Discover the Exciting Changes at Bermuda’s Elbow Beach
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Bermuda may not be the warmest winter option for New
Englanders, but by comparison to our weather, its average high of the upper 60s
could be seen as downright toasty. And at only a couple hours from Boston by plane, its a popular destination for our area.
Taking advantage of that is Elbow Beach, a luxury lodging
staple on the island since 1908. Since May, it has been under management
by the Burns Group. One of the first new moves it made was opening year round.
Under prior management of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, it had been closed during the off
season.
Elbow Beach is also a hotspot for newlyweds, proven by its new “100 Years of Honeymoon package, with rates starting at $725 a night.
Regular off-season rates kick in around $450.
We visited the resort
in late October, and found more new stuff: The 90 rooms in the
iconic yellow main building, which have been closed since 2008, are being
renovated into 45 suites over the course of the next year or so. The resorts
lodging now consists of 98 bungalow rooms and suites dotting the landscaped
hill below the main building, affording great views of the pink-sand beach.
Also new will be the reopening of the Sea Horse Grill.
Already new is work done on the buildings main floor (which includes an ornate
lobby and class library with bar): Huge conference/function rooms have been
fashioned out of little-used spaces, and carpeting pulled up throughout to
highlight long-hidden wooden floors. Also revealed was an antique compass rose
in the flooring, now restored and protected.
There are several categories of room sizes in the bungalows,
from very comfortable 450-square-foot premier ocean-front cottages (which we
had), to the sprawling 2,500-square-foot Bird of Paradise cottage. 
Our room was more than big enough for two, with a small
patio overlooking the Seaside Terrace restaurant below, and the ocean just a couple
hundred yards away. It was nicely appointed and comfortable, with relatively
speedy WiFi, HD TV, roomy bath with rainhead shower, and Nespresso coffee machine.
Best bet: Get room service for breakfast and enjoy your meal on the patio with the morning sun.
The beach, about a half-mile long, is as good as it gets,
with pink sand and ample lounging chairs and umbrellas, along with attendants
who always seem to be there when youre thinking of getting something to eat or
drink. Our usual guy was Arturo, quick to deliver dark n stormy cocktails or
fabled Bermuda fish chowder whenever the mood struck.
The food scene in Bermuda has vastly improved over the last
20 or so years, and it shines at Elbow Beach. At Caf Lido one night we had a
ridiculously large and exquisite double lobster tail dinner, perfectly
cooked and seasoned. Lunches are best had at the Sea Breeze Terrace, where the
Mediterranean salad is packed with squid, shrimp, scallops, octopus and greens,
along with killer ocean views.
Other dining options here, some closed in winter, include Blue
Point Restaurant (poolside), Mickeys Beach Bistro Bar (right on the
beach) and The Deep Lounge, a moody, sexy lounge that can be booked for private
functions.
The spa is a must at Elbow Beach as well, refurbished in
2012 with six private spa suites and done up in soothing colors and organic
textures, with handcrafted granite soaking tubs, bamboo flooring and river
pebble-lined steam showers. I had the Oasis massage ($225), 80 minutes of
knot-melting bliss.
Another must is the pool, and tiny bar alongside, where Cameron,
the barkeep-du-jour, told us all about the work being done at the hotel while
doling out masterful drinks. The young man is also a diver, and told us one
popular activity at Elbow was taking out kayaks to snorkel at a shipwreck just
offshore.
The resort, already pretty posh, should be noticeably more
so in coming months under new management headed by Edmund Burns — a man who seems to know his stuff. With more than 30 years in the hospitality
industry, Burns has been part of developing, building, and opening more than $2 billion
worth of hotel real estate.
This resort has all the assets needed to be successful,
Burns said in a press release.
Sitting on his beach with a drink in hand, we couldnt agree
more.
For all information, visit www.elbowbeachbermuda.com
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