Fodor's Expert Review The Royal Palms

The Royal Palms is a winner for having high standards, great service, and a welcoming touch with fresh-from-the-garden flowers to celebrate your arrival and a rubber ducky on your bath mat. The best perch might well be the front swing, from which you can survey the lush grounds, including two tall royal palms that give the hotel its name. Also wonderful is the sunny, all-glass breakfast room where you eat at 90-year-old Bermudian cedar tables. It's clear that owner Susan Weare put more detailed care into her property, and manages it better than just about anyone else in Bermuda. A final touch is Ascot's—one of the island's best restaurants.

If you're looking for privacy, there are three buildings set around the gardens of the main 1903 building--many rooms here have private entrances.

Photo: Superior Mini Suite

room

Tastefully and uniquely decorated with matching drapery, Bermuda artwork, and plenty of natural light. Garden-view windows are a constant reminder of the foliage, flowers, and fruit trees that blanket the property.

If your budget allows, splurge for one of the garden cottages. In addition to being over double the size of regular rooms, the deluxe suites come with a kitchenette and a shared patio or porch.

Photo: Superior Mini Suite

bathroom

Simple yet clean and well-stocked with complimentary toiletries and a hair dryer to use during your stay.

lobby

An elegantly decorated space that opens into a comfortable lounge for reading books and sipping wine.

Photo: Pool

pool

Shaded wicker lounge chairs overlook a quiet pool that approaches bathtub temperature during summer months. Luckily, a pool-side honor bar means that cool beverages are never more than a few steps away.

YOU SHOULD KNOW This pool is very small and you won't find much privacy in the close quarters of the surrounding pool deck. If you want to do laps, head to the beach!

Photo: Pool

gym

There's no gym on-site, but guests receive complimentary passes to The Athletic Club in Hamilton, which is about 10-minutete walk from the hotel.

dining

The award-winning Ascots Restaurant is fine dining at its finest. Large windows overlooking bubbling fountains, statues, and tropical vegetation make the space feel snug and enchanting. For a more casual dining experience, try Just 24, and enjoy your lunch or dinner and a bottle of wine out on the patio.

drinking

Soak in the old world ambiance and socialize with fellow guests and locals while enjoying a pre-dinner drink at Ascot's bar. Or, take your nightcap for a walk as you explore the grounds amid a cacophony of tree frogs.