We Need Help on Where to Stay in Bermuda
May 20th, 2009, 12:27 PM
#42
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I have not done the helmet dive nor do I know of anyone who has. Sorry, I cannot help with that.
The friend who went with me to Bermuda last year did the morning beach ride and loved it. The Spiceland stables are on Middle Road and easily accessible from the Fairmont Southhampton.
www.spicelandsriding.com/
Nearly every day I am in Bermuda I spend some time walking the Bermuda Railway Trail. It is very easily found on your own and you can enjoy it at your pace.
http://www.bermuda-online.org/railway.htm
The friend who went with me to Bermuda last year did the morning beach ride and loved it. The Spiceland stables are on Middle Road and easily accessible from the Fairmont Southhampton.
www.spicelandsriding.com/
Nearly every day I am in Bermuda I spend some time walking the Bermuda Railway Trail. It is very easily found on your own and you can enjoy it at your pace.
http://www.bermuda-online.org/railway.htm
May 20th, 2009, 01:58 PM
#43
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Sorry, haven't done helmet dive nor have I heard of anyone who has. I'm thinking that the water is generally clear enough here that snorkelling ought to take care of the urge to see what's down there.
But I have done the beach horseback ride from Spicelands Stables, it was okay, your average trail ride, follow-the-leader type of ride, you do have to go up (and back down) some steep and rocky hills to get to the beach, and of course the guide gives you the spiel about how 'he's not supposed to take you to the beach but he's going to anyway' of course he's looking for the big tip at the end of the ride. Am I glad I did it? Yep. Would I do it again? Probably not, because I'd rather be IN the water than sitting on a horse who is walking the beach, but that's just me!!
But I have done the beach horseback ride from Spicelands Stables, it was okay, your average trail ride, follow-the-leader type of ride, you do have to go up (and back down) some steep and rocky hills to get to the beach, and of course the guide gives you the spiel about how 'he's not supposed to take you to the beach but he's going to anyway' of course he's looking for the big tip at the end of the ride. Am I glad I did it? Yep. Would I do it again? Probably not, because I'd rather be IN the water than sitting on a horse who is walking the beach, but that's just me!!
May 20th, 2009, 03:57 PM
#44
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Thinking of staying at Fourways in late September. Has anyone stayed there recently, and is it worth it to get a suite, or is the regular room big and nice enough. Concerned that the hotel is nice...good beds, clean etc. ...and how is the pool. Any comments on the hotel would be appreciated. I last stayed at Grotto Beach, before that the Princess in Hamilton, but that was years ago. Thanks.
May 20th, 2009, 05:56 PM
#45
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I love Fourways. It is easily my favorite place to stay even though it is not on the water. It is very small, only eleven cottages, the rooms are I think fairly good sized and I have never needed a suite even when traveling with a friend. The rooms all have either a balcony or a patio. The beds are good, the rooms have recently been updated and refreshed. I think it is a great choice.
May 20th, 2009, 05:58 PM
#46
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Oh about the pool, it is relatively small, certainly not a Princess sized pool, but there is never anyone else in it, so you will have it all to yourself. They have beach exchange privileges with Coco Reef and you can also use their pool.
One of the great treats about Fourways is the on site bakery which provides your breakfast pastry with fresh fruit, a good sized pot of tea or coffee and the local paper to your room every morning (delivered by the gorgeous wait staff...but I digress).
One of the great treats about Fourways is the on site bakery which provides your breakfast pastry with fresh fruit, a good sized pot of tea or coffee and the local paper to your room every morning (delivered by the gorgeous wait staff...but I digress).
May 21st, 2009, 07:29 AM
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I have been to Bermuda several times. We have stayed at The Reefs which is near the Fairmont Southhampton. Our neighbors have stayed at the Fairmont Southhampton and enjoyed their stay. Food in Bermuda is expensive so on the trip to The Reefs with our teenagers we chose the meal plan because they were at an age where they appreciated dressing up for dinner and eating gourmet food. On another visit to a different hotel we decided to skip the meal plan and had fun taking the public bus system around the island. That gave us more freedom to explore the island on our own time and eat when we wanted too. Since you will be with your children, traveling by moped will probably not be an option and renting taxis are expensive. If you choose not to go with the meal plan, you will have fun taking the public bus. The residents are friendly and use that form of transportation for work and the students use it for school transportation. One of our best experiences while visiting Bermuda was riding the bus when a large group of very tired preschool children were going back to their school after a field trip to the aquarium. Since the seats were full when they got on the bus, some of the bus riders including my teenage daughters and my husband and I each held a tired child in our lap. It was a unique way to interact with the local residents. So for the short time that you will be there, you may just enjoy taking the bus to the restaurants and taking in the sights of Bermuda. Buy a bus pass when you get there.
