom, fortunately, sound was not an issue, but the outer room had apparently been built afterward (perhaps originally the patio) and the walls between these rooms were far too thin. There was a young child staying in the room to one side of us who we could hear almost every word he said as well as listen to whatever tv show he was watching. (Thankfully, he was only there for a few days of our stay.)
The Seahorse Grille
The most elegant restaurant at Elbow Beach, and the one that stays open year-round, is the Seahorse Grille. It is elegant and expensive, like most restaurants in Bermuda and serves contemporary Bermudian cuisine. The breakfast buffet ranged from about $15-$25 depending on whether or not you wanted the full buffet. The food is excellent, with enough variety on different days to keep most people from tiring too quickly. Dinner entrees run from approximately $20-40 and include dishes such as: poached codfish on leek fondue with black olives and salmon caviar, breast of guinea hen glazed with tamarind and vanilla on gingered polenta, medallions of veal tenderloin and lobster tail on a light Pommery mustard sauce, just to name a few. There is a dessert that was among the best I have ever had: chocolate mousse served in a chocolate shell dish with fresh berries and caramel. The restaurant also frequently offers wine tastings.
The Bar and Room Service
The main bar at the hotel is the Veranda Bar. It is a very pleasant, book-lined bar with comfy couches and chairs and tvs that are often tuned to US sporting events. Every evening during happy hour, complimentary light food is served, a different selection every night of the week. During our stay the snacks included elegantly prepared sushi, roast beef, crab cakes and traditional buffalo wings. There is frequently live piano music and a regular menu of of food available, although not as extensive as what is available through the restaurants or room service. Room service is excellent. While expensive, like all room service, I found it was quite worth the money, with the food all brought fairly quickly, still hot and delicious.
A Note to Divers
I found Elbow Beach to be a good location for trying dives from different spots, with different dive operators. There were several choices a short scooter or cab ride away, but there was no boat diving from Elbow Beach itself; the dive shop there only provides equipment for shore diving (which is not the best.) For those who want to spend almost all their time in Bermuda diving, Elbow Beach might not be the best choice, as there are a few resorts that have dive boats on site. But for people looking for a vacation that balances a lot of different activities, this is an excellent choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
ebolles
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Member: Elizabeth
Location: 420 17' N 710 25' W
Reviews written: 38
Trusted by: 203 members
About Me:
Aspiring novelist who enjoys harassing fish, taking blurry underwater photos and self-medicating with chocolate.
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