ALso i'm finding a good deal for the fairmount southhampton.. which of these 3 (the 2 above) would be ideal for a romantic getaway in march??

We are looking to relax, sightsee (rent scooters), and experience bermuda

we will hit a bar or 2 as well.

all input appreciated.

Thanks!

GRAPE BAY BEACH HOTEL (the old White Sands) is located at the end of White Sands Rd (approx 1/3-1/2 mile in from the South Road and access to the #7 bus route. I'm not sure if the hotel offers any sort of shuttle service between the porperty and the South Rd. Technically, Grape Bay Beach is closer to downtown Hamilton...but may be less '..convenient..'. There is an on-premises restaurant, SAPORI, was originally one of the Primavera group restaurants but has changed hands (thogh not name) and gets okay...but not stellar reviews...and has changed from Thai-Italian '..fusion cuisine..' to something a bit more conventional Continental-Italian. The hotel was EXTENSIVELY renovated and remodelled (new carpet, drapes, bedding, lines, furniture...the works) as of July,2003.

SURF SIDE Bermuda is located farther out along the South Road...but will be closer to the road and though a slightly longer bus ride to Hamilton, may actually be more convenient. There is also the new SWIZZLE INN-South Shore location for good basic '..pub grub..' for lunches and dinners and eevning entertainment, within easy walking distance. The on-premises PALMS restaurant gets consistently good..but not stellar...reviews....and the extended dining space out onto the pool deck, provides wonderful oceanviews. All rooms and cottages have wonderful ocean views from terrace or patio. Some rooms have kitchenette or full-kitchen facilities. All room have at least coffee maker, mini-fridge and microwave.

Both hotels have their own small but pleasant semi-private south shore beachs within 100 yards or so of the guest rooms. Either beach will have mild-to-moderate surf and be relatively quiet. Either on-premises restaurant will be offer good '..hotel food..' attentive service and very pleasant ambience.

Of the two properties, we prefer SURF SIDE Bermuda for it's general location and relative convenience...and the better '..options..' it offers. The hotel grounds also have a more '..ocean-front park..' appeal than Grape Bay Beach. All of the rooms at Surf Side have unobstructed ocean views while only some of the Superior rooms aat Grape Bay Beach offer this.

When you try to compare the FAIRMONT HAMILTON PRINCESS to either...the comparison must be a bit like apples-to-oranges. We LOVE the Hamilton Princess and it makes an excellent choice, if you're looking for a large, full-service hotel. It has grand public spaces and small but quite lovely Hamilton Harbour-front grounds. When we're in downtown Hamilton of an evening, we'll often stop at the Princess, get drinks at the bar, pull up a couple of lounge chairs by the seawall and watch the harbour lights and traffic....or stop for coffee, dessert and a nite-cap in the Heritage Court lounge (they do a mean hot fudge sundae).

Though the restaurants at the FHP are only good '..hotel food..', the hotel is located only a brief stroll / walk from all of the other better dining options in Hamilton. Hamilton is also the public transportation nexus for Bermuda...so almost everywhere is no more than one bus or ferry away. The Fairmont hotels offer their own private ferry service from the dock at the Hamilton Princess across the harbour to the dock at the Waterlot Inn at the bottom of the hill up to the Farimaont Southampton Princess, with shuttle bus service up to the hotel and then down to their pivate beach club. This ferry service (though a pretty ride) may be more '..convenient..' in theory than it is in practice...though it is an available option to guests.

I was asking about the fairmount southhampton actually but i get what you'r e saying -

nah, i dont want a big hotel feel - we want something cosy and romantic. we are trying to decide between surfside and coco reefs for now..

we are going for a quick trip in march - our first out there obviously.

can we rent bikes or scooters from closeby surfside or cocoreefs to explore hamilton and the surrounding areas??

kdksail thanks so very much for all the insight.

>>>can we rent bikes or scooters from closeby surfside or cocoreefs to explore hamilton and the surrounding areas??<<<

Rental motorscooters are widely and readily available...and the larger cycle liveries will deliver scooters to your guest accommosations.