May 21st, 2009, 06:11 PM
#51
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Welcome to the game beagles! And thanks for your thoughts. The kids in our group are a friendly, fun loving bunch. Sounds like the bus would be a great experience for them. Love your memory of the schoolchildren!
Jun 21st, 2009, 03:15 PM
#52
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Welcome back girlonthego!! I know you are getting back today, but if you have time, would love to hear a little about your trip. We leave on Tuesday. Any tips for us? What did your teens like to do? Where did you eat? Hope you had a great time!!
Jun 21st, 2009, 07:52 PM
#53
Hi Friends. I will try and do a trip report tomorrow for you so you can see what we did. Just a few things to write down. Favorite restaurant was Waterlot at the hotel. It is expensive, but the steaks were excellent as was the service. All of our dining was good at the hotel, no complaints. The one thing to avoid if possible is the connecting room. We never ask to be moved, but had very noisy neighbors on day one. Little kids screaming all the time and parents fighting. We asked when they were checking out and they were there for the whole time we were. So, we asked to be moved and had a room with no connector. Much quieter.
We took the kids to King Henry the VIII's restaurant on Sat night. The food was okay, not the greatest, but they have a comedian/piano player singer that came on at 10pm. Now, my teens are 15 and 16 so they are young for going to a night club, but the comedian was funny. He walked the line on dirty a couple of times, but was basically clean. It was nice to be able to take them out and let them enjoy some nightlife. He plays, I think on wed through Sat nights. You can just show up at 10 and listen. The crowd was mostly Bermudian. There were only 8 of us that were from somewhere else! The owner will call a cab for you when you want to go home. It is a short ride from the hotel.
Oh so much to tell.... Bus is easy and safe to get around. The hotel will sell you the tokens. Get them right, some of the bus drivers are sticklers for exact tokens. Also, kids 16 and under are half the price. I think one bus driver gave us a hard time because she probably thought our daughter was older, but she's not!
Great snorkel spots are Church Bay, a walk, but we did it. Horseshoe bay is right next to the Fairmont's beach. Take the trolley to ferry for a free ride to town(Hamilton). Also take the trolley down to the middle road (ferry and waterlot side) for rides on that busroute. It is bus number 8. That will stop and you can trolley up hill. The bus on the southshore road side (bus 7) will have you hiking it up!
Fantasea has tours leaving out of the Dockyard. We did the bike tour and it was fun. We were scheduled for the snorkel reef tour, but it was rained out.
You can snorkel from the beaches near the hotel and at the hotel, and don't really need a boat tour. YOu are only there for a few days? Go to the beaches and enjoy that part of Bermuda! You have the best snorkel beaches right there on the south shore. You can ferry to Hamilton at 4:30 on Wednesday night and most shops stay open during Harbour nights. Eat downtown, shop and enjoy the street fair. Taxi home.
Ask the cab driver to stop at the supermarket by the college before the hotel. (The hotel is called the Southampton Princess by the locals. That was the original name). The grocery store is expensive! But sticker shock on meal prices will make the grocery store prices look miniscule. We used the mini bar fridge for some milk (buy the whole milk only) and yogurts. We brought granola bars in our suitcases. We also bought some water bottles and some soda for the room. You can buy beer and wine as well. I brought some grapes and some cookies. We generally ate breakfast in the room, cereal and yogurt. ( a small 6 pack of yogurt was about 8 dollars).
Anyway, I will get back to you tomorrow with more details. We loved our trip and would have liked another week, month or maybe even a year there!....
We took the kids to King Henry the VIII's restaurant on Sat night. The food was okay, not the greatest, but they have a comedian/piano player singer that came on at 10pm. Now, my teens are 15 and 16 so they are young for going to a night club, but the comedian was funny. He walked the line on dirty a couple of times, but was basically clean. It was nice to be able to take them out and let them enjoy some nightlife. He plays, I think on wed through Sat nights. You can just show up at 10 and listen. The crowd was mostly Bermudian. There were only 8 of us that were from somewhere else! The owner will call a cab for you when you want to go home. It is a short ride from the hotel.
