Elbow Beach Bermuda Hotel

Description:

• Elegant and commanding, this is the best full-service resort on Bermuda, though it lacks the intimacy and local charm you'd find at a smaller place such as the Reefs. Today it's become part of Mandarin Oriental's portfolio of luxury hotels. Most renovations were completed in 2007. Since then, things have been smooth and classy. Upgrades were made not only to the bedrooms, but also to the full-service spa and fitness center, the tennis courts, and the Olympic-size pool. The watersports program was expanded, the 24-hour room service improved, and many upgrades were made to the already varied dining program.

  Elbow Beach appeals to vacationers, especially families, who like everything under one roof (or at least on-site). Another advantage is the proximity to the City of Hamilton, which is 10 minutes away by taxi. The resort sits on 20 hectares (49 acres) of gardens with its own .5km (1/3-mile) pink-sand beach on the south shore. Long gone are the days when rowdy college students descended at Easter.

  You can choose from a wide array of accommodations, from rooms with balconies overlooking the water to duplex cottages; from lanai rooms overlooking the pool and the Atlantic to others that are surfside. Many guest rooms feature Asian furnishings, hardwood floors, and exposed ceiling beams. The most spacious units are in low-rise buildings on terraces leading to the sands; the least desirable rooms open onto a heavily trafficked corridor on the lobby floor. The pale yellow core was built in 1908, but since then, it has been expanded massively and frequently. No other hotel in Bermuda offers as wide a choice of outbuildings from the main one. There are as many as 17 of these, each scattered across the steeply sloping and landscaped grounds. Families with children tend to opt for some of the low-slung accommodations in the gardens, while business travelers gravitate toward the accommodations within the stately looking main building. In fact, the hotel's site map evokes a theme park by Disney, meandering as it does through a labyrinth of walkways.

  Also, the Mandarin Oriental Spa contains six suites -- oases where clients can spend hours or even the entire day in total comfort. These are about the most luxurious way to stay in Bermuda if you want complete pampering. The suites, each with an ocean view, are spacious, Zen-like retreats. They feature granite-soaking tubs, showers lined with river pebbles, and bamboo floors; everything is decorated in soothing colors with warm textures. The spa's holistic treatments turn to such exotic destinations as Bali for their inspiration.

  The cuisine here has never been better; the culinary "dream team" includes chefs who have worked at some of the grandest dining rooms of the world, from Atlanta's Ritz-Carlton to Wolfgang Puck's California restaurants. All guests, including those on MAP, may choose dinner at either of the hotel's two oceanview restaurants or at a nightly outdoor theme party. The main dining room, the Seahorse Grill, is the most formal of the restaurants. At the beachfront Lido, the kitchen focuses on seafood with a Mediterranean accent. The resort also participates in a "dine around" program with several City of Hamilton restaurants; hotel guests can eat at participating restaurants and charge their meals to the resort. The Veranda Bar is Bermuda's first rum bar, featuring a lively Latino beat.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Very Highly Recommended 2010