We've used OLEANDER CYCLES for a twenty-five(25) years, without the least bit of problem or concern. Oleander offers a 10% discount for advane reservations (but most other liveries will match it)....but just in case....they have shops all over Bermuda for ready access for any difficulties you might experience and excellent on-call service. Oleander replaces 1/3 of their rental fleet every year, so equipment tends to be very good-to-excellent.

Though OLEANDER will deliver to your guest accommodation...we can't wait to get out 'n about (usually having the taxi we take from the airport drop our bags off at our hotel, then drive us to the nearest Oleander shop, and then ride our scooters back to the hotel to check-in..everyone has their own '..priorities..'...and most cab drivers don't think that we're all that NUTS !!....once they find out that we're frequent visitors). If you stay at COCO REEFS, the nearest Oleander shop will be their main location on VALLEY Roadd (nr. Middle Rd.) or if at SURF SIDE then their location along the SOUTH Rd. (across from The Reefs Hotel). Anothe reason why we prefer to go to the shop to collect scooters, rather than wait for delivery) is that here will be a better selection of equipment at the shop (Valley Rd. will be best) as opposed to the scooter they've loaded onto the truck.

There is one CAUTION I offer to ALL visitors who rent scooters (no matter how many times they've visited Bermua..ourselves included). There's just enough truth in the advice that, "..if you can ride a bicycle; you can ride a motorscooter on Bermuda.." to get you into serious trouble. First, when was the last time you rode a bike??...then did that bike weigh several hundred pounds??...did it go 30-40 MPH ??...and did you ride it on the '..wrong side..' of the road?? This is that you

So....LISTEN to the safety lecture and operational instructions...and ASK QUESTIONS about anything you don't quite understand (and keep asking 'em until ya' do). Then after you've taken your brief '..check ride..' and completed the rental process, take the scooter to any nearby parking lot or quiet street or road (BEFORE you head off in a cloud of smoke into traffic) and *** PRACTICE *** (if this site allowed it. '..PRACTICE..' would be in brightly colored 48 point font). Spend some time (15-20 minutes) acquainting yourself with your scooter, how it handles, turns, brakes, accellerates (ride in circles, figure-eights, start, stop, etc)...with one person...and then again with a passenger (scooter will handle and 'feel' differently under diferent loads). If you discover any mechanical or other problems with the scooter, return it to the shop for either adjustment, repair or a new scooter. IF...after practicing, you don't feel comfortable with scooters in general, then return it to the shop and take the bus.

We've followed the advice---and insisted that anyone travelling with us do so as well---for decades and in all of this time, all of these rental..all of the days and hours of riding amonst ourselves and those many family friends and acquaintances who've travelled with us...no one has had any serious incident or accident (beyond bugs-in-the-teeth from ear-to-ear grins and '..throttle thumb..')

OLEANDER CYLCES--

http://www.oleandercycles.bm/

WHEELS CYCLES--

http://www.wheelscycles.com/

EVE'S CYCLES--

http://www.evecycles.com/

SMATT'S CYCLES--

http://www.smattscyclelivery.com/

wow i thought you actually lived there.

thanks for all your help - truly i appreciate it you're the best!!!! Thanks for the great advice - definitely taken to heart. Any other information on a " Must Do" while in bermuda is welcomed.. anything to see or a particular activity to engage in.. we like architecture, looking around at stuff - so we will def look around hamilton, would like to know a nice bar/club to go to (hiphop, reggae etc), anything else fun and romantic recommended for a couple in their mid 20s would be great! thanks!!!!

im sure we will have a fabulous time.. yay! can't wait ...

Of the two I prefer Coco Reef.

There is a club in town called Splash that plays that kind of music. There is also a club in Elbow Beach called the Deep which is really nice, although may be a little empty. Check out the Fairmount South Hampton's site and check on there clubs. I think they may have one that plays reggae on certain nights.

Enjoy!