Oh so much to tell.... Bus is easy and safe to get around. The hotel will sell you the tokens. Get them right, some of the bus drivers are sticklers for exact tokens. Also, kids 16 and under are half the price. I think one bus driver gave us a hard time because she probably thought our daughter was older, but she's not!
Great snorkel spots are Church Bay, a walk, but we did it. Horseshoe bay is right next to the Fairmont's beach. Take the trolley to ferry for a free ride to town(Hamilton). Also take the trolley down to the middle road (ferry and waterlot side) for rides on that busroute. It is bus number 8. That will stop and you can trolley up hill. The bus on the southshore road side (bus 7) will have you hiking it up!
Fantasea has tours leaving out of the Dockyard. We did the bike tour and it was fun. We were scheduled for the snorkel reef tour, but it was rained out.
You can snorkel from the beaches near the hotel and at the hotel, and don't really need a boat tour. YOu are only there for a few days? Go to the beaches and enjoy that part of Bermuda! You have the best snorkel beaches right there on the south shore. You can ferry to Hamilton at 4:30 on Wednesday night and most shops stay open during Harbour nights. Eat downtown, shop and enjoy the street fair. Taxi home.
Ask the cab driver to stop at the supermarket by the college before the hotel. (The hotel is called the Southampton Princess by the locals. That was the original name). The grocery store is expensive! But sticker shock on meal prices will make the grocery store prices look miniscule. We used the mini bar fridge for some milk (buy the whole milk only) and yogurts. We brought granola bars in our suitcases. We also bought some water bottles and some soda for the room. You can buy beer and wine as well. I brought some grapes and some cookies. We generally ate breakfast in the room, cereal and yogurt. ( a small 6 pack of yogurt was about 8 dollars).
Anyway, I will get back to you tomorrow with more details. We loved our trip and would have liked another week, month or maybe even a year there!....
Jun 22nd, 2009, 02:58 AM
#54
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Hi GOTG! Wow -- you are so great to write so much to me on your day back!! I really appreciate it! Sounds like it was a great time. You gave me so many great tips. I had read about King Henry's and was on the fence. We'll have two that are younger. I think the questionable parts would go over the youngest's head. Now it's a definite maybe. The only plan we have right now is to go to Harbour night on Wednesday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Haven't had time to check weather.com today. Thanks again! I look forward to reading more if you have time to write. It would have been fun to be there at the same time. We have the same age girls in our group!!
Jun 28th, 2009, 03:51 AM
#56
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Thanks for all the great info on Bermuda! This is an island I've haven't been to yet, and don't know much about, but would love to visit in the next few years, as it's only a 2 hour flight from us. We have small kids though and usually rent villas. I did some research online for villas, but it doesn't look like this island is big on villa rentals. Do you have any hotel on recommendations that would be great for small kids (under age 6 -we're looking into this destination for proabably 3 years from now-we're headed to St. Martin again next year-I just like planning ahead)? The Fairmont Southhampton sounds nice, but it sounds like getting to the beach way below might be a hassle. Also, if we do do resorts, we try to go with the small "cottagy" kinds. Large mega resorts tend to make my blood pressure skyrocket 
Also, one other "possibly silly" question. So far I've seen nothing on this thread about renting a car. Can you rent a car on Bermuda? I'm not sure how we would possibly do the taxi/public transit with kiddos who need carseats. Thanks!
Also, one other "possibly silly" question. So far I've seen nothing on this thread about renting a car. Can you rent a car on Bermuda? I'm not sure how we would possibly do the taxi/public transit with kiddos who need carseats. Thanks!
Jun 28th, 2009, 05:48 AM
#57
Hi Kelly,
No car rentals allowed on Bermuda. You can rent mopeds, but not with little ones!
The public bus system is easy and cheap and of course taxis.
The Fairmont Southampton offers free ferry service 4 times per day to town which is great.
Fairmont is a big hotel and does cater to having children on property. The trolley to the beach runs often, but would be a hassle in my opinion with children under 6. The pool is up by the main hotel. I did however see lots of people with babies and toddlers.
The other hotel I have stayed at with the kids while they were young was the Reefs, but that is more of an adult hotel. My parents took us all there and we had the only family with children.
I am sure there are apartments and have read about them here.
Maybe cmcfong can chime in on this since she is our Bermuda expert. Also txgirlinbermuda has some expert advice since she lives there. It is a beautiful island.
No car rentals allowed on Bermuda. You can rent mopeds, but not with little ones!
