emcash

We have returned from our wonderful trip to Bermuda. This was our third time on the island, and, as usual,it did not disappoint. The weather was perfect- sunny and mid 80s, slightly humid, but not oppresively so.

I had posted many questions regarding restaurants in bermuda and wanted to take some time to thank those of you who responded and to let you know about the food part of our trip. we were in bermuda for 5 nights and stayed at the Fairmont Southampton. our only bleh meal the entire trip was at the ocean club on the beach of the FS our first day for lunch. it wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. We were doubly disappointed to find the FS beach CROWDED and no beach attendant in sight.

We had dinner at the Waterlot (very good, one of the best steaks i have ever had), Blu (excellent sushi, very good food, great view), Waterloo house (great setting, our food was just OK- tiny tiny tiny portions), Bacci at the FS (new restaurant there, Italian, we had heard it was very good and we were not disappointed--everything was very good), the Newport Room (outstanding, simply perfect in every way- one of the best meals I have ever had and the service was perfect).

For lunch we dined at Jasmine at the FS (good), the fairmont hamilton (good), Blu (very good), Mickey's at Elbow beach (our best lunch on the island).

We had intended to go to ascots for dinner and I really regret not getting there once again. We just didn't feel like going into hamilton again so we chose Bacci at the hotel. If i could do it over again, I would have skipped waterloo house and gone to ascots, BUT we did enjoy our experience at the waterloo house, even though we weren't WOWed with our meal, so we have no regrets there.

We had intended on eating at La Trattoria for lunch when we went into hamilton, but when we came upon it, it just didn't have the vibe we wanted. we saw the lemon tree and were very excited to try it, but my DD decided to have a MAJOR temper tantrum at that point, and rather than ruin everyone's meal at their little outdoor seating area, we chose to give in to her demands of french fries and ate at the fairmont in hamilton. That we do regret-- we should have gone to ascots for lunch that day or tried little venice, but i wasn't thinking.

We spent most of our time relaxing on the beach and taking turns at the FS spa, which is gorgeous. DH waterskied and liked that alot.

Having now recently stayed at both the Elbow Beach and FS, my assesment remains the same about the 2-- I think the main hotel and spa at the FS are very good and have the edge over the Elbow, BUT, the cottages and the beach and the service at the beach at the Elbow have the edge over the FS. The steep uphill climb to the elbow's main hotel is also a negative to me, but if i had to choose, i'd choose elbow. DH said he'd choose the FS.

It was a great trip, and again, thank you to all who helped with their suggestions- they were much appreciated!

girlonthego

Thanks for the report! We have always wanted to try Elbow. We love Bermuda.

cboris

Hi emcash,

I saw your reply on my thread - thank you for that!

I have a question for you - did you have babysitters for any of your lunches or dinners? It sounds like you ate at a lot of appealing restaurants and I'm just wondering if they'll be appropriate for our kids (3 & 5).

Your trip sounds just perfect! I'm kind of glad some of the activities I asked about on my thread might not be worth it with the kids. I don't want to feel like I'm missing anything amazing, but at the same time I think we'd love to focus on the beach & spa like you did.

Thanks!

cboris

I just reread your post on my thread and saw you used the babysitter when you went to the Newport Room. Didn't want you to think I wasn't paying attention! I was just wondering about the other meals.

cboris

I don't mean to hijack your thread, but one more question, did you bring a carseat? I think we'll take a few taxi rides, but I'd rather not bring a carseat if it's not required by law.

Thanks again!

DOCK

Hi emcash, we leave for our trip , 4 days at the Southampton. So far I have booked dinners at Bacci and Waterlot.

I am trying to decide on a dinner in hamilton, leaning towards BLU/ Frescos. Was it easy enoough to get a cab back to the hotel after dinner in Hamilton.

Also did you go to St. Georges and if so any tips on getting there.

Finally shoild I buy a 2 day pass as the only trip we plan to make apart from Hamilton is to St. Georges, and dinner 1 night in Hamilton. Thanks for amy help.

emcash

cboris, we brought our DD on all our lunches, but had a sitter for all of the dinners. There were kids at bacci the night we went, very well behaved. I think if you went on the earlish side(by 7:30 maybe?) and your kids are good, bacci would be a good choice. Waterlot wouldn't be and Newport room definitely not.
we have taken our DD to nice restaurants since she was born, but we usually now only take her to nice lunches and save the nighttime dining out for just us. Even though she is good, I don't want to risk ruining our night or anyone elses.

We didn't bring a carseat-- we used the Cares harness for the flight and just held our daughter on our lap for cab rides. A carseat would have been near impossible to use with the cabs and the ferry to hamilton.

emcash

DOCK, Blu is not in hamilton-- it's actually pretty close to the FS - about a 10 minute cab ride away. When we were paying the bill, i asked the hostess to call us a cab and one was there by the time we were ready to leave. I also think Fresco is in Flatts, not Hamilton, but not sure. When we ate at Waterloo House, we asked them to call a cab and it was there waiting as well.

We didn't get to St. Georges, so sorry can't advise you on that. We used cabs primarily to get around though.

txgirlinbda

DOCK -
BLU is at Belmont Hills golf course - best bet is cab.
Fresco's is in Hamilton - bus or cab.
If you want to visit St. George's, you can use the #7 bus either transfer to #1 at Point Finger Road or transfer to #11 at terminal in Hamilton.

IF there are just two of you and IF all you are doing is ONE trip to Hamilton and back and ONE trip to St. George's and back, you can get a book of 3-zone bus tickets and share them. The driver will tell you whether you need one or two tickets. That's $20 vs $40 for two 2-day passes that you really won't use. If you think that you might want to explore your options by ferry or if you're prone to getting on a bus in the wrong direction, day passes might be your thing.

cboris-
Forget the carseat.

Hope you both have great trips!!

emcash

Sorry, yes, I was thinking of Rustico's in Flatts.

Have a wonderful trip!

JerseySue

Thanks emcash !! Glad I happen to look at your trip report. We are heading to Bermuda in a couple of weeks and you answered my questions about restaurants and Elbow. We are staying again at Pompano but thought next year to try something different and I saw the Elbow website and thought we go venture over there for lunch at Mickey's and look around.

Did you guys go to Lobster Pot in town ?

Thanks - I really appreciate all your info.

JerseySue

Hi - me again - can you recommend restaurants in So Hampton ?

emcash

Hi JerseySue-
Glad to offer some helpful information. I can't really comment on Southampton restaurants otehr than the ones in the hotel that we went to. Also didn't go to the Lobster pot in town.

Blu was a short ride and a nice diversion from the normal bermudian fare- if you like sushi, their sushi was delicious. I wasn't thrilled with their regular menu, but their sushi and their crabcake (almost all crab) were very tasty!

txgirlinbda

Southampton isn't actually a town, it's just the name of the parish, and the restaurants are scattered all over. If you're looking for places to eat at the Pompano Beach end of the island, without going all the way in to Hamilton, you're still going to have to look towards the restaurants at the Fairmont Southampton and Elbow Beach hotels, Waterlot, Blu, Fourways. Lobster Pot is fine, nothing special IMO.

girlonthego

I haven't been to Bermuda in a few years, but in Southampton is the Reefs Club and they have restaurants that were very good. The Princess has nice restaurants and the Waterlot. Also there was a place we walked to called the King Henry the VIII's which had a comedy piano player and was fun as well as a decent restaurant.