For modern architecture, there's the BACARDI INTERNATIONAL building, up on Richmond Road on the back side of Hamilton. This is a Mies Van der Rohe building, done for Bacardi in the early '60s...and a fair example of the '..International Style..'. When Bacardi originally openned this building, they used to offer tours of it. Around the lunch hours, this was a very popular tour to take...as Bacardi used to offer free samples of their product at the end of tours. The '..powers-that-be on Bermuda asked Bacardi to stop the free samples. It seems as though some local workers were returning back at work, just a bit-the-worse-for-the-samples....and productivity took a nose-dive after lunch.

For other architectural interest, be sure to stop at the '..Unfinished Church..', out on the extention of Duke of York St, on the back side of Saint George's. This is an unfinished, native stone building, done to imitate the great gotthic cathedrals of Eorupe. For a variety of reasons it was never finished and is now a well preserved '..ruin..'...with all of the elements of classic gothic architecture (writ small) but instead of stone vaulted ceilings, there's blue sky and clouds...instaead of magnificent stained glass theres palm fronds moving gently in the breeze...and instead of a mosaic, cut-stone floor, there's green Bermuda grass. The juxtapositions are whimsical.

For classic examples of traditional Bermudian architecture and building techniques simply take a stroll around the old quarter of Saint George's.

For nightlife...most of the '..action..' will be in downtown Hamilton...SPLASH, up on Bermudiana Road, CAFE CAIRO, FLANNAGAN'S, DOCKSIDER'S, OZONE on Front Street. For basic '..pub..' entertainment (usually some guy who knows every song Jimmy Buffet's ever written or recorded), the HOG PENNY up on Burnaby St. after 9:30 PM. Out on the South Road, there's the DEEP dance club, down at the beach at the Elbow Beach Hotel. And for basic '..pub entertainment..' there's the new SWIZZLE INN-South Shore location and the PUB at HENRY VIII Restaurant are usually a lot of fun.

I would recommend cycle rental from Mrs. Thomas at Elbow Beach Cycles. It is not required that you stay at Elbow. She is the most thorough, careful person I have encountered in the cycle livery business. She absolutely provides the best pre ride training.

thanks so much for all the wonderful information.

Is it easy to get from Paget to St Georges(old quarter, unfinished church etc). what would be the best way to do this?

i know hamilton is closeby (from paget), but i am not quite sure where st georges is in relation.

Thanks again, i'm really excited and looking forward to this trip!

>>>Is it easy to get from Paget to St Georges(old quarter, unfinished church etc). what would be the best way to do this? <<<

First off you need to understand that Bermuda is approx 21 miles long and not much wider than 3 miles wide...at its widest point....so nowhere is very far from anywhere else on Bermuda...or difficult to find or get to. It's not difficlt to take a '..wrong turn..' (often taking you to somewhere you'll love) but being '..lost..' for much more than a '..NY minute..' is nearly impossible (unless you happen to be the sort who need detailed written instructions and a guide to get into and back out of a revolving door).

Saint George's is located at the far eastern end of Bermuda and getting there from most locations at the center of Bermuda will be no more than a very pleasant 40-45 minute scooter ride. If your point of departure is a south shore hotel, then simply come out onto the South Road and turn east (to your left as you face the ocean) and just keep riding, following signage to Saint George's. You'll probably have an ubiquitous little '..BERMUDA--Handy Reference Map..' which will get you just about anywhere you want to go....so you may meander anytime the mood or moment strike...and you'll still be able to find your way.

I hate to sound, '..old woman-ish..' about motorscooter safety....but if there is one common mistake that I see new riders make on scooters, it is that they will often try to '..force..' the issue...that is to say that they will be riding along and spot a place that they want to get to or aturn they want to make at the LAST MINUTE...and then try to make a very quick turn to get to...FORCING the ISSUE. This is a BIG MISTAKE. You can't possibly know how anyone riding or driving behind you is going to react to your SUDDEN slowing, stopping or changing direction (but if you'd like to find out in relative safety, stop at the ER at KEMH and ask some of the people awaiting treatment there). So... If you come upon something in a hurry..DO NOT try to '..force..' things. If you miss a turn-off, simply keep going until you can find a place to turn around and come back for it. You're ON VACATION....what's the rush? If you miss the '..perfect wave..'...there'll be another even better, along in five minutes.