The public bus system is easy and cheap and of course taxis. The Fairmont Southampton offers free ferry service 4 times per day to town which is great.
Fairmont is a big hotel and does cater to having children on property. The trolley to the beach runs often, but would be a hassle in my opinion with children under 6. The pool is up by the main hotel. I did however see lots of people with babies and toddlers.
The other hotel I have stayed at with the kids while they were young was the Reefs, but that is more of an adult hotel. My parents took us all there and we had the only family with children.
I am sure there are apartments and have read about them here.
Maybe cmcfong can chime in on this since she is our Bermuda expert. Also txgirlinbermuda has some expert advice since she lives there. It is a beautiful island.
Jun 28th, 2009, 06:45 AM
#58
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Kelly, there are some apartment rentals here. I don't see the trolley bus to the beach at Southampton to be a problem, even with kids -it runs continuously up and down the hill right to the beach area. That's what it's for! They even have an outdoor towel drop for your dirty beach towels.
As far as transport, your best bet would be the bus. It's safe and everyone (locals) rides with little ones. I have a 4 month old and it's the only way I will travel without her carseat here. (Sometimes daddy has the car when we need to get out of the house!) You can take umbrella strollers on the bus too.
As far as transport, your best bet would be the bus. It's safe and everyone (locals) rides with little ones. I have a 4 month old and it's the only way I will travel without her carseat here. (Sometimes daddy has the car when we need to get out of the house!) You can take umbrella strollers on the bus too.
Jun 28th, 2009, 10:31 AM
#59
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These companies all do rentals in Bermuda
http://www.bermudarentals.com/
http://www.cyberrentals.com
http://www.bermudagetaway.com
Coldwell Banker has some properties as well.
I recommend you also check http://www.bermudatourism.com for general hotel information and thumbnails of most properties. Generally speaking if you are interested in being fairly close to the beach at a child friendly place Pompano Beach is your best bet. They have a very nice set up with a strong emphasis on customer service. Two other options would be Surfside (small), Grotto Bay and Elbow Beach (almost as big as the Fairmonts). The Reefs, Cambridge Beaches, and Pink Beach are more adult properties. Another place which is very casual and one people either hate or love is 9Beaches.
For smaller hotel and guesthouse options, check out some of these--
http://www.rosedon.com/
http://www.baycity.bm/
http://www.bermuda4u.com/Hotels/berm...partments.html
http://www.clairfontapartments.bm/
http://www.bermuda-charm.com/
http://www.erithguesthouse.com/
http://www.granaway.com/
Salt Kettle b and b (I don't have an internet site)
http://www.greenbankbermuda.com/
www.thegreenesguesthouse.com/index.shtml
bermuda.com/hotels/…mazarine_by_the_sea.php
http://www.oxfordhouse.bm/
http://www.robinsnestbda.com/
http://www.sandpiperbda.com/
http://www.windsong-bermuda.com/
Most of the smaller properties are not on the beach and require a cab or bus ride. Clairfont is close to the beach but it might be a hassle trying to walk back up that hill with a little one.
http://www.bermudarentals.com/
http://www.cyberrentals.com
http://www.bermudagetaway.com
Coldwell Banker has some properties as well.
I recommend you also check http://www.bermudatourism.com for general hotel information and thumbnails of most properties. Generally speaking if you are interested in being fairly close to the beach at a child friendly place Pompano Beach is your best bet. They have a very nice set up with a strong emphasis on customer service. Two other options would be Surfside (small), Grotto Bay and Elbow Beach (almost as big as the Fairmonts). The Reefs, Cambridge Beaches, and Pink Beach are more adult properties. Another place which is very casual and one people either hate or love is 9Beaches.
For smaller hotel and guesthouse options, check out some of these--
http://www.rosedon.com/
http://www.baycity.bm/
http://www.bermuda4u.com/Hotels/berm...partments.html
http://www.clairfontapartments.bm/
http://www.bermuda-charm.com/
http://www.erithguesthouse.com/
http://www.granaway.com/
Salt Kettle b and b (I don't have an internet site)
http://www.greenbankbermuda.com/
www.thegreenesguesthouse.com/index.shtml
bermuda.com/hotels/…mazarine_by_the_sea.php
http://www.oxfordhouse.bm/
http://www.robinsnestbda.com/
http://www.sandpiperbda.com/
http://www.windsong-bermuda.com/
Most of the smaller properties are not on the beach and require a cab or bus ride. Clairfont is close to the beach but it might be a hassle trying to walk back up that hill with a little one.
